Timchat2

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.

I was hopeful that Summerbration would get a second year since they put the effort into building the new set and then arranging music and making choreography for the new show. But I could see how pyro could be an issue with the back spike so close.

A replacement pogo performer was brought in by All Wheel Sports.

The press release from Cedar Fair said that Grand Carnivale would "return to a number of parks" in 2024, so they might still be sorting out which ones. I wonder if smaller parks like Valleyfair or Worlds of Fun see more of a boost than the larger parks like Kings Island.

With the shift to more of a family crowd (in the sense of the younger guests showing up and how the park seems to be adjusting to them) could we see Kings Island shift to all-day Tricks and Treats and no Haunt like Valleyfair or California's Great America? Presumably the Haunts at those parks were just as well-attended on their own terms as Kings Island's but there were strong enough reasons to drop the "scary" nighttime offerings.

If it does return this year they might be set up like it is at Kings Dominion and Carowinds with a temporary outdoor stage and enclosures for the animals.

It will be interesting to see how the offerings might be arranged this year for any budget cuts. If nothing else Sounds of the Nativity (assuming it returns) will need a different setup with the Camp Snoopy construction.

How does this year's Tricks and Treats compare to last year? Are there obvious cuts like with Haunt?

We were waiting for KillMart when it hit midnight when a supervisor associate announced to the line that the park was closed and no more groups would be admitted. Have the houses always closed exactly at midnight? We assumed they would have closed the queue early if getting the house clear by park closing was the priority.