Timchat2

Busch Gardens Williamsburg has mostly been holding up on entertainment despite the ups and downs of its parent company. You'd hope that nearby competition would keep Kings Dominion devoted to a strong lineup. I know some weren't too excited about the general repeat of the (very solid) Golden Celebration offerings, but as we're seeing with the other parks we could have faced some significant cuts at Kings Island as well.

Carowinds' 50th (along with Worlds of Fun, which is actually getting an okay number of shows for a smaller park in 2023) came around just as Cedar Fair has been tightening the purse strings, so the anniversaries this year probably aren't going to be as elaborate as what Kings Island and Cedar Point received. The fact that Kings Island has retained so many performers for this season shows that someone at the park is fighting the good fight and sees live entertainment as something important to the attraction mix. Again, I wouldn't have expected that even five years ago. Hopefully it will continue in years to come.

Off the Rails is still just as fun as last season. It's great to have the show back! In light of the live entertainment cuts at other Cedar Fair parks this season (especially Cedar Point) , we're fortunate to have so much entertainment at the park with Grand Carnivale still on the way. Doing an informal count it appears that Kings Island possibly has more total performers than Cedar Point in their major productions for 2023, which is something I never would have expected.

Our experiences have been pretty mixed so far as well. Items like the naan bread or potatoes will often be unavailable and the proteins like the chicken can have some funky texture. I really wanted to support a non-chain park original restaurant with a unique menu but we're probably done with it too.

Any ideas when it was last working? While the ride might not be around forever it would be a nice little touch to see this return.

Did the sign for Congo Falls have actual water pouring out of it at some point? The "S" of "FALLS" is worn away on the bottom and there appears to be a pipe just inside the lower part of the letter:

I always make a point to do a slow stroll around the carousel in the evening as well. Hard not to feel grateful to have such a special place on a warm evening so close to home.

It was indeed a beautiful evening. The park has come so far in terms of atmosphere and charm these last few years, and nights like tonight really bring the point home.

We noticed the slightly odd focus on the day ending instead of adventure. I was hoping we would get a big Adventure Express "NOW YOU WILL PAY!!!" moment with the flames bursting on either side of the fountain. It felt like a natural addition for Fun, Fireworks and Fifty but I get that they were trying to cover a lot of ground last year. Still though Adventure Awaits is all sincerely presented and original music is almost always welcome.

Agreed. This feels like a "sustainable" level of spectacle considering how much time and money FFF likely cost the park. They didn't have to go as hard as they did, including a new original song, so it appears that the legacy of FFF will live on through higher production values for the nighttime shows.

The show casts really brought a lot of energy to their preview performances today with a lot of familiar faces along with some promising new talent. Phantom Theater Encore has some nice little changes as well that enhance the character beats.

That's unfortunate. The vibe around Adventure Port at night is lining up to be something special, and that's even before all of the elements are in place. Hopefully the park can figure out a way to keep some "nice things" around despite some of the guests' behavior.

The 70s on Demand and RetroSpect both had what looked to be full dress rehearsals today. It might be worth keeping an eye out tomorrow and Friday for other previews.

Showtimes have been posted on the official site. The schedules appear to shift a bit during Grand Carnivale: Phantom Theater Encore May 27 - 29 | June 1 - July 21: 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM & 5:30 PM July 22 - August 6: 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM & 4:00 PM August 7 - 13: 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM & 5:30 PM No shows Mondays. The 70s on Demand May 27 - 29 | June 1 - July 21 1:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 3:30 PM & 5:00 PM July 22 - August 6: 2:00 PM, 3:00 PM & 4:30 PM August 7 - 13: 1:00 PM, 2:30 PM, 3:30 PM & 5:00 PM No shows Wednesdays. RetroSpect May 27 - 29 | June 1 - July 21: 7:15 PM, 8:00 PM, 8:30 PM, 9:15 PM & 9:45 PM July 22 - August 6: 6:15 PM, 8:00 PM, 8:30 PM, 9:15 PM & 9:45 PM August 7 - 13: 7:15 PM, 8:00 PM, 8:30 PM, 9:15 PM & 9:45 PM No shows Tuesdays. Off the Rails June 10 - July 21: 1:30 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM & 6:00 PM July 22 - August 6: 2:30 PM, 3:30 PM & 5:00 PM August 7 - 13: 1:30 PM, 3:00 PM, 4:30 PM & 6:00 PM No shows Thursdays.

I've had the same experience. I love the idea of the new dessert items but they can sometimes end up "trapped" in a busy location like Enrique's. Fortunately you can grab-and-go at Coney BBQ and Sweet Spot.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/events/grand-carnivale Grand Carnivale will run from July 22 - August 6 this season.

I definitely appreciated the gesture of the past and present connecting, but it also reminded me how the older logo has more warmth and distinct character.

The Golden Celebration would have been a perfect (golden?) opportunity to switch back to the classic logo. This addition is an encouraging sign that someone at the park loves it as much as we do.

Oops, my mistake! Whatever the dates I'm just happy to have the event back!

So far all of the Grand Carnivale parks have posted their dates except Kings Island. Carowinds, Kings Dominion and Valleyfair are June 24-July 9. Worlds of Fun is July 22-August 6. California's Great America (as Carnivale at Orleans Place) is July 19-August 6. Assuming there are two sets of floats the dates for Kings Island will likely be July 22-August 6.

RetroSpect is apparently a show being developed for five of the Cedar Fair parks this season. All of the those parks also will host Grand Carnivale so it might be happening in place of the Royal Rhythms this year.

I absolutely agree. It would be a perfect early-season event. After the expanded ambition of the Golden Celebration season I was hopeful that 2023 was the season we'd finally see it happen again.

I agree. I LOVE seeing the park put some more thought into how the colors of the ride interact with its surroundings.

I'd imagine we'll see a version of Let's Get Wild from Kings Dominion. It looked be very well-received there.