Kings Dominion Goes Year-Round in 2023
- Thread starter Zachary
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If you mean the season pass QR code on the mobile app? yeah, you can use either the pass on your app or the physical card; they're interchangeable.
I’m guessing it’s the same as the $50 credit they gave pass holders in 2021 because of the pandemic: you could use it on pretty much anything in the park except alcohol and some third-party vendors (like the Henna tattoos).
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More of the park is opening up.
EDIT: Added PDF attachment for those having issues with the link KD provided.
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I hope not.
We genuinely enjoyed early weekend trips for the kiddos to get their winter wiggles out in Planet Snoopy while getting one or two coaster rides in ourselves. I was also hoping that year-round operations made staffing easier on the park to some capacity so that we saw less issues early/mid summer.
Lastly, I think this tweet is misleading.... The quote pointed to only? the California parks being impacted by weather, per the article. Haven't listened to the call yet but I guess it's now time to do so.
We genuinely enjoyed early weekend trips for the kiddos to get their winter wiggles out in Planet Snoopy while getting one or two coaster rides in ourselves. I was also hoping that year-round operations made staffing easier on the park to some capacity so that we saw less issues early/mid summer.
This gives me hope that we'll see more of a strategy change than we do the ceasing of year-round ops.
Lastly, I think this tweet is misleading.... The quote pointed to only? the California parks being impacted by weather, per the article. Haven't listened to the call yet but I guess it's now time to do so.
Yeah. I read the transcript here. They're blaming the issues almost solely on the underperformance of the California parks due to weather and generally low Q1 attendance. There is mention of increased headcount/marketing/supply chain issues/etc. for the eastern parks, but it's pretty clear where they're pointing the finger.
First, where is this at? Can't find it. Second, I'm genuinely curious what this could be... I know there were rumors of CF deciding to not close the park after all, spread by a certain YT channel known for absolutely ridiculous predictions and more, but I'm extra skeptical of this one because since they already sold the land and were using that to reduce their debt down to a specific target. Maybe they're announcing a ride closure/relocation? Possible they add a low-cost new attraction to keep the GP coming for the better part of the decade before closure?
I don't see how it's safe to assume based on this report. The drop appears to mainly be in California it's hard to judge how winter ops might have off set some losses there. On top of that it's hard to know how Winter ops succeed or failed in other areas such as staffing retention that CF may have been looking at when they implemented it. I submit that we currently do not have enough evidence one way or another to effectively speculate on it's future.
They blame the weather. Lol. Cedar Fair parks are infamous for closing if attendance is low, always blaming the “weather”. In most cases, this weather is less than ideal but the park and still operate.
This reputation for closing in less than ideal weather has now caused people ti not come at all in these days. Cedar Fair has made their bed now. They have to lay in it.
A company with a good business plan figures out how to attract people regardless of a bad forecast. Cedar Fair encourages everyone to stay home. If the success of their business plan depends on the weather that they cannot control , it’s not a great business plan. These parks currently don’t have the attractions needed for good steady winter operations.
I did attend winter operations at Carowinds in Feb. overall, I would not waste my money to do it again. Closed attractions l, one train operations, short hours. It wasn’t worth the travel expense. Even though the crowd was low, lines were long because of limited operations.
This reputation for closing in less than ideal weather has now caused people ti not come at all in these days. Cedar Fair has made their bed now. They have to lay in it.
A company with a good business plan figures out how to attract people regardless of a bad forecast. Cedar Fair encourages everyone to stay home. If the success of their business plan depends on the weather that they cannot control , it’s not a great business plan. These parks currently don’t have the attractions needed for good steady winter operations.
I did attend winter operations at Carowinds in Feb. overall, I would not waste my money to do it again. Closed attractions l, one train operations, short hours. It wasn’t worth the travel expense. Even though the crowd was low, lines were long because of limited operations.
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No one even commented about the early close last Sunday at 2. It was particularly ridiculous because the weather was getting better not worse despite the forecast, and by reports people were finally arriving.
Weather variation should be considered part of their business model. However I saw KD apparently not use the 10 day forecast when they reduced Winterfest hours, as the next week was great. They definitely hadn't been getting any breaks from the weather for WF up to then though. I saw some serious spending before WF was over though, so it surely will return.
queue-times stopped me from making that trip. Here in VA was much better, for what it was, on a good day. It seems safe to say Caro will be doing winter again!
Weather variation should be considered part of their business model. However I saw KD apparently not use the 10 day forecast when they reduced Winterfest hours, as the next week was great. They definitely hadn't been getting any breaks from the weather for WF up to then though. I saw some serious spending before WF was over though, so it surely will return.
queue-times stopped me from making that trip. Here in VA was much better, for what it was, on a good day. It seems safe to say Caro will be doing winter again!
Let's not forget that weather is a very imprecise science and I doubt the park has an expert meteorologist on staff. Operating in offseason/fringe months is likely requiring them to be very careful with razor-sharp margins and they're probably accounting for the people who have already cut their days short, even if the weather starts trending upward after the bulk of leavers have departed. Banking on more people showing up in the evening hours on day that's already experienced inclement weather is probably not the safest gamble.
From my observations during many early visits (March) this year, they were very tuned in to the guest count for the day.
From my observations during many early visits (March) this year, they were very tuned in to the guest count for the day.
Nobody commented because most people have now learned to avoid KD if the weather forecast is not perfect. It’s a wasted trip.
IMO This is just further proof that they close for attendance and not actually the weather. The manager has given that place a bad reputation for this. It’s biting back now.
That "reputation" can only be among the small minority that actually will go on unappealing day in the first place. But closing right at the beginning of the best weather of the day really does make it obvious. If you actually go on these bad days it is a lot easier to understand though, it takes more than one "really" to describe how empty it is. You can do a lot in a short time too.
Can we get a thread title change to “Kings Dominion abandons year-round a year later?”
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There is already a seperate thread here.
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Kings Dominion Returns to Seasonal Operations in 2024
According to the tea leaves I've been reading lately, it's my impression that Kings Dominion is unlikely to continue year-round operations in 2024. Given the light crowds we saw last season at Kings Dominion during January and early February operations, this probably isn't a huge surprise...
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