Imperial79 Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 I don't think anyone has posted this yet but hours for Winterfest 2018 are now up! https://www.visitkingsisland.com/explore/calendar-and-hours Edit: The Winterfest 2018 page is also now up, along with the attractions! https://www.visitkingsisland.com/play/winterfest 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 Started a new topic on Winterfest to keep that out of the main 2018 thread. I wonder what additions/changes we will see? 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Imperial79 Posted April 27, 2018 Author Share Posted April 27, 2018 It looks like Mystic Timbers is going to be open, with all the other rides that was open for 2017. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IndyGuy4KI Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 I can already taste the Mac n cheese bar!! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted April 27, 2018 Share Posted April 27, 2018 It does note that the list of attractions is the 2017 list of attractions to let people get a sense of what to expect for the second year of WinterFest. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Magenta Lizard Posted April 28, 2018 Share Posted April 28, 2018 Fingers crossed in 2021 we'll finally get to have a New Years Eve countdown to midnight at the park! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmony29 Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 On 4/28/2018 at 10:51 AM, Magenta Lizard said: Fingers crossed in 2021 we'll finally get to have a New Years Eve countdown to midnight at the park! We were so hoping to see it open this year but oh well we can wait it out some more, I'm sure we will be there more this year as we loved it so much last year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ding Dong Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 I imagine the biggest impediment to that would be staffing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harmony29 Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 18 minutes ago, King Ding Dong said: I imagine the biggest impediment to that would be staffing. I tend to agree, but my selfish self wants to spend it at my favorite place lol. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dtk1378 Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 4 hours ago, King Ding Dong said: I imagine the biggest impediment to that would be staffing. Considering the majority of staff I saw at Winterfest last year was more in the older / elderly age range I would imagine this wouldn't be as much of a problem if it was with the regular seasonal employees used during the summer. Plus they could always make it as some type of perk for those who renew their passes for the next year before the year ends to have a special New Year's celebration at the park with very limited attractions opened. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ding Dong Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 I am not suggesting they want to go party, elderly people generally don’t like working late hours and staying up until 2:00AM. I know my parents can’t do it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JubJester Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 5 minutes ago, King Ding Dong said: I am not suggesting they want to go party, elderly people generally don’t like working late hours and staying up until 2:00AM. I know my parents can’t do it. They go home because they throw parties of their own without us knowing! 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
super7 Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 The biggest improvement they could make to this event is the Christmas lighting. International Street was amazing. Planet Snoopy had an the overall giant light theme, and Candy Cane Lane was well done. Outside of that, the lighting was sparse compared to some other Christmas events. Carowinds did a better job with their lighting with lots of lights in the large trees and mostly having lighting schemes that changed in each section of the park. Other than that everything else gets a A+ at Kings Island last year. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gannersdaddy Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 My thinking is that this year the area will be larger over on the Coney section. With the opening up of the old smoking circle and the large pad at what used to be Dinosaurs Alive entrance, it will go all of the way to The Vortex. The new smoking area at the old DA spot has a large concrete pad and all of them now have electricity outlets. While I cant see WindSeeker or Vortex running in the cold, it does open up some new lighting possibilities. WindSeeker strung with lights? Vortex rides for the naughty people? Who knows? Now, will they connect South Coney with Rivertown? Maybe, but there is that grade as you come into it. I would not really want to slide down that in the cold 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ding Dong Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 3 minutes ago, Gannersdaddy said: Vortex rides for the naughty people? Who knows? I am behind this 100%. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SonofBaconator Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 I liked what the park had going for the first season in over 12 years. I definitely think they'll add more stuff as the yeara progress. I think the biggest issue I had was the train and the lack of lights it had. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted April 30, 2018 Share Posted April 30, 2018 From FunWorld Magazine (IAAPA Publicaiton): 4 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creed Bratton Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 9 hours ago, super7 said: The biggest improvement they could make to this event is the Christmas lighting. International Street was amazing. Planet Snoopy had an the overall giant light theme, and Candy Cane Lane was well done. Outside of that, the lighting was sparse compared to some other Christmas events. Carowinds did a better job with their lighting with lots of lights in the large trees and mostly having lighting schemes that changed in each section of the park. Other than that everything else gets a A+ at Kings Island last year. I am the complete opposite with your feelings on Carowinds. I was completely let down aside from the area near Ricochet. I was blown away by the lights throughout the park, hoped for more, but hopefully that'll come this year. I partially think Carowinds may have looked better because everything at Carowinds is so condensed. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 10 hours ago, chugh43 said: I am the complete opposite with your feelings on Carowinds. I was completely let down aside from the area near Ricochet. I was blown away by the lights throughout the park, hoped for more, but hopefully that'll come this year. I partially think Carowinds may have looked better because everything at Carowinds is so condensed. I had some friends from Carowinds come to the park and they said that they thought that Carowinds looked better. They said I-Street looked amazing but it was a sharp drop off offer that. I do agree that nothing holds a candle to I Street, but I also agree that due to the footprint, it may seem like there’s less since there is so much more area. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creed Bratton Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 19 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said: I had some friends from Carowinds come to the park and they said that they thought that Carowinds looked better. They said I-Street looked amazing but it was a sharp drop off offer that. I do agree that nothing holds a candle to I Street, but I also agree that due to the footprint, it may seem like there’s less since there is so much more area. My opinion may have come because it was after Christmas, however, I was hopeful it was going to be a gorgeous event. I was blown away by how awful their "300 foot Christmas tree looked." Half of the lights didn't work and/or weren't in sequence with each other. The radius of the tree made it laughable. Their Snowflake Lake area was underwhelming. I will say Carowinds had more "displays" set up, not necessarily lights but little scenes. Here are pics of their event that will help me explain my opinion: One of the little displays outside of Harmony Hall Snowflake Lake lacked spectacle. This was pretty cool.... This area had dancing lights, but a lot of the lights looked like they were just thrown on the trees. Another little display....though this one was lit. \ Harmony Hall with bare minimum lighting. Felt very eh. Sections of lights on the 300 foot tall Christmas tree would be out at random times...lacked spectacle. Candy Cane Lane - more on this later...but wasn't very Candy-Cane-y. The lights looking into the kids area didn't have a "wow" factor. The entrance plaza was quite bland. Although, the lights on the buildings helped a little. County Fair had a lot of lights, partially from the year-round lights. Nothing really spectacular though. Candy Cane Lane --- the candy canes were like ours at KI....in both places they felt like an after thought, especially when it came to decorating/lighting them. The flood lights at Carowinds really diminished the true "red and white" color pallet. I may be biased, but I just think KI did a lot better job of lighting the park and the various sections of the park. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beastfan11 Posted May 1, 2018 Share Posted May 1, 2018 I need to see a model train display this year! 7 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upstop Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 I hope they keep it fresh and new each year. I have zero complaints about last years event. The park has so much potential and space to expand the event. They could potentially use the Soak City area at some point as well.... I'm excited for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winterfestguy Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 According to the Carowinds 2018 Winterfest calendar they are opening the three days before Thanksgiving (November 19,20,21). Interesting that KI is not doing the same and waiting until November 23. https://www.carowinds.com/explore/calendar-and-hours Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creed Bratton Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 1 hour ago, upstop said: I hope they keep it fresh and new each year. I have zero complaints about last years event. The park has so much potential and space to expand the event. They could potentially use the Soak City area at some point as well.... I'm excited for sure! Carowinds did use part of their water park for carriage rides. I could see KI doing that. 20 minutes ago, Winterfestguy said: According to the Carowinds 2018 Winterfest calendar they are opening the three days before Thanksgiving (November 19,20,21). Interesting that KI is not doing the same and waiting until November 23. https://www.carowinds.com/explore/calendar-and-hours We could see KI amending the schedule later like they did last year with specific times. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Yes. Also note that KI has the 4pm opening times for Winterfest on Saturdays, while Carowinds does not. I am kind of surprised that they haven`t also extended the hours one hour later to close at 11pm on Fridays/ Saturdays. I think the event was very well done (especially compared to the 2005 incarnation). I hope that they continue to build an expand upon it. I am sure one of their biggest hurdles is having enough set up time. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bjcolglazier Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 The holiday period Thanksgiving all the way thru New Year's is so heavily built on family traditions. And it's busy. I just hope KI hangs in there with Winterfest, and gives everyone time to make the park a part of tradition. I hope Winterfest made them money last year, but I have no idea. But one would think this is surely a years-long investment, and attendance numbers will go up as the years progress so long as they promote it well. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeeastFarmer Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 All I can say is that I was blown away by Winterfest. I'd love to see more weeknights added into the schedule since I work every weekend. The investments will continue to pay off, I hope. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
upstop Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 The biggest beef I had with the Paramount Winterfest was having to schedule a day to attend. As has been stated, people are scheduled to visit relatives, parties etc. There was no room for spontaneity. Also I think the Gold Pass Perk this time around was a gigantic boost in attendance. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
King Ding Dong Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 What was the Gold Pass perk? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Creed Bratton Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 In the previous versions of WinterFest, pass holders still had to pay to visit WinterFest. The perk being they don't with this version. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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