Haunt has never truly been family friendly. Then it was expanded to kiddie days, and boo necklaces. See also WEBN at the earlier haunts. Not at all family friendly. I expect there will be zones for families at Winterfest. I’m excited for the whole concept. I just hope the weather is as good for this season as with last season!

Winterfest prep continues at Kings Island. 14 days away!

Didn't get a picture because I was driving, but the tower was turned on tonight.  Looks like they are going to do a nightly countdown on it till opening night as tonight it had a giant number 15 on the front. 

^^ I saw that too and I bet they use that same technology to do a New Years Eve Countdown...... I sure hope so anyways!

 

With a giant “2019” on top of the tower!

Pretty awesome they're gonna have horse drawn carriges.

Why does Carowinds operate Afterburn for Winterfest if KI doesn't operate Banshee?

22 minutes ago, kiisgreat said:

Why does Carowinds operate Afterburn for Winterfest if KI doesn't operate Banshee?

I think it depends on the park. KI, in theory could operate Banshee, but we already have two coasters that will operate for the Winterfest season. Carowinds doesn't have the same coaster selection that we do so they might have limited rides to choose from. Also, Charolette is farther down south so it might be consistently warmer there than it is in Cincinnati. 

Also Kings Dominion is only operating two coasters- Dominator and Racer 75, so I honestly think it's just up to the park and the maintenance staff.

About the horse drawn carriages....I know it’s in Coney Mall. I wonder if it will be behind the scenes, like on the road behind Racer? I can’t imagine riding up and down a crowded midway, but that would mean additional decorations, I would think. Im interested in finding out. 

In the first incarnation of Winterfest, when there were carriage rides, it was though Coney Mall but the park was not using Coney Mall for Winterfest at the time.

13 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

I think it depends on the park. KI, in theory could operate Banshee, but we already have two coasters that will operate for the Winterfest season. Carowinds doesn't have the same coaster selection that we do so they might have limited rides to choose from. Also, Charolette is farther down south so it might be consistently warmer there than it is in Cincinnati. 

Also Kings Dominion is only operating two coasters- Dominator and Racer 75, so I honestly think it's just up to the park and the maintenance staff.

Dominator was open? But then again, VA is probably warmer than Ohio. Also, as much as I love Flight of Fear, I'm afraid it will take away from the vast amount of entertainment that I believe is the focal point of Winterfest. On the same token, I think my Dec. 19th visit will be like FoF ERT lol 

Anyone else notice that there are some light strands on the ET that appear to be "stuck on"? The lights in question are the blue strands I have circled. Also, driving by on i71 doesn't make for a good picture. The wife tried to slow down some. 

Here's another look at the countdown to Winterfest on the Eiffel Tower Christmas Tree.

Interesting that Carowinds is offering 50% off Winterfest pre-purchase admission tickets through Nov 14 and is also having a Season Pass Preview Night.  Too bad KI is not offering the same deal.

Here is a pretty cool timelapse that WCPO post showing the transformation of the Royal Fountain into Snowflake Lake ice skating rink:

https://www.wcpo.com/entertainment/time-lapse-kings-island-fountain-transformed-into-winterfest-ice-rink

We are just one week away from Winterfest 2018! Here is the time laps video of the transformation of the Royal Fountains into Snow Flake Lake!

 

Is it just an optical illusion or are two of the center pillars in the royal fountain missing? The fountain has always had six running down the center and from all of the pics i’ve seen with the fountain being transformed into snowflake lake, I can only find four. It looks as though the two closest to the bandstand are gone. 

1 minute ago, KI Fan75 said:

Is it just an optical illusion or are two of the center pillars in the royal fountain missing? The fountain has always had six running down the center and from all of the pics i’ve seen with the fountain being transformed into snowflake lake, I can only find four. 

Let's get our resident Fountain expert on the line. Calling: @pianoman

Let's get our resident Fountain expert on the line. Calling: [mention=10611]pianoman[/mention]

Actually it does kind of look like the 2 pedestals closest to the bandstand were removed, at least from this angle. I can’t say for sure. Guess we’ll find out next week!


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It looks like they were removed, because at the beginning all six of them are there and not long into the video, the two closest to the bandstand "disappear." So there are in fact only four of the pedestals present on the finished rink. I'm glad those last two were removed as I found that area of the rink quite cramped to skate through last year. especially during the session's peak when the most people were skating.

Also, since it has not been mentioned yet: remember the benched area at the front end where we put on/took off our skates? I noticed that is no longer there and that the second benched area at the back end by the bandstand will be used this year. I'm liking these changes as it improves the look of the rink as you walk in the front gate, plus even more space in which to skate!

For reference, here's a pic of the rink from last year, where all six pedestals and the benches at the front were present:

Here is a pic of mine zoomed in to see last years where all 6 were still there.

 

If you pause the timelapse video, you can clearly see a crane on the Planet Snoopy side of the fountain (by the fudge shop), lift one of the fountain pedestals off.  

I didn`t go ice skating last year.  I will need to try it out this year.

That actually makes sense to remove those 2 pedestals to eliminate the shoe change area at the front of the fountain and have it at the back. That should allow for more room to skate. Fun fact, the last time any of the pedestals were removed was in 2003 when the fountain was completely renovated and rebuilt.


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I had no idea that the pedestals were removable at all. I just assumed they were permanent due to all of the plumbing and electric in them. 

Included in dinning plan.  What an innovative idea!

 

2 minutes ago, King Ding Dong said:

Included in dinning plan.  What an innovative idea!

 

Just to avoid confusion: that’s at Six Flags Great Adventure. Not Kings Island or any other Cedar Fair park.

I need to stay off Twitter, I keep seeing all the other parks getting the good stuff.

KI is a lot closer to Canada than Knotts.  What’s your excuse this time @silver2005?

^California.

silver2005, avoiding 1 word posts. 

I've never been to any Six Flags or Busch Gardens holiday celebreation so would anyone be able to compare/contrast them to Winterfest?

Winterfest Way and Ice Zone are looking spectacular on the webcams.... oooooooo....., ahhhhhhh!

4 hours ago, SonofBaconator said:

I've never been to any Six Flags or Busch Gardens holiday celebreation so would anyone be able to compare/contrast them to Winterfest?

I've been to Over Georgia.  They had good hot chocolate, poor operations, the majority of the rides and attractions were open.  They had lights, but they looked like an afterthought.  They had cut trees that were dried out and some were even completely defoliated.  It was basically the same park you see in the summer, but with some Christmas lights added in and some hot chocolate stands.  WinterFest, on the other hand, is like an experience with a few rides open.  In my opinion, it's like comparing a Big Mac Value Meal to a full steak and lobster dinner at Ruths Chris.  Both are good, but Ruths Chris is much better and experiential.  (But the cost of WinterFest is not Ruths Chris level, it's more on the Applebees level.)