I hope I don't get beat up for posting another season pass question but I'm coming to the park on Saturday and plan on purchasing a season pass. My question is, how long does this process usually take? I might make 4 or 5 trips to the park this year so it's not a huge deal if I don't get one...it's not like I'll be losing a ton of money. If it takes a long time or the lines are usually long to get the pass I might be better off just getting my ticket at Kroger. Another question, does guest services open at the same time as the park or do they open a little bit earlier? I'm looking forward to my trip Saturday and will post a trip report once I'm back home. Thanks for the help.

Processing usually takes about 10 minutes and guest services should be open a little early.

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Yeah, processing doesn't take too long, especially if you have already purchased you pass online. It skips an entire step. Granted, processing your pass Saturday may take a few minutes because of the line, I think the days of waiting in an extended line for processing is over this season.

Also, if you haven't purchased yet, I'd recommend doing it sooner than later since Gold goes away in a few days.

And...the price...almost certainly...goes up....

Remember, too, that regular passes sold after gold goes away are typically NOT good after the "regular" season ends. (No Haunt, for example).

I purchased my Gold Pass online yesterday. I know I won't make it to the park before the Gold Pass deadline passes, which I believe is Monday? All I know is I'm happy I looked that up. For some reason I had it stuck in my head that you could purchase a Gold Pass through the end of May. I'm glad I didn't rely on that false memory.

I believe you have to also process it before the deadline. Which is the 26th I believe. Let me research it for a moment.

Edited: yes, the 26th is the last day for gold, but I was unable to find on the website what happens if you don't process it by then. I would advise calling to make sure.

You can process it any time; just need to purchase it by the 26th.

Edit: Or so I thought. When you click on "Season Pass Processing Hours", the calendar only goes through the end of May. I would imagine they would still process season passes after May, but I could be wrong on that. Either way I'll definitely be there at some point before the 31st so I'm not going to sweat it too bad.

2nd Edit: I checked my season pass voucher that I printed out and it makes no mention of the timing in which the voucher needs to be redeemed and the pass needs to be processed.

I definitely think you should call the park to make sure. It would be a rude awakening if you don't get there until after the 26th and it is too late.

I need to call anyway to see how the parking situation works on the first visit. Not sure if my voucher will cover my parking or if I need to pay and then get reimbursed when my pass is processed, or if I'm just out the parking fee this first time. So I'll just ask about a processing deadline at that point.

I do know the answer to that one They can just scan your voucher at the parking entrance, you don't have to pay.

Oh ok, thanks for the info!

And if for some reason it doesn't want to read it or there's a new person that doesn't know the process, you can pay there and get a receipt and guest services will refund the parking charge. Had to do that last year.

If for some reason you end up having to pay to park they will reimburse you at the season pass window.

What Ape said on parking, the first time we got season passes about 3 years ago, we bought them online, they made us pay the $10 for parking, but gave it back as soon as we processed our passes.

You can process your Gold pass any day the park is open. Season pass processing does not end at the end of May, it continues through June, July and all public operating days in August, September, October and November.

The Gold pass deadline only refers to the sales; as long as you have purchased your Gold pass by the cutoff, it can be processed after that and will remain a Gold pass.

For some reason I had it stuck in my head that you could purchase a Gold Pass through the end of May. I'm glad I didn't rely on that false memory.

It's not a false memory. In past years, KI has announced on the day after Memorial Day that Gold Pass availability was extended to the end of May. I would hazard that it is likely that they will do the same again this year, but it's not guaranteed, so I wouldn't count on it.

When you click on "Season Pass Processing Hours", the calendar only goes through the end of May.

Because May is the last month with special pass processing hours when the park is closed. Now that the park is open daily, pass processing is simply open with the park and therefore there is no need to maintain a separate calendar for it.

It's not a false memory. In past years, KI has announced on the day after Memorial Day that Gold Pass availability was extended to the end of May. I would hazard that it is likely that they will do the same again this year, but it's not guaranteed, so I wouldn't count on it.

It has been extended in past seasons, but not (necessarily) until the end of May. Rather, it's been through the Thursday following Memorial Day.

Of course, as you said, there's no guarantee that it will happen again this year. Counting on it would not be wise.

Also just because Gold Goes away doesn't mean you can't buy Platinum and still receive the Gold Pass benefits. Just sayin!

If you're up for it, I have a fun tip for when you get your picture taken. Make a funny face (as long as the picture takers don't mind). The reaction I get when someone scans my pass is hilarious. They always have to do a double take. Also it gives them a smile and seems to break up the monotony a little.

Thanks for all the replies. I'll try to get there a little early and see if I can get through quickly and I'll try to make a ridiculous face.

Some of us don't even have to try!

When my daughter got her picture taken she made the meanest face because at the time she hated getting her picture taken as well as didn't like talking to anyone she didn't know, so it was like the perfect storm for the meanest face ever. Hoping to get that picture re-taken next year.

When my daughter got her picture taken she made the meanest face because at the time she hated getting her picture taken as well as didn't like talking to anyone she didn't know, so it was like the perfect storm for the meanest face ever. Hoping to get that picture re-taken next year.

I believe that you can actually go into the pass processing office any time it's open for a re-take. It doesn't have to wait for the next renewal.

I need to get my picture re-taken...it's a few years old and doesn't look like me IMO.

My pic is from 2010. Haha

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I got my pass processed yesterday. The calendar said they will be processing "during park hours", which I hoped would include ERT. Thankfully it did! I actually showed up at 9:25 and they were already processing passes. It took literally under 60 seconds for me to get my pass processed. It worked out perfectly as I was able to take advantage of ERT, which was a necessity given how crowded it got as the day went on.

The ticket booths are typically open a fair bit earlier than the park.