Timchat2

French Corner is closed with a sign by the door saying that they are "brewing up something special" that will be "coming this fall". The partition in the dining area and the floor have been torn up inside, so it appears to be more than just a change in offerings.

Poles have been set out presumably for the scare zones in Rivertown and Coney Mall, along with whatever is happening in front of the Kings Island Theater. The lights and rigging in Area 72 have been set up as well:

At Festhaus:

Could this area be used for Oktoberfest if Kings Island is hosting the new event like the other parks? Like putting the event on either side of Festhaus?

Last week a number of the poles used for Grand Carnivale were relocated in front of the Kings Island Theater. Have those been used in that area before?

Happy closing to the casts and crews of Country Crossroads and RetroSpect! It's hard to believe that the summer show season has already come to an end. Onward to Tricks and Treats Fall Fest and Haunt!

Some minor prep for NyteWalkers:

The synchronized kites were definitely an unexpected highlight. We loved them!

+100 for having the old fountains back. There must be a way to have the synchronization, lights, etc. while maintaining the grandeur of the original pedestals and fountains.

The show is almost certainly going to return to Kings Island by next summer. I suppose if the scheduling allowed it could even return as soon as Tricks and Treats.

Overall Grand Carnivale feels a bit stronger and more cohesive this year with the rearranged scheduled. Having a couple of the daytime shows (Trailblazers X-treme and Country Crossroads) available after 7PM was nice for us since we generally visit later in the evening. The decor looks great, especially at night. The little alcove between French Corner and Sweet Spot is particularly nice. The new lighting on the floats adds a lot to the energy of the parade. The synchronized building lighting on International Street really ramps up the energy during the show stops too. While it feels a bit strange to not have the big finale dance number with the full cast it was a lot of fun having so many of the performers mingling and taking pictures as the dance party continued at the Bandstand. It was nice having two of the floats out at the dance party after the parade. We noticed the lights on the floats were synced with Under the Stars, which was a nice touch. The tasting cards would have been nice and we still miss having performances in each country but at a time when so much is getting cut we're still happy to have an event of this scale so close to home.

The items we've tried so far have been freshly prepared and generally tasty. Currywurst and Schnitzel Slider: Szechuan Beef Bao Bun & Smoked Duck Fried Rice:

The tasting cards are apparently up to the individual parks and not corporate since California's Great America is offering cards with ten for $59.99 and six for $39.99, as well as three tastings with the Carnivale bundle. That park apparently sees value in the cards that Kings Island and Kings Dominion doesn't. For what it's worth (assuming the France items are $7.49) it would cost around $118 to purchase all 15 Grand Carnivale food items at Kings Island.

From the menus posted so far most food items are $6.99-$9.49: China • Smoked Duck Fried Rice
– 9.49 • Szechuan Beef Bao Bun – 7.49 • Almond Cookies & Fortune Cookies – 9.49 Germany • Pretzel Bites w/ Bock Beer Cheese – 7.49 • Currywurst – 6.99 • Schnitzel Slider – 7.49 • Black Forest Trifle – 9.49 Italy • Lasagna Fritta – 6.99 • Piadina –9.49 • Cannoli – 7.49 Spain • Paella – 6.99 • Buñuelos - 6.99

The app has been updated with the show times during Grand Carnivale: Opening Procession - 6:00pm Spectacle of Color Parade - 9:00pm Country Crossroads - 3:30pm, 4:30pm, 7:30pm RetroSpect - 6:30pm, 7:30pm Trailblazers X-treme - 3:30pm, 4:30pm, 7:00pm

If nothing else it would AWESOME to have a seasonal event for April and May. While it is always nice just seeing the park after the winter months, a special event could bring so much energy to that time of year.

Trailblazers X-treme and Country Crossroads have posted closing dates of August 4 and August 11, respectively, so you'd think it means the daytime shows will run during Grand Carnivale. Otherwise it means they effectively close this Friday. Cedar Point is listing adjusted showtimes for its Boardwalk Nights starting this weekend since those shows are staffed by performers from the daytime show The Rally. Presumably Kings Island plans to do the same with the times listed on its app.

It's not clear what is happening with the regular summer shows during Grand Carnivale. For Saturday 7/20 the app only lists the Peanuts meet-and-greets, Gazillion Bubble Show and Under the Stars. With the parade at 9PM (and presumably the opening ceremony at 6PM) the later Country Crossroads and Trailblazers might not be able to perform as scheduled normally.

During the run-through tonight visible on the webcam, the parade floats went behind the Eiffel Tower and then down the Sweet Spot side of the street like the WinterFest Wonderland Parade. There was a show stop on the Sweet Spot side and on the Starbucks side. After the last show stop at least five of the floats traveled back down the route to the parade tent at Racer. It appeared that two floats (possibly the France and India floats) circled behind the Eiffel Tower and stopped in front of the Bandstand for a couple minutes before also returning along the parade route to Racer. The lighting on each side of International Street changed during the show stops, so it does appear to be more of a spectacle at night.

All Wheel Sports posted a casting notice for NyteWalkers, probably for Kings Island:

The pasta salad is surprisingly good, if one likes pasta salad (and I do).

Decor and booths are going up around International Street:

It's entirely anecdotal but there seemed to be a fair amount of tasting cards walking around in previous years. Maybe they found that passholders would just purchase one tasting card for the run of the event and not go much beyond that? We usually purchased a few to cover all the items.

Presumably no tasting cards this year since Kings Dominion isn't doing them. Carnivale at Orleans Place at California's Great America will have tasting cards this year, however.

Last year the parade started at 7:00PM, although it might be different this year if they are adjusting for the scheduling of the performers with the daytime shows.