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Track is on site. It’s definitely not “flying theater” simulator.

Dollywood continues to put themselves into the premier tier of theme parks. With everything that’s happening with SIX it’s nice to see some parks continue to thrive and invest in their customers.

Holiday in the Park has reportedly been canceled at Six Flags Over Georgia. Another previously announced seasonal event removed from a park calendar for 2025.

First -these are not my pics, so thanks to Johnny Amusenent for initially posting. The track looks a lot like the Mack Rocking Boat track. We are pretty sure they are working with Mack. I agree they are going high and low with their teasers, so it could be both? The track doesn’t look heavy enough to be a suspended car (as some have speculated) plus it looks like the track is being bolted to the floor. There is a legend of a mysterious hidden lake in the Smokey’s that only appears at night, and they have posted a video tying into that, so it could be a lot.All the teasers could also be to throw us off in multiple direction

Personally, I like the odds of us getting an RMC around the time the park has been ran into being on par with FunSpot Atlanta. A bit cynical? Yes, a little sarcastically so, but I've had a bad gut feel from this CF/SF merger since day one. That vibe is going to stay until the business proves me wrong. So far, they are not proving me wrong. CF already had us pegged as Cedar Point's family park little brother, but at least we were a flagship park in a niche chain. Now, we're just a small-market park in a massive conglomerate.

It’s a great deal they’re offering but giving away the gate like this is basically telling people you’re the Walmart of the industry—not something premium or worth paying more for.

Merged the KD thread with this one.

For full transparency, I've been busy this year. Between going to Epic several times, Cedar Point and a slew of other regional parks; I haven't been able to or engaged with the park as I usually am by this point in the year. However, with that being said this year is a serious let down. I have been to the waterpark a few times this year and noticed every time the same inefficiencies and lack of guest experience being the forefront of park operations. The following is going to be a rant that is fueled by the fact that I have been going to this waterpark religiously for the past 20+ years which is wild for me to think about but is true. That, coupled with my actual experience as a lifeguard who worked in Soak City, cross trained on both sides of the waterpark knowing the ins and outs of everything before Tropical Plunge in operations; I would like to think I know a thing or two. I was grateful that I did learn how Tropical Plunge operated from friends who worked at the park, those days however are over as most of the people I knew now are in some form of park management or operations at KI and other parks that may or may not be in sunny central Florida. That being said, the expansion was a breath of fresh air but the waterpark feels like it was supposed to be switched to a new theme and was honestly half baked. The didgeridoos and the spouts on the river are painted to a green and brown, willows have been planted across the action river, the children's area in splash landing has been repainted to reflect a more earthy tone and lastly a whole section of the park is effectively themed to a lake/river section. Even the main store was repainted and feels like something out of a camp site than a tropical oasis. Listen, I will beat the Boomerang Bay drum all my life as I loved that era of the waterpark. However, at least with the Soak City retheme it was pretty conclusive and the theme flowed through the whole waterpark. This.....just stands out in a negative way. It feels as if, in my opinion, the park was supposed to retheme the waterpark but didn't have enough funding to actually follow through. Instead of just adding what they did, they just painted a solid portion of the rest of the water park in this pseudo themed area of the waterpark. I wish almost that they created some form of cohesion, maybe retheme mondo and make that whole section into the "river country"; which I would have been all for as that's a unique take on how to do sections in a waterpark. The cost cuts are, well, for a lack of better terms frustrating especially on weekdays where you have to trek to the edges of the waterpark for an actual drink stand instead of the lines of the Island Smokehouse. Operations are honestly my biggest gripe with the new focus on "synergies". Listen, I come from a time when Pineapple Pipeline and Tropical Twisters were always the first to close off for staffing. I understand how the park can hemorrhage lifeguards through the season however the operational efficiency is just not there. Thunder Falls is honestly where this post really came from. I spent a full HOUR waiting for this slide, both at the bottom and at the top. Both times I have been to the waterpark this year Green was closed off, and Blue was the only operating slide. This led to a very poor customer experience, as I waited so long I could not believe it was so slow. The chain speaks of cost cutting measures, of closing off drink stations, of reductions in parks but can keep in it's budget to have a slide that is not being used as an asset for guest experience is wild to me. Now I can imagine you're probably thinking "Well BB1, it costs money to have a lifeguard staffed up there." I agree, but why did I see 3 lifeguards in the lazy river basically doing what 2 lifeguards can do. That is, two guards were handing tubes to guests and one was in the river sizing people for life jackets. There were even times when I worked there where we wouldn't have someone in and just have the sizer on duty to spiel. In my honest opinion, this is more of a cost to the waterpark efficiency than anything else. You can sit here and tell me cost cuts all day but when I see assets not being used and having excess in certain spots I see inefficiencies that should be addressed. Lastly, the employees this year are just really bland. I get it, dealing with guests who can be a bit much can be exhausting. However, to be basically barked to go up the stairs for tropical plunge for the tubes is really upsetting to when I worked there. No one asks how are you, no one really smiles and interacts. Basic task, no questions asked, no interaction besides here is how to ride now go. I hate the fact that every time I went I really didn't get the interactions I gave or I got in years past. You deliver fun, you should want to be fun and have fun at work while also maintaining safety at it's highest measure. Have I been spoiled by Universal? No because I remember how the park was a decade ago and this is totally different. That being said there are a few good things that came this year. The new security process is fluid and straightforward. The new waterslide doesn't do much, is kind of a lug to bring up your tube, but is a fun slide that checks the box of what I wanted from the waterpark. (Is it as long and as dynamic as I wanted? Far from it, but like the "Giga" the park gave just enough to say hey we gave you what you asked for. I appreciate the new trees, wish there were more trees but I appreciate the move to try to give more greenery; but we're still miles away from what we had prior to 2012. I know most people here really aren't interested in Soak City, but I felt like this needed to be addressed. Before you ask, yes I'm planning on giving guest feedback when I come back this weekend. What are your thoughts this point in the season?

Thanks for the clarification!

The more high tech/moving parts something has, the more likely said thing is going to have downtime/issues. These aren't our parents/grandparents roller coasters. Much like cars or anything else in today's world, the more complex it is, the more points of failures/issues there can be. This is just a thing we have to accept. People want the latest, most thrilling and high tech rides...and that can come with a bit of sacrifice in knowing that it might have some gremlins in the systems. It's probably why the industry as a whole has loved B&M so much because their coasters, regardless of the type ( hyper, giga, flying, invert, stand-up etc ) all have about the same formula going for them without much variance in their designs and not as much tech as some other manufacturers/models. They are arguably a bit more low-tech and not as risk taking as say Intamin or even Vekoma. Which is why rides made by both of those manufacturers can be some of the most thrilling/exciting out there because they tend to push the limits and explore new ways of freshening up the industry. Especially since Vekoma has grown up and learned from their past selves and have been making some of the best the market has seen in awhile in recent years. And side note, no shade to B&M. I do love their coasters and appreciate their work-horse reliability. But the industry is over-saturated with them at this point and its nice seeing other players get in the game and show off what they can do.

Great idea!

My thoughts exactly. Most non-enthusiasts purchase tickets with the assumption that a new ride will be operational. Not to insult the intelligence of the “gp.” Even if the ride indeed has more uptime than downtime, the dozens of pictures that circulate on social media of it stuck on the tilt doesn’t help.

The first years of Cedar Point operating on Thursday night, they had full live entertainment. Of course, they cut it out to save costs.

I know this is absolute sarcasm but man....I really wish that was something that was cooking up in the background.

I always thought it would be ideal to have three categories, an Entree, a Side and a Desert. That way the prices would be consistent and you could "make your own meal" from different offerings of different countries.

Six Flags Great America just announced their announcement for next Thursday. I expect other parks will do the same in the coming days.

Have you seen the range of prices for things at Dollywood at their festivals with tasting cards. I mean, if you WANT to use it on a 5.99 drink instead of a 14.99 nacho plate, I guess they see it as your poor choice. I honsetly dont understand why they even include the beverages at DW, but it must work for them.

And, dare we joke about it, what if this is a ploy to try to encourage season pass sales with the buy next year, get the rest of this year free promotion and the season pass sales do not meet expectations and they decide to remove those additional days from the fall lineup....

So how is everyone feeling about renewing their passes for 2026? Because of all the cuts we are seeing. I am even starting to see random TikTok's of people complaining about drink locations being closed, no ice, etc.. For the first time in 20-25+ years I am considering to not immediately renewing my Gold Pass . . I pretty much always renewed as soon as they become available. But this year I will probably just do a wait and see what is offered. Maybe wait until next March/April 2026 to make sure there are no "bait-n-switch". What "bait-n-switch" am I looking for?? I am concerned they might start making "Haunt" or "Winterfest" an add-on. Or weekday hours closing at 8pm. IDK what I am looking for but basically not seeing what I have bought for many years to start losing value.

Honestly, these day I don't trust what people on the internet say about Disney parks. Many people don't seem to get that the experience will never be as magical as when they were kids and that going every year is just going to make it less and less interesting. Plus many people will convince themselves that everything is worse for other cultural reasons. That's not to say Disney doesn't have reasons to be concerned, but I have too many reasons to ignore what people say on forums and the like, especially Disney forums. A park's biggest critics are its longtime fans. This very site is evidence of that.

@befat @IndyGuy4KI Why should we want the chain to be saved? It would be better for everyone if this bumbling giant was broken up. Private ownership is so much better than public.

You’re wrong about that, Ronny. They would not have been cut from the event if I was still at the park. It’s a collectible for many attendees. And nobody forced them to be cut. That’s being real, Ronny.

Image from the park's Facebook page. More info: https://www.ydr.com/story/news/2025/07/25/hersheypark-death-what-we-know-about-child-drowning-at-boardwalk/85370065007/