WinterFest 2021

[bill s]

The parks don’t extend hours when attendance is higher than expected Not until recently did parks start closing just because of low crowds.

Actually, KD has extended opening for an hour during Spring Break when I was there, it was a 6 PM closing I believe, maybe 10 years ago.

KD attendance is dismal year after year. Even in 2021 when other parks were overflowing with customers, my trips to KD saw the same poor crowds. The park is hardly ever crowded despite its prime location relative to DC and very busy I95. Years of mis management, including these ghost closures, has lead to this. Not good business decisions IMO

I don't know where you were this year, more crowded than usual the first half of the year and plenty for the rest. I don't know what you want, too crowded to hardly ever possibly enjoy, like many other parks? KD is one of the best park experiences in the world, primarily due to reasonable crowds, and yet the only times I've been worried about them making money were the years before they added coasters that critics say didn't help the park.

 

[super7]

Local passholders that don’t travel anywhere live to defend their cheap season passes. That’s why these parks operate like this these days. For the most part they attract low spending local season passholders. They don’t have to try to operate when they’re customers have only spent a few hundred dollars for the entire season and driven less than an hour to get there.

Somebody that is upset because they didn’t $500 on lodging and travel to get a close park for some rain Iis nit entitled. The entitled ones are the ones that think their season passes should stay at these cheap prices, which in turn makes the park operate like this.

It’s ridiculous that Cedar Fair gives away a season of admission food and drinks to locals at thst park for around $300. They lose money with this plan. Busch cut out their season dining for that reason. They still bring revenue off dining when attendance is low. KD doesn’t.

It’s also hard to keep good employees when a business continually cuts their hours.

This is why Kings Dominion continues to be. C class park with little investment. Their attendance is mostly low spending season passholders. It doesn’t warrant huge investment when it’s just a park for people that dined $300 for 9 months.

 

[Jonesta6]

I think another few aspects you're referring to that need to be addressed are:

1. It's WF, not summer season, and mostly cold out during operating times with few rides open. The main draw was for the holidays, which are all over. The last few planned open days were either for a little incremental revenue or, more likely, to get rid of as much F&B/shop stock as possible.

2. KD is mainly accessed by the I-95 corridor - the same highway that was fully shut down due to the same storm the park referenced in in their closing announcement. Granted Rt 1 and 301 are potential alternates, but it's unlikely most non-locals would think of traveling any long distances on them.

3. To get to KD from much of the other populated areas in Virgina or out of state, people would likely pass by another park that has a similar type of event. Closer to home, less expensive, and close enough means it's less likely KD's event was truly competing against CW or HP (or even SF) - only BGW, which isn't a fair comparison anymore that BGW is now full-year operations.

In addition, none of us are privy to the park's internal metrics and thus we don't truly know if they're successful for their goals.

What can be determined is that in the scenario a family is out $500 for a trip to a regional park at this time of the year, it's because of their poor planning and not the park's fault or responsibility. Additionally, closing due to weather related events that caught everyone with their pants down is definitely not false advertising - they even posted notices so that said family doesn't show up and pull a Family Vacation (though there isn't a Marty Moose to punch out).

 

[Nibbins]

I'm sure if season passes and dining plans were a net loss for Cedar Fair they would stop selling them or at least stop pushing them like crazy.

Food is significantly less expensive to make than what they sell it for. You can eat quite a bit before you start hurting their bottom line. They have to pay for the locations and labor anyways for the guests paying full price, so it comes down to raw material cost only.

Since Busch Gardens stopped selling their all-season plans we will just stop eating there, so that's $560 less in food sales for them and $140 in drinks.
I also will be more likely to take my family to KD instead, since I get affordable food there. So that is loss in sales on all the little stuff we usually do spend money on at BGW.
Its up to them to make the calculation if that's worth it in the big picture.


As for the park closure: if you plan a trip to KD for early January you better consider that the park might not be operating. Like, even if it was open, there wouldn't have been much point in going there with freezing temperatures.

 

[warfelg]

As for the park closure: if you plan a trip to KD for early January you better consider that the park might not be operating.

Just in general. One thing taught to me at an early age as a golfer, is if you are planning yourself a trip that includes spending money on something outside, ensure you are flexible.

Would I feel bad for a family spending money to be at KD and not able to go in? Yes. Is that their responsibility to someone who has no flexibility in their schedule to be open? No.

 

[Jonesta6]

Only way you could be rightfully upset is if you contracted the park for an exclusive buy-out event with a clause stating they'll remain open for all weather-related conditions even if said conditions occurred in advance of the event. But even then, you shouldn't be surprised if quality was severely downhill from expectations.

 

[Mushroom]

If the park was as affected by the storm as people have reported here, I think it would have been less ethical — and more detrimental to their image — for the park to open and charge people for such a diminished experience. If the park was “trashed” like someone here said, that means the winter decor is probably a mess, food offerings have been impacted, and with the continued below-freezing temperatures, the rides are shut down.

In my book, opening up to deliver such a subpar experience and charging people for it is WAY sleazier than providing people multiple days’ notice that they will be closed and refunding their tickets.

 

[horsesboy]

One point that I had forgotten that I saw brought up elsewhere was that last weekend was NOT included in the original schedule but was an add on. When first published WinterFest ended January 2nd losing an add on date is sad but it's not as bad as them cutting from the regular schedule.

 

[Mushroom]

One point that I had forgotten that I saw brought up elsewhere was that last weekend was NOT included in the original schedule but was an add on. When first published WinterFest ended January 2nd losing an add on date is sad but it's not as bad as them cutting from the regular schedule.

Not only that, but both those "add on" dates and the original Winterfest schedule were released after the park stopped selling 2021 passes in August. By the time the Winterfest dates were announced, the park was already selling 2022 season passes. So nobody bought a 2021 season pass under the impression that the park would be open January 8th or 9th.

 

[bill s]

I thought the original published schedule ended on 12/31. The 8th and 9th were added at the same time as the 1st and 2nd, and my guess is they were intended as an experiment. It was obvious the weather might say otherwise. I wouldn't have blamed them for taking the easy way out, but it was way more than that. Didn't see any time this weekend the weather made me want to brave a park, but then my front yard is still mostly snow even after being rained on half of Sunday. The week of relatively summer-like conditions were worth it though, even if few took advantage of it.

 

[Coasternerd]

Just drove by KD, 2/3rds of the Eiffel Tower tree is lit still.