2023 Winterfest Reviews

[IndyGuy4KI]

We'll use this as the 2023 Winterfest reviews thread. 

A look at one of the decorations on snow flake lake. 

[IndyGuy4KI]

So you can n get Mac n cheese over way and Mexican the other. 

The line for Mexican.

The line for Mac n cheese and goes out to the midway. 

 

[IBEW_Sparky]

Well, so much for using that as justification to use my pass one more time, lol.

[disco2000]

6 minutes ago, IBEW_Sparky said:

Well, so much for using that as justification to use my pass one more time, lol.

The line is only out to the restrooms 

[Taylor.B03]

I'm really enjoying it tonight. I'm really liking the revamped areas. Coney mall 1/2 now because the Coca-Cola plaza really helped that area especially with the new music, sorry Mr.Grinch but I couldn't take another year of hearing your song. Nothing personal. The new lights in Oktoberfest are beautiful when looking from the ap side of the lake. It's also a Christmas miracle that our park isn't having the chaperone policy. This is the first time since APRIL that I was able to take my sister to the park instead of my mom taking her. Hopefully fof can get the 2nd train running soon. I'm glad the issue happened on the media preview day and not today. Overall, I think winterfest this year (despite the cuts) will be the strong suit!

[Rivertown Rider]

Cargo Loco and Sol Spin both added a lot of energy to that area of the park in what was kind of a quiet and dead area of the park during past years of Winterfest.  Hopefully they continue that trend as they figure out what to do with Action Zone in the next few years.

[BoddaH1994]

The new snowflakes on the fountain looked really good. It also appeared like there were more lights, specifically across from Enrique's sticks out. 40% more? Eh. 

We ate at Coney BBQ, or whatever it's called for this event. The turkey was fantastic. I also had the corn poutine, which was very good. They also had buttery biscuits instead of hush puppies, which was a huge step up. 

As many observed, the line for Mac 'n Cheese was pouring into Coney Mall while Enrique's had next to nothing. That poses the question of why didn't KI add the Mac bar when many other parks did, and if this is a referendum on Enrique's at all. They "redid" the restaurant this year, but it was the same food as it has been for.a decade. I was always eyeing that place for a revamp, but it never came.

Tinker's, as always, was a gem. It was funny, high energy, and fun! I feel like that show should be a bigger production, though. The show is such a staple and I think more effects, fly-in sets, etc would be appropriate. It's still a huge step up from Charlie Brown, which I thought was a bit of a waste of that venue. 

Coney Mall is merged with the Coca-Cola Cool Zone this year. The lights don't really go with the music anymore since there's a DJ, but I don't think that's a big loss since the pixel mapping stuff is pretty wide-spread now. 

The tree looks good with the more dense lights; however, they are still having the issue that they had last year where the moving graphics seem to stutter. Either there's some sort of network issue or the computer pushing out the Madrix software is underpowered. It's one of those things that not everyone would notice, but those who do would REALLY notice.

The park put out a promo photo including the inflatable globe. That left last year. I responded asking if it was returning. The park didn't respond, but some others replied saying that it was back with one saying they are working it. I didn't see it though, although I didn't fully go through Action Zone. Did anyone else see it?

On the episode of Tower Topics in which Don and I discussed the things that were cut this year, we had mentioned that people were reporting online that they cut the Merriment Characters from 30 to 15. One person responded implying otherwise. We also discussed how this may greatly affect the parade with less people, between the missing characters and the cut shows. I attempted to count the characters during the parade, but it was difficult to keep track because it's hard to tell who is a show (or otherwise) performer and who is a Merriment Character. I am happy to report that regardless, the parade did not suffer this year. It was a "full" as ever and the energy was good!

Were the cut shows felt last night? Maybe. Nothing left a huge void; however, I still by my original fear that it will ultimately just feel like there is less to do, without being able to put your finger on it. Blitzen Band, Jingle Jazz, and Holly Jolly weren't exactly the things that sold tickets, but it was certainly an added value. The lights truly do look great, but are people going to spend 4 or 5 hours looking at the lights? That I don't know. But you run the risk of people choosing between KI and the zoo for this sort of thing. People who get into KI for free will go, while people that may spend money may go to the zoo. See also: Haunt.

Also, this is something that is interesting. They started a new program where you can purchase a Winterfest wand and interact with things around the park. People were seeing the touch points and texting me asking what they were. This should be a big deal. This could have been a news story. At the least, this could have been a strong social media story. I didn't find out what exactly this was until after I left for the night, but it was never communicated out properly. 

It will be interesting to see how things pan out moving forward.

 

 

[IndyGuy4KI]

7 minutes ago, BoddaH1994 said:

Also, this is something that is interesting. They started a new program where you can purchase a Winterfest wand and interact with things around the park. People were seeing the touch points and texting me asking what they were. This should be a big deal. This could have been a news story. At the least, this could have been a strong social media story. I didn't find out what exactly this was until after I left for the night, but it was never communicated out properly. 

It will be interesting to see how things pan out moving forward.

So, I just learned about this by reading your post. I don't see it on the website (unless I missed it.) It sure seems quite news worthy and would have been something I would have happily helped promote had I been sent something or communicated with.  

I am usually a benefit of the doubt type of guy. Maybe this was not sent to the communications department to advertise? Either way, if I was Mike K. I would be demanding to find out why this was not advertised and sent to media, all of your fan sites, and fan pages to reach as many extra per caps spending customers as possible. 

[disco2000]

8 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

So, I just learned about this by reading your post. I don't see it on the website (unless I missed it.) It sure seems quite news worthy and would have been something I would have happily helped promote had I been sent something or communicated with.  

I am usually a benefit of the doubt type of guy. Maybe this was not sent to the communications department to advertise? Either way, if I was Mike K. I would be demanding to find out why this was not advertised and sent to media, all of your fan sites, and fan pages to reach as many extra per caps spending customers as possible. 

While I agree with you, and probably was the case, maybe the thought process was not to look too greedy with attempting to sell merch or maybe it be a "surprise" for guests entering the park and shopping around?

I mean they are already looking greedy with doubling the hot chocolate refill over last year, desserts are extra charge at the buffet, and some others that haven't been noted to social media yet LOL.

Besides Mike was probably too busy trying to figure out how to screw over Prestige holders   hey lets put hot chocolate dispensers right next to where they scan in to the VIP and then tell them the hot chocolate is an upcharge LOL

[BoddaH1994]

7 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

While I agree with you, and probably was the case, maybe the thought process was not to look too greedy with attempting to sell merch or maybe it be a "surprise" for guests entering the park and shopping around?

I mean they are already looking greedy with doubling the hot chocolate refill over last year, desserts are extra charge at the buffet, and some others that haven't been noted to social media yet LOL.

Besides Mike was probably too busy trying to figure out how to screw over Prestige holders   hey lets put hot chocolate dispensers right next to where they scan in to the VIP and then tell them the hot chocolate is an upcharge LOL

What part of 2023 has lead you to believe that there was that kind of forethought put into… anything?

 And even if so, a well-written blog would have gone far. 

[disco2000]

1 minute ago, BoddaH1994 said:

What part of 2023 has lead you to believe that there was that kind of forethought put into… anything?

 And even if so, a well-written blog would have gone far. 

None come to mind 

[IndyGuy4KI]

See Winterfest 2023 in action.

 

[Tr0y]

I made a short visit tonight after work and I gotta say the park looks great! Just a few details I’ve noticed so far, good and bad. 

The Mac & Cheese bar was great. The only thing left missing is if there was a way I could broil / bake the bowl of Mac & Cheese once assembled. It would be a nice option to melt that additional cheese on top. 

They reused some of the structures from haunt which are fitting and honestly smart in my opinion. Some of the lighting decorations seemed a bit cheap and could probably be retired, but they ain’t doing any good in storage so why not display them? Lol

The train was not was playing the 12 days of Christmas song. The out of sync music was replaced with classic Christmas music. Definitely a step in the right direction, however the lighting decorations along the route still leaves much to be desired. 

The Parade was lively, the floats looked great and the entertainers / dancers interacted with the crowd. One thing I noticed was the parade would sometimes get into a traffic jam. For example there is a person walking backwards guiding the parade float driver and they would end up in the middle of the performers walkings. So basically there would be a person who stuck out like a sore thumb doing nothing but giving what looked like the field goal signal in the middle of a group of dancers lol. 

Also the regular hot chocolate at Kings Island does not include any toppings unless you’re willing to spend an additional $1.29 for whipped cream. This is contrary to Kings Island’s sister park Kings Dominion which gives you the option of a whipped cream topping, free of charge. The whipped cream although a minor detail makes a significant difference in quality and taste.

[disco2000]

Weird, it played the 12 days when I rode it.  I guess song selection is subject to change as well

Caveat emptor 

[standbyme]

^ At least it’s still 12…they haven’t cut any days out of IT yet. 

[BoddaH1994]

53 minutes ago, standbyme said:

^ At least it’s still 12…they haven’t cut any days out of IT yet. 

The fact that you want TWO turtle doves is as adorable as it is predictable. You’re so entitled 

[Stoan]

Please purchase a Winterfest Wonder Wand if you'd like to enjoy the music. Each train car needs at least 5 activated wands to trigger the event, per number.

[TombRaiderFTW]

6 hours ago, standbyme said:

^ At least it’s still 12…they haven’t cut any days out of IT yet. 

Yeah, but be sure to look at ground level for them--they've cut them way shorter than they used to be.

[BoddaH1994]

1 hour ago, TombRaiderFTW said:

Yeah, but be sure to look at ground level for them--they've cut them way shorter than they used to be.

More like, “Although we advertised bubbles, we will no longer be offering bubbles with the Winterfest Wonder Wand. Terms subject to change. No refunds.”