Grand Carnivale Spectacle of Color Parade

[Michael H]

The parade will be nightly at 9pm from July 20th through August 4th.    Later this year but cant wait!!

[DonHelbig]

Thanks for sharing this information! 

[brenthodge]

With that late time, hope they are having it run right into the closing “show” and not having the sloppy end-everyone jump off the floats, run back for your final show look like before. I feel like the parade gets later each year. They must really be trying to keep people there eating and drinking later

 

 

[BoddaH1994]

17 hours ago, brenthodge said:

With that late time, hope they are having it run right into the closing “show” and not having the sloppy end-everyone jump off the floats, run back for your final show look like before. I feel like the parade gets later each year. They must really be trying to keep people there eating and drinking later

 

 

I'm in support of it being later because the parade looks way better when it's darker.

...But I do draw a sense of hope from this. If the parade is at 9:00, can they really do an "Opening Ceremony" at 8:00ish? So there are two possibilities:

- The feedback they received reflected that the cuts last years were not well received, so we'll see something more similar to previous years

- There will be no Opening Ceremony and they'll bring in the entertainment right before the parade and then send them home right after.

I have a good feeling that it's Option One, just a guess.

[brenthodge]

Does the ap usually not show show times a week out. Interesting that all shows are not listed for Saturday (day one Carnivale) and no specific times are listed for those events yet either. Website still has no menu listed. 

[Taylor.B03]

I watched the webcams a couple of times after park close this last week. They did lots of I-Street lighting programming tests. It looks like they will be utilizing more effects since it'll be the dark by starting later. It looked like fun!

[brenthodge]

7 hours ago, Taylor.B03 said:

I watched the webcams a couple of times after park close this last week. They did lots of I-Street lighting programming tests. It looks like they will be utilizing more effects since it'll be the dark by starting later. It looked like fun!

Sounds promising - hopefully they can use the parade as a "lead in" to the final show on the bandstand and flow right into fireworks/closing. Wish they could use the floats in a better parade route to end circling the tower, so performers could just get off and go right to the closing show. Parade goes back to the old route, turns down IStreet by the funnel cake place, comes back up the other side, then after final show stop, goes back into parade mode as the floats go around the tower. They park and the entire area around/under the tower becomes big party zone surrounded by the floats. 

[BoddaH1994]

At KD they park the floats around the ET. I know that they haven’t had the floats out for display for a few years, but if that’s their intention this year then they could do the final show stop and then the people at that stop would get to see the rest of the parade as it makes it to its final destination. Just a thought.

[BeeastFarmer]

Just watched the parade at Kings Dominion.  Don't know if it's a new thing, but no show stops. Play the song , awkward song and the song restarts and ends when it's finished.

[brenthodge]

38 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

Just watched the parade at Kings Dominion.  Don't know if it's a new thing, but no show stops. Play the song , awkward song and the song restarts and ends when it's finished.

Maybe due to heat? I know KI has cut the stops before if there’s threat of rain. They are running theirs “one hour before close” which can be 8 or 9. Maybe too hot at 8. 

[brenthodge]

12 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

At KD they park the floats around the ET. I know that they haven’t had the floats out for display for a few years, but if that’s their intention this year then they could do the final show stop and then the people at that stop would get to see the rest of the parade as it makes it to its final destination. Just a thought.

Hope thats the case as the way they’ve done it with the “hey kids, shows over!” Mass exodus in full view on stage view is sloppy and has always bothered me. 

[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.

[brenthodge]

6 hours ago, Timchat2 said:

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.

Still think it would work to come out - go down the path on the backside of DODGEM for show stop 1 (might have to reshape the planter a bit and add a wider sidewalk on that path, but plenty of space to add it) then travel up to the tower, around Showplace, down LaRosas side then spread out more to do show stop 2 with the units spaced from Wishbone around to Graeters to make all of IStreet into one big party zone (more room at the entry area for the dance break - show stop.) Then travel around to Coney for show stop 3 - again making that whole corridor a party zone, then complete the circuit back to parade storage. Eliminate one show stop, but make show stop 2 and 3 bigger Maybe just do those 2 stops even with rooftop low pyro and rooftop confetti cannons.

[BeeastFarmer]

I have a feeling this is the last year for Grand Carnivale.

[IndyGuy4KI]

8 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

I have a feeling this is the last year for Grand Carnivale.

Why have we had it as long as we have? It works at our park. Not saying another event won't replace it, but I think it must be a successful event to go as long as it has. 

[robintodd]

51 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

I have a feeling this is the last year for Grand Carnivale.

I think GC will be around for a while.  This year they actually have more beads, tinsel around windows (from what I can tell), reported IS lights synched with the parade stop, etc.  This event is a very low cost since most of the decorations/floats are already made.  The only new costs are the food (which are recooped at a profit) and a couple of kids crafts.  Bottom line is there is always a buzz about it and it gives people a reason to re-visit. But that's just my 2-cents, I could be wrong.

[BoddaH1994]

https://www.cincinnati.com/story/entertainment/2024/07/16/kings-island-grand-carnivale-2024-parade-passes-tickets/74407072007/

Articles claims that the parade is at 8:30 and the information is from the previous year. 
 

If the info is inaccurate then this is a lesson in what happens when some people are far more concerned with blocking people on social media  then communicating with the media.

[Stoan]

My kids love watching the parade and this puts it prime 2 hours after they go to bed.

 

So glad they won't get to enjoy it this year, they'll look forward to missing it. 

 

I'm happy to see CF moving forward with making Kings Island more and more kid unfriendly. 

 

Maybe next year with the addition of 15 new places to buy booze they'll do a dollar beer night and put in an ammo vending machine.

[brenthodge]

48 minutes ago, Stoan said:

My kids love watching the parade and this puts it prime 2 hours after they go to bed.

 

So glad they won't get to enjoy it this year, they'll look forward to missing it. 

 

I'm happy to see CF moving forward with making Kings Island more and more kid unfriendly. 

 

Maybe next year with the addition of 15 new places to buy booze they'll do a dollar beer night and put in an ammo vending machine.

I do think 9 is late for the parade, but there’s usually an exodus right after it and they seem to be intent on keeping people in park later (to increase spending) maybe if they could justify it as a “kick off” running without show stops and without float riders  from Coney to IStreet at 5 to open the event. it could go up the Starbucks side to the entry area where the cast could peel off  and walk back up to the bandstand while the floats exited that front gate to temporarily be parked there. Maybe even use the push units from the 50th parade we still have-just redressed to bookend the character parade. Parking them on with side of the stage as decor. Then they could then run it at 9 back home with show stops. But I think that would be a real struggle cast-wise. 

[BeeastFarmer]

3 hours ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

Why have we had it as long as we have? It works at our park. Not saying another event won't replace it, but I think it must be a successful event to go as long as it has. 

This will be the fifth year.  Each year, it gets degraded just a little bit more.  I do think these festivals will be a key thing going forward, as they have said in previous Cedar Fair investor conference calls.  But the focus may change.  Wine weekends in April/may. Food fest in June. Hot summer nights in July (a bigger scale, with a parade like GC, and Oktoberfest in the fall daytime.  They will have to balance spending with revenue goals, but I think they will decrease the costs by using existing infrastructure such as the synched lights, Winterfest candy cane trellises etc. The red tents can stay up all of the main season if they have several festivals.  But, this is just my conjecture.  Past performance does not indicate future expectations.

 

2 hours ago, robintodd said:

I think GC will be around for a while.  This year they actually have more beads, tinsel around windows (from what I can tell), reported IS lights synched with the parade stop, etc.  This event is a very low cost since most of the decorations/floats are already made.  The only new costs are the food (which are recooped at a profit) and a couple of kids crafts.  Bottom line is there is always a buzz about it and it gives people a reason to re-visit. But that's just my 2-cents, I could be wrong.

Unless they shipped all of the things from the other parks who aren't doing it to the three that are to use it up.

[BeeastFarmer]

13 minutes ago, Stoan said:

My kids love watching the parade and this puts it prime 2 hours after they go to bed.

 

So glad they won't get to enjoy it this year, they'll look forward to missing it. 

 

I'm happy to see CF moving forward with making Kings Island more and more kid unfriendly. 

 

Maybe next year with the addition of 15 new places to buy booze they'll do a dollar beer night and put in an ammo vending machine.

People complain that the parade is too early and they can't see the lighting packages on the floats.  People complain it's too late because of things like this.

I prefer the later time to showcase the lighting packages.

I can't speak to children's bedtime, as I have no kids.  We had pretty rigid bedtime schedules when I was a child, but the one or two trips to Kings Island each year was up at 5 am and down at whatever time we got home. Three hour round trip so it was a looooonnnnngggg day.  I can see now why we only did it once or twice a year

 

[BoddaH1994]

Let’s not forget that now they have like 20 more parks where GC would be a new an exciting event.

[brenthodge]

48 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

This will be the fifth year.  Each year, it gets degraded just a little bit more.  I do think these festivals will be a key thing going forward, as they have said in previous Cedar Fair investor conference calls.  But the focus may change.  Wine weekends in April/may. Food fest in June. Hot summer nights in July (a bigger scale, with a parade like GC, and Oktoberfest in the fall daytime.  They will have to balance spending with revenue goals, but I think they will decrease the costs by using existing infrastructure such as the synched lights, Winterfest candy cane trellises etc. The red tents can stay up all of the main season if they have several festivals.  But, this is just my conjecture.  Past performance does not indicate future expectations.

 

Unless they shipped all of the things from the other parks who aren't doing it to the three that are to use it up.

This is not the 5th year. It’s the 4th time. It was 2019, 21,23 and now 24. It’s being “going on” for 6 years. We skipped 2020 and 2022, but do agree that we might see more, smaller events like sone weekends and a few bigger things that can all share infrastructure. 

[BeeastFarmer]

2 hours ago, brenthodge said:

This is not the 5th year. It’s the 4th time. It was 2019, 21,23 and now 24. It’s being “going on” for 6 years. We skipped 2020 and 2022, but do agree that we might see more, smaller events like sone weekends and a few bigger things that can all share infrastructure. 

Thanks for the correction...I forgot '22 was skipped in lieu of the 50th March of Celebration.

[Timchat2]

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.

[brenthodge]

4 hours ago, Timchat2 said:

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.

I’m wondering that as well. I’m sure there will be SOME daytime shows, but as of now nothing is listed. Surely no chance everything is being pulled into CARNIVALE is there?

[Timchat2]

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.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

13 hours ago, BeeastFarmer said:

I have a feeling this is the last year for Grand Carnivale.

Tbh I feel like Carnivale has run its course. If the park is not going to return it to the 2019 version with the individual stages with live performances as well as a special Carnivale themed nightly bandstand show and not retrospect, I feel it's time to lay Carnivale to rest and do something else. I also agree with your comment above about doing more seasonal events. Here is my idea of how I would do events during the season in order if I ran the park with an unlimited budget obviously lol:

Opening Day: Start with a big opening day ceremony right before the park opens with a presentation from the GM and/or other park representatives as well as a countdown and a "Kings Island is officially open for the season!" cheer to officially kick off the season. Have multiple local bands come in and perform throughout the park on multiple stages (ie Festhaus, Bandstand, Gazeebo in Rivertown, etc). Also hold an opening day parade like the Reds does and invite all the local High School/College marching bands as well as local organizations. Also would make custom designed "Opening weekend" T shirts for employees to wear as part of their uniform for the weekend to help celebrate the occasion. Finally, to end Opening Day, have a special opening day fireworks show.

April and May: Food and Wine Festival. Much better time of year as it felt more like a Springtime Event than an early Summer Event. Also would try and bring in some sort of special event for Memorial Day Weekend

June: KidzFest in Planet/Camp Snoopy like what Canada's Wonderland does. Held on the weekends in Early June just as kids are starting their Summer Break.

         Brew and BBQ Fest: Weekends in late June in Rivertown/area around Backlot/Floral Clock. Live Music and Games in the grass area near Diamondback's brake run.

         Also in Camp Snoopy every Friday, Saturday, and Sunday night from 8 pm - 9:30 pm throughout the summer, campfire pits would be set out and s'mores kits would be for sale for "S'mores with Snoopy!"

4th of July: Independence Day Celebration! Have special patriotic themed performances/activities throughout the day in the park as well as Soak City. I would bring in the folks from the Cincinnati Balloon Glow that used to take place at Coney and would block off a section of the parking lot for them to set up their Balloons at the park. Then of course would end the night with the best Independence Day fireworks display in the area!

July/August: Summer Music Festival. Just like Carowinds is doing this year, on select weekends in July and August, the park would turn into a music festival ground with headlining acts at Timberwolf and local/up and coming acts at different stages in and around Action Zone. The locations for the two smaller stages would be one in front of Congo Falls and one near Festhaus where Hifi Honey played during Food and Wine. 

September/October: Haunt/Tricks and Treats Fall Fest. Would add more mazes as well as bring back the tween mazes for during the day. 

                                  Oktoberfest: A german themed food festival during the day in the area near Festhaus/Viking Fury. Would take place in conjuction with Tricks and Treats

November/December: Winterfest. Bring back the holly jolly trolly as well as the other smaller pop up entertainment that was cut last year. Also would try and find a way to figure out the tree light wiring on the Eiffel Tower and open up the Eiffel Tower for Winterfest. Enclose the 265' platform with a glass barrier like what Coney BBQ has and add heaters to the top. The views of the park with the christmas lights from up there would be nothing short of spectacular!

New Years Eve/Closing Day: It's almost perfect as is, but I would personally bring in local live bands to perform during the New Years Eve party like Carowinds does. 

 

Finally to wrap this all up, I would also bring back the smaller pop up events the park used to do. Like the dive in movies in Soak City, Coaster Campout, as well as Passholder late night ERT events. 

Obviously this is just me dreaming as doing all of this would cost a fortune, but I always liked the idea of doing more seasonal events during the season. 

[Timchat2]

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.

[brenthodge]

Not sure why PEANUTS festival only ran one year. It was a copy of an ongoing event at Knotts, so the development cost was pretty low since a lot of the material already exists.