Judith G.
Yelp
I was at King's Island for my company's summer picnic over the weekend. The park was closed to the general public and my company (and 3 others, I discovered) reserved the park for the day. As I hadn't been to King's Island for a couple of decades, it was a chance to see the attraction with new eyes. And I saw a lot of positives and a few negatives. Positives: 1) All the employees were extremely careful and cautious in running the rides, as of course they should be. These young people with a huge responsibility were unhurried, deliberate and careful in their actions, double- and triple-checking each safety precaution and giving the security spiels clearly to each new group equally. 2) All the rides were clean and well-maintained. And, yes, they were fun; 3) The park is laid out very well & is easy to navigate. The international section (the first section as you walk in) is the hub, with all the different lands spreading off from it, each with its own theme, costumes, and rides. And it's laid out well to handle a big crowd, with wide walkways and lots of surrounding greenery. In addition, there are a lot of well-spaced bathrooms and plenty of restaurants and drink dispensaries located throughout the park; 4) The children's rides have changed, from tame-but-dull overgrown cutesy toys to honed-down versions of what the adults ride, giving parents the opportunity to ride them with the children; 5) There were a good variety of all level of rides, from tame to just-barely-thrilling to steep upside-down plummets. So there was a lot to experience, no matter your level of courage or derring-do. There was also a Bengals viewing party, for those parents who didn't want to miss their local team's first game of the year (yeah, the Bengals did lose that game). Negatives: 1) Yes, there were long long waits for each ride. And some of the long lines seemed artificially made: because of the individual turnstile system, almost every chain of roller coaster had a slew of empty seats while there was still a long line waiting for them. 2) The parking is $30.00!!! Because I was at a company event, there was no charge for us, but I still had sticker shock. Why or why would I come back on my own and pay such an exorbitant fee, and then also have to pay to get into the park? It's not like there are other parking options nearby or that you get any special service (like maybe a shuttle?) with your large fee. No-- just one spot in a huge marked-off concrete slab, a long hot walking distance from the park. 4) While most of the rides had bins where we could store our bags, a few required pay lockers. Pay lockers? As if the park isn't usually expensive enough! 5.There were a lot of restaurants, giving the illusion of variety, but it was all junk food. Hamburgers, pizza, french fries, chicken nuggets, hotdogs, and a few variations thereof. There were only a few restaurants that had some nutritional value -- Enrique's Cantina, which had a very long line (indicating how badly people wanted a healthier option than what you could find at your local McDonald's), and Grain and Grill, where we ate -- which only had 4 entree options -- and two of them were "temporarily out," and a third looked dried-out and decidedly unappetizing. "Yeah, I guess I'll take the beef cubes." To summarize: overall, King's Island is a good experience that Cincinnatians & tourists can enjoy. But I can see room for improvement here.