standbyme

And if no one does recognize you...you won’t be...that’s kinda surreal.

I am not unpatriotic...but I hate the flag poles at the foot of the fountain. When taking a group photo all you have are silver bars obscuring The Eiffel Tower. I also say bring on the trees...I love sitting in the shade while I watch the fountain!

I wish I lived closer to the park...there is just so much to see and do at Winterfest! On our 2 day trip it was not even possible to get everything in. No regrets though, still had a great time.

Two of my family members did, and liked it...but not only was I mad* at that point, I really only wanted "the view" and not the food. *So why was I mad? We arrived at the park at opening on Friday to be greeted with the "Not available/ corporate event sign"...so I decided to politely tell Guest Relations how I felt about this. I talked to what appeared to be a knowledgeable older gentleman. I explained that we come from Illinois, only make one trip to Winterfest a year...but we do come two days in a row. I explained what is a common complaint here...to arrive at the park and not know if the experience will or won't be available. He apologized for the situation. I then told him that we would be back tomorrow/Saturday night and asked him if it would be available to the public., he said YES, there was no corporate buy out. We arrive Saturday to find it was a corporate sell out. I was more than mad...so mad I didn't even want to go into Guest Relations at that point....I waited until the end of the evening and told them what had happened. This time I talked to a younger guy. He is the one who told me that the policy had changed...they were now making it clear on the website if it was going to be available to the pubic....according to him they updated the website at midnight Friday night.

Off the top of my head: The Worst: Not exactly losing the antique cars...I could live with that, but having them replaced with such an eyesore of a ride in possibly the highest profile area of the park. (Excluding the Royal Fountain of course.) The Best: all of the pavers that Cedar Fair has put throughout the park. ( I am grateful that they go to such expense, especially when they could easily just throw down concrete or asphalt.) The pavers improve the whole atmosphere of the park. (I think I speak for most people on this site when I say "We don't care about getting any new coasters or rides, just bring on more pavers!) EDIT: Sure Brad, I'm hunting and pecking a well thought out response and you sneak in your post ahead of me...I guess great minds think alike.

It appears that you can now buy meal tickets for the International Street Buffet on line in advance...plus they block out the dates that it is a corporate event. That’s good news for anyone going in the future, but a day late and a dollar short for me and my family. We just got back from our yearly Winterfest trip...only to find that it was a corporate event on both Friday & Saturday.

I agree 100%...adding it to Fun Pix would be very nice...especially if it had a Winterfest frame/overlay on it. (Hard to believe the park would miss the chance to make an extra buck.) By buying ice at "face value" and then jacking up the price as much as the market will allow?

I was planning on skipping the train this year because it was the ONLY thing that I thought was completely worthless last year. As I mentioned in a post above, our time is limited at the park. It is a 3 1/2 hour drive for us...so we only drive to Winterfest once a year...we do go 2 evenings though, but we still struggle to experience everything we want. So, is it improved enough that you would recommend it?

Thank you both...and thanks to the food department for coming up with these! I always try and pick up the odder flavors. My family and I will be heading to the park next weekend...there is so much to do at Winterfest, and since our time is always limited I always try and make the most of it. I never want to waste any time looking for something that doesn't exist...so now I know what to look for. Thanks again!

Does The Sweet Shop have special holiday flavors of cotton candy...such as candy cane, egg nog or God forbid fruit cake?

I know that everyone doesn’t feel the same way, but it is posts like this that remind me how much I miss The Interpreter with his simple replies of “Yes”! Ah...good times, he kept everyone on their toes.

I wish the park would sell those Flight Of Cheer posters!

Yeah...that experience worked out well for him.

I agree that it is probably Cedar Fair era...they seem to play around with the logo more than any of the previous owners on souvenirs.

Plus the fact that they have them in that structure that is so close to the tower...and not even facing outwards?! With the supposed budget cuts, paying 2 people to stand there and not move or talk doesn't make sense...why not just have mannequins?

Robust, thanks for sharing! It’s cool to see it still exists...hopefully the park will ask you to fly it during the parks 50th Anniversary.

So now the Cincinnati area can now lay claim to not only the best theme park haunt, but a newscaster who has won the Buckeye Newshawk Award 5 times and a Silver Sow Award! (Look it up kids!)

I know that you are right...but for someone like me, who comes from out of state, I do not like wasting any time in guest services unless I am either really mad or really happy...I have limited time at the park.

I am surprised that there doesn’t seem to be a standard for the amount you are supposed to receive. Our Culvers & Dairy Queen both have scales to make sure that you are at least getting the minimum amount. The amount of the ice cream in cups at the park varies greatly. Whenever I see someone else with a large bowl of ice cream and mine is half their size I always wonder, is that person getting lucky or am I being screwed?!

I saw the “greenhouse” on Friday & Saturday and couldn’t figure out what it was for...then on Sunday I noticed what I thought was a statue. As I was walking up I thought to myself how lifelike it was...it threw me when the eyes were following me and I realized it was a real person. He was standing dead still and no one else was even paying attention to him. I took a couple of pictures and complimented him and then left. i still don’t understand why they would bury him behind that structure where more people couldn’t appreciate him.

I know the "real" wall is gone...but last year they let you into the main area right at the foot of the fountain by the entrance...then before you were allowed down International Street all of the scareactors would come down each side of the fountain in a parade style to mingle with the guests. (But since the pre-show is now at the band stage I guess you answered my question...thanks. )

I don’t know if I missed it, but is the park still doing the wall of monsters on Friday openings?

Wow! Being that Hanna-Barbera Land has not existed for around 13 years, all I have to say is let it go, holding onto that frustration for that long is not doing you any good!

A trip up the Eiffel Tower.

I feel bad for anyone who liked it...but besides Invertigo it is the coaster I will miss the least.