Kings Island with Little Kids- I was invited by Cedar Fair to attend Kings Island-Largest Amusement & Waterpark in the Midwest , but all opinions and photos are my own.
The days of easily spending 12 hours thrill ride hopping are over but with it comes a new way of visiting amusement parks. We let our three year old be the guide while at Kings Island and were pleasantly surprised by all there was to experience. We spent most of the day in Planet Snoopy while still having a little time for Soak City Waterpark in the middle of the day. Here are a few tips and suggestions that we learned from our trip:
How to Save at Kings Island:
- Tickets– one of the biggest ways to save is through tickets. The best place to find discounted tickets is online or at Kroger. If will be visiting the park more than once in a year it would be beneficial to buy a season pass. Right now you can save big on the 2018 season pass.
- Food- In the past we have always eaten a hearty breakfast before our drive, packed a lunch in the car and had dinner in the parks. We always travel with our Camelbak full of water and refill at water fountains throughout the park. This year we decided to try out the All Day Dining Pass which allowed us a meal every 90 minutes for $30. We got only one, knowing that our daughter eats very little, and we could buy a snack if needed. The Dining Pass is only good for certain meals at certain locations. We also purchased the refillable souvenir cup where we were able to refill with lemonade or pop whenever we wanted. You can also get free ice water at any vendor. The downside with this plan was the limited food options (pizza, fries, burger, chicken fingers, hot dogs). The food did not fuel our family well enough to stay energized for the long hours of walking around and sensory stimulation.
TIP: If your Dining Pass wristband is loose, have them put on another. I lost ours when it slipped off at Soak City after only two meals. Set a timer on your phone for 90 minutes to remind you when you can get your next meal to maximize your value.
- Time- Time is money if you’re visiting Kings Island for one day. We spent a lot of unnecessary time walking to and from our vehicle. Knowing we wanted to do rides, go to Soak City to cool off during the hot afternoon and then back to the rides meant we had to change clothes. Our suggestion is to get a locker near Rendezvous Run at Soak City ($15) at the beginning of your day. Having your swim gear in that central location between Planet Snoopy and Soak City will eliminate the long walks to the car.
Tips While at Kings Island:
- Lunch and a Show– get lunch and a great viewing spot of the shows ahead of time. Planning your meal around a show gives you a mandatory break to eat, cool off and rest while viewing awesome entertainment. I recommend getting in line for food 45 minutes to an hour before the show starts.
- Kings Island App- like most amusement parks, Kings Island has their own free app that has a map, car locator, wait times and other info. A major improvement would be for them to add which rides are closed. We went at the end of the summer when things were slowing down and there were many rides closed due to low attendance. For example, at Soak City, 1/3 of the attractions were closed because of predicted low attendance. This meant the lines for the other attractions were still long despite there being ‘low crowds.’ It wasn’t worth our time to go over to experience only two attractions.
- 2 Days- If you have kids who love the water park (check out the cabanas) or are able to go on bigger rides, I highly recommend getting a hotel and splitting your time between two days. If we were able to do more at Soak City we would have wanted to do two days.
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