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I was able to make it out on Friday and the crowds were very light. I was there for less than 3 hours and I didn't wait more than 1 train for any ride. The re-track of GASM exceeded my expectations. It's not perfectly smooth but it's actually fun to ride again. I would recommend the second to last car. I also rode in the front but I think the back is still the better place to be. I don't know how long it's going to stay in this condition. I would get out there and take advantage while you can.

got another (similar) design-ish I just ordered today. My hubby is ready to kill me that I keep buying boots! LOL

We went to the park today and it was pretty empty because of the rain chances. Pretty much everything was a walk-on. We were the 1st people in line for I305 and there was only 3 or 4 of us on the train. Did a re-ride immediately upon getting off. The station was still pretty empty but they made us walk all the war around for a 3rd ride. They were have issues with one of the trains not showing all the seats closed. They were finally able to get it out of the station but with no riders. They took it off after it went around. We were able to get 3 rides on Twisted Timbers after that and then on a few other coasters before the rain hit at about 11:10. It rained for almost 3 hours after that. We were able to get quite a few rides on everything else after 2:00. The park was still pretty empty with just a few school groups. It ended up being a great day even with the rain. We were able to do everything we planned with an hour to spare. Ride operations were excellent at all the rides. Staffing was quite good with quite a few supervisors working.

Today, Cedar Fair posted their 2022 Investor Presentation! Here is the link if you want to read the whole thing: http://archive.fast-edgar.com/20220523/AO2WK222H22292T2222P22E2J2NGZ222A242/ Here are the highlights though: - In-Park revenues are down slightly from 2019 (they of course don't talk about 2020...), but per-capita spending is up. Out-of-park revenues are comparable to 2019. - Their research indicates: "Rides and events remain the top reasons guests visit our parks, while family coasters and water parks/rides are strong motivators to visit among our most engaged guests." and that "top reasons to visit parks are family rides, thrill coasters, water rides, seasonal events/festivals, and anniversary celebrations." They also say that guests seem to be motivated to visit parks by "Something for everyone - a menu of rides and activities that offer guests a wide range of entertainment choices, wholesome, simple and fun entertainment that allows guests to foster connections and interactions with others, 'Never before' experiences, an atmosphere with a 'sense of place' celebrating local authenticity and cultural diversity." - Their long range plan includes "Expanded use of use of limited duration events and more immersive experiences" (They use Knott's and Forbidden Frontier as examples), aiming to "drive more visits from existing guests and incremental visits from new, unique guests", "Food and Beverage will continue to play and outsized role in the overall guest experience", and finally (the park we all want to hear!) "Traditional rides, such as roller coasters and water attractions, still play an important role. They also say that want to continue the "evolution of our accommodations and resort offerings." - Attendance at haunt events was up 8% over 2019...and they represent some of the highest attended days of the year...(Valleyfair and CGA like...). WinterFest and Merry Farm had 1.8 million combined, and "opportunities for expanding WinterFest, or a comparable event, to other parks being explored." - Their strongest growth channel was apparently season passes, which now represent about 55% of full-year attendance. They want to more broadly roll out the PassPerks program to encourage more visits. All-season add-ons (they use Dining, Drinks, Fast Lane, Parking, and Lockers as examples) are also growing in popularity, and represent a "growing percentage of revenue and attendance". - As mentioned earlier F&B is becoming a bigger part of their business, so they say "Consumers want unique experiences, offerings they can't get at home, we [CF] have enhanced existing F&B facilities and added more immersive dining experiences, executive chefs and additional culinary talent [has been] hired at each park." They show Backbeatque and Hugo's as examples...I'm honestly not even sure what parks those are at...? - For 2022 they plan to "Invest $160-175 million to support growth initiatives at our parks and further enhance the guest experience.", pay down debt, and restart shareholder distributions by Q3. From my perspective it seems that a couple things are going on. First, the company is on the move and doing all right. They are not in a "batten down the hatches" or "we are in trouble" mode. They seem to be focusing on "guest experiences" and food and beverage more than anything. I don't know if that's code for budget cuts or "we don't want to go crazy on cap-ex now" or what, but I mean if they want to improve guest experience and food, I'm not sure I would be opposed. It is disappointing that they seem to be putting more emphasis on those kinds of things rather than adding more good/great rides, which I ultimately think is what is needed for a park to succeed, but it also seems like they aren't shutting off the spicket entirely. Secondly, I think it's interesting that they seem so optimistic about season passes, especially the add-ons. Six Flags seems to be moving away from a focus on that, and I'm not even sure what SEAS does with it's passes, but CF seems to be sticking with it. Maybe all-season dining is here to stay after all? Oh, and I think the haunt thing is hilarious...

It's weird and really seems to be location by location. I can't even say it's chain by chain at this point, because I had stayed at a Country Inn in San Jose last August and they had their pool and breakfast buffet open. Then I stayed at that Country Inn in Doswell the following month only to discover everything, and I do mean everything, was still closed. Similarly, when I went down back in the beginning of April to Busch Gardens, I stayed at the Mainstay Suites near the park, and again it was another case of no breakfast and all the amenities closed. Then we flew out to California again and stayed at the Cambria in Anaheim, and they had a huge breakfast buffet that was jam-packed, their fitness room, and their pool and waterslides all open. The only guaranteed thing that seems to be out the window no matter where you stay is that you don't get daily room cleaning anymore, and I think that's just a thing of the past at this point.

Also, not everyone can afford to travel the country to ride specific kinds of roller coasters.

Don't kink shame.

Hopefully the trim brakes on The Beast hit harder than ever, just so all of the enthusiasts lose their shit.

Beast will be longer and steeper. https://www.wlwt.com/amp/article/cincinnati-kings-islands-the-beast-to-break-own-records/39581555 When the Mason amusement park opens in May, The Beast will move from a 7,359 ft. coaster to a 7,361 ft. ride due to offseason re-tracking and reprofiling work, including the addition of a steeper drop, from 45 degrees to 53 degrees.

Its only gonna be awkward if one of you gets a boner. (Kidding, the ride ops would probably not let two grown men sit in one car, but then again its Kings Dominion where nothing makes sense so ymmv.) So you're willing to deal with the clusterf*ck of the six of you trying to line up in six rows just so you can ride in separate rows on the same train? JFC. Just jump on where you can and move along to the next ride. Bill is 100% right, you're putting way too much thought into this.

You're putting way too much thought into this.

Oh you were just whining just to whine then. That checks out.

I don't think anyone in this conversation disagrees with getting Fastlane. Let me be clear: Yay Fastlane. We love Fastlane. Fastlane at this park is great. We all think you should be ready to buy it, Boldy and I have just gone to this park a lot in March and know that there's at least a 50% chance that the park will be so dead that every single ride will be a walk-on AND there's no benefit whatsoever to buying it before you get there at Kings Dominion. Actually it's better to buy it at the park anyway since you don't pay a processing fee and you get the added benefit of checking to see if anything is actually beyond the merge points before you buy it. It's not likes he's going in October. It's late March. If it's 44 degrees and cloudy there will be six people in the park. If it’s 70 and sunny, sure… buy it when you get to the park. The park agrees with us that it might be a ghost town that day which is why Fastlane starts at $65 and it’s selling for the absolute bare minimum price for all of March. This is an argument between a bunch of people who agree with eachother. Lol

So, what, are they gonna shoot silly string at you while you ride? Because I'm OK with that.