Holiday World lands the No. 1 water coaster in USA Today’s rankings, with two more water coasters in the top 10 as the park heads into its 80th season.  Full story: https://themeparksbydon.com/holiday-world-usa-today-awards-80th-season/

I might do the zoo.  The plan with St Louis is to do museums and the arch on Friday, Reds/Cardinals game on Saturday and SFStL on Sunday.  May do the zoo Saturday as the game is a night game. KC will be simple, just exploring downtown and WoF.  Leaving St Louis very early. I'm somewhat contemplating a day and a half at SDC and exploring Branson a bit.  I'm also looking forward to doing BBQ in St Louis and KC. Also also, expressing my discontent with the Chiefs. 😉

Dollywood earns seven Top Workplaces awards in 2026, highlighting its employee-first culture and why it continues to deliver one of America’s best theme park experiences.  Details: https://themeparksbydon.com/dollywood-workplace-awards-2026/

Never said it was just the youth, but more often than not the issues I have witnessed and dealt with personally have been with those under the age of 18. I realize this behavior is brought on by lack of parenting or poor parenting. But the song remains the same however you wanna slice it. Bad behavior could become a valid reason to cut fireworks/drones and later nights-thus giving more parks justification to close earlier.

It's not just that. I think the dining plans increase the number of problematic guests in the park. For years the last barrier to keeping Kings Island from being used as a daycare in the summer was the expensive food prices each visit. Now that those prices are included in passes with the meal plan the parents are further incentivized to drop the kids off even more during the summers where they can runaround and cause problems at the park instead of at home. And yes I realize most kids don't do this, and that the chaperone policy exists but nothing prevents a parent from entering with the kids through the gate and then taking off.