Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

[robbalvey]

^Looks like a little bit more money is going in lo-q's pocket!

Oh, I certainly hope so! This would make visits to some Cedar Fair parks MUCH more palatable.

[DJeXeL]

Looooooooong overdue. KI and CP have the ability to make a fortune. Now I just wonder if they'll offer different levels of LoQ similar to SF.....

[harper83087]

I've been opposed to any form of fast/flash pass in the past but I'm starting to warm up to the idea, I'm even going to get a gold FP at SFMM this Saturday. As for this article, I'm getting more and more excited to see what Ouimet has to offer. Hopefully he can give the CF parks a breath of fresh air thanks to the outsider perspective he's giving.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^Looks like a little bit more money is going in lo-q's pocket!

Oh, I certainly hope so! This would make visits to some Cedar Fair parks MUCH more palatable.

Yes. Take for instance my visit to KD today when the line for 305 was to the switchbacks and they had one train with three operators moving rather slowly. A nice little Q-Bot would have helped tremendously, but I only rode the ride once and went on to do other things until I got severely annoyed with the park and left. If I had a Q-Bot, I would still be there.

[Intimidator305]

I'd HATE to see paid line jumping systems in place at KD.

 

You are crazy unless they are priced outrageously... Just think, no 60 min + line for Volcano!

 

Oh, I certainly hope so! This would make visits to some Cedar Fair parks MUCH more palatable.

 

100% agreed if they are at a reasonable price.

[jamesdillaman]

The problem is, unless you have children (Their Kids Area is top notch), Kings Island just isn't a full day park with lo-Q. The only thing that ever makes it a full day park is ungodly long lines. The only rides really worth it are Diamondback a FoF. Firehawk has such low capacity it would be silly to put fastpass on it, Invertigo is the same deal. The Racer, Beast,Vortex, Flight Deck, Adventure Express,and backlot normally don't have over a 60 minute wait anyway, even during the summer weekends. I just don't actually see the draw of this unless they come up with a couple more quality coasters. Hell some of the longest waits in the park are for the darkride and the kiddie coasters.

[robbalvey]

^ For us enthusiasts, maybe, but, OMG, I so remember the last time we were there these people going on and on and on about Face/Off and how it was the most insane thing they've ever done...

 

You gotta remember, that from the local season pass enthusiast perspective, the park is very old hat to them, from the GP stand point, rides that you wouldn't accept money to ride would be the best thing in the world, and to those of us from out of town, a Q-Bot would make our day so much easier to go in and get all the "credits" at the park!

[jamesdillaman]

^ Yes, but like I said, what rides would really be worth it to include in a fastpass option? The only two I can think of that really make sense are Diamondback and FoF in addition to the Kiddie coasters.

 

Face/Off (Invertigo) and Firehawk are too low capacity as is and the other waits don't normally ever get over an hour anyway. It isn't hard to get all your credits in one day except for Firehawk and Invertigo due to their low capacities. I'm not thinking in terms of an enthusiast but in terms of a business from a cost/benefit analysis. How much goes to the park and how much would go to lo-Q? I think it makes much more sense at Cedar Point, where they can have it on TTD, MF, Maverick, Raptor, Wicked Twister, DT, Mantis, Gemini, and on crazy days Magnum, Meanstreak, Blue Streak and possibly Corkscrew. There are just more rides with decent capacities that get longer waits frequently at Cedar Point than at Kings Island, that's my only point.

 

Even before I was an "enthusiast" Kings Island was always a half-day to one day park, and Cedar Point was a one and a half to two day park. I just think they'll sell a lot more fastpasses at CP than at KI.

[Hilltopper39]

^ Yeah if I'm going to a new park that Ive never been to that has more than 5 or 6 new credits Id be willing to spend the extra money to make sure I get all the credits and have the best day I can possibly have. I'd say that the majority of non season pass holders and non enthusiasts families that visit most parks visit 1 time and 1 time only each summer ( maybe every other summer), and spending a little more to get on everything would probably be worth it.

[jamesdillaman]

^ I only go to Kings Island once every two years or so, and I've never had a problem getting on everything there in a day, except on SUPER crowded events days like bring a friend free or Spirit Song Weekend. I just was wondering if they'd OFFER fastpass on Firehawk and Face/Off (Invertigo) because the waits are already super long due to ungodly capacity. Think how pissed off a guest would be to see 3 hour standby waits on Firehawkdue to fastpass users...

[Hilltopper39]

^ I only go to Kings Island once every two years or so, and I've never had a problem getting on everything there in a day, except on SUPER crowded events days like bring a friend free or Spirit Song Weekend. I just was wondering if they'd OFFER fastpass on Firehawk and Face/Off (Invertigo) because the waits are already super long due to ungodly capacity. Think how pissed off a guest would be to see 3 hour standby waits on Firehawkdue to fastpass users...

 

it'd be just like on Toy Story Mania

[coastermaniac]

Personally, I'm not a fan of them adding this to any ride at neither KI nor CP. Like mentioned, X-Fli...Firehawk and Invertigo have low capacity and therefore the lines take forever. If they added a fastpass to these rides (and to others as well), do you know how long the line would take for everyone else? It would be super annoying. Same deal with CP; many of the coasters can have a long line already because of crowded days so it takes a while to get through. I'm a regular at CP and therefore wouldn't pay extra for the fastpass; so the lines taking longer than they should due to other people being able to cut the lines would be annoying.

[gforce532]

That is the exact reason why I generally do not like quick Qs. Which is one thing that I like about Cedar Fair parks as appose to other chains, is that they don't have a quick Q system. Sure its great that the park can make extra money from people willing to spend more money and also those people who mabey don't visit too often can make the most of their day. But it just makes the long queue lines even longer.

 

But anyway I agree with most people here that KI really doesn't need a Quick Q of any kind. If you spend the whole day at the park you can get on everything. And if you don't want to wait in a long line for Firehawk, FoF and Face off, just go on those rides early. I also think CP doesn't need it either because the lines there generally move fast. Their still long but they move fast, and I would just hate to have them slow down with the addition of a quick Q.

[carolinacaniac]

I could think back to when I went to Cedar Point for a couple hours on my way back from visiting some friends in Michigan, and the only rides I did while I was there was Blue Streak and Iron Dragon. The lines where just too long for me to really want to do anything else in the short stop that I was making (Used my Platinum Pass from Carowinds to get in). I would have loved the possibility to get a flashpass type of pass to do more of the rides while I was there, so long as it wasn't a rediculous price. Maybe they would even throw in a pass holder discount for it?

 

-Gary

[jynx242]

^Looks like a little bit more money is going in lo-q's pocket!

Oh, I certainly hope so! This would make visits to some Cedar Fair parks MUCH more palatable.

 

OH DEFINITELY! I couldn't agree more wholeheartedly.

[robbalvey]

^ Yes, but like I said, what rides would really be worth it to include in a fastpass option? The only two I can think of that really make sense are Diamondback and FoF in addition to the Kiddie coasters.

 

Face/Off (Invertigo) and Firehawk are too low capacity as is and the other waits don't normally ever get over an hour anyway.

If a ride has even a 20 minute line, and with a Fast Pass device I can wait zero, I'll still use it. Those pockets of 20 minutes add up to a LOT when spread out over a day. And if you can get that time back and do with it what you choose, instead of being in a line, it's well worth it.

 

And it totally makes sense on Face/Off and Firehawk. Remember, if done correctly, your Fast Pass device can scale the number of people it allows in the fast pass line based on the capacity of the ride and the current line. So even if you only get through 1 or 2 trains total of Fast Pass people an hour through some of the lower capacity rides, it still makes sense to include them, because those people can choose what they do while they wait, or queue up another ride during that time.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^Not to mention that people PAID to have the right to skip the line. If others don't like it, pony up. Some of us don't like waiting in lines to the point where we'll pay extra money to avoid doing it.

[Meteornotes]

Being able to get a QBot would actually make me return to KI and CP (been over ten years since I've been to either park). Why wait in lines if you don't have to? QBots rule.

 

dt

[Hilltopper39]

I'd be intersted to see how they apply the fast pass/Q-Bot system to these existing parks. Half of the que lines aren't currently capable of handling an additional fast pass line and I would think they would have to either renovate the existing ques or let peole load from the exit platform.

 

I'm pretty familiar with the Flashpass concept at six flags but have never actually used it, do you enter in the exit or is there and actual flashpass enterance for most rides that merges somewhere near the station ?

[robbalvey]

I'm pretty familiar with the Flashpass concept at six flags but have never actually used it, do you enter in the exit or is there and actual flashpass enterance for most rides that merges somewhere near the station ?

It depends on the ride. I've seen all three options for rides at Six Flags depending on when the ride was built, and what the original intentions for the queue set up was. If I recall correctly, part of the deal the parks strike with Lo-Q is that they come and absorb at least some of the set-up fees, and then they operate the service. So it's kind of a lower risk option for the parks.

 

I really think they do a FANTASTIC job with about 90% of the Six Flags rides, and it's pretty rare that you run into one that's a problem.

 

--Robb

[Skycoastin Steve]

I'd be intersted to see how they apply the fast pass/Q-Bot system to these existing parks. Half of the que lines aren't currently capable of handling an additional fast pass line and I would think they would have to either renovate the existing ques or let peole load from the exit platform.

 

I'm pretty familiar with the Flashpass concept at six flags but have never actually used it, do you enter in the exit or is there and actual flashpass enterance for most rides that merges somewhere near the station ?

I don't think KI has anything, but CP still has the extra queue rails left over from their failed attempt at flash passes in the early 2000s. All the major rides still have them, so all they would have to do is open those back up.

[DJeXeL]

Ah yes, the Freeway system was quite the train wreck from what I hear. How exactly did that work?.....or NOT work I should say

[Skycoastin Steve]

^Depending on which season it was, they either stamped your hand or gave you a ticket to come back at a certain time to skip the line. Because of this, I waited somewhere around 20 minutes for my first ride on MF. It was pretty unorganized and half-assed if I remember correctly.

[robbalvey]

^ It looked like this:

 

 

I swear some of that ink is STILL on my skin!

[DJeXeL]

Oh ok thanks guys. Seems like it was a mess. Plenty of cash to be made with a LoQ system. Baffles me how it took this long for CF to realize the profit they were missing.

 

^WTF! I think the left over blue ink was shipped to SFMM for the Scream media day