Six Flags Seasonal Events Discussion

[Timchat2]

Knott's Scary Farm has reportedly cut Wednesdays from the schedule for this year, along with Six Flags Magic Mountain removing Thursday nights from the Fright Fest schedule. Those dates were originally on the calendars when the events were announced.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

Six Flags Over Texas has announced their first 2026 event with grad nite 2026, scheduled to take place on Friday, May 8, 2026 from 6PM - 12AM. Magic Mountain will also be hosting a Jr. Grad Nite and the regular Grad Nite, with each event having 2 separate nights (4 total) to experience it.

I think it would be nice to see this event come to Kings Island as well. It could be a nice reintroduction for after hours events at KI while providing another safe event for high school seniors to attend with their friends. 

 

Event Details: https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas/events/grad-nite

[BeeastFarmer]

If they do reintroduce it at Kings Island, I hope they have more safeguards in place than they did in 1983.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

On 8/13/2025 at 11:40 PM, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

La Ronde (Montreal, Quebec, QC) https://www.sixflags.com/larondeen/events

• L'international Des Feux Loto-Quebec 
  • International fireworks competition.
• Extreme Flavors
• Monster's Birthday
• Pink Weekend
  • With the Quebec Breast Cancer Foundation
• La Ronde Vire Country
  • Country Vibes at La Ronde
• Adrenaline Nights
• Fright Fest presented by fizz
• Kids Pumpkin Festival

La Ronde seems to have quietly removed the Kids Pumpkin Festival from their website. It was only supposed to take place over 4-ish days in October, but for now it looks to have been cancelled.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

Fiesta Texas has added a Prestige Passholder Midnight Bash event for December 31st happening from 10PM-midnight. Eligible participants will be able to access exclusive ride time while the rest of the park (minus these rides) stays open to guests.

Quote

Event Highlights

Where: 17000 IH-10 West, San Antonio, TX 78257
What to expect: A New Year’s Eve exclusive event for top-tier Passholders featuring after-hours access, exclusive ride time in DC UNIVERSE™ from 10:00 PM – midnight, and prime viewing for the Midnight Fireworks Spectacular.
Who can attend: Guests with valid Diamond, Diamond Elite, Diamond Elite VIP, or Prestige Membership, or Prestige Passholder status (digital proof required).
Cost: Included with eligible Pass/Membership; Food, drink, and merchandise available for separate purchase.

It would be nice to see this kind of event come to the other major parks next year. That's the kind of thing the Prestige Pass would be good for. It would also be a good place to bring in separately-ticketed events for non-Prestige passholders. I'd certainly consider upgrading to Prestige if this kind of event was included.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

Six Flags 2026 Events (as of 12/01/2025)

Most of these are group events, but I believe the Special Events calendars will be released closer to each park's 2026 Opening Day. I'm personally expecting the major parks to host an America 250-related festival, though only time will tell.

 

Canada's Wonderland (Vaughan, Ontario) https://www.sixflags.com/canadaswonderland/events?event-type=groups

• Performance in the Park (Any Operating Day)
• Physics, Science & Math Days (Any Operating Day)
• Cadets Day (May 23)
• SHSM Certification Series (May 7, 14, 15, & 19)
• Festival of Music (Select Dates May 7 - June 12)
• Engineering Day (May 8)
• Wondercoaster Building Contest (May 8)
• WonderLEAD — Youth Leadership Conference (May 20 & 21)
• Marketing and Sales Seminar (May 22)
• Graduation Celebration Package (M-R in June, Excluding 6/29 and 6/30)

Carowinds (Charlotte, NC) https://www.sixflags.com/carowinds/events?event-type=groups

• Performance in the Park (Select Public Operating Days)
• Festival of Music (Select Dates March 14 - May 30 | 10am-2pm)
• Education Days (Select Dates March 27 - May 22 | 10am-2pm)
• Youth Leadership Day (March 27, April 17, & May 8 | 9:30am-11am)
• Meteorology Day (April 10, May 15 | 10am-12pm in Aeronautica Landing)
• Future Health Professionals Day (April 24 | 10am)
• School-Only Thursdays (April 30, May 14 | 9am-5pm)
• Grad Nite (May 1 | 7pm-1am)
• Engineering Day (May 1 | 10am-12am)

Cedar Point (Sandusky, OH) https://www.sixflags.com/cedarpoint/events

• Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day)
• Amusement Park 101 (May 11, 14, & 15)
• Physics, Science, & Math Days (May 11, 14, & 15)
• Festival of Music (May 13, 14, & 15)
• Engineering Day (May 14)
• Girl Scouts Day (June 24)

Dorney Park (Allentown, PA) https://www.sixflags.com/dorneypark/events

• Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day)
• Coaster Quest (Any Public Operating Day)
• Engineering Day (May 2026)

Frontier City (Oklahoma City, OK) https://www.sixflags.com/frontiercity/events

• School Days (May 1 & 8)

Kings Dominion (Doswell, VA) https://www.sixflags.com/kingsdominion/events

• Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day)
• Dance Festival (April 11)
• Festival of Music (Select Dates April 25 - June 6)
• Marketing Day (May 1)
• Education Days (Select Dates May 1 - June 5)
• Girl Scout Badging (June 6)
• Scare School (October 10)

Kings Island (Mason, OH) https://www.sixflags.com/kingsisland/events?event-type=groups

• Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day)
• Festival of Music (April 24, May 1, May 8, & May 15)
• Physics, Science, & Math Days (April 24 & May 1, 8, 14, 15, & 22)
• STEM Days (May 8 & 15)

Knott's Berry Farm (Buena Park, CA) https://www.sixflags.com/knotts/events?event-type=groups

• Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day)
• Adventures in Education (Any Public Operating Day; Excluding Sundays, based on availability)
• Fire & Law Tribute Days (January 5 - 22)
• Festival of Music (May 1)
• Knott's Grad Nite (May 14 & 28)
  • Jr. High/Middle School (May 14 | 7pm-12am)
  • High School (May 28 | 9pm-2am)

Michigan's Adventure (Muskegon, MI) https://www.sixflags.com/miadventure/events

• Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day)
• School Opening Day (May 20)
• School Days (May 22, May 27-29, June 3-5)

Darien Lake (Corfu, NY) https://www.sixflags.com/darienlake/events

• LIVE NATION® Concert Series (July 7, 11, 19, 26, 31, August 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 14, 30, September 3, 11, 17, & 28)
• Music Fest (May 15, 16, 18, 22, 29, 30, June 5, & 6)
• Education Days (May 18)

Discovery Kingdom (Vallejo, CA) https://www.sixflags.com/discoverykingdom/events/groups/student-and-youth/education-days

• Education Days
• Discovery Field Trip

Fiesta Texas (San Antonio, TX) https://www.sixflags.com/fiestatexas/events

• Education Days
• Grad Nite (May 14)

Great Adventure (Jackson Township, NJ) https://www.sixflags.com/greatadventure/events

• Grad Nite (June 5 | 8pm-1am)

Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, IL) https://www.sixflags.com/greatamerica/events

• Physics Day (April 23)
• Grad Nite (April 24, May 9 & 16 | 9:30pm-3am)
• Math & Science Days (Any Regularly Scheduled Operating Day April 25 - June 30)
• Dance Fest (May 3, 17, 31)
• Technology & Engineering Day (May 15)

Great Escape (Lake George, NY) https://www.sixflags.com/greatescape/events

• Education Day

Magic Mountain (Valencia, CA) https://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain/events?event-type=groups

• AVID Party (March 13)
• Jr. Grad Nite (May 8 & 22 | 6pm-12am)
• Grad Nite (May 15 & 29 | 8pm-3am)

Six Flags New England (Agawam, MA) https://www.sixflags.com/newengland/events

• Educational Days

Six Flags Over Georgia (Arlington, TX) https://www.sixflags.com/overgeorgia/events

• Education Days (April 16 & 23, May 7 & 14 | 9am-4pm)
• Grad Nite (May 1 | 7pm-2am)

Six Flags Over Texas (Arlington, TX) https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas/events?event-type=groups

• Education Days (April 24, May 1, 8, 14, 15, 21, & 22)
• Grad Nite (May 8 | 6pm-12am)

Six Flags St. Louis (Eureka, MO) https://www.sixflags.com/stlouis/events

• Physics Day (April 24)
• Education Days (May 1, 8, 15, & 22)

Valleyfair (Shakopee, MN) https://www.sixflags.com/valleyfair/events

• Performance in the Park (Any Public Operating Day)
• Appreciation for Education Days
• Career Day 
• Engineering Day 
• School Days 
• Marketing Day 
• Homeschool Days 
• Physics & Science Days 
• Scout Days 

Worlds of Fun (Kansas City, MO) 

• Festival of Music (Select Dates May 2 - 17)
• Education Days

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

Magic Mountain has released some of their 2026 seasonal festival lineup on their website (https://www.sixflags.com/magicmountain/events). Their calendar looks pretty standard so far (I believe Holiday in the Park will be added after the current event concludes). The only interesting thing I can see so far is that there is only one night with a 4th of July celebration. While I personally think the chain could use the anniversary as an excuse to expand the Star Spangled Night(s) event to be a week long and drive some more attendance by way of "here's a length of this event you don't normally get", the company might not want to spend the resources it'd take to do any more for a new/expanded event.

• DC™ Heroes and Villains Fest
  • June 19 - July 25, 2026
• Star-Spangled Night
  • July 4, 2026
• Fright Fest presented by SNICKERS®
  • September 18 - November 1
• Tricks and Treats
  • September 25 - November 1, 2026
• Oktoberfest
  • September 25 - November 1, 2026

[robintodd]

On 9/4/2025 at 7:29 PM, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

Six Flags Over Texas has announced their first 2026 event with grad nite 2026, scheduled to take place on Friday, May 8, 2026 from 6PM - 12AM. Magic Mountain will also be hosting a Jr. Grad Nite and the regular Grad Nite, with each event having 2 separate nights (4 total) to experience it.

I think it would be nice to see this event come to Kings Island as well. It could be a nice reintroduction for after hours events at KI while providing another safe event for high school seniors to attend with their friends. 

 

Event Details: https://www.sixflags.com/overtexas/events/grad-nite

This is not a good idea without extreme precautions.  I would suggest refusing entry for anyone who seems intoxicated and NO selling of liquer for that night.  I remember the grad nights.  So much alcohol in the parking lot.  Most of the "grads" would come into the park drunk.  Some of the worst stories came from grad nights (including Tower Johnny).  KI get's plenty of attendance without resorting to jr. or sr. frat parties (in my opinion).

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I think that would be a very good precaution to take. It looks like this event at the Legacy SF parks is monitored with some parks requiring chaperones to drive to/from the park in addition to simply being there to watch the children. This certainly might help with some of the worries. The park also bringing in Mason PD may discourage anyone from being intoxicated prior to entry, lest they wish to get an underage drinking citation. 

The Six Flags Grad Nites seem to be successful. They also occur more than Holiday In The Park as well now. I personally think it'd be a good idea to start hosting them again as an easy revenue generator (and Six Flags needs the money). It's been 20+ years since KI's last Grad Nite and a lot has changed in that time too.

[Timchat2]

https://playbill.com/job/splash-water-parade-tour/0d220d86-cd54-473a-a3f7-1e5cc4ecf182

An audition notice has been posted for the 2026 tour of the Splash! Water Parade. The parade will perform at Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Over Georgia, Dorney Park, Valleyfair, Kings Dominion and Carowinds.

I had sort of expected Splash! to take the place of Grand Carnivale as a summertime parade in 2026, so it's interesting to see that Kings Island isn't listed.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

19 hours ago, Timchat2 said:

https://playbill.com/job/splash-water-parade-tour/0d220d86-cd54-473a-a3f7-1e5cc4ecf182

An audition notice has been posted for the 2026 tour of the Splash! Water Parade. The parade will perform at Six Flags Over Texas, Six Flags Over Georgia, Dorney Park, Valleyfair, Kings Dominion and Carowinds.

I had sort of expected Splash! to take the place of Grand Carnivale as a summertime parade in 2026, so it's interesting to see that Kings Island isn't listed.

Maybe KI is getting their own event? Like Cedar Point with Boardwalk Nights and Knott's with Summer Nights. I wouldn't mind seeing something specifically for KI over some copy and paste event from other parks. 

[Timchat2]

With Grand Carnivale being discontinued at the other parks last year I thought we were going to see a Kings Island Nights type event for the summer of 2025. Maybe it will happen for 2026.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I'd love to see Kings Island get an Island Nights event, though I don't entirely know how they would make it different from the Boardwalk Nights (CePo), KC Nights (WoF), Great American Nights (SFGAm), Knott's Summer Nights (KBF), Summer Nights (DP) etc. events. The park also presumably still has all of the items for Grand Carnivale, so if they can't get another event it would probably be cheapest to stick with GC for another year. Of course, the cheapest option would be to not hold any festivals, but I think Six Flags would remove festivals from all of the non-core parks before touching KI's.

 

Something I'm a little saddened by is the fact that it looks like California's Great America may not get to have a 50th Anniversary event this year. Both Valleyfair and Chicago's (SF) Great America have talked about their 50th anniversary and have also put out anniversary logos. California's Great America hasn't released anything. Could this be a result of them being late to the party or is Six Flags really just not going to let them celebrate like everyone else has been able to? They already didn't host any festivals in 2025, so it's easier for me to believe they'll do worse than the bare minimum for that park. At least Kings Dominion got to have a little bit of hope for their 50th anniversary this year.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

Some additional details have been revealed for the 50th anniversary changes at Chicago's Great America. All of this information comes from a Facebook post by Marcus Leshock after he attended the ACE No Coaster Con yesterday.

• The front of their entrance plaza is being renovated to look more like California's Great America, complete with the planter and sign occupying the front of the fountain.
• Their "Flags" store near the front gate is getting a Kings Island Trading Company-style roof extension and renovation.
• New 50th anniversary merchandise is on its way. (They have a set of merch that looks like it's supposed to be Kings Island's 50th logo but with the Eiffel Tower replaced by a carousel horse and I think it looks so bad.)
• An Anniversary Brick Program is coming and will be installed to the right of the park's main entrance. (I'm still a little salty that Kings Island hasn't started one.)
• The front of the Columbia Carousel is being refurbished (why not just do the whole thing? Unless this is referring to the new sign).
• New food and beverage options are on their way with a potential anniversary tasting pass. Other F&B upgrades and renovations are also coming.
• Whizzer is receiving 14 new pieces of track.
• Raging Bull is receiving a new staircase (I've heard the current one is very rickety).
• The park's go karts have been fully demolished and removed.
• A nighttime spectacular and parade are in the works.
• From June 20th - August 9th the park will be open until 10:00PM every night.
• New parking lot signage and toll plaza upgrades are being installed.

Hopefully Six Flags can pull all of this off a lot better than they did with Kings Dominion's 50th anniversary celebration. 

 

Sadly there is still no information out of California's Great America hinting that they will even celebrate their 50th anniversary. I think they might have a Facebook post or two out that acknowledge the fact that the park has been there for 50 years, but nothing even close to what SFGA or even Valleyfair have out. Not only would it be so sad for CGA to go without a celebration, it shows that Six Flags would rather let this park die with a whimper rather than a celebratory bang.

[Timchat2]

The 50th celebration at Six Flags Great America will likely be more elaborate than Kings Dominion because SFGAm is probably closer to an "over-performing" park for the Six Flags chain than KD.