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Kings Island (KI) Discussion Thread

p. 832: Camp Snoopy announced for 2024!

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Anybody know how long it takes to drive from dollywood to kings island? I am doing a mini roadtrip may 4-6 after a beer conference in nashville.

i plan to go to dollywood the friday morning and then head to kings island. I figure pigeon forge is a nice little town to get behind you before settling down for the night.

 

I may try to stay in cincinatti and visit some breweries friday night and head to kings island for ert in the morning. Would it be reasonable to think heading out of town during morning rush would be ok?

 

Sunday i will try to get to kentucky kingdom or holiday world before returning via nashville.

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Anybody know how long it takes to drive from dollywood to kings island? I am doing a mini roadtrip may 4-6 after a beer conference in nashville.

i plan to go to dollywood the friday morning and then head to kings island. I figure pigeon forge is a nice little town to get behind you before settling down for the night.

 

I may try to stay in cincinatti and visit some breweries friday night and head to kings island for ert in the morning. Would it be reasonable to think heading out of town during morning rush would be ok?

 

Sunday i will try to get to kentucky kingdom or holiday world before returning via nashville.

 

 

About 4 1/2 hours.

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I have never stayed at a Drury Inn, but have heard good things about them.

 

If they had free BEER and popcorn, it would automatically be my new fave hotel chain.

 

All I envision with free soda is a bunch of kids hopped up on Mountain Dew screaming and running around the entire hotel in a caffeine-buzzed state driving everyone bonkers - with the exception of the parents that have probably locked them out of the room. lol

 

I would highly recommend Drury. They manage the free food very well and I've never seen it as a madhouse or with out of control kids. I've stayed at the one in Cincinnati a handful of times, as well as ones in Columbus and St. Louis, and have had nothing but great experiences.

Edited by FeelTheFORCE
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I already reserved a room at the Super 8 Mason (nonrefundable) for my KI visit in early June, though that was before reading the reviews on here. Is it really as bad as everyone says it is? Personally, I'm not very high-maintenance when it comes to where I sleep. As long as I have a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in, I'm good.

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^Sounds like there are mixed reviews and some of the most recent reviews say that their stay was decent. Hopefully, things have turned around.

 

Anybody know how long it takes to drive from dollywood to kings island? I am doing a mini roadtrip may 4-6 after a beer conference in nashville.

i plan to go to dollywood the friday morning and then head to kings island. I figure pigeon forge is a nice little town to get behind you before settling down for the night.

 

I may try to stay in cincinatti and visit some breweries friday night and head to kings island for ert in the morning. Would it be reasonable to think heading out of town during morning rush would be ok?

 

Sunday i will try to get to kentucky kingdom or holiday world before returning via nashville.

 

If you like tourist traps on 6-8 lane highways then Pigeon Forge is for you. It's not my style and I consider it a bit obnoxious. Gatlinburg is still a little touristy for my tastes, but we thought it was a lot nicer and a lot less trashy. (just our opinion) Gatlinburg also has Smoky Mountain brewery which has good food and beer, as well as Ol' Smokie and some of the other complimentary moonshine tasting spots.

 

As for finding distance, I do it constantly. The easiest way I've was just to google "Distance from XXXX to XXXX" and it usually includes drive time.

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If they had free BEER and popcorn, it would automatically be my new fave hotel chain.

 

They do; the 5:30 Kickback includes free booze! At least where it's legal; local laws get in the way in some places. Where they can get away with it, three drinks (wine, beer, or cocktails) are free. The one I've stayed at in Pittsburgh (and loved, and will be staying at again this summer!) is only allowed to offer one drink free, and two more at 75 cents each; it's possible some cities might not allow it at all.

 

Capture.PNG.39bcc080b9292bed815dc8fe9b5975a2.PNG

 

 

They used to give 1 free cocktail per adult per night. The menu was limited, but hey, free booze, right? That's been replaced by the 5:30 Kickback, which is soup and salad only. Still a great perk, just not the unbelievable perk it used to be.

 

The one I've stayed had full meals, and multiple options for them every night, as of last summer. According to their website that's still the case.

 

Slightly off topic, but awesome, the one in Pittsburgh is also in an old federal bank building, and the meeting and banquet space is inside where the vaults were, with the original vault doors intact.

0172_vault_1.jpg.950f4ba6f7c8bdc67d7514e66dc0d742.jpg

 

IMO, it's damn near impossible to beat a Drury hotel if there's one in the area.

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I already reserved a room at the Super 8 Mason (nonrefundable) for my KI visit in early June, though that was before reading the reviews on here. Is it really as bad as everyone says it is? Personally, I'm not very high-maintenance when it comes to where I sleep. As long as I have a roof over my head and a bed to sleep in, I'm good.

 

NO.

 

It seems to have had a bad past, perhaps, and has now gotten caught in a vortex of perpetual negativity. But my stay with my kids last year was great, and even my earlier stay wasn't horrible. You sound like you're not a hotel snob like a lot of these peeps on here ( ), so I'm sure you'll be pleased with it!

 

Having said that, on the other end of the spectrum, I need to chime in on the Drury Inn conversation! I just stayed in one for the first time, this past Saturday into Sunday, and it blew my mind away! Best hotel I've ever stayed in, and I just stayed in the Motor City Casino Hotel the weekend before (though that was an amazing hotel experience as well!) Apparently we have cool liquor laws here in MI, or at least in there in Troy where the hotel was, because the 5:30 kickback DID feature 3 free alcoholic beverages! In addition to that, the food selections were pretty substantial, with hot dogs, nachos, chili, a yummy pasta dish, and something else good that I'm forgetting for the moment! And that's in addition to Pop and Popcorn all the time! So I guess what I'm saying is, I may not have been a hotel snob before, but my Drury experience may just have made me one! My girlfriend and I have also become suckers for rooms with jetted tubs - totally worth the extra expense!

 

So, I suppose I'll be looking for good deals (like I got this past weekend) on Expedia for Drury Inn's when I'm going to amusement parks here in the future!

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Great to hear all of the good things about Drury as I know that they have one across the street from Canada's Wonderland too.

 

Just got my AE Hilton Honors card yesterday, so it's likely Hampton Inn's for us for the majority of our hotel stays.

 

And Zach - it is a no annual fee card and not just introductory for one year!

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I've stayed at the Super 8 twice (two nights, then just one the next stay), the last two summers and I found it to be of great value. My room was clean and I liked the large outdoor pool area (and that the pool stays open late). It's also nice that you can walk to the sports bar from the parking lot after a long day at the park, get some drinks, then just walk back to your room.

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You sound like you're not a hotel snob like a lot of these peeps on here ( ), so I'm sure you'll be pleased with it!

Guilty... I am glad to hear the Super 8 has made a turn-around, since it will give members a cheaper place to stay.

 

Phil, if they do offer an annual payment card, I've look into it. Sometimes the more you pay, the quicker you build up points, but it always pays for itself ten fold. I think our card is between $75-100 per year for renewal. How much was your introductory cost?

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^ No introductory cost, Zach. I just went and dug out the paperwork and here are the main highlights...

 

* You receive 3 HH points for every dollar you spend (unless used for fees, charges, cash advances, etc)

* You receive 4 additional points (7 total points) for each dollar charged directly to a Hilton entity

* You receive 2 additional points (5 total points) for each dollar spent in restaurants, grocery stores and gas stations that are not affiliated as warehouse stores (IE: Costco, Sam's Club, etc)

* You forfeit your accrued monthly points if you make a late payment

* No annual membership fee

* 18.99% variable for purchases, balance transfers and cash advances (I don't use these and pay off in full each month, like you do)

* Late payment fee up to $38

 

One of the downsides that I could possibly see is that people have complained in the past how Amex isn't as widely accepted as Visa and Master Card. Guess that I will find out now!

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You sound like you're not a hotel snob like a lot of these peeps on here ( ), so I'm sure you'll be pleased with it!

Guilty... I am glad to hear the Super 8 has made a turn-around, since it will give members a cheaper place to stay.

 

The funny thing is I feel like I'm starting to get drawn to the "dark side" of hotel snobbery myself, based on some of my recent stays in some nice establishments! I guess it's kind of one of those things where once you "go there", it's hard to go back! A jetted tub is becoming a must have, and free alcoholic drinks seems reasonable as well!

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^It's easy to get sucked in. Before you know it, you'll be buying snazzy rewards cards like Phil and I.

 

Most of me being a hotel snob comes from my job. I have seen a lot of utter disgust in lower end hotels, including cramming ten people in one twin bed room for a month, heroin dens, and prime places to sell meth. Sure, there are disgusting things that take place in nicer hotels, but it happens a lot less than at your average Days Inn.

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^It's easy to get sucked in. Before you know it, you'll be buying snazzy rewards cards like Phil and I.

 

Most of me being a hotel snob comes from my job. I have seen a lot of utter disgust in lower end hotels, including cramming ten people in one twin bed room for a month, heroin dens, and prime places to sell meth. Sure, there are disgusting things that take place in nicer hotels, but it happens a lot less than at your average Days Inn.

 

We hit up a Super 8 one time coming back from Florida on I-77 just North of Charlotte and were greeted by a young Indian boy of about 10 that checked us in because he said that his Dad "had stepped out."

 

We had a room out back and were greeted by "country folk" that were just hanging in front of their room drinking - it seemed pretty obvious that they were "regulars". We were getting the eye enough to where we grabbed all our sh&t, locked the vehicle, went into the room, locked the door and never went out again for the rest of the night.

 

The carpet was sticky and we heard things during the night that I hope that I never hear in a motel again.

 

So yeah...between that experience and the one at the Rodeway Inn in Sandusky, that sold us on paying the extra money for the Hampton Inn, Courtyards & Hilton Garden Inn.

 

On a good note, I just went after work and got gas, a 12 pack of Southern Tier and a trip to the liquor store for Manhattan stuff...and it all went on the Amex card.

 

Who knew that my drinking habit could reap such wonderful rewards?

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^It's easy to get sucked in. Before you know it, you'll be buying snazzy rewards cards like Phil and I.

 

Most of me being a hotel snob comes from my job. I have seen a lot of utter disgust in lower end hotels, including cramming ten people in one twin bed room for a month, heroin dens, and prime places to sell meth. Sure, there are disgusting things that take place in nicer hotels, but it happens a lot less than at your average Days Inn.

Yeah, totally with you on that. I hear about a lot of these incidents in my job, yeah different from actually experiencing them I know, but I've learned to avoid some places based on many, many horrifying stories.

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Hey friends... planning an Ohio trip for the week after Memorial Day and would like some advice.

 

1. Is this a smart week to be at King's Island, or will it be crazy? I have no problem paying for Fast Lane, but would just like to know.

 

2. Is it better to fly into Cincinnati or Columbus? One is closer, but are traffic patterns better one way vs the other? I would be arriving in the late afternoon.

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