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I enjoy all of winterfest and usually end up going more times than I go to haunt. However, I think the rides are a big factor. If I want to look at Christmas lights, the Cincinnati zoo is much closer to where I live but they don't have any rollercoasters or as many shows. I was curious about the temps seeing as I'm really excited about riding The Racer with all the Christmas lights along Coney Mall and was curious if anyone knew at what point they start closing rides because it's just too cold to run them?

There is more to Winterfest than just rides keep that in mind, its not about the rides, its about the experience!

If memory serves me correctly Flight of Cheer is fine but in the past it had to be above freezing when they started running Mystic Timbers. It could go below (29 - 26) after it started but the if the temperature was below 32 at park open, it would not run. I would believe the same would be true for The Racer and soap box racers, but haven't heard anything yet.

lol thats just a poll. That proves nothing. Ask @DonHelbig if rides really matter. It "adds" to the experience Winterfest is about the shows, lights and the atmosphere. Rides are a good addition!

Thank you for that! So weird to see that ceremony with a Six Flags setting! And Peanuts music...with Bugs Bunny:). But I'm glad the show is getting a brand new audience!

We'll use this thread for Winterfest reviews in 2024. We look forward to seeing you enjoy the holiday season at Kings Island.

Holly Jolly Trolley without a trolley...that's so odd. Tree Lighting Ceremony.... Why not use the Oil Derrick for the tree? Is it me or is it weird that they use "Jeremiah Was A Bullfrog," as a Christmas song because they tie "Joy To The World" into it? (KI does this as well) Compared to KI and Carowinds (the two events I've been to) this seems to be the most unenthusiastic event that I've seen. Also, I still hate that Carowinds does this: Such an odd look...what Christmas tree has a flared top vs a flared bottom?

Big Bear Mountain and Dragonflier at Dollywood both have 36 degree operating temperatures so I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s the same for Snoopy’s Soap Box Racers. I also believe it’s on the park for deciding what temperature to run it in because I know Energylandia runs their family boomerang in negative temperatures and snow. The park was also testing Racer in the snow last week so maybe they will run it in colder temperatures.

Just based off personal experience visiting two competing parks that are only an hour away from each other. The park with the most rides / coasters running had a higher attendance. Here is a trip report from visiting both KD’s Winterfest and BGW’s Christmas Town:

Could the first 2 iterations have lasted longer had there been more rides.... My understanding is the 1st iteration attendance dropped every year to the point it wasn't worth doing. We all know why the 2nd iteration happened... I totally get the seasonal atmosphere and all that jazz, but people can get that from other places as well. Sure people would still want the event and a certain percentage would show up regardless (meal and drink plans LOL), but if next year they announced no rides, watch what happens to attendance. People think rides with KI. If rides were not important, they wouldn't be adding rides to the event.

I have to point out that I believe the first 2 itterations of Winterfest had no coasters and was still so popular that people wanted it back. I believe most people go for the atmoshpere. Then comes the food with the meal plans. It will be cold this weekend, but I'm pretty sure it will be crowded. People gotta eat

Like Family Feud, 100 people surveyed and the top answers were:

It is pretty surreal. Getting all this new content is a bit of a windfall for a park like Six Flags Over Texas that has been trying to rebuild its live entertainment offerings. It'll be interesting to see if parks with more established live entertainment like Six Flags Fiesta Texas take on any legacy Cedar Fair shows. Back at Kings Island, the parade dress rehearsals have been visible on the webcams. It appears to be the same number of floats and performers as last year.

I don't know how to name which turn it is, so here's a mental picture: You come off of lift 1 on Adventure Express and head down the long, sweeping drop. You cross under the lift and turn left. You then drop into a CCI-like swooping turn to the right that ends with bonkers laterals. My answer is that turn. Honorable mentions go to the turn into The Bat's brakes, Banshee's heartline roll, Backlot's drop off the MCBR, Beast's double helix + the drop into it, Mystic's trick track, and the drop out of Son of Beast's station.

The quick turn on Orion before the brakes.

We have beat this horse, the term Giga is a word. Call it a hyper or call it a giga. Just enjoy it. Topic closed.

Orion’s speed hill.

I discovered that way too late in life to truly appreciate just how great it was.

And there is precedent for that. Remember, we did get the original Scooby Doo and the Haunted Castle in 2003, the same year that Delirium was added. I think a new flat ride that utilizes The Crypt`s ride building, and uses the existing queue entrance would be a good fit. Give another ride that is in air conditioning and could run during Winterfest. Boo Blasters definitely needs a refresh of some kind.

Honestly a family thrill coaster in the Crypt building plus an update to Boo Blasters in the same season would be a pretty good investment.

IMHO, there are probably two or more potential things for 2026 that KI is currently looking at, both family-oriented thrill attractions, one may be a coaster and the other something else. Planning is still on-going and the ink certainly has not dried on the contracts, so the PR is vague in that regard. Either way, it's a bigger thing coming since it made the chain-wide PR (as opposed to a few flat rides or something)

There was a survey marker spotted near the exit of Boo Blasters earlier this season:

To the Gerstlauer point, I would love to see the Infinity coaster as it checks a ton of boxes. Curb appeal, dive elements that aren't as forced as a B&M dive, inversions, and most importantly for families a 48 inch height requirement. It is a great successor to Vortex in that location. It is also worth noting that Baker Concrete is listed on the NOC and one of the projects they have listed on their website is the footings for Pipeline at SWO.

Remember that Notice of Commencement is for 2024 and 2025 additions and modifications. I think it's very likely that it doesn't include 2026 construction plans at all. For example, with Orion the NOC said 2018, 2019, and 2020 additions and modifications. Now I'm very interested that Ride Entertainment is listed. RE does a lot of work with Gerstlauer and KCL Engineering. An infinity coaster was listed in a recent survey. Obviously an infinity isn't really considered family thrill so the odds are really low for that being the 2026 project, but what if in the very unlikely chance they're just trying to throw us off here and we're getting the infinity coaster after all, but KI just didn't want it to get out? Also looking at Ride Entertainment's portfolio, it looks like they do work with upgrading dark rides. And one of the options in a recent survey was an update to Boo Blasters. However, I don't see how a shooting dark ride is considered family thrill. Unless, maybe the park pulls a 2003 and adds a dark ride update and a thrilling flat ride the same year (ie Scooby and Delirium in 03). https://rideentertainment.com/lagotronics/

Based on that. It were to come from Ride Entertainment I’m guessing a dark ride. Or maybe a similar ride to Catwoman’s Whip at SFSL. Zamperla….who knows.

On a serious note, trying to further decode 2026. I don’t think we will be getting a coaster at all. For one, coaster is omitted from the list of park additions amongst all the parks within the chain: Also Ride Entertainment Systems and Zamperla was listed in the commencement of work. So I’m guessing we’d get a flat thrill ride from their lineup? https://rideentertainment.com/sales-home/ https://www.zamperla.com

Exactly, it would be a waste of money to tear it down if they weren’t going to do something with the land. Unless the structure somehow was deemed unsafe and could fall on The Bat’s track, it’s not going anywhere anytime soon if it’s not needed for something else.

I'm sure the Son of Beast station will just sit there until the park needs the land for something. Probably not anytime soon.

If anything happens, I doubt it'll be announced.

Since the off-season began, has there been any word possibly of what might happen with the SOB station?

I mentioned this on the comments of Tower Topics so I'll reiterate here. I think from the video TT showed that it would be fitting to use the Son of Beast station and the old Wild Animal Safari area to build the coaster. In the video it has different animals. Lots of room for it and the Lantern interaction during haunt would have served as a hint. I'm thinking they will use that building for something or they would have just demolished it alltogether. Anyway, I would be happy with that, assuming they will be saving capital for a coaster in 2027 in The Vortex plot.

Hasn't Koontz said he wants something done with the Crypt Building before retirement. Could we see this be his magnum opus to his family additions . But in seriousness, I do think this could be a possibility. I can see a project that would cost somewhere in the range of a coaster, but not necessarily a coaster. So the crypt box, or I'm on board with a Boo Blasters Retheme...

Agreed. my wife does not do spinney rides and we rode it 5 times in 1/2 hr. Unless the car is out of balance, there is not a lot of major spinning.

To be fair I recieved another one this morning and it was already fixed, seems like someone else noticed as well

To be fair, that's probably the agency's mistake.

Today's Youtube Advertisement for KI with a lovely spelling mistake . The link is legit too...

This news is very disappointing for me. I was really hoping that 2026 would be our year for a new thrill coaster. Everything was lining up for it. But yet again we get another family addition. I’m sure I’m not the only one who thinks that it’s getting stale. The best case scenario in my opinion would be getting something like Big Bear Mountain. I don’t have a problem with getting a ride like that. In fact Big Bear Mountain is my favorite ride at Dollywood. Correct me if I’m wrong but I think this is the first time in the park’s history that we will have gone at least 7 years without a thrill coaster. Whatever it is I really hope this is the end of the family additions.

Just give me a Screaming Swing and something like Big Bear Mtn and I'd honestly be happy. As mentioned, the parks have different goals.

I would not be surprised to see Killmart get demolished and a new restaurant put there. That area gets a ton of foot traffic.

A multi record smashing GCI wooden coaster. Son of Beast 2.0?

It's a little sad to see that area become the focus it was over the last 10 years and then drop off farther than it had been previously. Probably one of the bigger combined fumbles of the Ouimet and Zimmerman eras is that nothing that landed there from 2014 onwards remains 10 years later (unless I'm forgetting something.) I also feel like it's probably not a coincidence that the plots of land being cleared are adjacent to each other. From a business perspective and how the now-Six Flags-but-formerly-Cedar Fair leadership team seems to prioritize things, I wouldn't be shocked to see a GCI announced for that plot of land in the next few years.

Probably would've been more convenient to remove it now since they already have the demolition crew there to take down Snake River Falls.

Interesting they would remove it now and not later in the season. Almost seems like they plan to do something next year in that space and plan to begin work soon, or it could have needed a part as well and they didn't to shell out the money for just a year or so of operation.

Interesting. Frontier Fling is located right next to Snake River Falls, which the park already announced was being removed for "future expansion". It seems the Snake River Falls replacement will also require Frontier Fling to be removed as well. As for Kings Island, I think Xtreme Skyflyer will stay at the park until they have something planned for its plot of land. All of the upcharge attractions that were removed in the chain recently, including our own Slingshot, were done to make way for some sort of future expansion. With The Vortex replacement rumored to be built for 2026, I think it'll be a few years before we see a major renovation to Action Zone. There are multiple attractions in that area that I could realistically see getting axe'd, and that includes EXtreme Skyflyer. Also, here's an image of Frontier Fling getting removed for those who don't want to join the Cedar Point Passholder's group.

CP’s Frontier Sling is currently being disassembled. No official word on why from CP: https://www.facebook.com/groups/1988602284500537/posts/looks-like-something-else-might-be-on-the-way-out/9348629118497780/? If it’s being removed, how much longer before KI follows suit?

With the “Giga” we got, and the “Water Coaster” we are getting. Mid-level is the new norm for KI.

I'm really hoping that our long trend of playing the safe card and having beef with half the coaster companies out there will change, and we will see a couple more risky, off-the-hook coasters show up. Let's be real, we're essentially a wood and B&M park at this point. It's time for a change, and that likely means working with the RMC and Intamin types again. Maybe wishful thinking, but I will truly be very disappointed if either of our next couple coasters feature the words "wood" or "B&M" in their descriptions. Arieforce One would easily be a top-tier coaster at Kings Island! It truly impressed me when I rode it. It was also a relatively cheap build at under $20m out the door next to our B&M additions. To my knowledge, the steel-built RMC's are proving to be workhorses, and it seems Six Flags has no hesitancy in working with them.

In the event of a ground-up RMC coming to Kings Island, I would expect the park to use an all-steel support structure similar to ArieForce One. Kings Island has played it safe with their recent coaster additions as of the time Cedar Fair took over, and I think that would apply here as well by minimizing the risk of any potential structural issues like we've seen with Steel Vengeance for example. I wouldn't be surprised if no wood ended up being used at all. However, it's also because of the park playing it safe with their coaster additions that I believe an RMC at Kings Island is unlikely to begin with.

I would think at a minimum, it would be a hybrid. I don't see an all wood structure for another project that big again.

I'm on board with them doing a "sequel" or "requel" as people like to call it nowadays. But that's also just cause I wanna see another new wood coaster added to the park lol :p