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Winter fest 2017


Mystic.Timber1
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Since they dismantle the coaster trains and completely rebuild, it is highly unlikely coasters will be running.  Plus the materials coasters are made of get "brittle" in lower temperature, thus severely reducing the longevity of the ride.  Manufacturers have minimum operating temperatures for the safety of the ride not because a rider may think it is too cold.

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4 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

Since they dismantle the coaster trains and completely rebuild, it is highly unlikely coasters will be running.  Plus the materials coasters are made of get "brittle" in lower temperature, thus severely reducing the longevity of the ride.  Manufacturers have minimum operating temperatures for the safety of the ride not because a rider may think it is too cold.

I'm not sure how parks like Dollywood do it, (they have a much shorter off season), but it CAN be done.  They could go to two train operation and rebuild in stages or they could opt to not include attractions and focus on content.  Dollywood has an incredible event but they focus on every aspect, not just coasters.  If Winterfest becomes an annual event, down the road they might consider opening more attractions.  I guess it depends on how the event goes.

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14 minutes ago, jtro223 said:

I'm not sure how parks like Dollywood do it, (they have a much shorter off season), but it CAN be done.  They could go to two train operation and rebuild in stages or they could opt to not include attractions and focus on content.  Dollywood has an incredible event but they focus on every aspect, not just coasters.  If Winterfest becomes an annual event, down the road they might consider opening more attractions.  I guess it depends on how the event goes.

That's what I was thinking of, Dollywood has a very short off season and is still capable of doing coasters during winter, 

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During Winterfest in 2005, the park had the train, Grand Carousel, Boo Blasters, Great Pumpkin Coaster and the kiddy swing ride open as well.  In the original incarnation, I think there was one year they had the Scrambler and Dodgems open.  None of the big coasters have ever been open for Winterfest.

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Several Six Flags parks which have just as cold of winters including Great America outside of Chicago have been operating select coasters during Christmas events.  It is very doable but can be a lot of work.  Heaters under the track in the station to keep lubricants hot while the train is sitting, brake heaters to keep brakes from freezing, etc.

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On historical averages, Sevierville is about 8 degrees warmer in December for daytime temps and about 4 degrees warmer for nighttime temps.  Having ridden coasters at Dollywood in December the past two years when the temps were in the low 30's, I can say it was invigorating.  It was also nice to be able to get out of the cold and watch shows and eat.  I can see a logistical nightmare if KI wanted to keep coasters and flats open--winter teardown and unpredictable weather--but I would love to be able to ride The Beast in December!

 

Source:  http://www.intellicast.com/Local/History.aspx?location=USTN0454

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9 hours ago, Gannersdaddy said:

I have been told the the metal ones will not operate if it is under 40F.

On the last day of the season I believe 2 or 3 years ago it was Nov. 2nd and I brought my parents early on a Sunday and although we got in 30 min early none of the rides were open yet. They also told us it had to be above 40 degrees. And The Beast ramp had ice on it

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I think part of it will also depend on how big adn popular the events becomes. No sense in them opening up more areas and having mroe employees on hadn if only a handful of people will be there. It's jsut not financially dfeasible, but if it's big enough maybe they can open the Coney Mall area too and have some of the flats there open, and possibly FoF for a big coaster. 

For first year or two main other rides being open I coudl see would be Boo Blasters and maybe another small flat or two in either Planet Snoopy or Viking Fury.

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Back in the day when we were kids, all the kiddie rides were open, but those coasters were the only ones operating.

They had the carousel and a couple other flat rides and that was it.

The shops and eateries stayed plenty full, especially the candy store.

The fountain was frozen solid and used for Ice Skating. (It was awesome!)

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