Winterfestguy

Interesting that Carowinds is offering 50% off Winterfest pre-purchase admission tickets through Nov 14 and is also having a Season Pass Preview Night. Too bad KI is not offering the same deal.

Maybe for a change Holiwood Nights and CP Coastermania won’t be the same weekend so we can attend both (since CP Coastermania is typically the first Friday in June which would make it June 7).

There is ice skating at KD just like at KI. There are a few less lights at KD (approx 2 million), but there will be 12 live shows at KD which is more than Christmas Town will have (wonder if Six buys the SeaWorld chain how much Christmas Town might change?). Also, KD has the same 300 foot tree on the tower with LED lights as KI which is taller and more technologically advanced than any tree in Christmas Town. Since this is the first year of Winterfest at KD, look for it to be expanded in 2019 just has KI has done in their second season. It is likely KD will have some impact on Christmas Town attendance.

We can only hope KI also extends their Saturday Winterfest hours too - when asked during the podcast, they have indicated there are no plans to extend the current KI Saturday hours of 4-10pm (but as we know, they do sometimes change their mind at the last minute such as last year when they decided to open at 4 instead of 5 on Saturdays).

Winterfest 2005 ran both trains so not sure why last year they made the decision was made to only run one. Glad to hear the boiler issues in colder weather have been figured out, so the trains will actually run. The train sat at the station all day yeasterday, last night, and is still at the station today possibly for decorating the cars?

Will KI be making any technological advances in their app so that food can be ordered/paid for using cell phones and then simply picked up at a special window (similar to what the Disney and Universal apps are currently doing, even with their dining plans)?

Universal Orlando offically launched their “Mobile Express Pick Up” app for food this week which is very similar to the Disney’s mobile food app. Guests and pick their restaurant, view menu, order, pay or use their dining plan, and pick up their food when they are ready. Will KI/CF ever make the technological advancement to using an app instead of their current kiosk approach? (which never has worked well for me, especially with a season drink plan)

Interesting article on food quality across the CF chain, but primarily focused on CP. KI too has seen its fair share of food inconsistencies (jutebox, mac&cheese bar, panda, etc.). If season pass meal plans do indeed account for about 30% on the bottom line, it could be an interesting 2019 if many decide not renew their plans. Even though it may cost a few dollars more, I am waiting to see how the food quality is at KI Winterfest before committing to a 2019 season meal plan. http://www.sanduskyregister.com/story/201710120034

The new Igloos seem to be on the expensive side since there are lots of “additional fees apply” and you can’t even use your meal plan to have food and drink brought to you (menu prices apply).

I image the park will immediately begin their 26 day transformation to Winterfest immediately after the last guest passes through the exit (which is likely why no extended ERT on the last Sunday). With lots of rain and unsettled weather predicted in the coming weeks, it will be a tough schedule to remove all Halloween and be totally ready for Winterfest Nov 23. Carowinds even has less time to transition since their opening Winterfest date is Sunday Nov 18.

There is likely a good profit in beer and alcohol sales, so doubt the CF would ever stop selling it in their parks. It is impossible to monitor the parking lots for people drinking before one enters the park. If you have ever been to Universal Horror nights, alcohol is sold everywhere, and at least KI limits the few places that sell beer during Haunt hours.

For those that don’t have a season pass and may be thinking about purchasing Winterfest tickets for their other guests, note that the on-line ticket processing fee comes up as $6.99 for one advance ticket which defeats the purpose of buying in advance on-line to save money and time at the gate. Very tricky marketing by the park when you see savings but only come to find out at checkout the ridiculously high processing fee.

The Saturday nights later in October are historically the busiest for Haunt. If the approaching rain hits KI during Haunt tonight, it may thin out the crowds some, especially since the outdoor scare zones will likely close due to rain.

It seemed like every time I visited CP this summer, WindSeeker had malfunctioned and stopped at the top - on one visit, it was stuck for 15 minutes at the top until lowered (and did not run the rest of the night). I agree that for whatever reason the one at KI seems more reliable and less likely to malfunction.

The MT webcam tonight showed the Christmas lights being tested on the whitewater canyon covered arbor that is used as the train entrance during Winterfest - more progress in stringing the millions of lights

Worlds of fun just announced “Snoopy’s Countdown Rocking NYE Party”. Since CF typically re-uses the same shows chainwide, there is a good chance this same show will be the KI NYE Winterfest entertainment in the Festhaus starting at 10pm.

The kiosks need to also allow for the ordering of the all season drink season plan. Many times at the Chicken Shack using my all season dining pass at the kiosk, my food was processed quickly but could not get a drink because the manual cashier line was so long with others redeeming vouchers. I hope with the promise of newer digital technology by CF, KI will allow viewing menus, ordering, and payment on the app; then just show up to pick up your food. For those that have been to Disney, this technology was great to ease standing in lines and greatly improves efficiency (and the app technology works very well with the Disney Dining Plan as we experienced.)

It is good to hear that some have had good experiences and food quality at Coney BBQ. For me and the guests I have brought to the park, we have only had poor experiences. So much so that I (and my friends that come to the park with me) have avoided eating at Coney BBQ late season. My friends and I have had rock hard hush puppies that you could not even bite into, tasteless mac & cheese, ice cold chicken, cold pull pork, and forever checking out with one cashier. The only bright spot was the sidewinder fries which were hot and crispy because they just came out of the fryer. So in my opinion, Coney BBQ still seems inconsistent in their food quality and there is room for improvement during Winterfest and next season.

If you watch the webcams, the park has been busy stringing lights in the trees (and testing them at night as seen on the webcam). There have been many burned out bulbs on buildings this summer (like around Hanks and I-street) and even missing bulbs (where someone took them) around the windows at Reds Grill. Let’s hope they fix those before Winterfest begins after Thanksgiving. Carowinds is having a sneak peak of their Winterfest (according to their Winterfest calendar on their webpage) the Sunday before Thanksgiving (Nov 18) so likely will be checking that out. Also noted Carowinds Winterfest is doing 2-10pm Saturdays this season while KI made it clear they would stick to the 4-10pm Saturdays. With the Corporate emphasis now on special events I would not be surprised if KI changes their mind to also go with 2-10pm Saturdays.

The new show Haunted Homecoming was the worst Kings Island has ever had for Haunt or Fearfest in my opinion. The lack of a good soundtrack and overall excitement just made this a sad show. The story line quickly fell apart in the first two minutes. The show really belongs over in Planet Snoopy in the Barnyard theater. Can Hot Blooded or Dead Awakenings please return next year and let this awful show RIP after one year? Budget cuts so obvious.

I wonder if Cedar Fair management is studying the Disney model of upcharge events early in the morning and at night. Disney now has an early morning Fantasyland with breakfast upcharge package as well as a late night upcharge package in addition to their Halloween and Christmas upcharge party events. All done by the wristband changeover between regular park and special event hours. All have significantly increased the profit to the Disney bottom line. However with the Cedar Fair budget cuts with Haunt of removing “extras” such as less mazes, elimination of skeleton key rooms, and elimination of special meals, I am not sure how many would be willing to pay any extra upcharge for less activities, and any upcharge model would likely not work.

The 2019 Season Passes have the 30th anniversary of Kentucky Kingdom in them (1989-2019) and from the additional teaser, what could be in the wind for 2019 to celebrate the 30th?

Last year Tower Gardens closed early around Labor Day to install the giant candy canes and Winterfest light packages before creating Backwoods Bayou for Haunt. But with the Backwoods Bayou appearing to be off the website now, maybe more budget cuts in the works.

Gold/platinum pass early entry line into Soak City was also backed up with a very long wait - appears the park will have another one of their busiest days of the summer season.

This is exciting and likely all weather dependent for attendance. Last year the high on NYE was 14 and low of 7 not to mention windchill and dusting of snow. The last night of Winterfest last year had an abbreviated schedule with no rides running due to the extreme cold/snow. Let’s hope this NYE temps stay in the 30s with no snow so everyone can enjoy the special activities.