Good lord I thought I was looking at pictures of Great Adventure's security line, never seen KD's that bad.
Winterfest
- Thread starter jornor
- Start date
We went tonight but only for a little while. I can't remember the last time that they had the side entrances also open, it used to be the "season pass holders only" entrance but I think they did away with that about 20 years ago and I hadn't seen it open since, until tonight. We walked in the main entrance and each line for the metal detectors were probably 50-80 feet long, which is about how it is for a busy Halloween Haunt night.
Once we got in, the place sure was crowded - but not as bad as a Haunt Saturday night on the last couple weekends in October, IMHO. We tried to eat at Country Kitchen but the line was out the door probably 50 feet, so we just went over to Boardwalk Fries for the chicken strips. And last night we went to Wayside Grill and the girl at the counter said the turkey sandwich was not covered by the meal plan, we said hey there's an icon next to it on the menu board and she said well the computer says it's not covered, so heads up to others. It worked out better as we went to Country Kitchen and got the roast turkey platter and it was real turkey cut right in front of you and green beans, yams, mashed taters, and stuffing. We got the green beans and stuffing and all of it was good.
And the crowd of people out there ice skating was pretty thick, at $15 each that was a lot of cha-chings out there.
However I enjoyed every Winterfest visit thus far this year, as crowds seem to be more families and smiles and people actually being courteous to one another, something that you are far less likely to see (if ever) on a Haunt night.
Sorry but my opinion is far less positive about tonight it wasn't just the lines to get in but every eating place including Boardwalk was backing up like crazy. The lack of show venues is quite evident as the small shows here and there make it hard to move about as they block paths. The hot chocolate is not well distributed throughout the park I had to try 3 different places to find one that had hot chocolate available to get my refill on my refillable cup.
It's not just that the park was busy but that they were not managing their available resources well. The most glaring example of this is that Chick-fill-a was running only one side with the seating area on the other side blocked off and being used for storage. It's not rocket science to figure out that as cold as it was going to be that people were going to be looking for indoor places to sit and eat. Even if they didn't have the staff to work both lines there is no reason that they couldn't have opened the seating area.
It's not just that the park was busy but that they were not managing their available resources well. The most glaring example of this is that Chick-fill-a was running only one side with the seating area on the other side blocked off and being used for storage. It's not rocket science to figure out that as cold as it was going to be that people were going to be looking for indoor places to sit and eat. Even if they didn't have the staff to work both lines there is no reason that they couldn't have opened the seating area.
Attachments
Word of advice, if the line for the blue ridge tollway is long during Winterfest I recommend passing unless you really really really really love the 12 days of Christmas song.
Overall I enjoyed my visit I really liked how the park looked and the shows I watched were great. The park was PACKED I have to imagine future saturdays are going to be nuts.
Overall I enjoyed my visit I really liked how the park looked and the shows I watched were great. The park was PACKED I have to imagine future saturdays are going to be nuts.
Oh yeah, something I forgot to note earlier - when we went to Country Kitchen on Friday night, the cashier was not the typical age ~18-30 like we normally see, but a middle aged guy with a Carowinds badge. I just checked the Carowinds site and yes they also have a Winterfest event this year, so I wondered if staffing was that lopsided that CF brought some up to KD for weekends? I just thought it was odd to see, but maybe he was a manager that moved from one place to another on a temp basis to help out, who knows....
Racer 75 was going all night, delirium, bad apple, flying eagles, wave swinger, berserker, dodgem, and most of Planet Snoopy. The carousel as well. Definitely not an event you go to exclusively for rides.
BGW sent team members to other parks during spring break to help out, thats the most likely cause
Considering the conditions, I'm satisfied with that. While I'd like to see them go a bit lower with Dominator I wouldn't have wanted to ride it Sat. night and it would be about my limit on R75.... I do go primarily for the coasters, when I had to drive further these winter events could be a bit meager.
Well, I was planning on doing a double header for Christmas Town and Winterfest, but the Winter Storm in Virginia had other plans 
. Hopefully I'll get to WInterfest this coming weekend, I'm really excited to check it out!
. Hopefully I'll get to WInterfest this coming weekend, I'm really excited to check it out!
I think if you want the best winter event for coasters you should head to SFGAdv. I mean Nitro has ran in 18 degrees or something like that. They also run batman, Superman, green lantern and Joker amongst others I believe.
^^-- but a long distance for all that. I went to Great Adventure on 11/11, last day of full coaster ops. I did lose a bit on that gamble this time as El Toro wasn't running, but Ka was running and 2 past years had the full set. 36 and 39 degrees was cold enough on Nitro and Ka thank you . Also the traffic was better than most of the holiday season, I made it there and back with NO significant traffic issues and only $20 in tolls. Worst thing about even SFA is getting there...
. Also the traffic was better than most of the holiday season, I made it there and back with NO significant traffic issues and only $20 in tolls. Worst thing about even SFA is getting there...
Here's an interesting topic of discussion. I've seen several guests on social media complaining that the park was open yesterday, saying the park is "money hungry" by forcing guests who bought tickets for yesterday to go in the rain. Their argument was that if the park had closed, they could have used their tickets on a different date, and they would have had a less miserable experience. I don’t agree with the complaint, but it's an interesting position that I hadn't considered before. What do you all think?
Last edited:
^This. The park was a ghost town yesterday; I can't imagine how they could have possibly turned a profit.
Additionally, the park offers a "Good Any Night" ticket for $31. If somebody were really that concerned about weather, they could easily spring for this $6 "insurance policy."
Additionally, the park offers a "Good Any Night" ticket for $31. If somebody were really that concerned about weather, they could easily spring for this $6 "insurance policy."
People like to complain and prove everyone is out to get them. Also CF is in the business of turning a profit and not charitable outreach. It's how, you know, they pay for stuff and attract investors.. Just saying.
Last edited:
I mean the thing is the park already has their money when they purchased the tickets, regardless of whether the park is open that day or not. That's why they've been honoring the tickets for when the park is closed due to weather, they already have their money and having an extra body in the park on another day isn't going to harm things.