CoastersRZ

Thanks for sharing the pictures. I went down there last August. Hoping to make it down there this year to check out Storm Chaser. Not sure if I will make it given my schedule.

I too was referring to the original Winterfest. Other than some of the flat rides, and the Great Pumpkin coaster, no roller coasters were ever open for Winterfest. There are minimum temperature requirements for those rides to operate, see also Dollywood which will not run their coasters in December if the temp drops below a certain threshold. They did not have the entire park open either. You were pretty much limited to International Street, part of kiddy land, Rivetown to the train station, and Oktoberfest. Action Zone, and Coney Mall were almost completely off limits in 2005. I do not think it would be as big of an issue as you think. The event is not marketed towards thrill seekers, but rather families. The entertainment offerings at the 2005 version were top notch. That being said, I have always thought that Flight of Fear would be a ride they could run during Winterfest since it is in doors.

The main reason Paramount cited for discontinuing Winterfest was not the unpredictable weather, but the fact that they wanted to extend the season in October and would thus not have time to prepare the park for Winterfest.

Yep. The barge that had the Christmas trees on it remained in Swan Lake much of the next season, but it was moved kind of out of sight back behind the Tropical Paradise drink stand which is seldom open.

Yes, that was a fun time, as was stopping by to see Scrooge. If they brought it back, I would imagine they would have the Festhaus open, and potentially have another show going on in there, in addition to the one in the Kings Island Theater.

And by all accounts I have heard, the original incarnation of Winterfest was successful, both from an attendance and a financial standpoint. The reimagined version they did in 2005 had several issues. They overcharged for the event which was one of its biggest hurdles. The event cost $24.99 to enter, and pass holders only saved $2 or $3 off of the admission price. And passholders had to pay the normal rate for parking. Santa`s Toy Factory and the train were wonderful experiences. The parade was also a good time. However, there was not much to do beyond that. The Grand Carousel, and a couple rides in Planet Snoopy were open. In 1991, they had the Antique Cars and Dodgems open. Competition now is a little more intense for winter event dollars, especially with the Zoo having Festival of Lights for so many years now. The one thing I felt was missing in the 2005 version was a lot of Christmas lights, especially given the amount of lights that Dollywood puts up. It will be interesting to see how things go with California`s Great America WinterFest this year. Which, by the way, is free with a Gold season pass to that park. It should be interesting to see if KI does get Winterfest again. This post has been way off topic.

There is a lot of cost in upkeep when the wood is painted. The sun does wonders on paint after several years. Look how faded the steel coasters get after a few seasons. Yes, the property that Coney owns today is smaller than what it once owned. Several acres of land were donated to the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO) for the creation of Riverbend Music Center. Coney actually has the parking concession for Riverbend, and the food concessions for Riverbend. If you have not been, Coney is definitely worth a visit. I hope for the day that a wooden coaster returns to Coney. Hopefully that day is not far down the road, but I haven`t heard any rumblings about it recently.

As an aside, Coney Island never even opened on the fourth of July this year. Granted, it rained most of the day this year in Cincinnati. And Coney`s fireworks are on the 3rd, and they started at around 9:15 instead of 10 because of the rainy weather this year.

Trust me, that the park will have if figured out eventually. These rides are a huge investment and they aren`t just going to throw it all away. Few remember, but Flight of Fear didn`t open at Kings Island until June of the year it opened in 1996, and then had lots of issues, since it was the first roller coaster to use LIMs.

I think a log flume at Coney would be a big hit. I am still personally hoping for a wooden coaster (which was strongly rumored several years ago).

I rode this ride at a FEC outside of Memphis. It is a fun little ride. The manufacturer (SBF/VIsa group), is also the manufacturer of River Runner, Top Spin and Fender Benders at Coney Island.

Coney pays their ride operators minimum wage. And we have been struggling the last couple of years to get enough staffing. Its hard to entice people to work at Coney when people can go out to Target, etc. and get $9 an hour starting out.

I also believe that Kenton`s Cove Keelboat Canal never operated during the 2001 season. 2000 was the year that the original log flume that came from Coney was closed and started its refurbishment. Then it reopened in 2001, at the time that KCKC started to be removed. It was a fun ride, although the water had a certain odor to it. When in line you could see fish that were in the water...

Which begs the question, what happened to Brad Marcy? Mike Fehnel went back to Dorney, I believe.

I agree with the exiting the park from the south exit. With the cone set up, it is nearly impossible to exit from the south, even though the signs in the parking lot say south. The whole thing is a mess right now.

I had heard that they are done by Zambelli, but that was a few years ago. Whenever Coney has fireworks (July 3rd and Fire Up the Night in September), they use Rozzi`s Famous Fireworks. In fact, Coney is the reason Rozzi`s is located in the Cincinnati area.

I have been to the Milford location once. It is a fun visit, and the go karts are a blast. When I was there on a Saturday afternoon last October, the place was thoroughly busy. Definitely worth a visit. I have always wanted to attend an IAAPA trade show, but have never had the opportunity to do so.

Last year, Coney had a Bacon Fest in mid-June. This year, they have altered the event a little bit, and renamed it the CinciDaddy Father`s Day Celebration. Find out more here: http://coneyislandpark.com/cincidaddy-fathers-day-celebration

The ice rink on the Royal Fountain was not done by "freezing the fountain" They built a wood formwork over which the ice used for freezing the rink was constructed. One of the issues with the reincarnation of Winterfest was that they simply were charging too much for it. Pass holders got a couple dollars off admission, which cost them $22 a person or so (which was pretty steep) And your pass was not valid for free parking, so you had to pay for that too. The entertainment was top class. It wasn`t as good as Dollywood`s Smoky Mountain Christmas. Some of the kiddy rides, the train, Carousel, and Boo Blasters were all operating. Winterfest was more of a family event, and not necessarily targeted to thrill seekers. From what I understand, the original incarnation of Winterfest at KI made money. However, it was discontinued in part to extend the season later into October. And in 2005, the last weekend the park was open for Haunt (called FearFest at the time still), it was a weird combination of Haunt decorations and Winterfest decorations. Personally, I would love to see Winterfest return to KI. I had fond memories of it from when I was a kid. And as I look to the future and raising my own family, would love to be able to take my future kids their to make similar memories.

Is that a fancy name for a soft opening?

This years shirt seems a little boring. At least compared to last years.

To be honest, that article was the first mention of "Sunlite Adventure" I have heard. I have been down at Coney nearly two dozen times this year and have heard no mention of that, and the Coney website makes no mention of it either.

http://www.wlwt.com/news/whats-new-at-coney-island-this-summer/39503596?utm_campaign=WLWT&utm_content=57343b8604d3011d585c5bff&utm_medium=facebook&utm_source=trueAnthem:+New+Content

The event was held this past weekend. As is usual, it was the first weekend the rides were open. It was actually a bit busier on Saturday this year compared to last year, although mother nature dampened the mood on Sunday.

I haven`t heard of any school district`s down here switching to that. I will say that at Coney, we had enough trouble getting people to work in August as it is. Last year was awful for staffing in August. The switch from quarters to semesters for UC and OSU really hurts, as UC used to start in mid-September, which used to help, but now they start mid August.