super7

Oh, I’m not saying they should do it now. That would be an absolute disaster. Once you give customer something you can’t take it away easily. I was saying they should have done that in the beginning. I remember at Busch Gardens before they started year-round. Memberships Christmas town was an additional $35 for unlimited admission on a season pass. And Busch was able to eliminate their meal plans after experimenting for one or two years. It’s the same thing with these ridiculous meal plans. And I mean ridiculous in a business sense. They are great for the customer. Six Flags tried to take them away when Bassoul took over and it resulted in a huge drop in attendance that is still continuing at this point they are so engrained in the customers that it will be impossible for Six Flags to take them away successfully I don’t believe there’s any hope for this company other than bankruptcy. They have dug their ditches too deep with the way they have sold season passes. If they raise prices, they lose customers if they continue the same path, they lose customers because the experience will continue to deteriorate

I believe that the problem with these Christmas events at Six Flags and Cedar Fair is the same problem that is causing cost cuts all year long across the company that has actively chased off customers year-round They sell these cheap season passes, especially the cheap meal plans and people are able to attend the park all year and average their cost per visit down to $25 or so. Including meals. When they added the season meal plans, it just gave people the ability not to spend money on each visit. When Winterfest was added, the season pass price did not increase significantly. Now with these cheap season passes, the price actually went down. So there is no motivation for them in the short run to extend the operating season to include these events because they are just regurgitating season passholders and giving them more meals, etc. Plus, there’s the incompetence of this company that only allows operations when is school is out. That’s because their attractions are mainly for children. Other more successful holiday events, such as Dollywood and Busch Gardens have significantly more operating days on the Christmas schedule. It’s expensive to put all these lights up for just 20 some days of operation. also, the shorter hours of this event allow one time customers not to spend money in the park. It’s easy to eat elsewhere and not pay 20 some dollars for a mediocre quality meal. Parks like Dollywood and Busch Gardens tend to have longer operating days for this event, which encourages more in spending. Back in the beginning, Winterfest unlimited admission, should have been an add-on to the season pass in my opinion. The meal plan should’ve never been implemented to begin with because season passes are designed to encourage spending on every visiit. But the meal plan definitely shoukd have ended at Labor Day. I know if Winterfest goes away at Kings Island I am absolutely done buying season passes from this company. It’s the only thing that’s kept me renewing my season pass through all of this other awful cost cutting and reduced customer experience. this makes me sad because the Winterfest events were my favorite events of all the theme parks in this region because of the Christmas lights. It had the most immersive lights in the mature trees, on the shrubs, on the centerpiece, tower, etc. Carowinds was my first personal favorite because they had about twice as many lights in each tree as Kings Island and even more trees with lights in them. It appears that’s going away this year. Cutting out this event may save them a few bucks in the short run, but like all their other cost cutting it’s going to chase off customers in the long run IMO.

They also cut two weekends in November from the event. It now only operates 21 days. Last year there were around 29-30 operating days.

Carowinds just announced their Winterfest operating hours are going to be 11 AM until 7 PM. I have the feeling this is the end of the event there They probably will not put up many lights for that early of a closing. Additionally, a few years ago they tried operating from 3 PM until 11 PM and they went back to 5 to 10 the next year. So it did not work. Also, when Carowinds tried operating in the winter during the daytime, it did not work. They only did it one year. The majority of the crowd for these events comes after dark. That includes Kings Island. I’m often surprised how crowded Winterfest is at Kings Island on cold nights the people of the area know how to bundle up and as long as it is dry, it seems like there is a good crowd it less it rains. The same issue of this event just regurgitating season passholders remains regardless of the operating hours Let’s hope Kings Island does not go down this route. I know they have fired a lot of their staff with knowledge of the parks and now decisions like this are being made.

This was the period of time were Cedar Fair was just slapping new trail rides in the parks without much theming. The “Golden” period of Cedar Fair ownership was after that around 2106-2017 and ended in 2020

KI avoided the mass ride removal that some of the other parks experience last year, so it won’t be surprising if they remove some rides from the park

years ago, Dollywood had a 3-D theater and they converted it into a regular indoor theater that all guest could enjoy in any weather condition. Cedar Fair/Six Flags mismanagement just let these buildings sit empty.

The sloped floor among the seating is probably why they don’t use it for Winterfest. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has a couple outdoor amphitheaters that they use for shows at their Christmas town event. It’s a shame that Kings Island has a sitdown venue that they don’t use at Winterfest considering all the live entertainment at that event. The temporary, standup venues for the shows at Winterfest. Definitely contribute to lower quality shows. This amphitheater could host a higher quality show for the event. I think this is a factor of Winterfest starting to fail some parks. The event has already left Worlds of Fun and Kings Dominion. The lack of sitdown venues for the shows leads to lower quality shows. Plus, it’s not pleasant for the audience to stand when they watch a performance. Plus the lack of new quailtu production entertainment from year to year. Yuletide Follies was a slight move in the right direction but enough.

Well Paramount management absolutely desecrated all of the Taft parks. They left so much damage to the park atmospheres, the parks still have not recovered. Some parks will never recover like Kings Dominion where they removed. The train, the cable, skyway, dark rides, theaters, etc.. however they did not lead the parks down the trail of bankruptcy that is currently happening. So for the atmosphere of the parks itself, Cedar Fair was much better. But then they began all the cost-cutting that has led to the situation that the parks are in now, including the merger.

That theater deserves a full production show that showcases the performers full talents. Expanding Yuletide Follies in there with more dynamic choreography and production would be a good use of the theater. The venue for that show is horrible currently Tinkers toy factory had its place, but it definitely was not the premier show that belonged in the Premier location in the park

It’s just a small sign now, but wait until they start putting tacky wraps on the coaster trains

Seeing tacky advertising on what should be a themed experience doesn’t exactly make me want to buy that product. They serve to give the consumer a negative feeling about the product IMO

Six Flags is no longer an entertainment company. They are not about improving the customer experience and providing the highest quality of entertainment. They are an asset management company. They are trying to squeeze as much out of the assets as possible. When the assets fail, they will be sold Unfortunately the whole company is headed in the direction of failure.

This would be worse than the current bad ride. At least with boo blasters if one doesn’t want to shoot, they can still ride through and there are moving sets to look at.

Bad idea. The chain is struggling from low attendance for two reasons. Bad treatment of customers and the lack of attractions for non-thrill riders They don’t have enough attractions for non-thrill riders. They only focus on trail riders and little children so most people in society have no interest of going to the park because there’s nothing for them to do. Replacing a slow moving ride with a thrill ride only amplifies the 2nd problem.

It is stupid closing this ride before Winterfest if they aren’t going to replace it immediately. Winterfest needs indoor attractions.

I will have to admit that the customers like myself that realize the lack of ethics of this company and continue to go there because we like theme parks only enable them to continue to be unethical. Howe er. I don’t allow them to profit much off myself. I buy the season pass the meal pass and the drink pass and don’t spend one dime in the parks the whole season. Because of the overall lower quality experience and the absolute price gouging for everything else. I remember back when it Winterfest first appeared I made a point to spend money at the park. Every time I went to Winterfest to support the viability of the event. They have completely erased that good will.

Typical Cedar Fair bait and switch. They sold 2025 passes advertising Haunt and customers assumed it was the same as ever. but this shouldn’t be surprising. This organization is highly unethical. They use a sleazy disclaimer to do this type of bait and switch They cut advertise operating hours with no notice, close entire parks with no notice, have cut seasonal events that were advertised and cut advertised prestige pass benefits this was to be expected with the cheap season passes for next year. What are they going to charge us for next? Parking? Because it’s vague when you buy the pass exactly where free parking is good at. for a company that’s struggling in attendance because of the way they treat their customers this is just going to further alienate customers and chase them away.

This ride has always been pure cheap garbage. Especially compared to the two high-quality rides that previously occupied the space. If they don’t immediately replace it with a quality slow, moving dark, right. They are just going to further alienate, the non-thrill customers and chase more of them away. There’s already not enough to do for that group of customers at the park. However, if another dark ride is put in that spot, it’s not going to be a quality attraction. We saw what they did at Knotts with Knotts Beary Tales compared to the original attraction.

I have never failed Kings Island to be a clean park. The bathrooms always have smelled like urine. I guess it’s even worse now.

Well they just cancelled Holiday in the park at Six Flags over Georgia. Carowinfs has also cut their summer operating hours from what was previously advertised. Kings Dominion canceled their Winterfest after advertising it with 2025 season pass sales last year. look for more of this kind of bait and switch to happen with these cheap season passes. we know that cheap season passes took six flags in the gutter in the past and now they’re going to bring the former Cedar Fair park into that same gutter I’m afraid

The first years of Cedar Point operating on Thursday night, they had full live entertainment. Of course, they cut it out to save costs.

Thursdays will be great. Cedar Point has been doing Thursdays for several years and they are very pleasant nights without a huge crowd. this is going to spread the paying customers out over four days and allow the non-paying season pass holders to use their past more for this event We should enjoy these hours this year because they probably won’t return IMO Because of the way the company operates. It’s going to provide a much more pleasant experience for everyone by spreading the crowd out over four days, but we know that Six Flags is not about providing a pleasant experience there about cost cutting and cramming as much profit into one day as possible. So this is not going to work for their current formula.

Free parking is included at Wonderland with the all parks upgrade

Paramount killed KIngs Dominion when they remove the railroad, monorail, skyway, lost world, and live entertainment venues. They made the park just for thrill riders and little children and attendance has never recovered. I would not think a level railroad crossing is worth a liability and the money saved by just not building an overpass. Especially if it has to be staffed.