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As my ninth grade English teacher would say daily: "People, people...love one another and use your study skills."

It probably will, but they are redesigning the event and/or just bringing Coastermania back.

I'm honestly guessing it came between do we bring back entertainment or Winterfest? Sure, ChristmasTown likely played into the decision too.

Thank you again. You acted like an adult and I appreciate you.

It will probably return with a higher price 🤣

It seems the park has taken the event off their website and their social media posts about it.

Just a commentary, but in a decade or so of going to HHN at UO, I have never paid as little as $88 for admission 😀 (Granted, my schedule typically doesn’t allow me to go anytime other than a weekend.) I would get a free admission on select nights with my AP, but that rarely works either schedule-wise. I also consider HHN pretty much unusable without Express anymore (even then, last year we still had some houses that had a 30-45 min wait with Express). On a Friday night in early October the cost for HHN admission & Express for three of us was nearly $1,100 for the roughly 4 hours we were there. As a point of comparison, I have a trip booked at CP late August this year that includes 2 admissions for 2 full days to CP; that ride & refresh free drink package for both days; and 2 nights at Hotel Breakers for $980. In comparison, I consider that a lot bigger bang for my buck 😀

I guess the question then is: would it be worth replacing those for theming or not? This isn't really something I think can be measured like a ride addition or new restaurant would be. KD has/had similar light towers. I don't remember if Canada's Wonderland had lamps and/or light towers. There has to be something the park could do to add more theming to the area and make it feel better. As I've said before, if Cedar Point is going to be the thrill park then Six Flags should make Kings Island the theme park. If they're brought back then I'd love to see them include a way to hang the colorful banners and medallions. Kings Dominion did this a little last year by putting 50th anniversary medallions on the lamp posts, though I think KI could do that mixed with something similar to what currently exists near the Grand Carousel for the floral baskets. A single lamp, two arms to hold the top of the banners, and a spot for the medallion in the middle.

I've been trying to work out comparisons between these various separately ticketed special events and haven't entirely come to a satisfying conclusion yet. So far I have: Morning Rush | Cedar Point $95 per ticket (does not include daily park admission). 3(ish) hours of exclusive ride time. 1 Premium All-Day Dining Plan wristband for after the event. 1 Single-Use Fast Lane Plus ticket to use after the event. 1 event t-shirt featuring the featured coaster and event name. Coastermania | Cedar Point ~$60 per ticket. 2 days of park enthusiast activities. [I haven't been able to look too far into what specifically the event offered, but from what I do know] Special tours, exclusive ride times, and catered meals. Holiwood Nights | Holiday World $150 per ticket 2 days of park enthusiast activities including special tours, exclusive ride times, and catered meals. Disney After Hours | Magic Kingdom Starts at $175 per ticket. Multiple nights (each separately ticketed); 10PM - 1AM, guests may enter the park beginning at 7PM. Unlimited popcorn, ice cream products, and select bottled drinks. Halloween Horror Nights | Universal Studios Florida Starts at $87.99 per ticket. Multiple nights (each separately ticketed); 6:30PM - 2AM, depending on the night. Unlimited access to haunted houses and available rides. Halloween Horror Nights Premium Scream Night | Universal Studios Florida $399 per ticket. 2 nights (each separately ticketed) 6:30PM - 1AM, guests may enter the park beginning at 7PM. Unlimited food and non-alcoholic beverages. Unlimited access to haunted houses and available rides. Universal Fan Fest Nights | Universal Studios Hollywood Starts at $74 per ticket. Multiple nights (each separately ticketed); starting at 7:30PM. Includes access to special experiences and shows, and the opportunity to purchase specialty food items and merchandise. From what I'm gathering, Morning Rush in its advertised state is a new format of exclusive ride time with some fancy add-ons included to justify the price. I think this new event was the result of Cedar Point being told to cut down Coasterstock into a new (smaller) event because the overall budget was reduced. In my opinion there's a really easy fix to make the event actually worth the price: make it a nighttime after hours event, make the t-shirt design something that you can't already get a near-exact copy of from a store, and open a few more flat rides. I understand that those four were chosen because they're in close proximity to each other, but I don't think this was thought through beyond that. What will guests do after they've ridden the four coasters? Can they use the dining plan for a treat during the event? Event admission does not include park admission for the day. If this is the "replacement" or "successor" for the enthusiast event, don't you think most guests might already have a season pass/dining plan/drink plan? I think the inclusion of the dining plan is good no matter what since you could use it to get snacks that you wouldn't normally get throughout the day. The price breakdown works out for the most part. $50 for the Premium All-Day Dining Plan, $25 for the shirt, $12 for the Single-Use Fast Lane Plus ticket, and $8 for anything else that might be needed. The cost breakdown may not be 100% how the park broke it down, but it's what I gathered from the available 2026 prices. It's not clear if the staffing costs are included in the ticket price or not. What I think this event really wants to be is an after hours event that's hosted 1-2 times per month after the park closes to the general public. Call it different things each month depending on where it's held. Midnight Midway / Shoreline Mania / Wild Frontiers / Gemini Thrills $100 per ticket. Unlimited access to one area of the park depending on the event (Main Midway, The Boardwalk, Frontier Trail + Frontiertown, and/or Top Thrill 2/Gemini Midway) from park close-midnight (3 hours). 1 Premium All-Day Dining Plan wristband use before and during the event. 1 Single-Use Fast Lane Plus ticket to use before the event. (No FastLane availability during the event.) 1 event-specific t-shirt displaying the featured area and event name.

Those lasers were used in 2023, 2024, and 2025 as well.

**Double post** For comparison’s sake here is what you get attending Mickeys Not So Scary Halloween Party: https://disneyworld.disney.go.com/events/mickeys-not-so-scary-halloween-party/purchase/

Coastermania has seemingly been replaced by a new event at Cedar Point called “Morning Rush”. For $95.00 (before taxes and fees) you get a T shirt, and entry to the park at 7am till 11am for exclusive rides on your favorite coasters. https://www.sixflags.com/cedarpoint/events/morning-rush

I am very concerned for the longevity of smooth operations on Phantom, but I’m hoping SDR manufactured most of the major effects (Animatronics) for longevity and easy maintenance. I think projections, even if some are already down and they may not be perfectly synced, will be easier to repair compared to physical targets. I’m hoping merch sales prove to be successful so this becomes a flagship ride that they’d want to continue to upkeep (plushies would make so much money. Just saying.) I’d love to see a Phantom Meet and Greet, I think that can be really successful for social media cross-promotion. I’d love to see area music from the ride that you can hear before you enter the lobby. I think a speaker could go under the bridge or on the merchandise stand, or even playing some audio inside the actual exit if that wouldn’t interfere with the queue door.

**DOUBLE POST** I wouldn't mind seeing the gas lamps brought back. I don't see them replacing the lighting trusses though as they serve a purpose. I think if I were in charge I would put them on the pathway between the main path and where the tables are, but it would be a singular lamp not the 3 lamp posts that were there before. Then I would add the three lamp posts in the grass areas around the Eiffel Tower legs as well as on the path in front of the Festhaus as well as by the KI Theater towards Action Zone.

They're used for the moving spotlights during the nightly firework shows.

I agree that they could do a much better job of making the islands look good. KD used brick for some planter walls and stone for others, everything else is mismatched concrete. If KI ever brought back some of the planters then I think we'd see a simple concrete curb. The islands couldn't be as high as the old ones were without taking out the trees since you can't just bury the bottoms of tree trunks and keep them healthy.

It's no Coastermania, but it does feel like a nice event. That said, if this comes to Kings Island I hope they change the times so it can be a nighttime event. Exclusive ride times would be much better from 10:30pm-midnight since the rides would be warmed up after a day of being open. The event has a $95/person ticket price that goes up to $100 after taxes and fees. I also don't think the shirt looks like it's anything special. It should be something more than just a ride logo and the event name (not even an event logo). The inclusion of the Premium All-Day Dining is incredibly good and takes up a good chunk of the price if you plan to have more than 2 meals at the park. EDIT: Ok I take back most of my saying that it feels like a nice event. I didn't realize that a Coastermania ticket usually cost about $30 less while including more. I still think the ERT and included dining plan are good, but it includes less and costs more overall.

I really would like to see the area outside the ride get some sort of soundtrack. I was thinking something similar of the soundtrack heard in this video playing outside of Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle at 2:04-2:15. I think the pathway that goes from I-street to the Phantom Theater entrance as well as down by the Great Pumpkin Coaster needs to have some sort of eerie/spooky soundtrack playing to build up anticipation. You can then move the Planet Snoopy soundtrack to the area by the Whirlybird entrance. I also wouldn't mind seeing the Great Pumpkin Coaster rethemed to match Phantom Theater. Ghoster Coaster maybe? Then turn the Peanuts Showplace into a Phantom Theater meet and greet or an actual Phantom Theater themed theater. Then move the Peanuts meet and greet to Beagle Scout Acres.

Noasterstock 2026 at Kings Island? Via Cedar Point:

You got jokes. I never admitted to anything, actually. I just don't care to debate this with you any longer. This ain't a ****ing match so let it go.

Pretty cool the Starbucks is getting in on the Phantom Theater theming. I actually was just thinking the other day how it was a missed opportunity that Starbucks wasn't doing a special "pink/purple drink" themed around Phantom Theater. Well looks like the park had the same thought! I'm not much of a Coffee drinker, but I love the look and nostalgia of the pink drink at Starbucks even though I've never tried it. Now can we get the Banshee Twist back maybe themed to Phantom this time?

They gotta have more designs to sell their slop to the masses. Can't get coaster boys to buy the same shirt multiple times a year.

Thank you for admitting you were wrong. I appreciate it.

That statement is really gross. Disability is a broad term and plenty of folks who have what would medically be considered a disability have insanely amazing creative outlets. If anything, the same people stanning such an absurd statement should realize that AI is stealing from the very people they think they are defending 🙃

Here's a story that Hershey may not open on time due to a union strike. https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/hersheypark-pennsylvania-could-forced-close-165740558.html