WinterFest 2025

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

22 minutes ago, SonofBaconator said:

I’m not trying to sound cynical, but I’ve seen front yard Christmas displays that look better than what guests watch on the train. 

I’m not saying there isn’t any physical effort being put in putting up the lights around the route but it’s been the same thing since 2017. Paramount went through the effort of pouring concrete footers and putting up huge billboards and having a show scene. 

Oh yes I'm agreeing with you!

[CoasterJack]

On 11/28/2025 at 8:12 PM, Diamondback_Is_King said:

It looks as though the string lights are not up in Coney Mall. Don't they normally have them up for opening night?

Yes, however they never even went up for Haunt this year. They're usually a carryover from Haunt, just programmed and themed differently. If they weren't put up for haunt, then I don't think they'd have the time to put them up between haunt and winter fest unfortunately.

[SonofBaconator]

There is some stuff that I think they could overlay between Haunt and Winterfest- for example how the Rivertown scare zone gets repurposed for Winterfest.

You could keep the drive-in that you see for Winterfest- just put it up earlier and just play classic Halloween movies instead, so it’s less effort to switch over come Winterfest time.

[brenthodge]

12 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

There is some stuff that I think they could overlay between Haunt and Winterfest- for example how the Rivertown scare zone gets repurposed for Winterfest.

You could keep the drive-in that you see for Winterfest- just put it up earlier and just play classic Halloween movies instead, so it’s less effort to switch over come Winterfest time.

That’s a good idea actually. Dollywood makes the swap out in a matter of days by having some easy swaps like this  

 

 

 

 

 

 

[DonHelbig]

KIC members were guests for a Tower Topics Roundtable show about this year’s WinterFest hits, misses, and must-dos. 

 

 

[kingsislandfan1972]

Sadly I don't think we'll be able to make it for WinterFest... due to our busy holiday schedule but next year for sure! 

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

Tonight's visit to Winterfest was short and sweet! We only popped into the park for dinner, but still got to experience some of the magic of Winterfest during our time there. I used my Six Flags app in the park for the first time since the big v5.0.0 update and it worked every time I used it. We got to see about the first minute of Yuletide Follies on our way over to the Tannenbaumhaus for Swingin' Into Christmas. The line for LaRosa's felt a little long, but not enough to warrant opening the second line. We saw the show twice and I noticed that two of the performers were wearing the same costume. That's odd because normally all of the performers are wearing outfits that go together, but nobody normally has the same exact outfit. It's just something I noticed was different and led me to believe that someone else might've called in sick with this being a quick change. (Side note: I think I heard that the Cedar Fair costume department is based out of Worlds of Fun/Kansas City in general. Is that true?)

I really enjoyed Swingin' Into Christmas and thought it was very energetic! The live band really helped and might be what was missing from Ghouls Gone Wild that made it feel so bland for me. 

[Timchat2]

From my understanding the Worlds of Fun costume department aka "The Sparkle Factory" produces (or produced if that's no longer the arrangement) the costumes for the major seasonal events like Grand Carnivale and WinterFest at the legacy Cedar Fair parks. The individual parks likely take care of their own park-level productions, particularly at larger parks like Kings Island and Cedar Point.

 

[brenthodge]

On 12/6/2025 at 9:55 AM, Timchat2 said:

From my understanding the Worlds of Fun costume department aka "The Sparkle Factory" produces (or produced if that's no longer the arrangement) the costumes for the major seasonal events like Grand Carnivale and WinterFest at the legacy Cedar Fair parks. The individual parks likely take care of their own park-level productions, particularly at larger parks like Kings Island and Cedar Point.

 

I think that's correct. A few years ago (first year for Swinging, I was sitting next to a lady who was telling her friend "thats the costume I sewed. I loved the way the bow looked etc" leading me to believe yes, they are made on-site

 

[Orion-XL200]

I've been through the costume shop(s) at Cedar Point...it's insane how many pieces they put together, keep over the years and the small teams behind them. 

[SonofBaconator]

On 11/30/2025 at 4:04 PM, SonofBaconator said:

I’m not trying to sound cynical, but I’ve seen front yard Christmas displays that look better than what guests watch on the train. 

I’m not saying there isn’t any physical effort being put in putting up the lights around the route but it’s been the same thing since 2017. Paramount went through the effort of pouring concrete footers and putting up huge billboards and having a show scene. 

Hershey Park

[Tr0y]

The NYE dinner party at KI is now available for purchase: https://www.sixflags.com/kingsisland/events/new-years-eve-celebration

[DonHelbig]

1 hour ago, Tr0y said:

The NYE dinner party at KI is now available for purchase: https://www.sixflags.com/kingsisland/events/new-years-eve-celebration

It didn’t sell out quick this year. 

[rexpostal]

Anyone ever done that booze gimmick?  $45 for drinks all night sounds insane for a place that charges nearly $20 for one drink.  Is it the whole night the park is open?  Just a specific amount of time?  Details don't really say.  Far more interesting to me than the buffet gimmick. 

[disco2000]

6 hours ago, Tr0y said:

The NYE dinner party at KI is now available for purchase: https://www.sixflags.com/kingsisland/events/new-years-eve-celebration

You buying?

[KIfan73]

https://www.sixflags.com/kingsisland/winterfest-weather-updates

[Imperial79]

Just checked, sold out now. I might do this next year! 

[robintodd]

30 minutes ago, KIfan73 said:

https://www.sixflags.com/kingsisland/winterfest-weather-updates

Smart move.  Props to those involved.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I had a pretty good night tonight despite the anticipated crowds (which I don't think ended up fully manifesting). There were some very enthusiastic elves trying to get us to go into St. Nick's Pics (we didn't but I enjoyed their enthusiasm nonetheless). Our visit to the Brewhouse was good and ended up tasting better than I'd originally thought. The downside of going to the Brewhouse was seeing a good number of tables that needed to be cleared off and only seeing one associate with the cart to clean them. I also realized something on this visit that I'd never noticed before: there are not a lot of 2-person tables. If KI built another indoor restaurant (come on Grand Pavilion dressed like the Moonlite Gardens!!) I'd love to see just a little more seating variety beyond 6-person booths and 4-person tables. We had the pleasure of being on the KI&MV RR train that had a rollback — an experience that I quite enjoyed. The lights are still out throughout the course and I noticed that only the boarding side of the cars are decorated with garland. It would be nice to see some changes to make this experience better next year if at all possible. Anything would be nice especially if they can move away from it just being a ride-through holiday light show. Next, we took a trip through the Rivertown Arcade to warm up and had a nice time watching Jingle Jazz. During this performance I was only reminded of how much I'd rather see them perform in a better venue. The LaRosa's porch is nice (although it doesn't sound so nice when I say it like that), but there's something about the crowd needing to negotiate with everyone walking by just to watch. I think they could even look better in a gazebo with benches in front than on that porch. It was odd to not see the Holly Jolly Trolley stationed in Coney Mall. I wish it could be used to take performers to their shows or be used in the parade if it isn't being used as a free guest experience. There's a hoodie with (an approximation of) the original Winterfest logo in Coney Confections that I'd like to get a good photo of. I made a stop into the Adventure Port restrooms and remembered just how tight the space between the urinal dividers is — I hope that can be resolved somehow to make them wider. To round out our night we stopped by Theme Park Art by Allen's booth where my group member purchased another round of prints. I stopped by Tom + Chee for a drink. Interestingly enough I found out that the parade music plays on the right side of the Eiffel Tower during its stop near Tower Gardens. We made it into Sweet Spot before the parade caught up. I wish they'd get a new shipment of Boysenberry Jam so I could just buy it in the park. Our last stop of the night was into KI Collections, and then we were out of the park before the parade got too close.

 

Overall it was a good night at the park. My complaints remain the same of KI needs to do a little more to change up the event in addition to needing more indoor dining/entertainment venues in general. It really is an amazing event that deserves the high praise and good placement on the USA Today voting tallies. I hope we can keep it going for many years to come.

[IndyGuy4KI]

Pasted from the park: Due to inclement weather, Kings Island will be closed today, Dec. 13, 2025, and tomorrow, Dec. 14, 2025.

Guests who have purchased tickets for Dec. 13, 2025 and/or Dec. 14, 2025, may use them any other WinterFest operating day through 12/31/2025.

 

[Eric FL]

5 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

Pasted from the park: Due to inclement weather, Kings Island will be closed today, Dec. 13, 2025, and tomorrow, Dec. 14, 2025.

Guests who have purchased tickets for Dec. 13, 2025 and/or Dec. 14, 2025, may use them any other WinterFest operating day through 12/31/2025.

 

Another good reason why KI needs more indoor venues. It would be beneficial for helping keep this event open as well as in the summer to help beat the heat and thunderstorms.

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

1 minute ago, Eric FL said:

Another good reason why KI needs more indoor venues. It would be beneficial for helping keep this event open as well as in the summer to help beat the heat and thunderstorms.

Even then the employees (where a good chunk of them are teenagers) have to drive in these dangerous weather conditions to and from work. Trust me if I still worked there and the park stayed open with this weather I would've called off bc I definitely would not feel comfortable driving in this weather. 

[KIfan73]

This is the kind of winter we had when KI brought back Winterfest in '05, whenever I had a free weekend, it was miserable weather.  I wanted to go really bad because I had missed out on the previous iteration of WF - I had missed a couple opportunities to go during the the last couple years of it (early 90s) and when it looked like I was finally going to be able to go, they ended it.  Luckily, I've been able to go every year since 2017 (except 2020, of course).

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

The issue for today and tomorrow are more that the road conditions will be bad rather than the park not having indoor activities.

[TheCrypt]

 

Unfortunately, the banner on Kings Island's own website reads:

Due to today’s inclement weather, King's Island will be closed. 

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

The weather update spells it correctly (yet also didn't show Saturday's closure), but it would be nice if they could find someone who knows how to spell the park name correctly on the banner.

There were a lot of people online complaining about how "back in my day, the park wouldn't have closed for this" and "they closed the park for Winter weather during Winter fest". I for one am very grateful that the park closed on a day when the roads got really bad really quickly. I nearly lost traction about three times driving the three blocks home from work, so I'd hate to imagine what the highways would've looked like in that weather.

[DJSkyFoxx]

8 hours ago, Losantiville Mining Co. said:

The weather update spells it correctly (yet also didn't show Saturday's closure), but it would be nice if they could find someone who knows how to spell the park name correctly on the banner.

There were a lot of people online complaining about how "back in my day, the park wouldn't have closed for this" and "they closed the park for Winter weather during Winter fest". I for one am very grateful that the park closed on a day when the roads got really bad really quickly. I nearly lost traction about three times driving the three blocks home from work, so I'd hate to imagine what the highways would've looked like in that weather.

Not to mention how incredibly selfish it is to expect staff to drive and work in the horrible conditions that occurred over the weekend! People tend to forget that entertainment is a privilege and not a necessity. Its one thing being a first responder/hospital staff or any other kind of care giver/response team, but entertainment is not necessary when the weather is crap. People are so self centered. I'm glad the park was closed all weekend because firstly and foremostly, staff didn't need to worry about commuting and showing up during a LEVEL 2 snow emergency, let alone guests. And people in this city already suck at driving when the pavement is 100% dry let alone when there is snow or ice on the ground. Please just stay home and make your own fun . Watch some POVs and make some holiday cookies/food and make your own entertainment. Stay the heck off the roads and be mindful of your privilege! Rant over. 

[DonHelbig]

Back in the 80s, there weren’t as many rides open, or outdoor entertainment. People went to watch the indoor shows in the Festhaus and KI Theater, shop, and see the model train display. That made it easier to stay open on the inclement weather days.

[BB1]

PSA lots of ice as you walk to the front of the park. Good portion of the parking lot is snow/ice which isn’t the best to drive on.

[Winterfestguy]

The weather for this years a Winterfest reminds me of the weather back to Winterfest 2.0 by Paramount in 2005 that only lasted that year. Attendance was low partly due to extremely cold and daily snows but also season passes were not honored and the gate price was like $29 which became the sudden death of the event. Cedar Fair then announced in July of 2006 Winterfest was discontinued (and sort of cited not profitable) until Cedar Fair brought it back again in 2017. Now with Six Flags running the show and admitting they like to focus on improving the summer/fall seasons rather than focusing on winter events, it will be interesting to see what happens. If this years Winterfest shows a loss on the books (cold and snow likely to blame), I would not be surprised to see a July 2026 announcement that Winterfest has been discontinued (it would fit the July announcement pattern for Winterfest over the years). Of course it’s been advertised with the season passes sales, but we see things get changed all the time with season passes.