BeeastFarmer

Anybody else notice that the park is apparently attempting to bring back some nostalgia? According to the social media accounts from the park, at the end of last season, the entrance to the que of The Racer was painted to the original 1972 motif. The KI clock looks great and has the 1970's font, as does the KI calendar. The new WWC entrance, by Diamondack appears to be framework for a wysteria tunnel. (I would love this!) Maybe there is no coaster and the train will get some love and attention, like it deserves. Or heck, maybe they are going to move BLSC and retheme it to a mining theme, and restore the current area to Les Taxis! And maybe bring back the Coney Mall arch! (I'm really stretching it, but I can wish. And I really appreciate the clock and calendar and the (hopefully) wysteria tunnel.)

I enjoyed my Coasterstock experience. Although I didn't take part in all events, the ones I did participate in were outstanding. The only negatives I took away were not really related to the event--the crowds were insane on Saturday. Lots of school kids. Food lines were terrible. I even enjoyed my first night ride on The Racer (blue) in the pouring rain. The ride operators on each attraction were outstanding. They didn't seem annoyed to be working late and were enthusiastic. (Especially the guy on Diamondback and his expectation of Fury 325!)

Always ever vigilant Magenta Lizard! I really think he was in costume either as a clue dropper or as a diversion. Either way, it was a classic. Such a great speaker. Could listen to him "tell this story" for hours.

My all season refill cup worked fine at Cedar Point last week. The only issue was at Johnny Rockets--they tried to charge me .25 for a free refill. They had to have a long discussion and decided since was from an "associated park" the .25 was an internal accounting procedure.

I'd have to disagree, The Interpreter. Besides the pizza, the meals can easily feed two. I can't finish what they dish out.

Yesterday at I-Street Skyline, there was so much cheese! I scraped it off my coney, ate that, then scraped it off my chili, and filled the coney box with about 3 inches of cheese-and still had more than enough on both the coney and the chili.

Last year, the burger or two I had at KI was really good. This year, the burgers look terrible. You can see the extruded meat. I don't like eating what still looks raw in textture. It may be chain wide, as I saw this both at CP and KI this week.

I really liked Mr. Speigel's teal snakeskin cowboy boots and his Wyoming t-shirt with a bucking bronco and a Corvette racing hat.

Made it to KI much later than I had planned. I did check to see if I could use my meal plan and it was indicated that I could, even though I had used it twice at Cedar Point. Of note: At CP, the waitress at Johnny Rocket's tried to charge me .25 for using my refill cup. She said. "That's what it rang up as." I said, free is free, maybe your register is mistaken.

I may try something tomorrow-use my meal plan once at one park, and twice at another. Assuming I don't get caught by too many trains, tractors or combines on the way back down south.

Food quality was good at Cedar Point (except for the "side salad"--which was two pieces of sandwich lettuce, three cherry tomatoes and about a cup of shredded cheese!). Cashier service was slow, however. It seems like the cash registers are from 1983, and the cashier has to press about 8 buttons for each item, and the scanners seem awkward.

The Interpreter is a man who gave me some great advice last year on opening day at Kings Island and I am all the better for it. On a topic-related note: I now really like Intamin coasters. I'd be happy to have one of their (Cowboy-esque) coasters at Kings Island. But I'd also like to have a GCI, GG, B&M, Chance, or RMC there too. Cedar Point is fun!

One of my co-workers asked my opinion: For her four year old--KK or Cedar Point. I said KK, but I have no knowledge of CP. But I couldn't imagine driving a four year old14 hours both ways, for a few kiddie rides.

It wasn't a rainy day. It was actually a perfect day. Warm sunshine, some clouds, high 60's. 6 other oncology RNs in my group had an incredible time and got to blow off some steam from cancer care. And I get planning for profits. But I don't get the third season of terrible speed of service in food. Maybe I hit the timing right at Carowinds earlier this year, but they did not have the problem. I'll see how it is is at Cedar Point later today.

Was at the park today and the issue with food, each time was the cashier. Very short lines for food, but the cashiers were extremely slow. This is a switch from the usual of unmotivated back line employees. The park did pull a HW/KK, however. Except is wasn't rides. Many food places were closed all day, and by 7pm, almost all food places were closed.

Great...custom built salads at The Chicken Shack. That will be great for speedy service.

Maybe you saw Beast Gal!

What's wrong with ACE?

Before waterparks were part of amusement parks, and when I was a youth, our church youth group drove to The Beach from 2.5 hours away. How things have changed! Also interesting to note: When Kentucky Kingdom reopened in 2014, it added Professor John's Flying Machine and The Frogs ride in the kids area. Kings Island added Woodstock Gliders and Snoopy's Space Buggies as major attractions in 2015--both essentially the same rides as Kentucky Kingdom added the year before. Coincidence?

$60 from me is no big deal...but pull that out into bigger numbers. Numbers are not in my knowledgebase, but let's suppose some assumptions: 10,000 one day visits lost from KI over a season-from less visits to KI by season pass holders to folks who just don't drive to Mason because there is a closer option. Each guest spends $10 on in-park merchandise. 1000 people choose a season pass to KK and not KI. $100,000 lost in in-park revenue over the season. $90,000 lost in season pass sales. $190,000 over the course of one season. Not to mention losses in parking revenue, upsales like lockers, Funpix. Slingshot/Skycoaster etc. Again, I have no ideas about specific revenues, but I would guess my numbers are conservative. I don't think Cedar Fair is pacing and rubbing temples, but I do think they are noticing lost revenue. If not, they should. And I feel fairly confident that the Soak City expansion is a direct response to the water park at both Holiday World and Kentucky Kingdom. When I waited in Soak City with my friend last summer, while her son did the attractions he wanted, it was miserable. By casual glance at the other water parks, I could surmise they were much better. (I'm not a water park guy, myself.)

It depends on who you ask. A diehard Kentucky Kingdom person, yes it is a threat. A diehard Kings Island person, not so much. I love Kings Island. Some of my earliest childhood memories revolve around chickening out of the Kings Mill Log flume ride when it was time to board, and the Wisteria Tunnel. (I think I was four or five at the time.) Up until last year, I would have never thought of visiting Kentucky Kingdom, after the last experience I had there in 2008 or 2009. But someone on this board suggested that I do, and I was impressed. It's a great alternative if I want a smaller park and a much smaller drive. I visited Kentucky Kingdom six times last year. I average about $10 out of pocket spending each visit. So, right there is $60 that was spent NOT at Kings Island. Do conservative math, and if X amount of people spend X amount of dollars not at Kings Island, it hits their financials. So even if revenue is up at Kings Island, if the competition is there, it is not up as much as it could be. I am sure they take notice at Cedar Fair and plan accordingly. Kentucky Kingdom will probably never be a three million gate admittance park, so it is not as if it is a threat in size or scope, but it does present an opportunity for a smart corporation to maintain or increase market share. Competition is a great thing.

Maybe I extrapolated to much out of this statement by Gordon Bombay: " if anything, they're more curious about Holiday World and probably just chuckling at KK when they're not asking: "that park is open again?"" Falling trees could be something big or something small. It could have been in planning stages for years, or it could be a response to the reopened Kentucky Kingdom and a new roller coaster at Holiday world. I'd guess (and I am not using the word conjecture, because I am very much a novice in this business) that it is the second option.

Gordon Bombay, I'd have to say your statements sound logical. However, that would be a bad business decision for Cedar Fair. In my opinion, the company should pay attention to threats that entice customer base. Louisville is a huge demographic for Kings Island. I'm sure that local people have been happy to go to Kentucky Kingdom. It may be that they still go to Kings Island and/or Holiday World, too. But instead of multiple trips yearly, now they may just drive 20 minutes to Kentucky Kingdom instead. That in turn decreases in park spending. I'm not disagreeing with your premise, I am just stating that I hope Kentucky Kingdom's competition does not ignore it.

I saw plenty of park-provided security personnel AND off duty police officers in my multiple trips to KK last year. Maybe that is a difference from the previous operations of KK/SFKK.

I was at the park during the state fair last year, when it did get somewhat dark. Was nice to see it at night. Never felt unsafe at all. Saw parents with little kids, plenty of park staff, security and off duty police officers. Being that I was only in the park one time when it was SFKK, I can't attest personally to the unsafe atmosphere. But I have never felt unsafe in my visits last year.