malem

Welcome to KIC! Most of us here like roller coasters a lot, but other types of rides round out the park experience. As a kid, before I got into coasters, my favorite rides were Phantom Theater, Kenton's Cove Keelboat Canal, the antique cars, and the (original) Flying Eagles. I'd be thrilled to see any of them return.

^ The prospect of seriously injuring another guest should be more frightening than any criminal penalties that may result from doing so. The offending patron at Kings Dominion fled the scene, and he was technically following the rules in effect at the time by having his phone in a pocket.

For reference, here's the post from CW via Twitter with their 2019 benefits. I would expect increased benefits for new passholders at Kings Island as well, considering that KI was singled out in Cedar Fair's second quarter earnings report for having a decrease in pass sales coming off last year's record season. We'll find out tomorrow when passes go on sale. (Source: https://twitter.com/WonderlandNews/status/1029508218505121794)

Parks generally don't take any responsibility for lost or damaged articles, so that probably won't be an issue. Guests don't have to take their stuff with them to ride. I am curious how the phone pouch tests at Kings Dominion have affected load times on TT.

It's disheartening that this is coming from high-profile individuals. Hopefully they come to their senses and remove the posts. When discussing illegal on-ride pictures, linking to the source is better than posting screenshots. We don't want anyone assuming such things originated on KIC.

I'm personally not a fan of memberships and payment plans at parks, as you are opening a line of credit that can impact your credit history if you're not careful. This is especially true with Six Flags, which levies late fees for past due balances and aggressively collects any debt due on an agreement. That said, as long as you're careful to manage your account and understand what you're getting into, monthly billing can be very convenient. Be sure to read that agreement; depending on your renewal date, you must give notice 45-75 days before you want your Six Flags membership to end, even after month 12.

It's a Tony Clark post. You can't necessarily tell the difference between a red herring, a hint, and an inconsequential detail. He's good at his job. The Witches' Wheel site is between the Magnum entrance and exit/Fast Lane entrance; I wouldn't read much more into it than that. It is a really fun ride, so hopefully we see a newer generation HUSS Enterprise or a clone (eg. Scream Extream at KK) debut somewhere in the park. Who's planning to be there on Labor Day for final rides? @acole5292?

That is very good advice. We got 11:40am tickets around 11:10am on a Sunday, but we were very lucky. The people behind us in line had to wait until after 4:00pm. Time Traveler is indeed awesome. Ride it several times, as every ride is different. The spinning itself isn't too crazy; I wouldn't worry too much about getting dizzy, if you're sensitive to spinny rides. Thunderation and Outlaw Run are fantastic rides as well. I would recommend avoiding Thursdays for that park, as those are busier than Mon-Wed or Fri. If you visit between now and this upcoming weekend, the park is open until 10:00pm instead of the usual 7:00pm closing time. (Night rides!)

I combined your two threads and changed the name. It should be good now. I have been to Six Flags St. Louis a couple times, though I have yet to make it to Over Texas. As for St. Louis, The Boss is running very well after the work on it prior to this season. Six Flags doesn't have a great reputation for maintaining wood coasters, so I was more than pleased. You may find that you don't need a full day there, in which case you might want to explore something else in the area. I very highly recommend visiting City Museum if you have time.

Sadly, we forgot to detour to Campaign, IL on the way here to take him to see #Jonathan at the Kraft Heinz plant.

Kings Island typically schedules discount bring-a-friend days at the end of summer, but they've expanded quite a bit this year. The offer is valid every operating day from July 29-August 26. https://www.visitkingsisland.com/play/events/gold-platinum-pass-bring-friends-day

^ That's an interesting point; I never considered the drinking straw factor. I couldn't find any real research on the subject in 2 minutes, but this science fair project found that drinking with a straw was more sanitary with respect to backwash. Let's hope most guests are washing their all-season cups with soap and hot water before each visit.

Refilling used drinkware is the entire premise of souvenir drink bottles. It's gross, for sure - another reason why disposable cups are a great idea. Anyone with a compromised immune system should stay far away from soda fountains, especially ones that aren't behind a counter.

A Tornado Watch is typically issued for a large area, advising that conditions are favorable for tornado development. It doesn't indicate eminent danger, but it's an indication to watch the weather and be prepared to take shelter if storms develop. Both Kings Island and Cedar Point have severe weather plans in place and are part of the National Weather Service's StormReady program.

^ Indeed, I wasn't okay with material changes to the rules after purchase. Luckily, that didn't end up actually happening. Customers rightfully got upset when they thought that they might get fewer meals than they paid for. I do agree with you that the website descriptions could more conspicuously qualify "unlimited" with the refill interval, but I don't see it as being a big deal. Really, I'd like the word "unlimited" to disappear from marketing speak. It's almost never accurate, and someone usually abuses it and ruins it for everyone the rest of the time. See MoviePass or Endless Crab.

^ Her inhaler isn't a phone, so it shouldn't be an issue at least for now. See also jtro223's comment above; Guest Services will evidently issue a tag for medically necessary phones to be allowed to the station. If the loose article policy is expanded beyond phones, I assume the procedure will be similar. Yeah, the policy stinks for guests responsible enough to secure all loose articles in zipper pockets before getting to the station. On the bright side, the length of time people are willing to go without phones might limit the length of the line.

Meal plan intervals have always been clearly specified at purchase and have not changed after purchase. There was an uproar a few years back when a different set of rules was posted on the park website. The revised terms never went into effect for new or existing dining plans.

I'm always one to advocate reading the fine print before making a purchase. I certainly do. My personal pet peeve is with menu board signs that read "drink free all season". I'm drinking all season for $29.99, not for free.

I haven't made it to Kings Island as often as I'd like this season. For me, it's a combination doing more travel to out-of-town destinations and of having a longer season to visit Kings Island (for Winterfest). Less of my limited summer vacation time is being spent in Ohio. As "staycations" trend down and wages increase in a bullish economy, regional parks will have to find more ways to compete for leisure dollars and control staffing costs. Days with a stormy forecast that turn out better than expected (like yesterday) are usually great days to visit the park, although many food/drink/merchandise locations close when attendance is too low. Sometimes, you get days like last Friday that are true rain-outs. There was a combination of very low attendance and severe storms late in the day that put reopening rides in doubt.

If the soda mix on one of the fountains is wrong, they need to know so that it can be fixed. Being notified of the problem, they should let you grab a replacement without redeeming another drink.

Unlimited mobile data plans are throttled after a set threshold. Unlimited food at a buffet is limited to what a customer can consume in one visit. Unlimited rides are limited by capacity and attendance. "Unlimited" is a marketing gimmick that seldom means without any restrictions. If there's a problem with a food or drink, even if it was "free" with a dining or drink plan, ideally this is brought up to management so that it can be fixed.

Regardless of how strictly it's enforced, a guest sneaking on a phone that accidentally injures another rider would be in a world of trouble with the park and with the law.

Cedar Point has a roaming ride locker rental this season for ~$10, which is sure to become a lot more popular now. The locker bank at Magnum was sold out by the evening of my last visit, when the park was only moderately busy. I suspect that there will be a line to rent a ride locker at SV on many days. In an ideal world, this policy would come with a single rider line.

The policy will annoy lots of enthusiasts who know how to use zipper pockets, myself included. Beats taking someone else's phone at 70mph, though! I suspect that this will deter some people from riding, faced with the prospect of going screen-free for 90+ minutes.

It is a gutsy move on Kennywood's part, but I will admit the theme is getting the ride wider press coverage than it would otherwise enjoy. Which might be a good thing for the park. KI has a larger market than Kennywood has, so I wouldn't count on a similar move here. A Bengals coaster wouldn't be easy to market in Indy. Top Thrill Cubster was really well done for Opening Weekend. On a similar note, CP is certainly glad now that LeBron turned down their offer in 2014.