Timchat2

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.

Presumably they are finally swapping out the old wavy font logo for the current version of the Cedar Point logo that's been phasing in for a while now:

Recently it occurred to me that the Charlie Brown car is the last car on the train, possibly a nod to how Charlie Brown always feeling like he comes in last.

The Mega Movie Parade is possibly still in "technical rehearsals" so all of the elements might not be in place yet. That said, the floats are very impressive, especially JAWS.

With Trailblazers X-Treme playing this summer it seems likely that NyteWalkers will return for 2024. As for other evening live entertainment during Haunt, presumably Monster Rock (or a new variation) will play at Festhaus and Dr. Nightmare (the game show) would be back at the Bandstand.

https://x.com/KingsIslandPR/status/1808971305774887002?t=_trAEwy-JxFa37_mI-pasw&s=19 The Gazillion Bubble Show will extend its run until July 21st.

https://investors.sixflags.com/parks/default.aspx

I've seen the show several times and it is a lot of fun. The cast (both the sport performers and dancers) have incredible energy and really positive vibes, which makes for a perfect summertime show.

Will there be tasting cards this year for Grand Carnivale? The current page lists a "$20 in-park reward" with the Grand Carnivale Bundles but nothing about a tasting card with 6 or 10 items like previous years. The Kings Dominion Grand Carnivale page says "With a Grand Carnivale Package, you can sample exquisite tastes from around the world with a $20 in-park credit included with admission and parking!" with any mention of a tasting card. Food & Wine doesn't have a tasting card so it's possible Grand Carnivale might go the same route.

Along with all the decor there are even subtle animated elements (like the spinning globe in the kids room) and sound effects in the different spaces. They really went above and beyond what the park has attempted before theme-wise.

The Good Gravy queue is very impressive. So much detail to take in!

On the Grand Carnivale page the text mentions "As the parade concludes, thunderous music builds to a crescendo and our King and Queen kick off an end-of-night finale filled with fireworks, lasers, lights and drones." Does this mean the parade will be later this year? Didn't it start at 7:00PM last year?

I wish I could like each of these comments more than once! Having flames coming out of the pedestals would have been spectacular. As much I loved Fun, Fireworks & Fifty it felt like a missed opportunity with the flame effects to have a major "NOW YOU WILL PAY!" moment to honor Adventure Express. There is something really special about having the familiar daytime environment totally transform during a nighttime spectacular. Fantasmic at Disneyland is especially impressive since all of the show infrastructure is essentially invisible (or at least as invisible as that much equipment can be) during the day.

The new International Street has been great for the additional seating and the ability to host parades and nighttime spectaculars but the fountain redo was definitely a major miss. It's unfortunate the park did not seem to recognize how much the pedestals and larger fountains are a big part of what made the Royal Fountain so iconic. I can't imagine it will happen anytime soon but hopefully they revisit the fountains to make them truly royal again.

While I enjoy RetroSpect, having the Royal Rhythms during Grand Carnivale made the event feel all the more special since you got an entirely different Bandstand show for a couple weeks. A big part of what made Grand Carnivale great in its best years was the interaction with all of the GC characters throughout the evening. You would meet them at the opening ceremony, take pictures with them around the park, dance and sing with them during the parade and then they would all gather at the Bandstand for the big goodbye of the finale. In 2023 (and presumably 2024) with the performers still doing their daytime shows during the event it doesn't leave them much time to be the characters for Grand Carnivale. The opportunity for those special guest connections are lost.

Impressed by the scope of the decor. It's a bit like a localized Grand Carnivale. Also, there is different music playing on International Street presumably for the festival.

Narration can have its place but I agree that with nighttime spectaculars it is better to show than tell. Ideally the music and visuals will let the audience know how to feel.

The Food & Wine Festival could be a preview of the summer events that might replace Grand Carnivale at some point soon. Worlds of Fun and Dorney Park are both offering Summer Nights events instead of Grand Carnivale this season, so Kings Island might do something similar next year.

The setup is looking pretty nice so far throughout Tower Gardens with the tables and small Grand Carnivale-style tents, along with the decor in Oktoberfest to tie that area into the event as well. It will be interesting to see how guests react to the offerings.