pki winterfest

Walt, 6 flags Great America is 40 miles from Chicago,but thats where most of the Customers come from.I would conside 60 miles local,but that me.Maybe you dont.One hours drive is nothing.

Can't really compare the two. Great America is in Lake County, Ill., which has a population of almost 650,000. Erie County, Ohio has a population of less than 80,000.

Driving 60 miles to spend a day at a world-class amusement park is much different than driving 60 miles to spend a few hours at a Christmas event (even a good one). Not only does such an event appeal to fewer people, there are other Christmas events in Cleveland (ZooLights) to compete with.

I'm not saying a Christmas event would never work. Indeed, I think it could work and be wonderful. But, you have to use a different set of rules when determining when and if it makes sense.

Fair enough Walt,the population comparison makes sense.I guess its a matter of personal idea of what fun is.I kinda miss the park during the off season.

So do I. It would give us all a good reason to get off our butts and head 'up north' or 'down south'... however you come.

I think if I had the extra money and CP was holding a winterfest I would attend. It would be nice to stay at Castaway Bay, and it would be very cool to walk around the park when it was "sleeping" or "dead". It would be kind of sad too though. Putting yourself right there in the best place on earth with the best coasters and not being able to ride them.

I like Walt's idea, but I think CP and LE Railroad would be cool.

One word. COLD.

But I guess if you dress right, it would be OK.

MrScott

Im not one to bring back zombie threads, but we made the 2 1/2 hour trek down I-75 to Kings Island to attend Winterfest this weekend. Of course, it was great that our Cedar Point marina platinum pass got us in and even our meal and drink plans worked without issue. I will say that Winterfest was nothing short of spectacular. The park looked amazing all decked out in lights, there were lots of shows and performances, and a good variety of rides for the kids and even a couple for the adults. Got my first ride on Mystic Timbers and what a great ride. I thought Cedar Fair went all out on creating a memorable event so I dont believe this is a one year trial. There was a significant capital investment in Winterfest. The weather was just about perfect so that brought out a huge crowd for opening night. I heard that they even ran out of the souvenir Winterfest mugs. Here's a link to a few pics I snapped around Kings Island:

https://www.amazon.com/photos/share/S4e00Obc6z0zCTn70uCpIErpB0WFPeMfpJVEXH81WVE

Since Richard Zimmerman said that Winterfest was coming to Canada's Wonderland and opened the door that Winterfest at Cedar Point was at least being discussed, I started wondering how this might work at Cedar Point. Its been a good morning sitting at the hotel to go back and read some old threads on the discussion. With the growth of the Sandusky area into a year-round destination, I think the Cedar Point Winterfest discussion is becoming more of a possibility. Clearly there are challenges to work out such as staffing, what buildings/rest rooms are heated and other logistics, but you could have a great variety of shows, rides (non-coasters except for maybe Blue Streak and Wicked Twister) and experiences to make a great Winterfest at Cedar Point. I could even see Hotel Breakers open and transformed into a winter wonderland as well.

I would say if you have a chance to get to Kings Island for Winterfest, you should.

Thanks for sharing Steve.
KI looks very impressive decked out for the holidays. CF should be proud, I hope it gets a good following allowing them to continue and expand. It’s great seeing the attention to detail that CF can do when it puts its heart into it.

Thanks for the nice report. We plan on going to KI at some point during Winterfest. Just curious, how long was the wait for Mystic Timbers and flat rides for adults? With yesterday’s weather I bet the crowd was pretty big. I would really love to see this at CP soon.

Thanks for sharing!

Winterfest opens at 5pm but they let people into the International Street area at 4:30 (or 4:00 on Saturday’s). At 5pm; we walked straight to Mystic Timbers and waited about 5 minutes. The line got long but I can’t say what the wait actually was. My guess was well over an hour and a half with the amount of people in the park. I think the Kings Island & Miami Valley Railroad had a good 45 min wait at one time. Most other ride wait times were not that unreasonable.

It would be difficult to experience the entire Winterfest activities in just one night. Glad we are going back tonight. The attention to detail was impressive. Most shops and food locations were all renamed for Winterfest.

Great information to have. I’ll have to make sure we get there early like you did and head straight to MT, then spend the rest of the night enjoying the shows, rides and atmosphere.

Weather like that draws a huge crowd for the Toledo Zoo Lights Before Christmas. The last visit there it took us almost 40 minutes just to get in the parking lot and find a place to park. Can’t beat that atmosphere crowded or not though.

I was a bit concerned about crowds, but if things weren’t too bad yesterday, I’m feeling much more excited about going now.

Thanks Steve!

As much as I would love for the Cedar Point season to extend, I still don't see it working for many of the reasons discussed back in 2005. I love the park more than anything, but even I can't see myself making the trek to stand around in the cold to look at lights and closed coasters.

We're heading down to KI for Winterfest in 2 weeks, this was helpful feedback, thanks man. I could see Cedar Fair looking to expand it to 2 marquee coasters in the future if these are successful. Looking forward to the trip.

Good pictures

I could see Power Tower becoming a Christmas Tree like the the Eiffel Tower...

Welp. I cannot get a rollback on Dragster, but at Winterfest on Sunday, I managed to get a double rollback on the KI and Miami Valley Railroad.

I could see Windseeker becoming a Christmas tree like at Carowinds and Worlds of Fun.

This past weekend at Kings Island, were discussing how CP might be set up for a Winterfest. Kings Island has a great layout for this event. The presentation of the park is amazing when you walk through the gate and you see the Royal Fountain (Snowflake Lake) Ice Skating Rink, the lighted trees and buildings along International Street and then the enormous Christmas Tree of the Eiffel Tower. That is something Cedar Point could not even come close replicating. The photo op line for the Kings Island Winterfest sign was impressive all night.

If Cedar Point ever does WInterfest, people just need to set their expectations that its not about extending the season to ride coasters. This is a pure family event to celebrate the Christmas/Holiday season. Lots of kids rides and activities, great shows and food, and then lighting up the park. Mystic Timbers was a bonus. Kings Island pulled it off extremely well. Could not get over the crowds in attendance on Friday and Saturday. It took us 2 days to really hit everything while just walking the park.

We know Kings Dominion is getting the next WinterFest and that an unannounced park will also get it, but they are waiting until the first of the year before they announce which one (probably once they can compare how different regions such as Kansas City and Charlotte respond).

I understand the staffing issues, but from looking at the various park schedules, its essentially the same as Halloweekends, except during Christmas break (which colleges will be out of school anyway).

I actually think they'd have an easier time staffing WinterFest at Cedar Point than they would Halloweekends because many colleges don't go more than one to two weeks into December. Plus, with not all coasters operating, they wouldn't need the staffing numbers like Halloweekends demands (all rides plus haunted houses and kids activities).

I'd say its definitely coming to Canada's Wonderland.

Sandusky has become a winter destination, however, with the Indoor Waterparks. I think the smart approach would be to try it at Cedar Point, and if it doesn't work, send the decorations to Dorney and try it in Allentown the next year....

I just really want to see the Hotel Breakers lobby decked out....