Six Flags Just Dropped Its 2026 Grad Nite Dates—Here’s Where Students Can Celebrate After Hours

[DonHelbig]

Would you like to see Kings Island and Cedar Point join the Six Flags parks with Grad Nites?

https://themeparksbydon.com/six-flags-grad-nite-2026-dates/

[Hawaiian Coasters 325]

I don't see why not. KI and CP used to host grad nites I believe CP hosted one up until like 2017 or 2018 (correct me if I'm wrong). I don't remember the last time KI did. I think KI should host one. It would be a great opportunity for local schools around here. I'm just wondering if the park is scared to host it bc of past "incidents" involving school age kids making front page news at the park and they don't want that to potentially happen and ruin grad nite. 

[robintodd]

The park is perfectly right to fear "incidents".  Most of the negative press happened on Grad Nights.  I was going to the park back then it was more about drinking and drugs in the parking lot in order to "enhance" enjoyment of the park.  

That being said I must admit the amount of that kind of activity seems significantly less nowadays.  Best example I can site is the lack of "teen dance clubs", malls and other places teens would interact etc. Seems like teens are more into staying home on their devices rather than being out in public.  

Finally, in my opinion the LAST thing KI needs is an attendance driver.  With the advent of social media and the number of vlogs/podcasts there is no shortage of "what's new at Kings Island" news without the park needing to do anything.  Back in the 80s and 90s it was important to get the word out about Kings Island but nowadays, anyone who is interested in theme parks knows or can easily find out about KI.  I don't understand why some people complain about how crowded the park is by "giving away the gate" yet still want to see more marketing to drive attendance at an already busy park.  Does it really make sense to market a park and when people come from out of the area and find the park so crowded that it affects their experience in a negative way.  KI is unique in that not only is it in the middle of a populated area but it's a wealthier area than most parks are surrounded by (I notice this by noticing the neighborhoods and houses when driving to KI vs CP).  I still maintain the park could not add anything new for 2-4 years and NOT see a drop in attendance.  If they decide to up the price of season passes then it may make sense to market the park once attendance is an issue but until that time they will be wiser to spend money keeping up with the people in the park rather than attacting more people to an already crowded park.

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I don't agree with the statements on the park not needing more attendance at all. While the park may get busy more often than not, we live in a world where consistent additions and upgrades are almost required to keep a place like Kings Island popular. Without that year-after-year constant investment I'd start to think we were becoming more like Dorney Park or Kings Dominion than Cedar Point and Carowinds. We'll see more on how that might turn out after this year if Cedar Point does indeed finally take a year off from additions.

As for bringing back Grad Nite, I think it'd be a good thing to try out again. Kings Island has gone through so much change since its last Grad Nite event and the habits of high school seniors has also changed. The park also has a stronger security presence, so if anything starts up there is a better chance of catching it before it's too late. This would also only take up 1-2 nights each year, therefore not adding to the number of people in the park during the day. Any additional guests would likely be those who would already come with their school during a standard park field trip. I personally went on the trip during my senior year of high school and had to contend with all of the other seniors in addition to all of the families who were already at the park for the day. If anything, adding a Grad Nite would take guests out of the park and make it less busy during the day in exchange for it being closed early for a special event one night per year.

It would be amazing if we could also get one or two other one-night special events each year to help bring in more money for the park.