Are you looking for insider tips on spending the day exploring Planet Snoopy at Kings Island? Then this article is for you! {Updated for the 2025 }
Amusement parks can often be anything but amusing, especially with young children tow. As your inner child yearns to race off to the large roller coasters, the reality is that you are spending the majority of your time in Kings Island’s Planet Snoopy.
Planet Snoopy features Peanuts-themed rides, shows, restaurants, games, and Kings Island’s famous blue ice cream. It is an excellent spot for the whole family. Once your child is tall enough or willing to ride the larger rides, they will always find their way back to Planet Snoopy for the ice cream.
This guide will highlight my visiting tips, what to avoid, and the best way to plan your day at Kings Island Planet Snoopy.
Planet Snoopy is a Peanuts-themed area for children at several Six Flags amusement parks, including Kings Island in Cincinnati, Ohio. Kings Island’s Planet Snoopy has made the Golden Ticket list for the best kids’ area, along with numerous other awards.
It has gone by many names over the past 50 years, including Hanna-Barbera Land and Nickelodeon Central. There is a reason Planet Snoopy is one of our Top Things To Do With Kids In Cincinnati.
When encountering long-time locals to discuss Planet Snoopy, you will need to know the following:
The iconic Eiffel Tower and Main Street fountains greet guests upon entering Kings Island. To locate Planet Snoopy go to the right of the fountains. Two main entrances can be found between the Graeters Ice Cream and the Sweet Spot, or go to the Eiffel Tower and turn right by the International Show Place Theatre.
If your child is under 36″, I would reconsider bringing them because there will be very few rides they can go on because of height requirements. Especially if they have an older sibling riding the rides, they would want to ride too. Several of the rides will require an adult to accompany them.
Food For Thought: Soak City Water Park has excellent options for littles under 36″ to enjoy, including a designated area for young children. If you have kids who can ride everything and one who can’t ride a lot, try to plan out your day so that they take a stroller nap while the older one rides!
Before investing in a season pass or even daily tickets to Kings Island, I would test your kids on small rides at local festivals or fairs. That will give you a good indicator of how your day at Kings Island will go.
You know your child best. Our family rule is that you don’t have to ride anything; when you’re ready, we’ll go. We often warm up with slower-paced rides, visit the waterpark, or attend a show when our daughter isn’t in the mood to ride.
I think the best time to visit Kings Island is on a Tuesday or a Wednesday. Crowds seem to be lower these days, as many adults have returned to work from a long weekend. My second favorite time to visit is in the evening after 5 pm on a weekday. They are often less busy, so consider grabbing dinner during your visit if you have a dining plan.
I would pack for Kings Island as if you were packing for a trip to the zoo or any other outdoor event that requires a good amount of walking. A stroller is a necessity for little legs, especially on hot days. Kings Island does offer stroller rentals.
I recommend dressing everyone in lightweight, quick-drying clothing. Pack plenty of sunscreen, sunglasses, a hat, and a diaper bag. You can also bring your child’s drink cup. I have a Kids Yeti that helps keep her drink cold during the dog days of summer.
If you are planning on going to the water park, check out our Water Park Packing List.
Tip: Kings Island has gone cashless. You can pay by Applepay, credit cards or transfer cash to a card upon arriving to the park.
Admission to Kings Island is not cheap. As of this article, the price of a daily ticket at the gate was as low as $45 per ticket, with season passes going for $155 apiece. While admissions to Soak City Waterpark is included in your pass and ticket price, it can cause families to think twice before investing in passes. Two key factors will influence your decision: whether they fit within your budget and whether you would actually use them.
Note: Kids under the age of three do not require an admission ticket.
Daily tickets are great for families who may be on the fence if their family will enjoy a visit to the park or out of town. Visiting the park can be a one-time event that happens on a special occasion or as a part of a staycation.
Tip: Don’t forget to budget for parking, which is currently $35 for the day.
If you are planning on going the daily ticket route, here is how you can save money on your daily ticket price:
Tip: You can always upgrade your daily ticket to a season pass at the end of the day.
Sign up for three seasons of fun when you purchase a Kings Island Season Pass. Gold Pass holders get in for all regular season days, including Winterfest and Halloween Haunt. Access to the park for more than the summer months was a huge perk when deciding whether to get passes.
A season pass typically pays for itself after three visits. (That is compared with buying daily tickets online). I knew my family would use our passes at least that many times, if not more.
A few helpful tips for season pass holders:
The first thing you should do before heading to the rides is to take advantage of the FREE measuring station inside Planet Snoopy. Staff members will measure your child and provide them with a wristband displaying their height.
The wristband will keep them from being measured at each ride and will keep disappointment at bay. Nothing puts a damper on their day than waiting in a line only to be told they are too short or too tall to ride.
The Character Carousel is a kiddie carousel with horses and a chariot for seating. Guests must be 46″ tall to ride alone OR be accompanied by a supervising companion. Handheld infants can be in chariot seating. Guests over 60″ tall must be accompanied by a child and are not allowed to ride on a jumper horse.
Tip: There is typically no wait or a short wait for this ride.
If you want a break from the heat, pop into the Boo Blasters for an indoor, air-conditioned ride. It is an interactive ride, giving guests a chance to shoot a laser gun at targets to score points. Some kids may find the ghosts, skeletons, loud noises, and darkness scary.
Guests must be 42″ tall to ride alone or accompanied by a supervising companion.
Personal Opinion: I found this ride poorly designed after they had to remove the Scooby Doo branding. It appears that someone painted ghosts on wooden cutouts with a ton of neon spray paint and then caught a deal on discount skeletons at Party City to create this attraction.
However, I will gladly go on this indoor ride to get out of the heat!
Deemed by parents as the worse ride in the entire park, it is almost guaranteed that your child will love it. The Whirlybirds are little helicopters that take guests above Planet Snoopy.
Here is what you need to know:
This classic theme park ride is commonly known as Flying Eagles, in which guests are suspended in a glider and use the fin to guide the glider’s flight. Guests must be 44″ tall to ride alone OR 36″ tall and accompanied by a supervising companion.
This ride does have a Fast Pass option as this is a slower-moving line.
Formerly known as the “Beastie” the Woodstock Express is the blue wooden roller coaster that has been giving thrills to guests of all ages for years. There is one big drop with turns and dips throughout the ride.
Guests must be 46″ tall to ride alone OR 40″ tall and accompanied by a supervising companion.
Tip: The Woodstock Express is loud since it is a wooden coaster. Coaching first-time coaster riders on what to expect will help make the first ride go smoother.
One of our favorite rides in the park for young kids is the Great Pumpkin Coaster. With two turns, great hills, and dips, there’s no better first roller coaster for kids! Best of all, parents can even go along for the ride.
Guests must be 40″ tall to ride alone, OR 36″ tall and accompanied by a supervising companion. A child must accompany guests over 60″ tall.
My daughter has always been a thrill seeker, and was devastated when she wasn’t tall enough to ride Surf Dog last year. (See my tip above about getting measured). However, this has been one of her favorite rides since she reached the height! Surf Dog is one of the biggest thrills in Planet Snoopy that attracts guests of all ages, so lines can get long.
Guests are loaded into a gondola that resembles a surfboard. The ride alternates between significant inclines and hills, all while spinning. If you get motion sickness, this ride is likely to make you feel nauseous while watching it.
Guests must be 48″ tall to ride alone, OR 42″ tall and accompanied by a supervising companion.
Tip: You feel weightless throughout the ride, as if you’re coming out of your seat. For this reason, I hold on tight to my daughter, who is still tiny and may feel frightened.
The biggest roller coaster in the Snoopy kids’ area is the Flying Ace Aerial Chase. An inverted steel coaster is truly a high-flying adventure, known by my daughter as “the feet-dangling coaster”.
Here is what you need to know:
A great addition to the Snoopy kids’ area is the Kite-Eating Tree. A family drop tower slowly bounces guests back down to the ground. Guests must be 46″ tall to ride alone, OR 36″ tall and accompanied by a supervising companion.
Tip: My daughter refuses to ride this because of the loud air compressors that activate while the ride slowly bounces its riders back to the ground. If noise sensitivity is a concern, this might be one to sit out.
Lay down and fly through the air on the Linus’ Launcher. Kids and adults alike will feel like Superman as they fly through the sky. The ride is very short, making a long wait not worth it.
Guests must be 42″ tall to ride. Guests 36″ to 41″ must be accompanied by an adult.
Kings Island offers a great selection of rides for little kids, including classics such as Charlie Brown’s Wind Up (kiddie swings) and Snoopy Vs. Red Baron (Planes), and Linus’s Beatle Bugs, lovingly known as the whip. For these rides, guests must be between 36″ and 54″ tall to ride.
Tip: Charlie Brown’s Wind Up is one of the first rides you see in Planet Snoopy and tends to draw a bit of a crowd at the beginning of the day. If you arrive early, start with the rides at the back of the park.
Two other classic rides are the Peanuts Off-Road Rally, Joe Cool’s Dodgem School, and the Peanuts 500, both rides that let kids sit behind the steering wheel. Guests must be less than 54″ tall to ride. Handheld infants are not permitted.
Snoopy’s Space Buggies is a fun ride that takes riders on a bumpy space ride. It does allow adults to accompany children under 36″. At 36″, they can ride alone. Handheld infants are not permitted on the ride.
Snoopy’s Junction is a favorite ride because it is a mini train ride. Guests must be 40″ tall to ride alone or accompanied by a supervising companion. Handheld infants are not permitted. A child must accompany guests over 60″ tall. I wish the park would add more aesthetic elements throughout the ride, rather than gazing upon a few bushes and cutouts hanging on a fence.
Sally’s Sea Plane is a unique ride in that I was surprised guests must be 42″ to ride alone. After stuffing myself into the seaplane, I quickly understood. There is only one bar holding your child in that they could easily maneuver themselves to get out if they were upset.
Remember that Handheld infants are not permitted, and a child must accompany guests over 60″ tall.
Younger kids can ride a handful of other attractions throughout the park, such as the Scrambler and the K.I. & Miami Valley Railroad and the Eiffel Tower. Check the park’s website for height restrictions.
One of the best additions to Kings Island’s Planet Snoopy is not a ride, but a covered playground! Beagle Scout Acres offers a space where kids can run, crawl, play, or relax with their family in a shaded, comfortable area. Resembling a campground, kids will love exploring this fun-filled playground. The astroturf makes for a soft landing for any falls, and on occasion, Snoopy and his friends come out to play!
The newest coaster at Kings Island is Snoopy’s Soapbox Racers. A fun, fast-paced coaster that takes riders forwards and backwards. Since there is only one train for this coaster, the line can often drag on. Guests must be 48” tall or 38” tall and accompanied by a Supervising Companion to ride.
The dining highlight of the entire amusement park is in Planet Snoopy. The iconic blue ice cream can be found at Planet Snoopy Ice Cream. Visitors of all ages will find themselves in line to cool off with this Kings Island staple.
Tip: If you have small kids, ask them to split the ice cream cone into two!
I think the dining options at Planet Snoopy are not the greatest, especially if you have a dining plan. The Planet Snoopy Grill offers your run-of-the-mill theme park burgers, chicken tenders, and fries. Our favorite dining spot in Planet Snoopy is PigPen’s Mess Hall, but it is never open, so we often go elsewhere. Families will flock to LaRosa’s on International Street, making wait times outrageous even on low-attendance days.
There are also a variety of concession stands throughout Planet Snoopy selling cotton candy, snow cones, and other refreshments.
Tip: If blue ice cream is not a priority, consider Snoopy’s Snow Cones, which also offers soft-serve ice cream in various flavors.
Honorable Mention: The Festhaus, but only because you can eat inside and it is air-conditioned. I feel like the food I get here has always been sitting out way too long and isn’t fresh.
Dining plans come in four different options:
My family of three currently has only one ALL Season Dining Plan. We have found that we can easily split meals, and without a doubt, we will always need at least one meal every time we visit.
Tip: You need to use your meal plan at least ten times to get your money’s worth.
Pro Tip: If you see people eating pizza at 10 am, it’s because of the 4-hour interval between meals on the dining plan. If you plan to spend more than four hours at Kings Island, time your meals so you can use your plan twice.
Planning Tip: If you’re only coming for the day but plan on staying from open to close, consider getting the All Day Dining Pass.
Drink plans are now available in either a wristband or a souvenir cup, depending on personal preference. Both plans give guests 15 minutes between refills. Drinks include Coca-Cola products, Gatorade, Lemonade, and Fruit Punch.
The family care center near Tom and Chee provides a safe space for families to care for their children. The family care center can find helpful amenities for parents with infants and toddlers.
Guests can enjoy two large family restrooms, a nursing area with comfortable seating, several changing areas, and storage cubbies for nursing supplies. Other amenities include a full kitchen with a dining table and appliances for guest use and a small section for children to relax while beating the heat.
Kings Island offers a service to quickly reunite separated children and parents using cell phones. Please sign up for this service at Guest Services located at the front gate, the Help Center next to the Fast Lane booth, the Family Care Center across from Tom and Chee, or Soak City Water Park Guest Services.
Shows are scheduled throughout the day and can offer a respite to families looking to cool off. Catch the Country Crossroads or Hot Rhythm Nights at the Kings Island Theater. Peanuts Meet-N-Greet with character photo ops afterward.
New for 2025 is the Trailblazers X-Treme, where acrobats, aerialists, and extreme athletes come together for the ultimate campground adventure featuring extraordinary, high-flying feats of courage!
Kings Island puts on a spectacular fireworks show every evening at 10:00 pm. I found the best place to watch the show is from our car in the parking lot. After the show, we are ready to head home without battling the crowd.
I hope you enjoyed my local guide to Planet Snoopy. I hope to have more Kings Island guides out in the future, but for now, be sure to check out my Top Things To Do In Ohio This Summer.
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