Yes!! ^ My favorite plants of all time!

It's not a camping ground it's a glamping ground.

When I go camping I make sure to bring my 15 person tent, and inflatable bed, a small car battery to run my mini fridge, my propane (a propane accessories) grill, and a my super powered radio so I can hear "Sweet Home Alabama" from half a mile away.

I've got a pop up camper with heat and a/c .... I'd be happy to drag it over to spend a weekend at KI!!

I doubt the target audience for this site is the hard core "rough it up in a tent" camper.  There's no where to hike, no natural water to play in, you're surrounded by commerce, etc... No, this site was choosen because it works well (in theory) with a clientele that will set up shop for a few days of fun at KI and/or The Beach (perhaps even the tennis center) at a price (I assume) significantly less than a local hotel.  I have no clue if this is a good financial investment for whomever, but this was site was chosen for its convenience to KI and other local amenities, I doubt its going to be promoted as much more than that.

On 3/19/2019 at 11:23 AM, Pez said:

This article has me wondering if Cedar Fair has plans to get into the hotel game near Kings Island.  The grass patch at the corner of Kings Island Drive and Western Row wold seem to be an ideal spot with easy freeway access with the new ramps.  Other investors have already put up a new hotel off Kings Island Drive and then there is interest in putting in a campground so there must be data showing a demand for more rooms in the area.  I expect the demand would not just be vacationers, but business travelers as well with the increasing investment in commercial facilities along Innovation Way.  Something like what they are doing down at Carrowinds would seem a perfect fit.

I talked to CF executives during my internship at CP during a panel about the likeness of a resort or hotel at KI. They said KI was more of a regional park. I wonder if they're shooting themselves in the foot after learning about this new campground or not.

7 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

I talked to CF executives during my internship at CP during a panel about the likeness of a resort or hotel at KI. They said KI was more of a regional park. I wonder if they're shooting themselves in the foot after learning about this new campground or not.

The biggest parks for Cedar Fair in terms of investments are Cedar Point, Carowinds, and Canada's Wonderland with Kings Island and Kings Dominion being high tier regional parks, correct?

There is no way that Cedar Fair treats Kings Dominion and Kings Island the same way. Kings Island actually gets new investments fairly often, and the same cannot be said for Kings Dominion.

I'd say that California's Great America would also be included into a park with a huge investment pool.  The company is poised to complete the purchase of the land under the park for around 150 million dollars this quarter.  It is being financed through long term debt but will be offset by savings from the yearly lease costs.

Any updates where the campground stands...has the WC Planning Committee approved it...have they broken ground...anything?

3 hours ago, standbyme said:

Any updates where the campground stands...has the WC Planning Committee approved it...have they broken ground...anything?

Doesn't appear that anything has been started from Kings Island Drive.  I pass by every day.

@teenageninja Thanks for the info. 

1 hour ago, teenageninja said:

Doesn't appear that anything has been started from Kings Island Drive.  I pass by every day.

 I don't think I could drive past the park every day knowing I'm not going in. That would destroy me from the inside. 

24 minutes ago, lifetimecoaster said:

 I don't think I could drive past the park every day knowing I'm not going in. That would destroy me from the inside. 

I also drove by it every day. You get used to it after you see the traffic going to the highway every morning on the other routes. 

16 hours ago, standbyme said:

Any updates where the campground stands...has the WC Planning Committee approved it...have they broken ground...anything?

I was there Saturday and you can see land that was cleared from The Tower.  It is close to where they are building the new coaster. We asked the Elevator operator and they said a new hotel was going up there but looking at the above map that is the exact area I saw from The Tower.

31 minutes ago, coastergirl24 said:

I was there Saturday and you can see land that was cleared from The Tower.  It is close to where they are building the new coaster. We asked the Elevator operator and they said a new hotel was going up there but looking at the above map that is the exact area I saw from The Tower.

Where they are building the campground is over a mile away from the tower and the new coaster's location. I would be surprised if you could tell anything about the property from there. 

21 hours ago, lifetimecoaster said:

 I don't think I could drive past the park every day knowing I'm not going in. That would destroy me from the inside. 

I worked there for 6 seasons, it's pretty easy for me.  I didn't even get a pass this year, will probably only go once.

It would be cool if KI owned the camp ground and had courtesy shuttles to take guests too and from the park.

On 3/18/2019 at 5:49 PM, silver2005 said:

Riding Top Gun at night back then was the best.

I miss the campground too! It was fun smelling campfires on top gun.

 

I too think it would be nice to camp close again. The closest ones are like thirty mins away at that point I might as well drive from home.

2 hours ago, LuckyluvsKI said:

I miss the campground too! It was fun smelling campfires on top gun.

I agree, and if you were staying in the campground, getting woken up from morning test runs of Top Gun.

Do you think there's any feasibility of CF buying this campsite? It would certainly increase out of park spending significantly.

I would live to see any campground,  private or park owned,  nearby again.

I’ve always said that the park needs a direct access resort motel like Breakers at CP and it would be great if there was a campground near the Little Miami behind the park.

Do you think there's any feasibility of CF buying this campsite? It would certainly increase out of park spending significantly.

They have plenty of land... Seems unlikely they would buy a camp ground when they could just create one on their own land.

The parks that have them are all managed by KOA, so I'm assuming Cedar Fair isn't interested in being owners in the campground industry.


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On 8/16/2019 at 10:41 PM, chuck norris said:

They have plenty of land... Seems unlikely they would buy a camp ground when they could just create one on their own land.

The parks that have them are all managed by KOA, so I'm assuming Cedar Fair isn't interested in being owners in the campground industry.


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What I understand is the parks own the campgrounds, and they are just KOA franchises.   The Kings Dominion campground is great.  So close to the park and covered/surrounded by trees just like that park. 

On 8/16/2019 at 10:41 PM, chuck norris said:

The parks that have them are all managed by KOA, so I'm assuming Cedar Fair isn't interested in being owners in the campground industry.
 

CF is already an owner and operator in the campground industry.  Ever hear of Lighthouse Point?  In fact they even expanded this season.

On 8/17/2019 at 11:58 PM, King Ding Dong said:

CF is already an owner and operator in the campground industry.  Ever hear of Lighthouse Point?  In fact they even expanded this season.

One of the best campgrounds ever built in my biased opinion

13 minutes ago, SonofBaconator said:

One of the best campgrounds ever built in my biased opinion

It is beautiful.  But I don't know if I would consider it a campground.  More so an RV park with some prefab cabins on the perimeter.

I'd love to have those prefab cabins at a glampground near KI.  Honestly, I would not want to tent camp anywhere in a metro area.  Too many unknowns.

Lighthouse point looks nice, but is pretty pricey for camping. Camp Sandusky is pretty good and they have these little cabin things too. 

6 hours ago, Hawaiian Coasters 325 said:

Lighthouse point looks nice, but is pretty pricey for camping. Camp Sandusky is pretty good and they have these little cabin things too. 

But you get a lot of perks with staying. Early entry, discounted tickets, bundles, free parking, etc. If you have a camper I'd say its pretty affordable. If you're staying in a cabin or cottage you are paying a lot more because of the utilities, housekeeping, etc. 

I personally think its worth it