Orion-XL200

Nothing like the taste of a room temp glass of tap water Trying to think if KI added an indoor VIP lounge, where they'd put it? The existing stands are either too small of a footprint or valuable for other purposes....unless they put it under the Banshee station in place of the arcade/former giftshop/funpix booth.

What looked like it was going to be an insanely busy night last night at the park, I was shocked it wasn't terrible crowd wise. First thing once in the park, was a ride on Flight of Cheer....I hadn't been on it since August and we sat in the 3rd row. Leg room was extremely tight, but I was able to get buckled in. The ride experience itself was actually really good. It was the smoothest that I remember it being but probably because of location in the train. Of course, they were only operating 1 train, so I'm glad we did it before the line could get long. Afterwards we grabbed dinner at Coney BBQ....turkey with gravy (I had no idea they added gravy) and corn soufflé, both were yummy! The rest of the night we pretty much just spent it walking around checking out the lights,. We rode the Holly Jolly Trolley and it was a fun little experience for as simple it was, thankfully we had Scrooge onboard entertaining us with his condemnation of the guests in the way of the trolley, "we will run you over." We grabbed a ride on the train as well and oh lord....the fact that the 12 days of Christmas song ended around light display 6 and 7ish....was kinda funny to me. It was a great ride overall. Mystic Timbers gave a great ride. We did the single rider line and rode separately, though we did get on the same train. I was paired with a kid in the front row and he was not happy sharing that "I wanted to ride alone," as I had already sat down and the gates were closed. He was fine after the ride op told him I was supposed to ride. The ride was a great one though. In a way, In a way I almost prefer 2 train ops on Mystic because the wait in the shed is a little less (it makes me feel claustrophobic). We kind of just walked around the rest of the night, with a stop in Action Zone for tubing during the parade, minimal wait was nice! I had to crack up because I kept hearing the ride op phone at Drop Tower ringing and ringing and ringing. Once we completed that, it was almost time to decide on food for the 2nd meal. I wasn't really in the mood for anything specific but we wanted to make sure our last meal plan of the season was worth the redemption. We started at the Mac n Cheese Bar...after standing in line for about 5-10 minutes because 2 women in front of us weren't sure what to get, I looked at the options and the didn't seem appetizing so we bailed. Ended up at Grain and Grille....I didn't want anything there but pierogis so that's what I ended up with. 3 sides of pierogis, aka 9 total. They were yummy and filled my stomach for the rest of the night. We walked through the shops and there just was nothing that I had to have...merch kinda recycled from the main season and/or stuff I already had. Prices on some things were reasonable while other things I would never pay. The end of the night came and I can say that I enjoyed myself this time around. The only 2 things I wish would have improved was the food options and the merch options.

I'm planning on going tomorrow night, hoping for light(ish) crowds (haha). This will only be my 2nd visit to this year's event. Hoping to enjoy myself a bit more than opening night.

I'm already ready to ride it!

I read through that earlier and they give pretty solid info. I personally would hate for the track to be that color....seems as if Cedar Fair got a discount on that color if so haha. As far as the ride experience that they are seeing, I would hope for it to be a little longer, but it'll be what it'll be and I'll ride it.

100% agreed with you!

I'm lost....what?

That area would be fine if they had the light displays like they did the first year (of the CF Winterfest): Photo Cred Photo Cred The area was juts more visually appealing than a couple random lighted deer, the "giant elf" (though cool, just not in a great spot or adds to the area) and a darkened "parking garage" of BLSC.

Better late than never....or imo if they aren't allowing anyone inside of it, why bother? I mean opening day, they advertised it with folks going in. Is this a case of staffing even though the official word from comms was that the park was fully staffed for the year. No you aren't. I mean, I've only been opening night and I just didn't feel the magic anymore. Can't exactly put my finger on it, but yeah, just not a fan....will go one more time before the end of the season....not sure I will expect much.

I may eventually be able to share those....kinda depends on the permissions I get and trying not to do so without hampering other goals. Based on a general observation without much data, since Kyle K joined the KD team, the engagement has significantly improved.

It came from a company I work with that has a social media monitoring tool where I can insert whatever social media presence, and get results....for this, I just entered the KI social accounts and boom.

Being a marketing/social media guy, I really love to look into analytics of posts. An interesting look into this year compared to last: Since the start of WinterFest 2023 vs. 2022, engagements per post average stands at minus-61.04%. Comments are down minus-65.13% over last year. The metrics don’t lie. Minus-61.04. One of the largest deficits in the industry versus last year.

Seems like pocket change, you gonna grab it?

Absolutely...I miss the splash features that were on the bridge over the "action river." When I was last in the water park, most of the play structure's interactive features (drop buckets, wheels to turn on and off water, etc.) were not working.

Thinking on this lately, I truly think with the news of Coney Island closing down, that Soak City really needs a refresh in the look/feel of it's footprint and a new attraction (or two) in the park. The last time I was in Soak City (2022) half of the "action river" interactive and splash things were not working, I feel like they could use a handful more tubes for it as well. Of course Soak City could also use a few shade structures/trees. I struggle walking around the waterpark barefoot and rarely can use water shoes with their lack of arch support, makes me wish there could be a softer type of walkway put in. As far as a new attraction, I'd like to see a record breaking (high capacity) water coaster ala Mammoth at Holiday World. At this time, I can't believe I'm saying this, I'd favor this over a main park new addition in the next capital project.

5:17 am, 12/15/23 9:20 am, 12/15/23 Adorable as it is predictable.

Same here. I have the original one, I like it better.

“So what EXACTLY would you say is it you DO here?”

Oh Change.org petitions! I'm sad but not too sad as I had only visited twice.

So I didn't realize the lighted "fountains" on top of the skating rink were actually used in 2005 for the first return of Winterfest:

You're not wrong.

I mean, I would haha, but it's 2.5 hrs for me.

There used to be a videon on Pointbuzz but looks like it's been removed.

I agree with you on this for sure. I feel like they start our restaurants with great menus and then decide to just throw chicken tenders or burgers on the menu a couple years later...nothing real worthy of redeeming a meal plan. Chef Major has spent a lot of time at CP to start this year out and it was seen based on the quality and variety of new items throughout the season. Much appreciated there.