Leaderboard

Yes, I renewed my KI season pass without activating it at KI and they asked no questions and I was good to go once I scanned my pass Stay tuned for my CP Trip Report

They’ve made this the biggest mess. I just waited on hold for 20 minutes to talk to Debbie who confirmed 1) even renewals have to go to their home park first to “activate” 2026 pass, but you do not have to wait till 26, when you visit in 25 you activate 26, but if you reactivate at KI and for some reason don’t return to KI ANYMORE in 2025, the YES once 2026 starts you must come to KI first as you never came to KI with your 26 pass, even if you went to other parks with your APP add on to your 25 pass, you just used your remaining 25 pass at Cedar Point for example. 2) once you activate your new or renewal pass at your home park you WILL receive free parking at all parks 3) she admitted it is super confusing and indicated the fact that I waited 20 to finally get a straight answer should indicate how confusing it has been. It didn’t have to be this hard!

I believe it's revolving.

With all the smart people in the marketing room in the building in Charlotte, NC, it shouldn’t be this difficult for current Passholders and new Passholders to understand what the pass they just renewed or bought is valid for. People shouldn’t have to be waiting on hold for 20-plus minutes to try and get an answer from a park. And is that answer correct? It’s the Most Vague Pass (MVP) offer ever!

To be fair it is a Saturday with good weather and for kids summer is winding down as school starts in the next couple weeks.

So you are using your 25 pass at CedarPoint (according to Debbie). You have not activated your 26 pass at your home park yet. If you now only go to CedarPoint, but have a 2026 KI pass, you will not be able to go to any other park in 26 until you “activate” at KI first. (Maybe this is all theory and it doesn’t really matter in actuality, but that’s the answer they are telling people) Using this example, if you bought NEW at KI, but went to CP first, you wouldn’t get in.

I think that the weather had ALOT to do with the crowd. With the cooler weather the dry park will be more crowded. When the heat index in 100 people either stayed home or were in the water park. This could be easily deduced by the line at either the season pass sales booth or taking forever to get in the park because of people getting their pictures taken at the gates. Too many people are concerned with spending on school supplies and will likely wait till the last minute to buy new/renew their pass. I do have a theory that there may be alot of pass holders that buy every other year. Thinking about it they would only miss Mid April - July (4 months) in a 2 year period. They buy a pass now for the rest of 25 and all of 26, take off mid-April - July in 2027 and buy a pass when they go on sale in 2027 for the rest of 2027 and all of 2028.

This would be a great time of year to have guests use the Season Pass Processing Center— oh, sorry, they don't do that anymore. They should also still offer a physical season pass card IMO. I understand that we live in a digital age, but the fact that a smartphone is both required for constant use at the park and is starting to be outright prohibited on more rides is ludicrous. There aren't even any opportunities to get Fuel Rods or places to conveniently charge a device in the park. Plan all you'd like, but if your phone dies in the park, there are little to no easy ways to charge it. There are ads and banners all around the park advertising the MVP sale. Some of the posters outside the front gate by the ticket windows seem to be more clear than other places. This one shows the Kings Island 2026 Gold Pass being "valued" at $180. Here's an interesting question for those of you who have purchased your 2026 passes: did you receive a new pass number, or is it the same number and format as before? One would think that merging two pass systems might lead to some duplicate numbers or discrepancies in number length/format.

So just to clarify: Renewals still need to "activate" their 2026 season pass at their home park first in order to gain the all-park benefit, and that will be good for the remainder of 2025 and 2026. If you renew your season pass online, but don't visit your home park at any point for the rest of 2025, you will have to wait until that home park opens in 2026 to activate your pass. (April 2026 for Kings Island) You get free parking at "most parks", with Knotts' and Canada's Wonderland being the exceptions unless you buy a prestige pass with the all-park passport. I think Six Flags park needs to put out a FAQ post on social media to help clear things up.

Granted the temperature is finally nice, but you can tell everyone is using their new shiny pass - food lines out the door. The Bat is PAST the TUNNEL and many other lines are full and, many new pass pictures being taken at entrance clogging entry for existing passholders. And the park is packed, further demonstrating to the c-suite that this short term brings money and attendance.

This offer ends Sept. 1, they’ll shout and flood your inbox with. Only for the offer to be extended until Sept. 5.

Warning: this is a silly thread for fun making Delirium a sentient ride. Who else noticed that just days after the presented by Snickers sign appeared on Delirium it had an issue? Is Delirium not happy about this advertising? Does Delirium prefer a different candy bar, or just does not like any advertising on their sign? Add your thoughts in the comments.

To be fair, it was done before the merger and under all other operators—it was always just always a bit more tasteful, clever, or creative. The example here is just a pure, lazy cash grab.

Delirium was happy before the Six Flags days...

Before people get into the silliness, I do want to make a somewhat serious comment: I think the reason why so many people are upset about sponsoring rides because it’s not something that has really been done prior to the merger for CF parks, let along KI. Sure you would have the Hershey company sponsor the trick-or-treat event during Halloween or you have the Coke and Sprite umbrellas scattered throughout the park but when it came to the rides themselves, they weren’t really touched- seeing sponsored rides is pretty much new territory for Cedar Fair. All that said 3 Musketeers>Snickers

And the pass sale is bringing out all the new passholders with their shiny new toy LOL

Oh yes, I was expecting it to be busy.

Park is a little busy today. Edit: Added photo.

I renewed my pass and it's the same number as my 2025 pass.

So is FL now not valid during Winterfest like it has been in recent years, or was this copied from the previous single rider line when the park didn't have FL for Winterfest?

FL for the major rides out the queue today. Meanwhile in the boardroom "see lowering the gate price increases attendance" And the cycle continues...

Yes- to all that (as far as I understand pr “Debbie” today) And big YES to the second point. This thing is getting out of hand, and by not answering questions, the social sites are making it worse by assuming and putting out as policy. Maybe I over think things, and sure 99.9% of people buying or renewing passes will go to home park (sounds like a good chunk are there today) but there are always those outliers no one thinks about.

And then I have it in writing from Canada's Wonderland GR that the first visit in 2026 doesn't matter as long as you already have the pass and it's processed. What a totally incompetent company. They've always been awful at communicating their confusing and vague policies, but this year is a new low.

More coaster removals coming soon? https://www.sixflags.com/greatamerica The sale says 280 coasters, but RCDB lists 294 operating coasters at SFEC (SBNO and Under Construction are not in the count) https://rcdb.com/12488.htm 294 coasters -9 coasters at SFA = 285 coasters +4 2026 additions (SFNE, SFMM, SFM, SFOT) = 289 coasters +1 Pantherian at KD = 290 coasters +1 Montezooma's Revenge - The Forbidden Fortress at Knott's = 291 coasters +2 SBNO coasters that could reopen (Timberwolf at WOF, Flash V2 at SFDK) = 293 coasters

And the flooding of the inbox will continue after you purchase as well

Simple mathmatics. With a population base of 500,000 - 1,000,000 within a 30 minute drive of KI (compared to 100,000 for Cedar Point) helps. People who still find it a better entertainment value. For example an annual Cinemark move pass is $132 that get's you 12 movies a year, even at 2.5 hours each that comes to $4 an hour. If you go KI 10 days and stay all 8 hours (or 20 days at 4) that comes to $1.24 an hour. Bengals and Reds season passes are even less of an hourly value and neither of the others have rides/coasters. (The Cincinnati zoo is the only thing that competes and it's $160 for unlimited visits and rides on the carousel and train. But it's a different audience entirely). I think that even not adding anything over 90% would renew. It's now part of their routine. For me it's a great xmas gift to my kids and grandkids that I know they will use and is much better than any toys I could buy them. With the park getting bigger and more expensive to upkeep let alone add attractions it's a different time. The addition to Soak City was 1 ride but the facelift of that area as well as the new fence completion on the path from Camp Snoopy and painting of the lazy river was desperiately needed and looks great. Like it or not KI is and always will be a family park due to its location. Most on this board are in a different mindset than the average park goer. I would suggest we are less than 5% of those that go to the park. KI will never cater to us, nor should they. For everyone who "is done and not buying a pass this year" there will be more to fill their spot.

That is because they are going to get you with the Terms and Conditions Legalize - the parking is free at all parks if you PURCHASE the all parks add-on after this promotion, but since you are getting all parks FREE as part of the promotion, you then don't get parking at other parks I joke, but you never know LOL....

The possibility of a 2026 renewal making my 2025 dining/drink plan not to work for the rest of the year is enough to make me hesitant until issues like that get sorted out.

Right? I don’t get the flood of people renewing.

I'm in the boat of waiting and not getting into the psychological frame of " buy now ". Before all of this I was going to get a season pass ( I didn't renew for this year, first time in 11 years) , but now that the uncertainty is enhanced worse than ever, I'm waiting. If there is no clarity by the end of the month, I'll wait to make my decision, knowing that the cost goes up over time. I'm willing to take that risk...if it's not worth the uncertainty, I just won't be a Six Flags passholder next year as well.

This deal is available till September 1st and pass prices don’t go up till the following day so, it doesn’t hurt to wait to see what they are going to do. Besides they haven’t even announced the 2026 family attraction. It could be delayed till 2027.

Transparency, clarity, responding to guest questions… that’s become foreign territory.

I’m calling the park today to figure out how to even do my pass for 2026 as I’m confused on how to go about my pass upgrades. Which is sad because in years past I knew how to do my pass, not anymore. 20+ years of being a passholder, 10 of which I’ve been buying out of my own pocket and this is by far the craziest year for it.

I thought the Prestige Pass caused enough confusion for them to learn their lesson, but then the 2026 Gold Pass seems to say, "that was nothing, watch this!"

I'll be buying my 2026 next week. last year when I bought my 2025 pass BOTH 2024 and 2025 showed on the screen, that leaves me to believe the same will be true. I'll update once passes are bought.

I believe the difference between the "2026 ALL SEASON DINING GOLD - ALL PARK* ADD-ON" and the "2026 ALL SEASON DINING GOLD - ALL PARK* UPGRADE" is that you can purchase the Add-on on its own while the Upgrade is for if you have already purchased a Home Park Dining Plan and wish to then dine at all of the parks. For those who've been speculating: 2026 admission to Soak City is indeed included with a Gold or Prestige Pass. It says it directly in the pass comparison table on the purchasing page. That being said, it does not say "Unlimited Access to Soak City Water Park in 2026", which I'm sure us worriers will have a field day with. Similarly, Haunt and Winterfest are listed on the individual pass pages and the non-purchasing comparison page, but not on the pass comparison table on the purchasing page. Tricks and Treats is only listed on the non-purchasing comparison page. Nobody should have to go dig just to see all of their pass benefits — even if the pass is severely underpriced. Hooray for more discrepancies and unclear products, I guess The omission of the Silver Pass from a lot of the parks pass lineups tells me that it may not have sold terribly well at parks that have Fall/Winter events. Gold and Prestige seem to have won out instead of Silver and Gold. Then there is also a discrepancy in which parks offer a Pre-K pass and which do not. Parks like Carowinds, Cedar Point, Kings Dominion, and Valleyfair all offer them while Kings Island is left without one (probably to keep pass sales up for that age demographic). Oddly enough, parks like Michigan's Adventure and Frontier City don't even offer 2026 passes at time of posting. Most of the Legacy Six Flags parks also still offer Park Membership programs with no sign as to if those will be going away anytime soon. Even though I can understand why a chain would like to continually sell passes 24/7/365, I've now changed my mind and do not like that 2025 passes were still for sale within 1 week of 2026 passes going on sale. No disclaimers and no forewarnings of a future sale were put out on each website. Anyone who theoretically bought a 2025 Kings Island Gold Pass for $155 before today is now out of luck and paid $40+ for a product that is now irrelevant. Speaking of websites, weren't we supposed to see new versions of the Six Flags websites and apps by some time in July? Here we are quickly approaching August with no sign of brand cohesion at all. Colin, from Coliwood Studios on YouTube, recently stated in a livestream that he's seen an early version of the new websites and that they look similar to the current Six Flags app; although he doesn't know what is taking so long to publish these new websites. I have a feeling that they may look similar to the current website for Six Flags Qiddiya City based on that comment, but nothing has been shown yet. Don't even get me started on the lack of the new-for-July Squishmallow that Kings Island has been teasing and advertising about. The thing that frustrates me about this answer is that it is literally the same copy-paste answer that has been posted under every add-on question. Rather than allow someone to take a moment to actually sit and answer each question and tack this on the end with it, Six Flags seems to be forcing their social media people to paste this non-answer with no variation. This is one of the only things I feel works better with the Park Membership model over the Season Pass model. With a membership you can (presumably) begin/end the membership at any time you please, and any add-ons could be set to expire rather than needing to void one pass to begin another. This pass sale roll out is losing its sense of desperation while beginning to reek from the stench of incompetent and/or inexperienced management. Why is a company whose passes have worked well enough for years now struggling to accomplish some of the most basic things? They can't even say this is an issue of combining benefits between the former chains because all of the 2026 passes use the Cedar Fair structure and benefits! To add on top of all of this, we're also seeing the Legacy Six Flags logo on most 2026 pass marketing. Unless this is a tactic to allow for brand rehabilitation in the coming years, I don't know why they wouldn't choose to utilize the new logo that is supposed to show off the fact that this is a new, merged company. Thank you @brenthodge for once again asking the good questions — even when they shouldn't need to be asked at all!

I really think they are giving them selves a loophole on parking with this VIP sale. No park will ever answer my question on any of their social pages when I ask about parking. I asked specifically to Kings Island: s the free parking at ALL parks or just home park? Confused as Ive heard both Can someone please confirm if this is home park only or all parks (free parking Their "non answer Beginning in January 2026, all park add-ons, including dining plans, drink plans, Fast Lane and others purchased with a 2026 Gold or Prestige Pass, and Gold or Prestige Membership, may be used at all 40+ Six Flags parks. That wasn’t my question. Why are they refusing to actually put in writing an answer to this simple question?

See - that's what Im thinking because "technically" if you renew, you are essentially replacing your 25 season pass with a 26 early. It hasn't expired, but you can't have 2 active at one time, so the current is VOID and the new starts. Add ons work at the home park until it is trihgghred in 26 to work at all parks. They have made this one of the worst roll-outs Ive ever seen of something like this.

Theres a weird "All Park Dining Upgrade" that people keep asking about - maybe that's it in that you have to buy ALL PARK DINING or pay the upgrade difference if you want to add it later. It sounds like that language is clearing up the "can I just pay the "upgrade" and get all park dining?" NO, you have to buy all park or HAVE one park and add to it. I think it also means you can't buy the all park dining but only have a single park pass (not that anyone who buys by Sept would have that next year. They've made this one of the MOST confusing things EVER. A well crafted promotion should have page after page of ??? on multiple sites. ALSO every park STILL refuses to answer my very simple direct question of "does a GOLD with the free "all park access" get you free parking at all parks or just your home park. It just says FREE PARKING giving them a big loophole. People keep saying "all parks" but Ive yet to see ANY answer from a single park that says that

Country Crossroads days off are on Mondays, Trailblazers day off is on Wednesday and Hot Rhythm days off are Thursdays, if that helps. Tuesdays, Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays are the days you can see all 3. Enjoy and have a good time

^as Terpy used to say, they already have your money and must figure the money made by non drink passes isn't enough to justify more open.