KIfan73

My biggest problems with the food service isn't the food necessarily, or the facilities. It's the vibe. Most of the workers perform in a manner consistent with being held against your will. Not what you're looking for when you've driven hours and spent a considerable about of $$$ to travel to a place that should be a top vacation/fun (no pun intended) destination. The other vibe killer is the other customers. I do not possess a food plan (and I don't mean to denigrate those that do), but everyone I'm in line around are singly focused on what they can get on their food plan, instead of conveying a sense that they're enjoying the day at what would be a world-class amusement park.

I'm going to blame the new entrance. I've been to Kings Island at least ten times since they've put it in, and I still am not sure where to aim, even after I've started turning left! It's amazing that one of the largest amusement parks on Earth has an entrance lane narrower than you'd find at a McDonald's. It is very confusing. Maybe there's a lot of people that just haven't figured out how to get in and they've just kept driving! In all seriousness, I've thought for years they need a grand banner/sign you drive under when you enter Kings Island drive (either from the north or south) like you see at Disney.

Kind of surprised KI hasn't gotten a version of this...https://sportsforceparkssandusky.com So many families with young children plan their vacations around the kids' sports tournaments, and more destinations are adding sports parks like these.

And of course there's this....Ohio is getting a $2 billion entertainment park four times the size of Disneyland

I'm no engineer (but there are some on here), but I believe there's around a zero percent possibility of Kings Island building a new attraction on that site.

While being interested in Kings Island history, I find looking at the queue from roughly-twenty-five-seasons-since-removed Flight Commander kind of interesting. Having said that, one of the most amazing things I can think of about Kings Island is the fact they haven't done anything with a queue from a ride that was removed approximately twenty five seasons ago. Astounding.

I would just like to second this. It is worth a trip just to watch the fountains. I could watch them all day. They are fantastic the way they are!

I was at the park today, and wondered what was going on...I asked an associate to find out what the commotion was. Took a pic of the line with the turnstiles they had set up!

Came across some more pics of the Inn/Resort when I was browsing through iCloud photos today. These are from 2009 and show both indoor and outdoor pools, and other general views around the property.

Another photo of this area that my uncle took in '72:

Looks like it got past the talking stage Olentangy Amusement Park

Thought I would contribute this pic of the Antique Cars to the discussion from it's last day of operation (IIRC): Labor Day 2004.

Those that have been around here a long time have learned about a certain park's various responses to things like this. Will be interesting to see if there will be any with this announcement.

To past ride operators/those that have done it for a long time: Is this type of behavior becoming more common, or has it always been this way?

I think it has more to do with Kings Island becoming not just being a fun place to spend the day from time to time, but rather viewed as a make-or-break, highly structured experience that many parents feel their children must (and will) experience at all costs; fun and relaxation be d%$ned (It's no longer a vacation. It's a quest).

Some rides' themes seem to mesh well with Halloween Haunt (Banshee, and to some extent Beast, Bat, Mystic Timbers), I think a winter-themed ride would be "cool"...something along the lines of Blizzard Beach at WDW.

I think what's making the apparently-often-subpar food service situation at Kings Island such an issue is the huge contrast with the rest of the park. Kings Island has what are definitely world-class rides with operators that hustle and contribute to to that world class experience (for the most part). You could invite foreign dignitaries (if they were so inclined) to ride one of KI's coasters, and there would be no let down. What's so jarring is that you walk twenty feet away and it is hit-or-miss whether you can get a grossly over-priced, edible meal inside of thirty minutes.

I've had the Fast Lane pass once or twice in the fall when they gave you one to use on a Sunday if you renewed your Gold Pass. I have to say that I've never had so much fun at Kings Island than the day(s) I used it. I must really not like waiting in lines. They just need FL for the food lines, and you'd be set.

This was taken in 2016:

They are running the train right now...very cool to watch!

The designer of the Kansas waterslide that killed a 10-year-old boy was taken into custody Monday evening: https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation-now/2018/04/03/designer-waterslide-decapitated-10-year-old-boy-taken-into-custody/481295002/ This is really one of those times I'd like to hear some of the Interpretation of events that we used to enjoy on here.

Very cool. I like those "see you at Kings Island" signs throughout the park. It's also amazing that, here we are, in 2018, and the "new" Kings Island park is currently building a brand-new restaurant themed to an area that itself is modeled after Coney Island. Still influential 47 years later.

Funnel cake stand expansions, Starbucks moving buildings, and restroom remodels. These are just a few the non-Earth-shattering, not-completely-new-building-construction changes to the park that have been hyped on social media way before opening day. I'm not buying that they've simply built a new restaurant from the ground up without a peep, and are just letting people find out as they visit.