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I don't think it's going anywhere. There's maintenance working on what looks like a pump right now.

For July 4, a lot of buried details in the article for what to expect at Kings Island for food, drink, entertainment, decor, and fireworks https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/six-flags-parks-in-12-states-from-coast-to-coast-celebrate-americas-250th-anniversary-with-spectacular-fireworks-festive-eats-historic-thrills-and-patriotic-summer-fun-302802608.html

I hadn't been able to get to the park this year until today and I avoided this thread because I wanted a fresh experience: As someone who enjoyed the original ride for its whole run, I have a bias towards nostalgia but I get why they went with more kid friendly designs and interactive elements. I appreciate that you can just ignore the interactive nature of the ride without missing any of animatronic effects. That's a big plus to me. I assume the flashlights use a tracking system similar to the Playstation Move controllers? Mine was a blue light and there were some scenes where it didn't work at all while I could see other people's lights working. I just saw some videos of the ride where the flashlights had some real hiccups to their display. Fortunately I didn't have that at least. I like how nice the queue is but there's too much going on in there for how loud it is with a room filled with people, including kids. I couldn't hear anything Larry or the Maestro were saying. Apparently they removed a bunch of ride vehicles? The line still moved fast but that surprised me. The lack of a big pepper's ghost scene disappointed me. I did dig the animated paintings in the queue Hopefully I'll get another ride soon and I'll just not use the flashlight to take in more scenery. Today was more crowded than what I normally care for and I opted not to wait again. But I think as long as the ride is maintained properly (obviously a big concern for many people), this should continue to be a popular ride for years. EDIT: It just occurred to me why they probably removed the vehicles. Guessing each scene can only track 6 flashlights?

Bring back these 3 things: 1. Grand Carnivale buffet in International Restaurant open till 10pm for fireworks 2. Winterfest Snow Day buffet at Brewhouse with an upcharge discount cost for using dining plan 3. Haunt dinner cookouts with character interactions in the picnic grove. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Dollywood is giving runners a new reason to visit the Smoky Mountains this fall. Run Dollywood returns Sept. 25-27 with an expanded three-day race weekend featuring a nighttime 5K through Great Pumpkin LumiNights, a Half Marathon, and all the fun of Harvest Festival. Full story: https://themeparksbydon.com/run-dollywood-fall-race-weekend-2026/

Don't mean to always be a "complainer" on the state of the park in 2026, but here goes again. Sat along the fountains tonight. I don't think they're on a "program" anymore.... and it appears that 22 fountain jets aren't operating. In addition, there are weeds in the mulched areas in the grass area between iStreet and the fountains. Also, the Carousel. You know, perhaps the oldest attraction in the park celebrating 100 years this season, there appear to be more lights out on the pavilion roof than work. Kings Island management: these two things should be your showcase to people entering and exiting the park, and they look like an afterthought.

Something I've noticed recently is that whenever there's an event logo used across different parks, Kings Island has started using the generic version instead of adding the park name over it. For example, Carowinds, Kings Dominion, SFNE, SFOT, both California's Great America and Chicago's Great America, Magic Mountain, Frontier City, and Knott's Berry Farm all have their park names integrated into the Celebrate America's 250th logo — Kings Island just uses the one with the Six Flags logo. I've also seen it with the Star Spangled Nights logo (even after it was updated from the singular night logo) and the Food & Wine Festival logo. I can excuse the Grand Carnivale logo missing the park name since KI is the only park it's at. Is that something that the local PR folks are in charge of or is it more of a corporate thing? All of that said, I'll be very curious to find out just exactly what this event will look like at Kings Island. The press release lists a ton of cool stuff, but I can imagine a world where only half of the stuff gets implemented depending on the park. It's also interesting how late the information for this celebration was released considering we're about two weeks away from the actual 250th anniversary.

New twist on "they already have your money" LOL

I've said numerous times in the past that the 4th of July at KI should be more than just "come and enjoy the park as is during the day and watch a bigger firework show." It should have special activities, entertainment, and food offerings during the day. Sounds like the new regime has similar thoughts.