Leaderboard

I wonder if they're putting the long-lost lights back on the centerpiece while they're at it.

Not to mention how incredibly selfish it is to expect staff to drive and work in the horrible conditions that occurred over the weekend! People tend to forget that entertainment is a privilege and not a necessity. Its one thing being a first responder/hospital staff or any other kind of care giver/response team, but entertainment is not necessary when the weather is crap. People are so self centered. I'm glad the park was closed all weekend because firstly and foremostly, staff didn't need to worry about commuting and showing up during a LEVEL 2 snow emergency, let alone guests. And people in this city already suck at driving when the pavement is 100% dry let alone when there is snow or ice on the ground. Please just stay home and make your own fun . Watch some POVs and make some holiday cookies/food and make your own entertainment. Stay the heck off the roads and be mindful of your privilege! Rant over.

Love to see this. Also would love to see the lights return to the "head" of the Monster. Otherwise I've always said it looks like a giant trash can without them

As much as I think Cedar Point could add more attractions on the peninsula, I don't think they should replace any of the parking spaces until a satellite lot and shuttle service are built on the mainland. If Cedar Point wants to increase their attendance even more they should find ways to make the day-to-day experience better. Maybe continuing to improve the dining offerings and making it so the rides have less overall downtime would help while they wait for their next big addition. When it does come time for a new major addition, I think Cedar Point should look at the feasibility of creating a mini-land on Millennium Island with a wide and level path crossing from Frontier Trail over to Camp Snoopy. One of the big reasons (in my mind) of why Dinosaurs Alive! and Forbidden Frontier "failed" was because they were too out of the way and were each a closed-loop experience. Something like I have below would be an amazing way to cut through the center of the peninsula while opening up another 4-ish acres of space for new rides and a new midway. Paving a wide path across the island would also save those parking spaces that would help contribute to more attendance each year. This space is big enough for at least four new flat rides and a small coaster (depending on how feasible it is to get it around Millennium Force.

I believe the newer models do that, but from what I've seen this particular model/manufacturer (the Monster from the Eyerly Aircraft Company) never did. The other EAC model (I believe it was called the Octopus) might have, but I haven't looked hard enough to find video of one. There is one model on Zamperla's website called the Octopus that is the same ride with a slightly different configuration and a decorative figure on top. This particular model also appears to have five arms compared to our Monster's six arms. While I suspect that Kings Island could purchase and install a newer model, the fact that our Monster came to the park in the move from Coney Island makes it special. Photo: Zamperla | https://www.zamperla.com/product/octopus

https://KICentral.com/enviragalleries/monster/

Yes, @malem was able to find the cause on the back end and get that fixed. After applying updates, instead of rebooting and coming back up it was just shutting off. We are going to work on getting the forums and database updated in the coming days.

Even then the employees (where a good chunk of them are teenagers) have to drive in these dangerous weather conditions to and from work. Trust me if I still worked there and the park stayed open with this weather I would've called off bc I definitely would not feel comfortable driving in this weather.

Calling out to all of the Monster lovers... WE HAVE PROGRESS!!! I spotted a notable change behind the fence this evening: the rotor (spinny middle thingy whatchamacallit) has been reinstalled in some manner! We didn't get to go over that way to peer over the fence, but this is an amazing change after nearly 8 months of nothing except a new fence and paint on the ride pad. I'd love to see it in the daylight if anyone can get a good photo in the park (without breaking rules or trespassing) or even on the webcam! I'm so excited to see this small bit of progress <3

You may have noticed this week the forums have been down occasionally. @malemhas identified the issue in the SQL database and plans to apply a fix tonight. Hopefully that resolves the issues we have been seeing this week. Thanks for your patients as we identify the problem and apply the fix.

I had a dream last night that they painted three of the arms and their cars one color and the other three arms another... I don't recall what those colors were, but could it be a premonition or just a dream?? (probably just the musings of a dream )

Anyone have any pictures of it with the lost lights?

Considering the calendar already shows December schedules that align with Winterfest I'm sure it's here to stay next year. I follow a simple adage "I vote with my feet" - that is to say, I visit the park for events when they are active that I actually enjoy and focus on trying to spend in park to reinforce that I like the product. Winterfest is something I try to get to every day possible (sans an orlando trip or so) so that the event continues to operate throughout the years.

The weather for this years a Winterfest reminds me of the weather back to Winterfest 2.0 by Paramount in 2005 that only lasted that year. Attendance was low partly due to extremely cold and daily snows but also season passes were not honored and the gate price was like $29 which became the sudden death of the event. Cedar Fair then announced in July of 2006 Winterfest was discontinued (and sort of cited not profitable) until Cedar Fair brought it back again in 2017. Now with Six Flags running the show and admitting they like to focus on improving the summer/fall seasons rather than focusing on winter events, it will be interesting to see what happens. If this years Winterfest shows a loss on the books (cold and snow likely to blame), I would not be surprised to see a July 2026 announcement that Winterfest has been discontinued (it would fit the July announcement pattern for Winterfest over the years). Of course it’s been advertised with the season passes sales, but we see things get changed all the time with season passes.

PSA lots of ice as you walk to the front of the park. Good portion of the parking lot is snow/ice which isn’t the best to drive on.

The weather update spells it correctly (yet also didn't show Saturday's closure), but it would be nice if they could find someone who knows how to spell the park name correctly on the banner. There were a lot of people online complaining about how "back in my day, the park wouldn't have closed for this" and "they closed the park for Winter weather during Winter fest". I for one am very grateful that the park closed on a day when the roads got really bad really quickly. I nearly lost traction about three times driving the three blocks home from work, so I'd hate to imagine what the highways would've looked like in that weather.

IMO, there should be a sub section behind the Eiffel Tower like how you showed.

A question about how it operates – is there a version in which all the arms are raised and lowered at once for ease of loading/unloading?

I didn't realize how much I actually missed the Monster until I saw that picture. Thank you for the update!

This is the kind of winter we had when KI brought back Winterfest in '05, whenever I had a free weekend, it was miserable weather. I wanted to go really bad because I had missed out on the previous iteration of WF - I had missed a couple opportunities to go during the the last couple years of it (early 90s) and when it looked like I was finally going to be able to go, they ended it. Luckily, I've been able to go every year since 2017 (except 2020, of course).

Pasted from the park: Due to inclement weather, Kings Island will be closed today, Dec. 13, 2025, and tomorrow, Dec. 14, 2025. Guests who have purchased tickets for Dec. 13, 2025 and/or Dec. 14, 2025, may use them any other WinterFest operating day through 12/31/2025.

When you give away the gate, did you have a good year?

Unfortunately, the banner on Kings Island's own website reads: Due to today’s inclement weather, King's Island will be closed.