Timchat2

The map posted by Flight of Fear shows five "Celebration Zones" that match the show stop locations of the parades (with the addition of a stop at the front gate area):

The recent KI Blog post about the show mentioned that Phantom Theater Encore was written by K.C. Gussler who is a show writer/director at Knott's Berry Farm. I'm not sure about his history with Kings Island but he does have a good sense of showmanship. That might explain why certain specific Phantom Theater beats didn't show up though.

That's exactly what happened tonight. No drones but thankfully the rain held off and the rest of the show went on like usual.

We noticed that too. There appears to be only a couple speakers facing the front gate so most of the audio is echoing off the International Street buildings. The area around the Bandstand has much clearer sound. Otherwise it is really awesome to see the park pull off a production of this scope!

That's been our experience with many Sweet Spot items. They tend to have a great "curb appeal" in that items look really rich and tasty but most of the time the product itself is often dry and lacking flavor. We're still excited to try more of the Golden Celebration offerings though.

It's possible the new VIP tours might use part of Tower Gardens as a lounge area like the ones set up at Cedar Point for their 150th.

Starting May 28th Club KI will be centered around the International Street Bandstand with a live band, dancers, and more along with a DJ, so apparently they are going to bring a new lighting and sound setup to the stage soon.

We were just saying the same thing. The logo itself is fairly plain but the "ribbon" framing really looks great around the park on all the banner signs.

The new music on International Street was very pleasant (if perhaps a bit loud). Will this be the regular music for the year or were they trying something out for the passholder preview day?

We actually noted to each other that the "Festhaus smell" didn't seem quite as severe, possibly due to the new floor not having a season's worth of spills and mopping. The regular (mostly pleasant) food smells were still there, of course.

Those tiny pieces of concept art for the Golden Celebration shows are very encouraging! It appears we'll be getting something in the vein of Celebrate 150 at Cedar Point with the larger-than-life costumes (like a walk-around blue ice cream man!) and performers for the Street Party at the Eiffel Tower. This could be something special!

To paraphrase Muppet Vision 3D, the banner is a salute to all eras of Kings Island but mostly the Cedar Fair one.

The "abandoned" old truck having steady-burning bright blue-white LED headlights has always struck me as odd.

https://www.visitkingsisland.com/events/haunt The official page shows dates for 2022.

https://www.valleyfair.com/events/tricks-and-treats https://www.cagreatamerica.com/events/tricks-and-treats

Kings Island really shines during their seasonal events so it would be great if the park had something for April-May before the main summer season kicks in. Something like the Peanuts Celebration or Frontier Festival would be nice!

With the recent casting call for a drumline it sounds like Kings Island might be getting something similar to Celebrate 150 at Cedar Point. Hopefully the Golden Celebration will get some original music as well.

Five of the parks that hosted Grand Carnivale in 2021 (Worlds of Fun, Valleyfair, Dorney Park, Kings Dominion and Carowinds) have posted event dates for 2022. California's Great America is now also listing a version of Grand Carnivale called Carnivale at Orleans Place. Kings Island is the only Grand Carnivale park that hasn't posted new dates for the event. With the 50th Golden Celebration likely running all summer (Memorial Day to Labor Day) can we assume that Grand Carnivale won't be happening at Kings Island in 2022?

Windish Music recently put a call out for drumline performers as part of the 50th Golden Celebration. They appear to be putting together something similar to Celebrate 150 at Cedar Point.

I hope some version of the pedestals can return to the Royal Fountain sooner than later. There has to be a way for them to coexist with the dancing fountain idea.

I appreciated that the Eiffel Tower tree and International Street were lit up with blue and gold for the finale of the New Year's Eve fireworks to usher in the 50th anniversary celebration. It was a nice touch!

It was still a fun time, although you lost a lot of the up-close character interaction that comes with the stops. That said, I don't think the show stop for WinterFest Wonderland Parade is as strong at the stop for Spectacle of Color at Grand Carnivale. That stop seems to immediately pull in and energize guests in a way I've seen few park parades accomplish anywhere. The flow of music and dance just clicks with the audience. The stop for WinterFest Wonderland Parade is still fun and playful but it doesn't seem like guests click with it as readily. Admittedly the idea of a high-energy Christmas parade is fairly new to regional theme parks so I can understand if guests will take some time to get onboard.

Does Kings Dominion leave their floats out after the last show stop since it surrounds the Eiffel Tower? We haven't been this year to see what happens.

The Jack Frost floats at Carowinds and Kings Dominion seem to have been generating "snow" for their entire runs this season, so it would nice for Kings Island's float to finally join the party. It's a great effect!

If the heavy rain had started up again during the parade that might have actually happened.