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Carowinds likely to host Winterfest in 2020


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3 hours ago, SnakePlissken said:

Likely gonna just be a food festival and no rides or shows like what Knott's has been doing. If they prove me wrong and run Fury or Copperhead Strike I may have to take a vacation and hit Carowinds and Dollywood.

Fury doesn’t run for Winterfest, the only B&M that has ran for Winterfest is Afterburn. Copperhead ran for Winterfest 2019. 

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I agree, I wonder why they are trying this at Carowinds and not at KI as well.  Two things immediately come to mind.  Weather in Charlotte can be a little milder than in Cincinnati.  They also have a brand new hotel that they are probably hoping to get some revenue out of.

The name change is likely to differentiate this event from Winterfest, so that people are not comparing it to Winterfest, much like KI and Cedar Point have done with their Fall events this year.

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2 minutes ago, CoastersRZ said:

I agree, I wonder why they are trying this at Carowinds and not at KI as well.  Two things immediately come to mind.  Weather in Charlotte can be a little milder than in Cincinnati.  They also have a brand new hotel that they are probably hoping to get some revenue out of.

The name change is likely to differentiate this event from Winterfest, so that people are not comparing it to Winterfest, much like KI and Cedar Point have done with their Fall events this year.

 

Cincinnati weather through December is generally manageable.  You have the sporadic 60 degree days in early Dec. and things don't typically get dicey until the end of Dec.- which by the 2020 Dec Calendar, they would be closed before Christmas anyway.  

It just seems like a waste of lost revenue.  Saturday's in October have been very well attended and as it has gotten colder, more and more of people's physical appearance is covered; not to mention, masks are then more bearable to wear. Just seems that if they had plugged forward, even with fewer shows- they could have had near-equal attendance to years past.

RIP of what 2020 could have been and to a host of terrible decisions along the way.

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I wouldn't call it a terrible decision. They are trying to figure out things as they go along, and at the time they canceled Haunt and Winterfest, attendance was less than they had been hoping to see, even with the pandemic. Certainly they could have held some type of smaller event, given the success of the fall fest. These things take a lot of time to plan and prepare though. I wonder if it's too late to change their minds and have something.

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I wonder why they did not get the park open up in time for the Halloween season? They could have helped taken the load off of King's Island, Dollywood and Cedar Point. Also with the warmer weather down there they could have done some fall weekdays. I do not live down there so I do not know what restrictions if any have been lifted or whats changed since the planned end of July open date that the park scrapped.

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Here is an interesting story:

https://www.postandcourier.com/business/carowinds-theme-park-on-the-sc-nc-line-to-reopen-this-year/article_15c4dc6c-1936-11eb-96c1-87ed1331f50a.html

Carowinds is likely opening this season to position itself for opening for operations in Spring 2021.  They may wish to develop a track record of success they can point out to justify the safety of a fuller reopening next season.  

Carowinds strattles two states thus requiring multiple jurisdictions approval of broad plans to reopen (possibly to limited operations) next year.

The events planned for this season could, conceivably, take place in only one state.  Thus it would be easier to utilize leverage to resume some operations now.

Think of it as setting the table for next year.  

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1 hour ago, Leland Wykoff said:

Here is an interesting story:

https://www.postandcourier.com/business/carowinds-theme-park-on-the-sc-nc-line-to-reopen-this-year/article_15c4dc6c-1936-11eb-96c1-87ed1331f50a.html

Carowinds is likely opening this season to position itself for opening for operations in Spring 2021.  They may wish to develop a track record of success they can point out to justify the safety of a fuller reopening next season.  

Carowinds strattles two states thus requiring multiple jurisdictions approval of broad plans to reopen (possibly to limited operations) next year.

The events planned for this season could, conceivably, take place in only one state.  Thus it would be easier to utilize leverage to resume some operations now.

Think of it as setting the table for next year.  

If they were only running the rides at the front of the park the one state theory might be right. I'm not sure exactly where the border runs in the park since I've only been there over one 2 day weekend. But they are going to operate Afterburn and Copperhead Strike.I think they are both in opposite corners all the way in the back of the park. I do not see any way of only operating South Carolina side since the park entrance is on the North Carolina side.

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29 minutes ago, SnakePlissken said:

If they were only running the rides at the front of the park the one state theory might be right. I'm not sure exactly where the border runs in the park since I've only been there over one 2 day weekend. But they are going to operate Afterburn and Copperhead Strike.I think they are both in opposite corners all the way in the back of the park. I do not see any way of only operating South Carolina side since the park entrance is on the North Carolina side.

I think it could work if they only use the entrance by Afterburn for the event (According to Google Maps, Copperhead Strike is entirely in SC).

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If pressed, they could operate only using South Carolina, but the problem is that cuts the waterpark in half and excludes Fury. However, it includes Camp Snoopy and their next 3 major coasters. It would suck, but they could do it, especially since they still have (but rarely use) the old secondary entrance under AfterBurn. 

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  • 1 month later...

So I was at Carowinds on Black Friday. Got the food tasting card. Chicken gumbo with rice was really good. So was the cinnamon sugar donuts. Those were still hot. Pot roast fries had hardly any pot roast. Cinnamon bread was good but a bit undercooked. Fried shrimp was tasty. Chocolate brownie was good and bartender insisted it had fireball whiskey in it but I didn't taste it. Bartender also was telling people only South Carolina side was open but that makes no sense. Ricochet , Chickey and Pete' and Starbucks are all on North side and were open. Rode Copperhead Strike 3 times and Afterburn 2. Caught a couple shows. Had a great time.

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7 hours ago, SnakePlissken said:

So I was at Carowinds on Black Friday. Got the food tasting card. Chicken gumbo with rice was really good. So was the cinnamon sugar donuts. Those were still hot. Pot roast fries had hardly any pot roast. Cinnamon bread was good but a bit undercooked. Fried shrimp was tasty. Chocolate brownie was good and bartender insisted it had fireball whiskey in it but I didn't taste it. Bartender also was telling people only South Carolina side was open but that makes no sense. Ricochet , Chickey and Pete' and Starbucks are all on North side and were open. Rode Copperhead Strike 3 times and Afterburn 2. Caught a couple shows. Had a great time.

Was it busy?

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