My visit on Saturday, April 29th!

[Mikewhy]

My girlfriend and I went to Kings Island on Saturday, April 29, 2006. It was not a full day trip for us, as we were there from 1:30 until closing at 8:00PM. But since we have a season pass, we sometimes go for shorter visits in between our all day visits. We wanted to check out the park for the first time in 2006 and specifically check out the new kids area, Nick Universe.

We live in Louisville, Ky, but consider Kings Island our home park because it is a park I have been visiting for 33 years, since I was 6 years old. This park always fills me with nostalgia and a feeling I do not get at other parks, simply because it is a huge part of my history.

The park was crowded as expected for a Saturday, but not as crowded as I feared. This could have been because of the threat of rain (which thankfully did not fall until after the park closed!) or because it is still early in the season. We did not ride too much this time because of the lack of time and the lines (most rides would take about 45 minutes to get on). We did ride The Beast, The Racer, Adventure Express, The Hanna Barbera feature at the FX Theatre, and Avatar: The Last Airbender in the new kids area.

The Beast seemed to be running a little better than usual. We saw signs of some retracking, which likely helped with that. We had front row and really enjoyed the ride! We also had front row on The Racer. While I love this classic ride, the ride today was rougher than normal in spots. Adventure Express is one of the best mine train coasters out there, and I was glad to see most of the special effects and sound effects were working and loud on the ride.

I felt a wave of nostalgia hit me when we saw the Hanna Barbera movie in the FX theatre. While I agree with the change over to Nick characters for today's kids, my childhood was dominated by the Hanna Barbera characters, and it is nice to see Kings Island acknowledge their past by showing this movie. I was really moved when I heard the music from the old Enchanted Voyage playing in the theatre as we were taking our seats and having our seat belts checked. ("Those happy friends who live in our TV.") Most of the younger people in there have no idea what that song was, but to me as a child, that Enchanted Voyage theme that played in the dark ride from 1972-1983 was THE theme song of Kings Island. To hear it again in the park in any form was a real thrill, and deeply moving to me. The movie itself featured Yogi and Boo Boo trying to save the Jetson's Elroy from Dick Dastardly and his dog Muttley. They chased the villians through the worlds of the Jetsons, The Flintstones, and Scooby Doo. It was great fun!

The new Nickelodeon Universe is stunning, and should ensure that Kings Island has the best kids area for a long time to come. Amanda and I loved all the bright colors, and while many of the attractions only had a name change, we were surprised at how the ride vehicles for some of them were changed to a Nick theme. Blue's Skidoo, which used to be the old plane ride, was completely adorable with its new dog cars, as were the newly remodeled trains used on La Adventura de Azul. The new rides were all well done and compelling. The whole place looked shiny and new with all the newly painted colors, and was a pleasure to walk around in. The children there looked like they were having a blast!

Avatar is a complete hit, and a nice, really different ride. We waited an hour for it, and it was well worth it. It is far more intense then I thought it would be. We were lucky to be on the outer row on the edge, and at times it was amazing how dizzying and exicting the ride was. I was also impressed how long the ride lasted, although I know this hurts capacity. This is a refreshingly different and exciting ride that kids and adults will love, and I applaud PKI for building it! They do seem to be having some technical issues with it. When we arrived no one was in line and the maintenance crew was working on. Then later after our ride, the platform that rises would not come up and we were stuck on the ride for about 15 minutes after our ride. We did not mind, and they eventually got it fixed. I was impressed at all the staff that came and asked us if we were okay and apologized for the delay in getting off. They handled the breakdown with professionalism and class, and that was good to see.

I would like to see more shade and more landscaping in the newer section of Nick Universe. If I had any criticism of it, that would be it. (The gravel under Avatar is a clear example!) I know they had to rush just to get the area ready for the new season, and so I did not let that bother me too much. I hope they add more landscaping later, although the kids having the time of their life there did not seem to care!

Other positives for the day were the louder music in International Street and the lights on the buildings, which were added for Winterfest and are being turned on at night all season long now. I really like these changes! It was terrific to see the fountains going again as well. They had been out of action since Fearfest started, and I-Street is not the same without them. (While I love Winterfest, it is sad that International Street has to do without the fountains all October as they prepare for it.) Kings Island has the best opening area of any park in the nation, and I it seemed even better now!

Other positives include a much better map this year, great food, a diverse selection of rides (although too many flats have been allowed to leave the park) and that great Kings Island atmosphere!

I do have some negatives to share. I think some of them still have to do with the season being new, and the fact that all the resources of the park have been justifying tied up in finishing Nick Universe. So I will be sure to return many times to see if some of these are fixed/changed. I really love Kings Island, even with its faults or problems. So when I mention my negatives below, know that I am not harshly criticizing the park, but just wanting it to be the best it can be. I will always be supportive of Kings Island. (I also know the park is being sold, and that could have various affects on operations this year.)

I continue to applaud Kings Island's no smoking policy, however the lack of enforcement makes the rule almost useless. While I did see some very polite smokers making use of the smoking areas, I saw many people blantantly smoking all throughout the park. I twice reminded people about the policy, but they just stared at me and continued smoking. The park did make announcements every once and a while, but for some reason the annoucements were very low and hard to hear in most areas of the park. I also saw people smoking while in lines getting food, and the employees did not say anything to them even though they were smoking right in front of their face! As the day progressed, the number of smokers grew. I even saw a little girl in line for the Avatar ahead of people put her head in her shirt and tell her mom she hated the smell of smoke, which was coming from a smoker on a bench on a walkway near the Avatar queue line (which was not a smoking area.) The park either needs to do something about this, or just abandon the rule because it is being ignored and laughed at by some patrons. Really, all they would need to do is 1) Make sure the announcements are louder and easier to hear, 2) put up more signs announcing the policy. Holiday World does this and it is very effective and 3) Have employees politely enforce it by telling people. I have seen some employees at other parks whose job it is to walk around, greeting people, helping them take pictures, giving them directions, and politely reminding people about the rules. It would be a simple thing that would at least help.

I did notice the prices of food and drinks going up, but that does not bother me too much as I know that is just the way it is. But it will be interesting to see what effect Cedar Point's *lowering* of prices has on this trend in the industry. Also, one thing did happen to us which was a little petty. We bought a whole pizza and some drink that came to $30 in the Pizza place on International Street. However, when we asked for paper plates, were told we could not have any! After spending $30 for pizza and such, it seems like a request for two plates would not be unreasonable. They eventually did give us these really tiny plates. but unlike the bigger ones they have, they were not large enough to even hold a slice! Little things like this can make a different in how people perceive the park.

Also, I noticed that the park was not as nicely landscaped in other areas the way it usually is. The floral clock and calendar were empty, and the topiaries they have sitting around the park were no where to be seen. I hope this is because it is early in the season and all resources have been given to Nick Universe. I will see if the landscaping improves later in the year. There were some nice flower displays here and there and the park did look very clean to me.

Next, while some of the employees were nice and personable, others were at best indifferent. The ones working the ice cream part of the Happy Days diner seemed downright annoyed at us for ordering. They looked overworked trying to keep up with all the orders, but still it was kind of sad that by ordering you felt like you were doing something wrong! (I alos noticed some families that waited at the counter for over 10 minutes, were ignored, and then they left without ordering.) Other employees in the park were super nice, including the crew at Avatar, the workers helping to keep the chairs and tables straightened up on International Street, and several others.

Despite those criticisms, I loved my day at Kings Island and will be making many trips there this year!

[Reclaimer]

GREAT report. Good to hear someone balance out all the negativity about the park.

I will agree with you some of the staff needs to have an attitude adjustment. Three weeks into the season and they're already acting like they don't want to be there...it just doesn't give a good impression. (There's a couple people at Zephyr, one of my favorite rides, not want to ride simply when I see them working, simply because they are so rude to the guests.)

[Delirium13]

Very Nice Trip Report, I'm glad you had a good time at the park.

I was also at the park on Saturday and had a great time. After listening to all the negative things people had been saying I didn't notice anything but the higher prices. Other than that I think the park is doing a great job and if I hadn't known beforehand I would've never guessed the park was for sale just by going.

And the employees are great, they get their work done quickly and effectively and the park has been very clean everytime I go.

But I agree with you guys, i've had experiences with the employees in the food dept. that aren't exactly diplaying the best work ethic. They just seem bored and annoyed that you are there. But other than a few times when ordering my food and the higher prices, I have no other complaints about anything at the park.

[pkifreak]

I was at the park on 4/30 and when I was riding The Racers (forward) and when I got back into the station, my lapbar was stuck. When i told the worker about it, they said its not that difficult, just push down, come on and use your head once and awhile... lets just say i was not very happy

[UCcatguy52]

I had to work on sunday and there was a little girl with her mom that was begging me to let them on for one more cycle when the park closed at Top Gun and I told them that the line was closed at 8, thats how it works all around the park these people coming out where in the line before we closed it and the ride is almost shut down for the night im sorry for the inconvinence (sp?). She stormed off all mad that I wouldn't let her on but I was following what I was taught on my first training day last year.

[holeinone888221]

Was that "rude" worker on The Racer being sarcastic or serious?

[BoddaH1994]

GREAT report. Good to hear someone balance out all the negativity about the park.

I will agree with you some of the staff needs to have an attitude adjustment. Three weeks into the season and they're already acting like they don't want to be there...it just doesn't give a good impression. (There's a couple people at Zephyr, one of my favorite rides, not want to ride simply when I see them working, simply because they are so rude to the guests.)

I don't think that they're necessarily "burnt out" already, but I think Mikewhy hit the nail on the head with the word "overworked". It happens at my work all the time. It's of course no excuse to be rude or impolite, but it seems as though some places are genuinely understaffed which makes for a really stressful situation. Hopefully it's straighten out more as the season progresses.