Taste of the Season
- Thread starter Dombot
- Start date
I'm Glad you asked about the vendors! KD is planning on inviting artisans for Taste of the Season. My mom makes Jewelry and we were invited before they announced anything to the public. They plan on locating vendors only around the Eiffel tower and Planet Snoopy. (Be on the lookout for Hidden treasure Jewelry near Eiffel Tower lol). We did fairly well at Winterfest in terms of sales, however we were located right outside the Kings Dominion Theater in what is usually the Henna Kiosk, so we had huge rushes of sales after Charlie Brown's Christmas let out every hour.
In terms of park revenue, they only charged us 10% of our sales each night, as well as a contract agreement fee that was refunded once we finished our lease with the park. From what I've been told through resale, weekend crowds averaged around 10,000 guests, so 4,000 people will be a significantly smaller portion of that. Most of the vendors were there daily, however, some were unhappy about sales and had to travel for hours to get there each day, so I'm not sure how many will be returning this year with less than half of the usual crowd.
Bingo. It's well known that adult thrill-seekers tend to spend less money in the park than families, a point you've just proven with this statement. So tell me: if the park has a limited capacity and limited resources for this event, who should they focus on: families who'll spend money on the food offerings, or adult thrill-seekers who, like you, will spend $0 inside the park? It's a no-brainer.
I've lost track of what's going on. Can't tell if anyone is in favor of TT being closed or if they are disappointed with it not being apart of this year's event.
We'll know by week 1 or week 2 of the event.
We'll know by week 1 or week 2 of the event.
@MikeLovesKD:
People are not saying either of those things. Your premise is faulty.
This event is NOT focused on thrill rides. It is targeting families and children.
The point is that people will attend for attractions other than coasters. It isn't a question of whether Timbers is the best coaster; it is a question of whether thrill rides are the park's priority at all.
They always have a few coasters open for those who want them for their holiday event, but the bulk of their resources go to other types of attractions, like holiday lights, music, food, etc.
They will probably make more money from families than people who are just there for thrill rides.
People are not saying either of those things. Your premise is faulty.
This event is NOT focused on thrill rides. It is targeting families and children.
The point is that people will attend for attractions other than coasters. It isn't a question of whether Timbers is the best coaster; it is a question of whether thrill rides are the park's priority at all.
They always have a few coasters open for those who want them for their holiday event, but the bulk of their resources go to other types of attractions, like holiday lights, music, food, etc.
They will probably make more money from families than people who are just there for thrill rides.
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Maybe Cedar Fair / KD was not clear enough in conveying that the chain was not having the rides as the centerpoint for driving attendance for Winterfest and, for 2020, the Taste of the Season event. You normally drive attendance by new rides/attractions for the spring and summer months. Spring is boosted by weekend youth events/competitions. Fall is boosted by Haunt.
With Winterfest happening in most parks within the Cedar Fair park chain now, they wanted to do a large scale holiday event where the rides take a back seat. In my opinion, the public seems to be happy with Winterfest and the crowds were fairly large in 2019 (compared to reviews given concerning the 1st year in 2018). I went for the first time to Winterfest last year and my jaw hit the ground when I walked down I-street. I had taken a 3 year hiatus as a season pass holder. So that was the 1st time being in KD since fall 2016. I kept thinking I was in the wrong park!
Given that the state eased up on the attendance restrictions just 2.5 weeks ago, KD does not have much time to hire and train folks. There might be some people that don't want to work a temp job of such short duration. I had in my mind that staffing is going to be tight this year and I am holding on to that opinion.
The funny thing is I went to the 2019 Winterfest 3 times before Christmas. One of those times I sat at a table next to the ice skating rink drinking hot chocolate. About three adults sat down at another table just a couple feet away. They were talking about how much they enjoyed Winterfest and their tween/teen kids liked it as well (kids were ice skating). They kept going back and forth about the holiday events between KD and BGW. I was beginning to think they had BGW memberships. It appears they were willing to try Winterfest because they seemed to be of the opinion that BGW's Christmastown was getting a little stale. Course, I don't think they were poo-pooing BGW. The folks just needed a change of pace for holiday activities. I think that would bode well for KD even if these folks only bought a single day ticket.
With Winterfest happening in most parks within the Cedar Fair park chain now, they wanted to do a large scale holiday event where the rides take a back seat. In my opinion, the public seems to be happy with Winterfest and the crowds were fairly large in 2019 (compared to reviews given concerning the 1st year in 2018). I went for the first time to Winterfest last year and my jaw hit the ground when I walked down I-street. I had taken a 3 year hiatus as a season pass holder. So that was the 1st time being in KD since fall 2016. I kept thinking I was in the wrong park!
Given that the state eased up on the attendance restrictions just 2.5 weeks ago, KD does not have much time to hire and train folks. There might be some people that don't want to work a temp job of such short duration. I had in my mind that staffing is going to be tight this year and I am holding on to that opinion.
The funny thing is I went to the 2019 Winterfest 3 times before Christmas. One of those times I sat at a table next to the ice skating rink drinking hot chocolate. About three adults sat down at another table just a couple feet away. They were talking about how much they enjoyed Winterfest and their tween/teen kids liked it as well (kids were ice skating). They kept going back and forth about the holiday events between KD and BGW. I was beginning to think they had BGW memberships. It appears they were willing to try Winterfest because they seemed to be of the opinion that BGW's Christmastown was getting a little stale. Course, I don't think they were poo-pooing BGW. The folks just needed a change of pace for holiday activities. I think that would bode well for KD even if these folks only bought a single day ticket.
One other thing, I don't think the purpose of this year's event is exactly the same as past ones, it is also a consolation for not opening all year, to help us feel like they didn't completely drop the ball. If anything, rides should exceed the last 2 years because it's the entire 2020 season. "Free 2021" is no good without the "and 2020". I may not spend much in the park, there is the little matter of $200 in passes last March and continuing a run of over $1800 in the previous 12 years. While I may not be going anywhere, it is still an opportunity for them to start up more of those or lose some.
In addition, presuming this year's event will be lacking in some way due to reduced time and size, running a couple of coasters is the easy part.
In addition, presuming this year's event will be lacking in some way due to reduced time and size, running a couple of coasters is the easy part.
I don’t think anyone is arguing against having having any thrill rides open. Of course they should have diverse atttractions available. The point is that the main focus of the event isn’t coasters, so the argument that Timbers must be open or no one will come isn’t logical.
I realize I am literally the first person in this thread who noted disappointment at Twisted Timbers not being open, but just to be clear: this event is not for an enthusiast audience, and thus I don’t think it is a requirement even if it does make me less likely to make the trip.
I figured they probably would announce another coaster, as well as obviously preferring it. That was knocked down here with substantial force.
... so, how about also running AZ?
Who knocked down the idea that enthusiasts might prefer a different or additional coaster?
The point many of us are making is only that Timbers is not the make or break attraction for this event.
Please stop putting words in others’ mouths.
That would honestly be hilarious if KD opened Planet Snoopy, Delirium, Dominator, and nothing else for this event. I can just imagine all the disappointed enthusiasts and "fun" complaints that would get posted on KD's Facebook and Twitter.
Definitely a very different setup from previous years. Usually there's a big Winterfest sign there, the hill is covered in white felt, and there are light-up polar bears on the hill. I think those deer and that star are usually in Old Virginia by the Kings Dominion Theater. It looks really nice, though!
Here is the link to the food items - locations for "Taste of the Season". Also list food places open and the four dining plan restaurants.
KD's "Taste of the Season"
KD's "Taste of the Season"
Notice all the restaurants are going by their normal names, rather than their Winterfest names. That totally makes sense, since there's no way it's worth the money and resources of changing out all the signs in the park, but worth noting.
I'm just going to say, I'm not crazy about this event. I think even though it will be a mostly outdoor affair, people will naturally want to pile in to the indoor places that are open, and that poses risks. Because the truth is, when it's cold outside, even if I'm enjoying an event or show or what have you, at some point I'm going to want to go inside. And while it's easy to mark off tables and chairs, queue management, like say when standing in line to get food or (more importantly) whiskey, is a harder task to pull off.
I also think there's a tendency for people to get closer to each other in colder months. Might just be my West Coast perception kicking in since I'm not native toterrible cold weather.
Anyhow, hard pass for me. I hope mask enforcement is strict.
I also think there's a tendency for people to get closer to each other in colder months. Might just be my West Coast perception kicking in since I'm not native to
Anyhow, hard pass for me. I hope mask enforcement is strict.
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I've actually been very worried about how I will be able to last at any of these winter events. I am a baby about the cold and my body literally shuts down after a few hours, even when I have access to warm, indoor activities. Hopefully, this unseasonably warm weather lasts.
I think once we've had a week or two of cold weather we're more likely to see many people acclimated enough to where there's less need for indoor environments...
However it's always a welcome respite and definitely more needed for the younger and older folks in the crowd.
However it's always a welcome respite and definitely more needed for the younger and older folks in the crowd.