Kings Dominion has published their event calendar for 2024:
2024 Operating Calendar
- Thread starter Nicole
- Start date
Are you sure about that? I thought it started the Friday after Thanksgiving most years, which is what it is for this year too.
Thanksgiving is as late as possible this year
It started Nov 17 in 2023, which is like roughly 2 weeks before it is starting next year
Thanksgiving is on 28 November this year, while it was on 23 November last. So, the holiday, itself, seems later in the month, but it is always the fourth Thursday in November. Because November started in the middle of the week in 2023 and will begin at the end of the end of week in 2024, the calendar view is deceiving.
Last year WinterFest started the week before Thanksgiving. This year it is starting the weekend after Thanksgiving. So, it is starting one week later this year.
Last year WinterFest started the week before Thanksgiving. This year it is starting the weekend after Thanksgiving. So, it is starting one week later this year.
Winterfest is starting one week later. Last year it started the weekend before Thanksgiving this year. It appears to be starting Thanksgiving weekend. Plus they already cut out New Year’s Day last year.
I know it’s just three operating days, but they just keep cut cut cutting. And every little bit adds up in total. I can’t believe they do all that work for Winterfest for as few of days as they can operate.
Cedar Fair management is pretty incompetent. Dollywood operates their Christmas (and fall) event daily because they know how to get the right kind of people there that will come when school is in session. Cedar Fair only puts in thrill rides and little kid rides so they are too dependent on school students.
Even Busch Gardens figured out how to operate almost daily for Christmas town and extended into January. They offer more attractions and better shows that aren’t aimed at kids.
I know it’s just three operating days, but they just keep cut cut cutting. And every little bit adds up in total. I can’t believe they do all that work for Winterfest for as few of days as they can operate.
Cedar Fair management is pretty incompetent. Dollywood operates their Christmas (and fall) event daily because they know how to get the right kind of people there that will come when school is in session. Cedar Fair only puts in thrill rides and little kid rides so they are too dependent on school students.
Even Busch Gardens figured out how to operate almost daily for Christmas town and extended into January. They offer more attractions and better shows that aren’t aimed at kids.
Earlier this week, Kings Dominion announced their event schedule for the 2024 season. In addition to this, they also quietly announced a new show, Team Charlie Brown, coming to the park this season.
To quote the article: “In addition to our seasonal events, The PEANUTS Gang is at it again this year with its new live show Team Charlie Brown. Watch as Charlie, Lucy, Snoopy, and your other favorite characters try to win their first baseball game.”
I also saw that KD just announced auditions for their summer lineup. However—at least at this time—they’re only casting character performers. Normally at this point in the offseason, they would hire for all performer positions such as singers, dancers, and musicians. They also have usually released an unofficial list of shows on their casting call by this time, but they have not yet done so this year.
What other shows do we think will return? Or do we think things might get cut again this season?
I’d definitely like to see Let’s Get Wild come back, and maybe perhaps even see a new show on the main Grand Bandstand too… though I think a second new show would have already been announced.
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To quote the article: “In addition to our seasonal events, The PEANUTS Gang is at it again this year with its new live show Team Charlie Brown. Watch as Charlie, Lucy, Snoopy, and your other favorite characters try to win their first baseball game.”
I also saw that KD just announced auditions for their summer lineup. However—at least at this time—they’re only casting character performers. Normally at this point in the offseason, they would hire for all performer positions such as singers, dancers, and musicians. They also have usually released an unofficial list of shows on their casting call by this time, but they have not yet done so this year.
What other shows do we think will return? Or do we think things might get cut again this season?
I’d definitely like to see Let’s Get Wild come back, and maybe perhaps even see a new show on the main Grand Bandstand too… though I think a second new show would have already been announced.
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I continue to maintain that their entertainment budget would be far better invested if they had a handful of smaller atmospheric performances throughout the park instead of a few bigger-budget pop shows that no one ever watches, especially the one they always have on the Bandstand.
Put a bluegrass duo in a gazebo in Old Virginia. Dueling pianos in Candy Apple Grove. A jazz trio or quartet on the Bandstand. Let them serenade the guests while they experience the park, maybe while they stop to watch for a minute or grab a drink. That’s what guests do anyway, so stretch the budget further by investing in smaller shows that can elevate the experience in more parts of the park, more often.
It works for Winterfest. The paths feel alive and the atmosphere is vibrant. I think that’s the sort of entertainment that has proven itself to be successful at KD.
Put a bluegrass duo in a gazebo in Old Virginia. Dueling pianos in Candy Apple Grove. A jazz trio or quartet on the Bandstand. Let them serenade the guests while they experience the park, maybe while they stop to watch for a minute or grab a drink. That’s what guests do anyway, so stretch the budget further by investing in smaller shows that can elevate the experience in more parts of the park, more often.
It works for Winterfest. The paths feel alive and the atmosphere is vibrant. I think that’s the sort of entertainment that has proven itself to be successful at KD.
I agree 100%.
Grande Bandstand Seating
I mentioned this in the Jungle Xpedition thread, but I'd really love some seating at the Grande Bandstand in front of the Eiffel Tower. Nothing too fancy, just some tiered seating, cutting into the landscaped areas across from the stage.
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That’s one reason the viewership is low for the shows that they do have. The venues are absolutely miserable. The customers have to stand and watch in the heat.
They desecrated their life entertainment over the years, so nobody comes there for live entertainment anymore so their solution is just to eliminate it. Which is the long run just regurgitates the same season passholders that want roller coasters
This is why they are attendance is so stagnant. They don’t even try to get other markets of people anymore other than Winterfest.
Carnivale? The new daytime Halloween event?
I also have to disagree. Kings Dominion had been expanding their Entertainment department steadily since at least 2018. Haunt is very heavily focused on Entertainment with the houses and zones, and a lot of money was required to build these new houses and zones. WinterFest is also very heavily focused on shows and roaming characters since it is often too cold to enjoy rides. Grand Carnivale in 2019 was also a huge investment that involved bringing in other performance groups and debuting their first parade since the Paramount era ended. Not to mention, the park also started focusing more on heavy theming around 2018 with Twisted Timbers and WinterFest. Once things calmed down after COVID-19, they continued with their expansion plans and introduced a Christmas parade in 2021 and Jungle X and Let’s Get Wild in 2022.
However, starting in late 2022, trends across the Cedar Fair chain started to take a downturn because they weren’t able to get out of the pandemic slump that they slid into, and they needed to start making cuts. Unfortunately, shows and other entertainment seem to be the first to go when cuts start happening. We saw cuts made in 2023 when they stopped hosting a summer show in the Candy Apple Grove area and they downsized their shows on the Bandstand and in Jungle X. Carnivale in 2023 was also noticeably downsized with less performers and less happening on the main stage.
I’d say if the pandemic hadn’t happened, Cedar Fair would still be pouring money into the department and investing more into their shows. It’s very sad that these cuts are happening, because last summer, Let’s Get Wild always had a big crowd, and Carnivale was also very popular and is an event the pass holders talk about quite a lot. I hope things stay relatively the same as they were in 2023; I don’t want to see any more cuts. Though, their casting call makes me think there’s going to be more.
@Mushroom also brought up a good point with the Tricks and Treats Fall Fest. At other parks, this daytime event brings with it not only many of the same activities that the Great Pumpkin Fest had, but it also brings with it very intricate decorations and special daytime shows and characters that would require the park to invest a lot into it. I’m actually very surprised that KD is getting this event now because they risk not being able to debut it as its full potential if they can’t spend the money that this event requires to make it successful. Fun fact: the park (and a couple of other CF parks) actually announced that they would get this in 2022, but then had to backtrack and completely wipe it from their schedules. I hope they don’t have to do this again.
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I think KD is getting in park entertainment into the sweet spot. IMO Hersheys late 90’s/early 2000’s was the sweet spot. They had one Celtic Fyre length show, One pet shenanigans length show, 3 on a stage, and 5 wandering shows. On top of that they always had outside acts, high school and college bands, and other local bands come in.
KD is doing a good job or working to that. They need a few on path roaming bands. Like in OV, I would take @Mushroom ’s good suggestion of the blue grass trio and have them move around the area. CAG would do well with a brass quartet wandering around. Dueling pianos would be fun in a OV speakeasy moonshine themed restaurant. Barber shop quartet on IS.
KD is doing a good job or working to that. They need a few on path roaming bands. Like in OV, I would take @Mushroom ’s good suggestion of the blue grass trio and have them move around the area. CAG would do well with a brass quartet wandering around. Dueling pianos would be fun in a OV speakeasy moonshine themed restaurant. Barber shop quartet on IS.
This was partially because when they introduced it originally, they completely did away with haunt at a lot of the parks in favor of this event. The backlash, however, was sharp and swift and that at least partially influenced that decision. I believe Michigan’s Adventure didn’t have a haunt event so the fall fest was welcomed without issue, but other parks like Carowinds and KD, where haunt is one of the most popular events, it wasn’t a welcome change.
They never have an entertainment lineup that can compete with BGW any time of year. Not even Winterfest, but Winterfest does have superior lights. Plus the huge lack of moving attractions for this type of customer thanks to Paramount.
Carnivale is a parade, food and little sideshows on the bandstand. It’s more likely to regurgitate the season passholders to come back and generate a new type of
The daytime Fall event is aimed a kids that’s not a new customer base
I’m talking about drawing the type of customers that keep Dollywood operating daily even when school is in session.
This park offers little for them to do anytime during the year except for Winterfest. And it’s the lights that make that event more than the high school level production shows. (that is not a criticism of the performers. It’s a criticism of whoever puts the low quality shows together)
Most everything they do is aimed at thrill riders and little kiddies. It’s why the operating schedule continues to shrink instead of grow.
I enjoy the food kiosks and other event-related culinary offerings.