As it is now and when Winterfest returned, as Winterfest Way (with the blow molds and that animated tree) was/is the best.    

The tree that used to sit on that foundation was moved to Coney Mall, across from the Zephyr a year or two after Winterfest returned.  Probably more foot traffic in that area.  This was before they made that path be the Shooting Star path for Winterfest.  That is one of my favorite decorated areas of the park.

If they were to move to just a drone show, would be a good opportunity to move the drones to where fireworks are launched off then finally put a big new attraction in The Vortex site

Lusty Lil's Western Roadshow at the Gossip Gulch stage isn't returning for 2026.

Cedar Point is gearing up for their 2026 season that begins on Saturday, May 9th. There are no new rides or roller coasters for 2026, but the park has nonetheless been working to improve things across the peninsula. The folks at the City of Sandusky are hard at work constructing a new roundabout at the intersection of Cedar Point Drive and US-6. It is expected to be mostly completed by Opening Day.  The 2026 Park Map has been uploaded to their website (https://qr1.be/LYDT) with some nice changes compared to the 2025 map PDF. Instead of a purely phone-oriented PDF that's very tedious to scroll through, the new map is designed to fit on a large sheet of paper. All rides are now listed on page 2 with their requisite height and safety information. The regular season entertainment offerings are also listed (see the image below). There is only one new show, but it seems everything else has returned from 2025 including the Henceforth Comedy shows in the Palace Theater. I will certainly be trying to go see their Country Crossroads show now that Kings Island's has been replaced.   Some comparisons with the 2026 lineups and map from Kings Island:  I really wish KI could have more entertainment offerings than just 4-5 shows that don't run longer than a month. If Kings Island really is "the family park" then why doesn't it have more that the whole family can do together? Cedar Point's map has trees, which would be so nice to have back on KI's online map. It would also be really nice to have the paper maps back in the park, but I don't see that happening if we're not getting physical passes back either. If John Reilly wants to know an easy way to improve guest experience, getting guests off of their phones with those would be amazing. The new Barrels and Bites event looks like it'll just be a reskinned Food & Wine Festival like the Brew & BBQ event at Canada's Wonderland. Another thing I'd still love to see come from Cedar Point to Kings Island (because there are still things that they can learn from each other) is a dedicated sensory quiet room in each of the First Aid locations. The legacy Six Flags parks were certified as autism/disability friendly, which would be good to have at KI.