I visited Kings Island yesterday on July 4th. We arrived at the park at the park between 6:00-6:30 PM. This included parking and walking to the ticket gates. At 5:00 PM they start selling Starlight passes (evening passes) at 19.99. I purchased 5 tickets (grandmother, mother-in-law, wife, 3 year old, and myself).
We entered the park and noticed right away that the fountains were all shut down, and that many of the stores were closed (no-lights, no entry). We then headed to kiddy land. This was our first time at a theme park with the 3 year old. We headed to the first ride and it was shut down. At this time I was told that the park experienced a major power failure around 5:00 PM and that many of the rides had been off since then. We then headed to the only roller coaster for under 40 some inches. The pumpkin patch was shut down as well. A few minutes later we headed to the baby changing area (for a 17 month old). This too was out of power, and while sitting there we noticed many of the eateries were closed as well.
We decided since it would probably be best to head back up front and get a refund or raincheck and come back when we could enjoy the park. When we headed upfront, there was a large crowd formed already. It was roughly 1.5 hours since we arrived that I got to talk to a service rep. I handed him my receipt and pleaded my case. He said, sorry we are not offering any refunds or rainchecks.
I then asked him why they were not telling people purchasing night passes and he said that they expected that the rides would be up shortly. I then said that I would wait there until they did. He said that I could either go back to the park or that he would call security to escort me away from the customer support entrance because too many people standing there would only make the situation worse. I never once raised my voice, or cursed. They were just threatening people with security so that crowds would not gather.
By 8:00 PM I left the park. I am going to file with my credit card company to dispute the charge, but am not sure if this qualifies. Until then, I want everyone to know that Cedar Fairs (parent company) mission statement that above all they stand for "honesty, integrity, and fairness" is a hollow statement.
They were not "honest" with notifying guests after and during the outage, they were not "fair" with how they handled the situation, both of which defines their lack of "integrity".
0 comments