Superior Shores seems like it will be a fun upgrade to Valleyfair's Soak City! There's some folks in the comments upset about the fact that the park's 50th celebration addition will just be a waterpark refresh, but at a time like this it's good that they're getting something. Being the smaller of the parks who turn 50 next year, it'll be interesting to see what they do.  At least they also mentioned the attractions that will be removed BEFORE they're closed. Five days isn't a lot, but it's something.   How many of the other 2026 announcements will actually be happening? I wouldn't be shocked to see the announcements themselves happen throughout this week like we saw with the starts of the MVP sales. Hopefully Kings Island gets theirs as well. I know Tower Topics did an episode about it, I haven't watched that one.  Progress at Carowinds and Magic Mountain has stopped, Canada's Wonderland and Kings Island haven't seen much in the way of teasing/verifiable progress, Great Adventure has teased and continued their progress while delaying the completion date, and Valleyfair and Six Flags Mexico have (partially) officially announced their projects. Both of the Great America's will be interesting to see during their 50th celebrations next year since one is slowly closing while the other is expanding. 

I was impressed too.  Seems it took them longer in previous years.  Since this is probably the last Grande Carnival, I wonder if they just brought in dumpsters and threw it all away?

I have to say I do enjoy that they switch out the sign for most festivals. The sign they put up Halloween Haunt is my favorite because its design was clearly thought out and made it through the design process. Kings Dominion's sign for Halloween Haunt is just a printout on a sign frame, which KI's Haunt sign blows entirely out of the water. The Grand Carnivale and Winterfest signs are similar to KD's Haunt sign, which I feel is a little sad.  Some people have expressed that they wish the main Kings Island sign would just stay up during the events, but I think it would need to be beefed up for that to happen. It currently doesn't have the presence I feel it should. It's also interesting that they removed the three flag poles behind the sign at some point in the last few years. Those at least helped to give the sign a vertical presence. The 50th anniversary sign also helped since it had more of a horizontal presence. 

I have a feeling that if more rides are closed for Haunt it will be a more sudden decision. So much effort seems to have been put into changing things up this year that we'll have to see what happens during the first couple of weekends. Cutting restaurant and shop operations would be an weird move to me (simply because of how the weekend operations have worked so far this year). I'd think having Planet/Camp Snoopy closed would help direct some operations to the rest of the park, but if Six Flags gets more and more desperate then who knows what could be suddenly cut from the lineup.  Using the Trapped: Lock & Key model would definitely be a crazy addition to Haunt. The escape/torture room aspect might work out for the horror thrill-seekers, but there would need to be a clear line drawn in terms of who is allowed in the attraction. If it's as intense as this then there should be no strollers and no children allowed. Even if it is not as intense, I still don't think children should be allowed in, but I've aired my grievances with the children at Haunt topic.   As much as I hate to say it, I'd rather see some operations cut from Winterfest instead of being cut from Haunt. There's not really even a guarantee from the park that — aside from the two new attractions — we'll see the other five mazes or the three shows return. Kings Island already needs more for guests to do during Halloween Haunt to spread out the crowds, so cutting more Halloween attractions from the lineup will only add misery (the non-Halloween fun kind) to the event. August 11th will be an interesting day for certain. 

When I worked at the park, the disinfectant was called Voban....Voban is a granular, aromatic absorbent powder used to clean up and neutralize spills, particularly vomit and other bodily fluids. It is designed to quickly absorb liquids and odors, preventing staining on carpets and fabrics. The powder is fortified with enzymes to further eliminate odors The "janitors" you mentioned were called "litter gitters"... appropriately dressed in green and white stripes