Kings Dominion Grand Carnivale 2024
- Thread starter Nicole
- Start date
Are there tasting cards this year? The Grand Carnivale Package includes a $20 park credit but no mention of a tasting card.
I did also notice the lack of mention for a tasting card. I feel like that would be included in the package instead of a $20 in park credit.
It looks like the entertainment is the same as years past. If the event returns next year during the 50th, I hope they bring back some more of the live entertainment throughout I-street. I remember the first year had so much ambiance compared to years past. My favorite part of Carnivale was the polka band and the live Indian entertainment. I'm also still upset they removed the India booth but I assume they had data to justify removing it in subsequent years.
Nevertheless, I can not wait for the event. I am bringing three friends to the park for the first time thanks to the free bring a friend tickets from visiting 4x in June and I hope they enjoy the event and like it more than Food and Wine at BGW.
It looks like the entertainment is the same as years past. If the event returns next year during the 50th, I hope they bring back some more of the live entertainment throughout I-street. I remember the first year had so much ambiance compared to years past. My favorite part of Carnivale was the polka band and the live Indian entertainment. I'm also still upset they removed the India booth but I assume they had data to justify removing it in subsequent years.
Nevertheless, I can not wait for the event. I am bringing three friends to the park for the first time thanks to the free bring a friend tickets from visiting 4x in June and I hope they enjoy the event and like it more than Food and Wine at BGW.
With (hopefully) 50th celebrations on the horizon for 2025 in Doswell and new Six Flags parks which could potentially better utilize Grand Carnivale, I, too, think this could be the last season for the event at KD. If so, I will miss it, but at the same time, the chain's failure to evolve the event has made it feel a bit long in the tooth.
I felt much the same way about Grand Carnivale at Kings Island last year. The "streamlined" 2023 version diminished much of the energy of the original event.
There will be no tasting cards this season. I think the park is compensating for this by giving guests a $20 park credit through the Grand Carnivale ticket packages.
My gut also tells me that this will be the last season of Grand Carnivale, though I’m solely basing this on the fact that Kings Island did not do Carnivale during their 50th Anniversary Celebration. I expect that KD’s festivities will look very similar to Kings Island’s.
My gut also tells me that this will be the last season of Grand Carnivale, though I’m solely basing this on the fact that Kings Island did not do Carnivale during their 50th Anniversary Celebration. I expect that KD’s festivities will look very similar to Kings Island’s.
The event is kind of wore out at this point. Going to a new summer event wouldn't be a bad idea if they aren't going to do much to refresh Carnivale.
If this is the end for Grand Carnivale, hopefully the event will be remembered as a truly special point in theme park history when a regional park chain (one known chiefly for thrill rides) made a big swing at large-scale immersive entertainment. Even with the scope and quality of the parade, the intimacy of the smaller park settings allowed for interactivity and connection on a level major players like Disney and Universal can't always match. Wherever the original creative team members might be now I hope they know how much the event meant to the guests, performers and support crews through the seasons.
Amen to that. Kings Dominion has never felt more magical at night than during Grand Carnivale—and that's saying something. Plus, Grand Carnivale has served me some of the absolute best specialty food I've ever had at an amusement park.
It has always been far too short and it has always taken place during an otherwise miserable time to be at KD (the peak of the summer), but it really does just hit different.
It has always been far too short and it has always taken place during an otherwise miserable time to be at KD (the peak of the summer), but it really does just hit different.
The show stop for the Spectacle of Color parade remains one of the best pieces of interactive park entertainment I've ever seen. At a time when so much live entertainment plays in a vacuum to disinterested audiences, guests seem to really click with the energy and flow of the music and enthusiasm of the performers. In the space of a couple minutes the ice gets broken, the performers turn up the charm and guests literally dance in the (International) streets. It floors me every time.
