At long last, the luxury campground and resort Camp Cedar — adjacent to Kings Island — opened to guests Thursday.

The resort announced its opening day in a Facebook post Thursday morning:

The so-called "glampground" — a portmonteau for "glamour camping" — hit multiple snags headed toward its opening, originally scheduled for early June, citing a combination of unfavorable construction weather, and labor and material shortages.

The delays left hundreds of booked guests disappointed, especially those who had booked a spot for the original opening weekend on Father's Day.

Construction delays also meant the campground couldn't open for the July 4th weekend.

Camp Cedar hosts 73 cabins on the 50-acre site. Most of the cabins rent for $250 a night and sleep up to eight people.

MASON, Ohio — The Cincinnati area’s biggest amusement park is encouraging its guests to leave the cash at home.

Starting in mid-July, all Kings Island locations will only accept credit or debit cards or an online payment form like Apple Pay or Google Pay, a news release from park spokesperson Chad Showalter said.

For visitors without card or online-based forms of payment, the park will offer kiosks in five locations across the park that will transfer cash to a card which can be used anywhere, not just at Kings Island or Soak City Water Park.

Each card can be loaded with up to $500 and must have a minimum of $5.

The park's website said going cashless will allow them to conduct contact-less transactions.

MASON, Ohio — The Mason city prosecutor dismissed a summons for a Cincinnati man accused of being involved in a large fight on May 22 at Kings Island, the Journal-News reports.

Mason Prosecutor Bethany Bennett dismissed the summons Tuesday in Mason Municipal Court for Charles Brown of Cincinnati.

Bennett said the charges were dismissed for two reasons:

• A wrong name on the summons appeared on the summons. His real name is Charles Lewis, but Bennett said he used the name Charles Brown when he purchased his Kings Island Gold Pass.
• Bennett reviewed the evidence and video. While Lewis was there, she said it did not appear to her there was enough probable cause to file charges against him.

One juvenile arrest was made during the Memorial Day weekend, a week after several disturbances forced Kings Island to close down a half-hour early.

Mason police arrested Monday a 15-year-old boy from the Cincinnati area as he was with a group being escorted out of the park by Kings Island security for various rules violations.

Police said the incident happened about 5:12 p.m. near the front gate when the boy ran off from the group being escorted out, jumped a fence and continued to be disorderly by cursing loudly at police and security officers in front of several park guests with small children.

The boy then resisted arrest, police said.

He was transported to the Warren County Juvenile Detention Center in Lebanon. Officers dealt with the other juveniles who were escorted out of park.

The boy appeared Tuesday afternoon in Warren County Juvenile Court for a detention and arraignment hearing on charges of delinquency by way of resisting arrest, a first-degree misdemeanor, and for disorderly conduct, a minor misdemeanor. He entered denial to the charges, the equivalent of pleading not guilty in adult court.

The court appointed an attorney to represent the youth, issued a restraining order from being on Kings Island property, and set a telephone conference for June 28. The youth was released from detention and transferred him to the custody of Hamilton County Job and Family Services.

Five other juveniles ranging in age of 14 to 17, all from Hamilton County, face various felony and misdemeanor charges in Warren County as a result of the May 22 incident. Juvenile Court officials said none of those five have been taken into custody or have appeared in court as of late Wednesday.

The Journal-News is a media partner of WCPO 9 News.

MASON, Ohio — Six people, including five juveniles, are facing charges related to the fights that shut down Kings Island early on Saturday night.

One 18-year-old and five juveniles -- one 17, two 16 and two 14 -- will face charges of assault, obstructing official business, disorderly conduct and inducing panic. While the teens have not yet been arrested, Warren County Prosecutor David Fornshell said their charges should serve as a warning to teens who enter the park.

“In 10 years, we haven’t seen anything like what we saw last Saturday," Fornshell said at a press conference Friday.

Fornshell said arrests were not made on Saturday in order for park security to focus on breaking up the fights and protecting patrons.

Kings Island announced Tuesday it is increasing its security presence in response to the Saturday incident. There will be increased security and police inside the park, where they will implement new security protocols. The park will also continue to utilize the Protect Our Park program, where guests can report safety or security concerns via a mobile device.

While security will be up, other staffing remains down across the park. Kings Island announced Thursday they will close the park early due to a staffing shortage starting Friday through June 10. The park will open at 11:00 a.m. and close at 8:00 p.m. -- three hours earlier than normal, meaning no fireworks after dark. The Season Pass Early Ride Time will begin at 10:30 a.m. each day.

“We want to be sure we are delivering a fun and memorable experience, but like a wide range of industries, the availability of labor continues to be a challenge, and our park is not immune,” Kings Island said in a letter to season passholders.

Kings Island's Soak City Water Park opens this weekend on a reservation basis -- currently there are no reservations available.

MASON, Ohio — Kings Island, which on Wednesday announced it would limit its hours due to a shortage of workers, will increase pay for some jobs as it attempts to hire 900 seasonal employees.

Food and beverage service workers, lifeguards and security staff can expect an hourly wage of $18, the part announced in a news release Friday. Kings Island previously raised hourly wages for all employees earlier in May.

Park employees are also now eligible to earn up to $3,000 in bonuses as part of a new program, according to the release. Details about that program were not disclosed.

CINCINNATI —

If you're a thrill-seeker looking to make an impact on your community -- you're in luck!

Hoxworth Blood Center will be giving out tickets to Kings Island to a handful of blood donors this week.

Here's what you have to do to be in the running:

First you have to donate blood at any Hoxworth neighborhood donor center between Monday and Saturday.

Then at the end of each day -- four winners from each center will be chose -- winning a four-pack or park tickets.

If you do win -- you can pick up the tickets at the same donor center where you gave blood.

“It’s no surprise that last summer looked quite different for most of us as we grappled with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Alecia Lipton, spokesperson for Hoxworth Blood Center. “As vaccinations increase and life starts going back to normal, we hope that the Cincinnati community will remember to make blood donation a part of their schedule—and we’re certain that this Kings Island giveaway will inspire the community to experience the thrill of saving lives.”

Appointments for blood donation are encouraged. Donors can schedule appointments by calling 513-451-0910 or by scheduling online at www.hoxworth.org.

MASON, Ohio —

Kings Island is celebrating its 49th birthday Thursday.

The park opened its gates and welcomed guests for the first time on April 29, 1972.

The opening set the stage for nearly 50 years of world class thrills, fun and family memories.

What did Kings Island look like in 1972?

It was the first year of operation for the Mason, Ohio, theme park, which was then owned by the Taft Broadcasting Company.

The idea for the popular theme park was conceived in the early 1960s as an expansion of Cincinnati's Coney Island, which was (and still is) prone to flooding from the Ohio River.

When the park first opened, there were just over 60 attractions for the public to enjoy.

Now, after years of investments, there are more than 100 rides and attractions including Orion, which claimed the title of Best New Amusement Park Attraction by USA Today's 2020 10Best Readers' poll.

The coaster is the seventh giga coaster on the planet.

Cincinnatian Nick Franceschina recently stumbled upon footage of the theme park during its inaugural year in his family's home videos. He shared the footage with us of his family outing. Watch that video in the player above.

The park will open its gates this year on May 15. Season passholders will get a special sneak preview on May 8 and 9. Soak City Water Park opens May 29 (Memorial Day weekend).

MASON, Ohio — Kings Island kicked off its 2021 season Saturday at 11 a.m., and there are a few changes you'll see compared to last year's shortened season due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Visitors over age 10 will be required to wear masks indoors, though you won't have to wear one if you are actively eating in one of the park's restaurants. You also won't need to wear a mask if you are walking around outdoors or more than 6 feet of other guests.

Masks will be recommended on rides but not required as they were in 2020. The park is also dropping ride limits, so all rows will be filled on coasters and rides.

When visitors arrive, they won't be greeted by the big white screening tents at the entrance seen last season. The park no longer requires temperature checks at the gates or mobile app pre-screening. Instead, the health questionnaire will be conducted by park associates at the front gate.

Reservations were mandatory last year but will only be required for the Soak City water park this year.

Find more information on tickets, Soak City reservations and COVID-19 protocols here.