brenthodge

Thanks for sharing a different perspective. I agree that a TON of why the show works is the nostalgia factor. I have wondered if it would have the same impact on people without the filter of that, and it sound like for you it didn’t. I also agree that the park oversold the “acts of illusion and acrobatics” a bit too much. I love the show but was a bit taken aback on preview night how song and dance it was. I was expecting a bit more “theme song of the ride underscores various cirque acts” as well. I’m not sure if I was pleasantly surprised, or just surprised by what actually made it to the stage. I agree it could’ve been a bit more of both-been longer, and actually would’ve been a show that benefitted more from a live band (even building out an orchestra “pit” that the costumed band was in and maestro rise out of) and larger cast. I b think it’s also important to remember as stated in the lobby, that this is a “different take” and an imagined vaudeville show based on the characters of the ride-not a retelling of the ride.

I hear ya, but I think they’ve been pretty clear setting the low expectations for this. I think calling it a “street party” not a parade, and not hyping it too much has been smart. I think it’s just a nice “add”. And yes, a ton of money went into the infrastructure and actual nightly run cost of FFF. I think they decided to put the bulk of 50th money on something that caps the night, and acts as a driver to keep people in the park as long as possible. There was always a mass exodus after Winterfest and Carnivale parades. I see a good number of people heading out of the park around 7 or so, but way less than before with a real reason to stay till the end that a dance party and 3 min of fireworks set to the hit Rihanna song never did.

I agree. I think it would be ok to have one show run a bit longer than the magic 25 minute mark. This could easily run 40 and not feel too long. I agree one more “act” or let the 3headliners actually perform a bit more instead of cramming it into a rushed production number that I still don’t quite get LOL. One more “dance number” wouldn’t be bad either.

I’m actually really looking forward to it.

and don’t forget-still one show to go!

Shouldn’t this go over to beast retrack thread?

Yes. Winterfest as well, And you do realize I hold HFE to a higher standard. Anything else you feel you need to “enlighten” me on? LOL

Concept art. Pretty dead on accurate based on what I e seen in the tent

Daily-6 pm

I think it’s smaller and probably “travels” to a show stop or two instead of focusing on “performing” along the way. Similar to what Disney has done

It’s kinda sketchy the details. I think similar in format to past parades with show stops. Looks like a bit smaller than actual past parades, but still 4-5 “floats” or rolling units in the float tent (including the giant cake we saw on actual anniversary date). They’ve been fairly cryptic on this one. Looking forward to seeing it step off.

Finally got to see this area at night Sat (after fixing again a lot of the ground stake lighting LOL-it’s now my unofficial job) and was honestly a bit disappointed. The concept of this area is brilliant and a wonderful addition, but it totally does not take advantage at all of all the lighting in the area. I know I get accused of arm chairing, but my wish: refocus the LED floods in 2 ways. 1) white on the paths in a more uniform way to evenly illuminate the history stones. As of now there are just random white spots throughout 2) set colors on the others to wash the areas with the towers in those related colors (or to subtle cross fade washes-the capabilities are there) then with the elipsoidal projection fixtures- 1) actually frame light the vertical sign throughout. These can be used to accurately light these -and could even be moved from pole to pole as needed to hit them all 2) use the others to project patters on the related towers like stars for Orion, glowing eyes for Beast etc. and also project 50th logo, original logo, each revised logo (without the actual paramount if violates copyright) along the path in the respective order. would’ve even been cool to have used old soundtracks or ride spiels in each “tower garden” to take this from passive history lesson to more engaging evening attraction Just random thoughts. I love that they did what they did just think with all the tech in that area they could’ve done more without a ton more expense

worked Sat night

Yes, the description is sounding better-I was afraid it was “Dog Show 2.0 with scooters” and a waste of that space. It seems to have a bit of an “ordinary kid starts to live their dreams-cirque-type plot. Athletes come together for a live action stunt spectacular where extraordinary, high-flying feats of courage inspire an all-too-ordinary dreamer to take their very first step Off the Rails.

Next Sat18th at 6pm. The last entertainment add is the 25th with OffTheRails, which is also looking better each time I’m there. I’m not sure if it is staffing, budgeting or intentional to “build over time” but the slow start to the 50th has been pretty smart in that I’ve had a reason almost every week to go see something new.

Was great to see Mike K at the bandstand around 9:30 tonight. Busy night at the park, and cool to see the senior(est) of management in the trenches with a radio doing crowd control. Gave him, the local and corporate team major props for the “blow the mouse outta da 50th water” experience they keep building this season. He smiled and said “I’ve kinda heard that” when I mentioned there’s this other park in FL, also celebrating a 50th, but blowing it with their loyal fan-base when it comes to playing to history and nostalgia. I truly believed him when he said “that really means a lot” to hear that this season is connecting with people. I think they need to know that all of the effort certainly is noted and appreciated. I’d love to see what they could’ve done with another 30-50k, but I’m in no way “disappointed”. It was cool to introduce my 7 year old to him and tell him “that’s the guy that runs KI”. To which my son said “you’re his FRIEND?” (LOL, I’m not) Major “cool dad points”. Thanks again team KI for all you’re doing to engage us this season.

Still not in use. There seems to be a mounting bracket of some sort in front of them-like they are waiting on a refraction mirror or something to split or animate the beam. Maybe shipping delays? Lol. Show was odd tonight. No central laser until the 50 at the end (heard it’s been off and on) and no drones most likely due to “predicted but didn’t happen” rain? Last Friday they were staging them about 8 so they might have to make a preemptive call pretty early if they are using them or not due to the set-up time. Central laser really needs to function as the Peanuts segment has pretty much nothing without drones or Charlie Brown zig zag.

They pretty much always extend. It’s that old marketing technique of “false close” to try to create urgency, knowing there’s still plenty of time to catch a few more.

Seems lame that they are basically just cutting and pasting the Dollywood event. I wish they would let each park have more of a distinct flavor to their events. I guess its an easy way to get a proven crowd pleaser into that park with minimal development expense.

True, but they’ve been in park since ‘83 and seems like they are pretty committed to the arrangement for now. https://www.wildbrain.com/newsreleases/peanuts-worldwide-cedar-fair-extend-peanuts-licensing-agreement-2025/ but I do agree that’s why “original characters” like the ones developed for PT are better if you can get traction with them.

LOL - There REALLY hd to have been a better place to have done this. I mean - where they did it was EASY, and probably should've been just a 50th patio bar with the 50 drinks and a few easy 50 food items, then done a real VIP lounge someplace indoor/outdoor with patio access. It might've been more expensive to have gone that route, but would've been a neat, long term investment.

What id LOVE to see would be a new Peanuts dark ride "...it's a great ride Charlie Brown" that has the Peanuts characters celebrating holiday through the year. It would tie in perfectly to the TV specials and be a subtle nod to the idea of the Smurfs ride. The peanuts are essentially flat 2-D characters so the conversion should be fairly easy. Add in a few dimensional animatronics, but essentially the same approach as BooBlasters Phantom Theatre (as we knew it) will most likely never return in the 3-d, fully sculpted character form - too expensive to produce and maintain, so instead, build a NEW EXPERIENCE in the turn around of Racer. The queue structure is already there - its already overgrown and haunted looking, its "out of sight" enough so it could be kept unkempt and not interfere with the look of the park. Open up the path around WindSeeker better (that whole area is probably going to get a revamp in a few years with The Vortex replacement). Phantom Theatre there would be a "Midway Mania" style ride with 3-d, screen based games integrated with dimensional sets and props to develop a richer experience that the Disney bare-bones version. Throw coal in the boiler room - throw roses for Hilda's performance. Throw cards at Houdelini. I'd love to see a real dark ride without interactive, but I just don't ever see that happening. LAST - Keep the overall look of the "big box" in Rivertown, but put a wild mouse coaster with an elevator lift in it - theme to an abandoned mine shaft of the (net door Miami Valley Mining Company). Minimal theming inside the box (like projection mapping animation on mining equipment, rock slides etc) Then we would have 3 great dark ride experiences.

I don’t blame the kids-I blame the entitlement of parents who feel “I paid good money to get in here and my baby can do anything he wants”. I HATE to deal with parents like that.

And now-ironically a few of the signs are now broken from people stepping on them. Ugh…public!!!

Anybody wondering if the “street party” wasn’t going to be that big of a deal (due to the little info the park has shared about it) I think the worries can go away. The float tent is filling up. In addition to the giant cake that we’ve already seen, there are now giant present stacks, lots of “components” and what looks to be several “push units” with 50th branding. This is gonna be as big as everything else they’ve done to date.