FOF/Z 4-ever Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Guys, the park is closed today. Visit www.pki.com to see for yourself. All tickets purchased for today will be HONORED for the rest of Winterfest!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alien Seed Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 The elements of winter cancel Winterfest...I can't help but laugh at that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOF/Z 4-ever Posted December 9, 2005 Author Share Posted December 9, 2005 It'll be open on Saturday and Sunday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Nemo Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Very lucky people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pkiboy Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Very Very lucky people. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOF/Z 4-ever Posted December 9, 2005 Author Share Posted December 9, 2005 Very Very lucky people. You guys saying that the employees are lucky or b/c I notified everyone? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkootersFan Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Lucky that their specific day tickets are now good any day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Park Closed Because of Snow! Next - Park will be closed in August because of Heat! Stay tuned! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Losantiville Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Thats alright they cancelled the parade the night I was there because of weather. Guess they forgot that WINTER is in WinterFest. I am shocked that the park will not open tonight! Do you know how many people are going to show up there tonight and will not be able to get in? UNBELIEVABLE! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tubaman Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 You guys are lucky(people that got snow), we were suppose to get 2 inches of snow, and got rain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted December 9, 2005 Share Posted December 9, 2005 Guess they forgot that WINTER is in WinterFest. I am shocked that the park will not open tonight! Do you know how many people are going to show up there tonight and will not be able to get in? UNBELIEVABLE! LOL! We'll I guess there is another first for the park. First time that Winterfest had been cancelled due to Winter Weather. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FOF/Z 4-ever Posted December 9, 2005 Author Share Posted December 9, 2005 They are also announcing this all over the media. Think about it guys, It takes a lot of time and effort to clean up the the park that is open the the guests. The train prob. cant run (for safty reason and the depth of the snow on the tracks), prob too cold, Ice Skating rank is prob a mess, and they are prob not expecting a high vol. crowd tonight. Some cities are still in snow emergancies which means that some cities are banning anyone from driving on the roads UNLESS it's and emergancy or emergancy vehicles. And frankly, do YOU want to be stuck outside for 5 + hours in temperatures that are 20 and below working on the same ride/spot all night long? I dont think so!!!! Why is everyone so hard on all of the park's decision? I think it is a great choice to make and if you HATE the park soo much, STOP COMING! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Let me translate this into better terms. What Cincinnati is experiencing is not a blizzard. I do not see that there are announcements of stores or malls closing. ODOT says the following: SNOW/ICE CONDITIONS – Partly snow covered to snow covered. Icing conditions may be present on bridges, ramps and spot locations. Some blowing snow. Use caution, ODOT vehicles on highway. I live 7.5 Hours from the event. Many others would plan to travel in for the event as well. I'm pleased that I'm not planning on coming up until the week after next to check things out. The whole key is that this is a winter event. ie- Winter Weather The train should have no problem traveling in the snow. The skating rink should easily be able to be cleaned with a zamboni. The Carousel should be able to run in the cold. The Festhaus and other buildings open are heated and covered. Am I missing something here? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
criminaljustice Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 There was also extreme winds last night, and knocked a tree down on my street (I live in Mason)...Im sure some of the decorations had to be a mess. I dont blame them for closing. Im sure everyone will live without one night of winterfest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Let me translate this into better terms. What Cincinnati is experiencing is not a blizzard. I do not see that there are announcements of stores or malls closing. ODOT says the following: SNOW/ICE CONDITIONS – Partly snow covered to snow covered. Icing conditions may be present on bridges, ramps and spot locations. Some blowing snow. Use caution, ODOT vehicles on highway. I live 7.5 Hours from the event. Many others would plan to travel in for the event as well. I'm pleased that I'm not planning on coming up until the week after next to check things out. The whole key is that this is a winter event. ie- Winter Weather The train should have no problem traveling in the snow. The skating rink should easily be able to be cleaned with a zamboni. The Carousel should be able to run in the cold. The Festhaus and other buildings open are heated and covered. Am I missing something here? I'd say so... First of all, you're right, the train should have no problems running under any conditions if it's anything like a real train. Ice, snow, hail... nothing to a train. Secondly, if PKI had a Zamboni, which I don't think they do, I don't think that would be the way to go to fix the rink. With out cold it is, putting warm water on the snow would just cause lumpy ice patches (kind of like what up and down I75 right now). Festhaus as well as any indoor venue should be fine under any condition. As far as the Winter weather goes, Jeff warned me and I think I warned all of you that if the weather did get really bad, they would cancel the event. It's not like they backed out at the last second, they already had the policy instilled. The park's pathways have been and continute to be pretreated. That's not the problem. I'd say the problem is within the lot. That thing is big... really big. Even if they took every truck that PKI owned and stuck a plow on it, they still wouldn't be able to have to done to a reasonable degree within a 24 hour span. Just remember, PKI didn't do this because they hate winter, they're afraid of snow, and they weren't paid off by Scrooge. They did what they thought was in the best interest of the employees and guests. They put safety before profits, and yes, I'm willing to bet anything that they loose money by having the event closed for the day. Even if they made "free" money off of people who bought specific date tickets and won't attend the event at all now, they still loose the food and merch revenue from those people and everyone else who intended to attend today's event. I actually applaud the park for this. You guys can point fingers all you want, but this is definitely a sign of decency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vortex Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Park Closed Because of Snow! Next - Park will be closed in August because of Heat! Stay tuned! LOL whats going on I have been at Winter Fest with snow and its not that bad it made the park look very nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erosarrow05 Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Above all that ... I know where I am (30 minutes from pki) that the side roads are still covered in a l good 2 inches of snow. I would venture to say most people that have tickets tonite, might have reconsiderd going in the first place. While some may disagree with the choice... I think PKI made the responsible choice here. Considering that woofer bear is 7.5 hours away, hes obviously not standing in Cincinnati weather, which most of us are. But good for you for coming to support the winterfest event living so far away. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deidre1976 Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Park Closed Because of Snow! Next - Park will be closed in August because of Heat! Stay tuned! good one! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deidre1976 Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 They are also announcing this all over the media. Think about it guys, It takes a lot of time and effort to clean up the the park that is open the the guests. The train prob. cant run (for safty reason and the depth of the snow on the tracks), prob too cold, Ice Skating rank is prob a mess, and they are prob not expecting a high vol. crowd tonight. Some cities are still in snow emergancies which means that some cities are banning anyone from driving on the roads UNLESS it's and emergancy or emergancy vehicles. And frankly, do YOU want to be stuck outside for 5 + hours in temperatures that are 20 and below working on the same ride/spot all night long? I dont think so!!!! Why is everyone so hard on all of the park's decision? I think it is a great choice to make and if you HATE the park soo much, STOP COMING! I don't think they are complaining, We are all just borded and that news hit a few funny bones, lighten up! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Considering that woofer bear is 7.5 hours away, hes obviously not standing in Cincinnati weather, which most of us are. But good for you for coming to support the winterfest event living so far away. LOL! Of course I'm coming up to attend it. I attended the first Winterfests before I worked at the park. I worked a few Winterfests while I was a park employee. I love the event and would not miss it for the world. I'm also planning on bopping over to Carrowinds to see what's going on over there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 I was a little shocked to hear they had cancelled tonight (mainly because most of the main roads were clear by 5 this evening. However, they had a lot of snow to move around in the parking lot, and on all the midways. They, as has been stated before, probably did not have enough time to clear all the snow away in time to allow for safe walking conditions for guests. Not to mention the fact that it is bitterly cold out there, and some secondary streets are still a treacherous journey (I slid a little on my way home from work down on Mehring Way by Longworth Hall), I am glad that they will be honoring specific day tickets from tonight for the rest of WinterFest. Yes, PKI does have a "zamboni." It is a modified Gator by John Deere. I have seen it come on the rink when they clear the rink for the tree lighting ceremony at 6. They store it in the shed on the right side of International Street (by where the entrance to HB and the Graeter`s is at). And yes, they would have to clear off all the snow on the rink before they could put warm water on it to form more ice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoddaH1994 Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Yes, PKI does have a "zamboni." It is a modified Gator by John Deere. I have seen it come on the rink when they clear the rink for the tree lighting ceremony at 6. They store it in the shed on the right side of International Street (by where the entrance to HB and the Graeter`s is at). And yes, they would have to clear off all the snow on the rink before they could put warm water on it to form more ice. I did not know that. I actually wondered how they conditioned the ice. They could have always turned the freezers off at the end of the event and turned them back on a few hours prior. That would be risky, but it would call for a smooth surface to start the day with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 And that also wouldn`t work on days when the ambient temperature of the air does not go above freezing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Actually ice would have to be smoothed ever couple hours if used regularly. The issue is that there are grooves cut in the ice and your skates get caught. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JPButler365 Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 This is crazy. Winterfest closed because of winter. The roads are not bad around the city at all. They had 24 hours to clear the park and make this thing happen. Di they forget to buy the snow plows? GE employees had a private party on Friday night and they still let them have it but did not open any attrations. One of the biggest corporations in the city holds an event at your park and you cannot even open the darn thing. I am sure that left a good first impression on the GE executives that shelled out all that money. You can bet they will be going to some other holiday party event next year. I worked at the original Winterfest and it was open daily regular park hours from the Friday after Thanksgiving until New Years Eve. It never closed because of weather. The Cincinnati Zoo until recently was open every day of the year. The have decided to close on Thanksgiving and Christmas just in the last few years. Is Winterfest doing so terrible that they decided it would be more cost effective to just close the park rather than open and lose money? They just recently announced that season pass holders can buy half off tickets. They should not be charging season pass people at all. Maybe if they let season pass holders in free the attendance would be more than a few thousand people since the thing opened. I think this half price ticket offer is just the first of many more discounts to come before this even closes for the season and possibly for good. This thing is a huge disappontment in it first season. You cay say waht you want about the park is working out the bugs of this event and it will only get better but people do not forget having to pay a lot of money and feeling like they have been ripped off. Do us all a favor if you cannot pull this thing together by next season and you are going to close the park when the winter weather turns to actual winter conditions don't even bother to bring it back at all. It is not worth it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WooferBearATL Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Oh WOW! The Park Screwed GE? I'm guessing that was a Very Big Faux Pau. Someone is gonna do some serious back peddling as I can not imagine that GE will be scheduling a party at Winterfest again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CoastersRZ Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Well, if they rented out a specific place to hold their party (like the International Restraunt or Wings) thos places might be booked most of the rest of WinterFest. It is not like they could just rearrange and bump other people that have those places booked. The reason they closed was probably safety related (they didn`t have enough times to get all the midways and parking lots cleared to a satisfactory point. I`m sure they would have opened had they felt it was safe for their employees and customers to get to the park and to enjoy the park. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Erosarrow05 Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Why must you all ask questions about why they closed the park? The fact is, it was closed due to the weather. Get off your high horse talking about "winterfest is for winter weather". Well of course it is but when it is 16 degrees with a windchill placing it at 5 degrees. Thats not comfortable. There was snow everywhere. Get off the parks back, they closed, its not a big deal... The fact of the matter is, that some of you people can never be pleased. If they were open last night, and there were car accidents in the lot, or on KI drive or some old lady slipped on a path and broke her leg the same lot of you that are complaining about how the park was closed, would be the first in line to say they should have closed the park. And FYI to all you just now recently coming out of the woodwork former employees you should know that KI/PKI has a very good rapport with GE as well as a whole list of cincinnati / dayton companies. Im sure, that the PKI we all know is already in the works to make it up to them. Its a real shame that a few people continually judge the park and refuse to shut the hell up and let the rest of us just enjoy winterfest. Opinions are great but the constant negativity sucks. Opinions are one thing, but chastising like you could do a better job, is a little rediculous. So thats just my two cents - and its not worth anything - but i just get a little hot and toasty when some folks keep moaning about winterfest, when we all are excited to have it back. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Captain Nemo Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Hmm, My parents went on GE day and had a dandy time! PS- I loved your speech Erosarrow05, Agree 100% Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert_Waring Posted December 10, 2005 Share Posted December 10, 2005 Bring back Enchanted Voyage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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