Kings Dominion Hours - Closed weekdays in August?

The "babysitter" argument strikes me as just another variant of "teachers aren't/education isn't important." I don't spend a lot of time "debating" with folks like that.

Technology has done so much good. But to think the thrill and excitement of a snow day is becoming a "back in my day" relic is sad.

RCMAC said:

KD is about the same to Richmond as KI is to Cincinnati, about 30 miles. Richmond’s population is 1..2 and Cincinnati’s is 1.7.

This is true, but I'd say Kings Island has the more strategic location. In this documentary about Kings Island's history which is a really good watch if you're interested, they referred to Cincinnati as a wagonwheel city surrounded by Indianapolis, Lexington, Dayton, Louisville, Columbus, etc. All of them are within a couple hours drive and most of them had nothing to offer in terms of amusement at the time.

I guess for staffing purposes, they are drawing from Richmond and suburbs though, but as far as their market, I don't think it's much of a comparison to Kings Island.

I do think KD could become more than it currently is, but competition is tougher there with Busch Gardens competing for the same customers. I think they could grow KD to maybe be something close to Carowinds, but it is never going to be Kings Island.

BrettV said:

Technology has done so much good. But to think the thrill and excitement of a snow day is becoming a "back in my day" relic is sad.

Well, if it makes you feel any better, they still get the magic of snow days. Taking that away would just be cruel and unusual.

More specifically, what doesn't happen anymore are the days beyond the allotted 5. And on the days when the online material is activated it's not like they are being asked to sit in a virtual classroom all day; more like "accomplish this, this, and this at your leisure, and don't get your tongue stuck to the basketball pole".

Teachers love those snow days too. :)

Working parents less so.

When my students used to talk about the possibility of a snow day I would caution them to be careful what you wish for. You are trading a day in February for a day in June. When would you rather be stuck inside?

Now that snow days can be remote, wish away!

MDOmnis said:

RCMAC said:

KD is about the same to Richmond as KI is to Cincinnati, about 30 miles. Richmond’s population is 1..2 and Cincinnati’s is 1.7.

This is true, but I'd say Kings Island has the more strategic location.

I disagree, and if anything they’re on par. Richmond Va is virtually surrounded by and is part of one of our nation’s most densely populated regions. Within 150 miles you find cities like Norfolk, Chesapeake, and Virginia Beach (that area known as Hampton Roads includes smaller cities but carries about 1.7 million total). Within that same distance let’s add Washington DC, Baltimore, Raleigh/Durham and Greensboro. That’s a lot of people who make day trips or overnights to KD.
I think the fine gentlemen of Taft Broadcasting were quite strategic in choosing Richmond as the location for their second regional theme park. In addition to the wagon wheel population aspect, the area was chock full of historic and recreation sites that for decades prior had already been well-established as vacation destinations. All of that adds up to an ideal audience, even more than was happening in southern Ohio at the time. Or still, for that matter.
I’ll allow that in the area there’s a natural split in competition for entertainment dollars. KD’s overall attendance figures are less that KI’s, but still they’re no slouch. I’m in Columbus and in a couple ways prefer KD over my home park.

I grew up in Northern VA (30 minutes south of DC) and KD was THE park to visit. Some of my friends also went to Busch Gardens, but that wasn't a thing for me until I was 18. In fact, we went to Hershey quite a few times during my childhood and it was the same distance from home as BGW.

"Back in my day we used to take our snow days uphill both ways with our rotary phones and our radios!"

Until a few years ago, VA started school after Labor Day. Now they have shortened the tourism season. I don’t know why any major theme park operator would invest heavy funds in Parks that can only operate daily 2 1/2 months out of the year

But on the flip side that’s the parks fault as well since they only install attractions for kids Dollywood manages daily operation outside of summer as they attract a more varied crowd

The park will be open weekdays through Labor Day now!

Summer Bonus Days!

*From 12pm-5pm.

**And only with the Winterfest ride line up (Dominator and some flat rides).*

Book your flights to Richmond today!

And some Soak City attractions. That's crazy.

That makes no sense to me. If you're closing due to kids in school, it'd make more sense to open 4-9pm when your high school workers would be available and you could open more of the park.

What's also crazy is the option to buy a $65 Fastlane to ride Dominator and a handful of minor rides that likely will already be walkons

Wed-Friday, Noon till 5:00 p.m. in August? That is bizarre. Oh I see, "Limited attraction availability." Only 8 rides open and no Twisted Timbers or I305. Yeah, that's garbage you won't see me there on those dates.

I'm all for a park doing a "the kids are back in school, but we're going to open up for some end of summer rides for those who can make it" bonus day. Cedar Point and Six Flags WoA both did it in the early 2000s, with announced limited ride availability.

Have only six or seven rides open, sure. But make the rides your headliners.

Pretty much the whole of Camp Snoopy is open, along with Dominator and one or two rides right next door, Candy Apple Grove, and the couple waterpark attractions on that side of the Racer. All in all, a contained area. It looks to me like they're aiming for the pre-school set, and opening up a few rides to keep older siblings occupied (or maybe draw in a few passholders?)

A lot of the Cedar Fair parks go to just weekends in August, which they did the last two years due to Covid. Which was really stupid of the states to allow that. Most people go to the parks on the weekends which defeats the attempt to limit exposure to the virus, and August is prime time when everyone wants to be there.

Went to Cedar Point in 2020 which was supposed to be at greatly reduced capacity, but, with a 3 hour wait for Raptor, and an hour each with ride passes, I did not think the crowds were any different than normal.

For 2021 MI Adventure was only open on weekends with huge crowds. Never seen it so busy. And not open very many hours either. 11 to 7 on a saturday!! And their log ride only open from 4pm to 7 each day. Pointless.

The gem of this year was my halloweekend trip to Cedar Point. Hardly a wait for anything. Longest wait was for 2 trips on Steel Vengeance at 45 min and 1 hour. The rest were 30 minutes to walk on. Only 15 minutes for M-force!! Raptor, Rougaru, and gate keeper no wait at all.

Total shocker. I waited longer for rides at MI Adventure!!

Timber-Rider said:

A lot of the Cedar Fair parks go to just weekends in August, which they did the last two years due to Covid. Which was really stupid of the states to allow that.

I'm sorry...are you saying you think states should prohibit private businesses from setting their own operating schedules?

Just glancing over a handful of CF sites, most of the parks are open daily through Labor Day and the ones that aren't are at least open daily through the first 3 weeks of August. I think it's safe to say that the last 2 years were unprecedented and unpredictable times.

The pandemic has given a lot of businesses a pause to re-evaluate their operations and stay open when it makes the most sense. Wal Mart and most grocery stores, for example, have not yet returned to 24 hour operation where I live and I suspect they never will. Fast food restaurants close earlier. They've discovered that these overnight hours probably don't justify the labor being spent to remain open all night. Being open on weekdays in August or September after school returns is good PR, but given that it takes a certain number of employees to open the doors regardless of attendance, it's hard to justify staying open.