Timchat2

Any possibility that the screens might be used to give the ride a holiday overlay during WinterFest?

From my understanding the Worlds of Fun costume department aka "The Sparkle Factory" produces (or produced if that's no longer the arrangement) the costumes for the major seasonal events like Grand Carnivale and WinterFest at the legacy Cedar Fair parks. The individual parks likely take care of their own park-level productions, particularly at larger parks like Kings Island and Cedar Point.

The ridership number for Six Flags New England seems surprisingly high. While it certainly sits in a densely populated part of the country, the park doesn't seem to come up often as a major player in the chain.

A number of the Six Flags parks have been posting statistics about the 2025 season via social media, in particular ridership totals: Worlds of Fun - 5,674,255 Six Flags St. Louis - 5,909,044 Six Flags Over Georgia - 6,862,186 Kings Dominion - 10,668,737 Carowinds - 12,445,245 Six Flags New England - 15,017,076 Kings Island - 22,858,387 Canada's Wonderland - 25,832,308 Cedar Point's Wrapped post doesn't provide specific ridership numbers. In the chain-wide Wrapped post, Knott's Berry Farm is shown as the most visited park. The top six visitor cities were also included:

I wonder if any melodies from Phantom Theater Encore will make it into the ride's soundtrack, even just as a musical Easter egg.

The app is showing Songs of the Nativity near the carousel pavilion, which might explain the rigging that appeared there near the end of Haunt:

Sweet Spot has some unique autumn offerings this weekend along with a few remaining Haunt items:

WinterFest preparations around the park:

The Racer is also listed as "Both Sides" this year.

Ride availability at WinterFest: https://www.sixflags.com/kingsisland/winterfest/ride-availability

It would be really interesting to see what specific parks are "outperforming" and "underperforming". The presentation really focused on the differences between those two groupings.

Yuletide Follies is fantastic. With the talk of Tinker's Toy Factory possiblyy ending I had some hope Yuletide would have moved into the Kings Island Theater. From what I understand the original intent was to have the show spread to the other WinterFest parks but that doesn't appear to be happening now.

The last remaining What the Dickens was at Canada's Wonderland. Their version was cute but Kings Island had the stronger performers. This year What the Dickens is being replaced with a new comedy show called Small Town Snowmance, playing into the tropes of Hallmark Christmas movies.

Rotating the smaller productions could be a nice budget-friendly way to have shows like Four Drummers Drumming, What the Dickens, and Holly Jolly Trolley return.

At Kings Island the apparently new shows are Tinker's Jingle Bell Ball and It's Christmas, Charlie Brown! (in place of A Peanuts Guide to Christmas). Blizten's Brass Band isn't listed on the site but I believe the group wasn't listed last year but still appeared in the park. Songs of the Nativity mentions "a stable of live animals", which it didn't have in its new Planet Snoopy location last year. The WinterFest event page touches on cookie decorating, Sally's Christmas Crafts, and ice skating, so most of the major activities seem to be intact. The ice carvers in Action Ice Zone are returning, so it's possible the sledding will return as well.

Tinker's Jingle Bell Ball at Kings Island has the same description but presumably it will be a different show despite the plot sounding very similar to the original Tinker's.

https://www.sixflags.com/kingsisland/shows The redesigned website is listing WinterFest shows including a new show called Tinker's Jingle Bell Ball.

Some blue and white Christmas lights were glowing in Action Zone on Friday night, so it appears that area is still being used for WinterFest this year. The lights were also up in the White Water Canyon tunnel that becomes the queue for the train.

New (or at least new to me) rigging in the carousel pavilion, presumably for WinterFest?

The lights are still in place and operating in the fountain along with the pyro:

I assume that means no more fountain shows on the hour this weekend, even a version with pyro and lights but no water? I can't remember what happened last year with the midnight show.

Every year I'm reminded how great it would be if the music loops in Rivertown and Coney Mall existed all season and not just during Tricks and Treats. It's just the right vibe for those areas of the park.

The other "big" parks like Cedar Point, Carowinds, and Canada's Wonderland appear to be keeping the Haunted Attraction Pass as well.

The official websites for Kings Dominion, Dorney Park, Valleyfair, and Worlds of Fun have banners stating that haunted attractions will be included in admission for the remainder of the Haunt season.

https://investors.sixflags.com/news/press-releases/press-release-details/2025/Six-Flags-Announces-Corporate-Governance-Changes/default.aspx Executive Chairman Selim Bassoul and Lead Independent Director Daniel J. Hanrahan to step down December 31, 2025. Marilyn Spiegel elected non-executive Chair of the Board of Directors, effective January 1, 2026