Kings Dominion Debuting Prestige Pass for 2024
- Thread starter Zachary
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Went to KD today and they have the touch less security type setup in place similar to HP and SF. Line just cruises through now.
If you bought a prestige pass for the entrance benefits, you’ll be saving a minute or two at most now.
If you bought a prestige pass for the entrance benefits, you’ll be saving a minute or two at most now.
Yes they are. I saw the long line and was dreading the typical wait. Was pleasantly surprised when we were walking the whole time and were past security within a couple minutes.
Can anyone share details of what to expect for the VIP area? We were about to renew our passes for next year. We just moved and are actually an hour closer to Carowinds than KD now. We know we want the pass for going to both parks but just curious if the VIP area is worth it. Anyone have any details? Can't find any.
Last weekend, the entrance was different... Is that a going forward thing (i'm going so far as to suggest even a potential entrance remodel?) or just practice for Haunt due to the upcoming crowds? (though, I don't remember this change happening last year.)
As for the VIP area, no idea. I'm genuinely curious, as well. Was going to renew as Gold for the time being, and wait to hear from people with Prestige about the perks and amenities.
As for the VIP area, no idea. I'm genuinely curious, as well. Was going to renew as Gold for the time being, and wait to hear from people with Prestige about the perks and amenities.
At Cedar Point they had the VIP lounge. It was sofas under a tent and I think some other amenities I can't remember. Maybe a fire pit outside of the tent? Don't quote me, but that's my vague recollection. Only part I'm 100% sure of are the sofas under a tent. There was also a replica of a ferris wheel, I believe it was - some ride in any case - though it didn't seem to move. Might be nice to have a comfortable spot to rest, though I'm not sure it's worth the asking price.
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I used to enter this way from the preferred parking lot but now have to loop around the flag poles. This whole area feels redundant when blocked off so I wonder if they plan to make this a VIP security entrance or something.
So glad that I spurged and paid the extra money so that KD can have a closed Prestige only entrance on a busy night.
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I recall the website lists the dedicated entrance as a benefit for only the first 2 hours the park is open.
On this page
On this page
That's a good point. However I was at the park last night too, just like @horsesboy - arriving a little over an hour after opening, at around 6:15pm - and can confirm the Prestige entrance was closed for me too.
So sadly that 2-hour policy is not something the park seems to abide by, as it's truly sporadic on what days they decide to actually staff/open the Prestige entrance.
Then thats not even appropriate then at all! Hopefully KD is much more consistent with staffing the dedicated entrance for 2024. If I had prestige, id be complaining to the park about this, since it's clearly listed on the website. The park has been generally on good terms reaching their promises, but it feels like they haven't been with the prestige passes thus far.
On a side note, I considered getting prestige pass, but the price point on it seems steep for the benefits involved, especially seeing now they can't even do the bare minimum on a busy night. I ended up renewing again with gold, but also did all parks passport with drinks and dining plans. This early on with this offering, its hard to see how the price can be justified with the experience given.
I can safely say special entrances are very helpful. At magic mountain in October we walked up saw a massive mob of people at the gate then noticed a red carpet diamond pass entrance and walked right in. The red carpet was a nice touch. I felt very validated by Six Flags, so much so that I was tempted to purchase an item after that. I just felt a sudden urge to spend money inside the park.
(Hint hint wink wink Kyle or whoever reads this at KD)
(Hint hint wink wink Kyle or whoever reads this at KD)
This is how I feel too. Maybe I don’t understand CF’s strategy behind Prestige, but I feel like they’ve shot themselves in the foot with such a high price. There’s no way in hell that I’m going to pay literally more than double the price of my gold pass so I can occasionally use the VIP entrance and sit in the building formerly known as Country Kitchen.
If it were a few dollars more than Gold a month (say $12 for Prestige vs. $9 for Gold)? I’d consider it. It seems to me that they’d stand to earn a lot more money by appealing to a much larger audience at a lower price point — Prestige would then basically serve as an easy way for CF to “upsell” the gold pass and squeeze a few more dollars a month out of a handful of regular visitors. I suspect that the number of people who are willing to pay for Prestige now — and the revenue CF will make as a result — is far lower than if they positioned Prestige a more affordable “upgrade” style option.
The obvious rebuttal to this is that some of Prestige’s benefits that by definition rely on having low usage — namely the VIP entrance and lounge — won’t work if lots more people are using them. But I’m not sure that’s true — it can’t be that hard to add one more VIP entrance lane, and if it’s true that only Country Kitchen’s lower level is being used for the lounge, opening up the upper level instantly doubles the capacity.