Timchat2

Speaking with some performers and tech crew we got the impression the song rights have been an issue. There was a copyright lawsuit around the use of the song "Christmastime Is Here" in Twas the Night Before Christmas at the Pines a few years ago. Shortly after that Silver Dollar City's A Dickens Christmas Carol changed out its score of existing music (largely from the Alan Menken written A Christmas Carol and the 1970 film Scrooge) for an entirely original score of similar sounding songs. At Dollywood this past season the song "We Need a Little Christmas Now" was removed from both Christmas in the Smokies and Twas the Night Before Christmas. Having more shows that feature exclusively Dolly's music might keep these issues from coming up.

With the recent song changes (presumably due to issues with the song rights) to Dreamland Drive-In we had a feeling it likely wasn't going to be around much longer. Sixteen years is an incredible run though. Dreamland was truly something special. Few theme park shows have that kind of heart and emotional impact. Hopefully the future productions will continue that tradition.

Grand Carnivale at Kings Dominion is listed as "select dates" and Carnivale at Orleans Place at California's Great America appears to be just Friday-Sunday for 2024, so if Grand Carnivale returns to Kings Island this season would it also have a limited schedule?

With Kings Dominion still getting Grand Carnivale I wonder if they'll just have three of the parks host the event with the three sets of floats. California's Great America appears to have its own New Orleans themed set of floats for its Carnivale at Orleans Place event.

https://www.carowinds.com/events Apparently Grand Carnivale is not returning to Carowinds for 2024.

The festivals are all wonderful but the Harvest Festival might just be the perfect mix of day (visiting artists/craftspeople and musicians) and night (Great Pumpkin LumiNights) attractions with the full regular assortment of Dollywood attractions and shows like Dreamland Drive-In. Along with the pleasant autumn weather it can be Dollywood at its best.

How did we all feel about WinterFest 2023? We still had a wonderful time at the event across the season. The amount of effort from the park on so many fronts from merchandise to entertainment continues to impress despite the cuts. We were fortunate to have a relatively strong entertainment lineup considering how other WinterFests like California's Great America (with its six-person Cool Yule double-cast with Holly Jolly Trolley) and Kings Dominion (no parade) saw more noticeable trimming.

The snow globe is back by Banshee:

It was a peaceful evening at the park if you dressed accordingly. We walked right on Flight of Cheer and then had Holly Jolly Trolley to ourselves.

I couldn't agree more. While I appreciate the extra exposure the new spot brings to Nativity, the surrounding noise and foot traffic (along with what feels like cranked up volume from the show to combat the noise) really impacts the mood.

We attended Christmas in the Park but we did not do the carriage ride through the park. Only the area near the front of the park between the front gate and Sky Ride station was open. Still though it was quite a unique experience to see the park in the off-season in a time before Winter Chill Out, HalloWeekends and the park even being open until the end of October.

2024 will be the first season outside of the two-year cycle of the 50th celebration shows so we'll see what kind of lineup the park has in mind. It's encouraging to see the audition list many of the usual positions, so it will hopefully be business as usual with major productions at Festhaus and the Bandstand at least.

Between this and Universal Horror Unleashed in Las Vegas it will be interesting to see if Universal will finally crack the code of bringing Orlando-style theme park experiences to U.S. markets outside of Florida and California.

It's worth noting that in our experience Silver Dollar City in Branson also has exceptional hosts. Herschend seems to be doing something right.

Friday turned out to be a very pleasant evening at the park despite the rainy misty start. The additional lights around the park look great. The new decor, along with a handful of changes like the unique music loop and repurposed Haunt props in Rivertown as well as new blocking and choreography at Mistletones and Cool Yule, makes this year's WinterFest feel freshened up despite the cuts. While the energy of Four Drummer Drumming, Jingle Jazz and Holly Jolly Trolley is certainly missed, we're still happy to have such a large holiday event so close to home.

We visit Dollywood roughly 3-4 times a season and there are probably at least a dozen hosts and even entertainment performers that know us by name and ask about our family members. I hope as the park continues to grow they can hold onto that genuine spirit that has always made Dollywood so special.

That does answer my questions. It's interesting how Carowinds had the Smurfs as well but blue ice cream didn't become as iconic there. Same for the other parks if it was served at Canada's Wonderland and Kings Dominion.

Has the blue ice cream been at the other parks as long as Kings Island? On that note, when did blue ice cream debut at Kings Island? A number of articles list the debut as 1982 to go along with the opening of Smurf's Enchanted Voyage, but that attraction didn't open until 1984.

Does Carowinds have blue ice cream like Kings Island? I swear I remember hearing somewhere that blue ice cream originated with Smurf Island at Carowinds.

A lot of credit to Windish Entertainment for putting together a fun song list and the performers for making those connections with guests, including those that don't always stop for musical shows.

Any sign of where Sounds of the Nativity will be set up this year? The official site just says Charlie Brown's Christmas Town. Would they put it on the corner by Boo Blasters in the former Four Drummers Drumming spot?

We loved Home for the Holidays. I really liked how it recast the familiar train experience as part of a simple heartwarming holiday story. I don't recall if it slowed up load times but it is the kind of experience that would be great to see return.

The WinterFest show page for Carowinds has been updated for 2023. The parade will return at Carowinds even though it apparently will not return to Kings Dominion. Shows from 2022 that are no longer listed (and assumed to be cut) include Holly Jolly Trolley, Sparkle City Swing Machine, the Yule Logs, Tree-ditions, Christmas Bluegrass, Fezzywigs Brass Band, Four Drummers Drumming and the Mistletones.

I'm hoping/expecting Sounds of Nativity to be relocated as well, although that might put it closer to Four Drummers Drumming (if that returns as well). Perhaps the loss of Holly Jolly Trolley would mean that the major shows like Tinker's, Swingin' Into Christmas and Cool Yule can still remain?

The WinterFest shows pages for Kings Dominion and Canada's Wonderland aren't listing Holly Jolly Trolley despite having offered the show in previous years, so it's possible that is one production we'll see cut across the chain.