I might be in the minority, but I like the new gift boxes better than the pedestals on Snow Flake Lake. What are your thoughts?

 

2 hours ago, BoddaH1994 said:

That’s a shame. Clearly you had a different experience than the other KIC members in the photo. I remember them having a little trouble keeping the buffet stocked from time to time last year. Hopefully this clears up.

I didn't know about the KIC meetup until it was happening and I was on the other side of the park at that time. I think I was watching Ice carving at the time.

54 minutes ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

I might be in the minority, but I like the new gift boxes better than the pedestals on Snow Flake Lake. What are your thoughts?

 

They need to be just a WEE bigger. The bases of the “fountains” hang over a bit, but yes, I’m impressed they went to the effort of doing this instead of just plopping the fountains in the entrace or in a random flower bed. 

59 minutes ago, SnakePlissken said:

I didn't know about the KIC meetup until it was happening and I was on the other side of the park at that time. I think I was watching Ice carving at the time.

It was just an impromptu, we ran into some members and said we are going to the Buffett, and we are too deal. Nothing official.

I might be in the minority, but I like the new gift boxes better than the pedestals on Snow Flake Lake. What are your thoughts?

 

I definitely liked having the pedestals better. Still kinda miss the old fountain. Fountain ERT will never be the same for me again[emoji53].


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I might be in the minority, but I like the new gift boxes better than the pedestals on Snow Flake Lake. What are your thoughts?

 

I love that they did this, and I have only seen pictures, but I like the pedestals better. The presentation at Christmas gift boxes just doesn't look "royal" to me, as the old Snowflake Lake did. But, I'm sure it looks much better in person and I look forward to seeing it in a couple of weeks. Sorry to be a bah humbug!

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53 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

I love that they did this, and I have only seen pictures, but I like the pedestals better. The presentation at Christmas gift boxes just doesn't look "royal" to me, as the old Snowflake Lake did. But, I'm sure it looks much better in person and I look forward to seeing it in a couple of weeks. Sorry to be a bah humbug!

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I like the gift boxes and I liked the pedestals too. Makes me wonder if they could add pedestals of some sort back during the summer or something else new. Also I could have swore last year there was snow flakes blowing on International Street but maybe I'm crazy.

I appreciate the park made the extra effort to add the lighted frames back instead of just leaving the rink empty like at Kings Dominion and now, Canada's Wonderland. Overall, I do prefer the pedestals during Winterfest and the fountain sans pedestals during the main season.

22 minutes ago, SnakePlissken said:

I like the gift boxes and I liked the pedestals too. Makes me wonder if they could add pedestals of some sort back during the summer or something else new. Also I could have swore last year there was snow flakes blowing on International Street but maybe I'm crazy.

There was "snow flakes". I walked though a bunch of them taking pics last night.

1 hour ago, IndyGuy4KI said:

There was "snow flakes". I walked though a bunch of them taking pics last night.

Tons of them. In fact a lot of the seating was almost unusable unless you like to sit in a bubble bath. Soap snow is cool, but when it’s blown at a lower height like they do, it really doesn’t dissipate before it hits the ground. Would almost be better if the machines were on the rooftops of the buildings pointed  up to get greater height. 

I had a fantastic night tonight! While the shows and rides were good, I think the best part was running into so many people I know. It was great to see members of my Haunt Fam and other people I knew everywhere I turned. Though I'd planned to say hi to a few certain people, a lot of the encounters were complete surprises to me and that was really fun (for example, I saw Don like three times)!

Also, on "new Tinkers": I really enjoyed it and

Spoiler

it was good to see Tinker and Santa reprise their roles from last year- then even reused parts of past songs!

Overall, it was a great sequel to the already beloved Tinker's Toy Factory. The first season of Tinker's was a classic and this was a great follow-up. In the rides department, I got a Zen Ride on Shake, Rattle and Roll close to open and got the tree on Mystic. I also went over to the Petting Farm and they have these pygmy goats that are just adorable (along with the sheep, bigger goats, yak/cow-looking animals, donkeys (no white one this year) and the camel). I think my favorite is a small brown one named Juliet. Going back to rides, Antique Autos after dark was cool, but my steering wheel wasn't the easiest to control. As a final note, carriage rides are only $10 this year! I had originally thought they were $40 per group (like in past years), but the guy said $10 (maybe this was because at this time of night, there was no line, idk- someone might have to confirm).

EDIT: Oh, and that Coney Confections walk-through was interesting... the setup reminded me of a Haunt maze.

Excluding the buffet, is there any new food to try on the dining plan vs the last 2 Winterfests?  Or any new treats / drinks worth noting?  I'm looking forward to visiting tomorrow!

29 minutes ago, Ffej said:

Excluding the buffet, is there any new food to try on the dining plan vs the last 2 Winterfests?  Or any new treats / drinks worth noting?  I'm looking forward to visiting tomorrow!

I don't think the blue ice cream hot chocolate was offered last year. Coney BBQ has seasonal stuff that may or may not have been offered last year. Graeter"s has the blue ice cream hot chocolate and a smores hot chocolate I want to try.

12 hours ago, SnakePlissken said:

This was a complete letdown this year. I tried the Snow Day Buffet last night around 8pm. They were out of almost all the meat and lots of other food was either not on the buffet or they were slow to bring more out. Lots of people standing around with empty plates waiting on food to be brought around. I never did get to try the turkey. Staff tried to say there were only 2 chefs and they couldn't keep up with demand. Well last night wasn't that busy. If they could not make food fast enough and keep the buffet stocked last night then whats gonna happen on a really busy night. Even the desert bar was just one cookie tray. I likely won't ever do this again and wouldn't recommend it to anyone. 

So I tried the buffet tonight and now I’m just disappointed on your behalf. I had a fantastic experience! It truly was a step up from last year. If you have the dining plan it’s worth taking the risk again for $5. 
 

I did, however, only have cookies for the deserts. Actually they had macaroons too, which I do recommend. Where were those delicious pies that all the KICers were raving about??

1 hour ago, BoddaH1994 said:

So I tried the buffet tonight and now I’m just disappointed on your behalf. I had a fantastic experience! It truly was a step up from last year. If you have the dining plan it’s worth taking the risk again for $5. 
 

I did, however, only have cookies for the deserts. Actually they had macaroons too, which I do recommend. Where were those delicious pies that all the KICers were raving about??

What time did you go? I went around 8pm and found it abysmal compared to last year.

I had to ask several times to get more desserts brought out, and I never got to try the turkey. The Macaroni was probably the most disappointing thing to me- incredibly dry and tasteless. Once the dessert did get brought out, the lemon bars and the key lime pie were both very good. 
I’m hoping that next weekend some of the kinks are worked out and I will try it again. 

12 minutes ago, DeltaFlyer said:

What time did you go? I went around 8pm and found it abysmal compared to last year.

I had to ask several times to get more desserts brought out, and I never got to try the turkey. The Macaroni was probably the most disappointing thing to me- incredibly dry and tasteless. Once the dessert did get brought out, the lemon bars and the key lime pie were both very good. 
I’m hoping that next weekend some of the kinks are worked out and I will try it again. 

I was there sometime between 6 and 7. Turkey was certainly not dry when I was there. Interesting how different people have very different experiences at different times.

1 hour ago, BoddaH1994 said:

I was there sometime between 6 and 7. Turkey was certainly not dry when I was there. Interesting how different people have very different experiences at different times.

My pork was dryer than a popcorn fart but the ham and beef did taste really good. If DeltaFlyer was there at 8pm Friday then I was likely standing beside him at some point and did not even know it.

13 hours ago, KIghostguy said:

I appreciate the park made the extra effort to add the lighted frames back instead of just leaving the rink empty like at Kings Dominion and now, Canada's Wonderland. Overall, I do prefer the pedestals during Winterfest and the fountain sans pedestals during the main season.

I also prefer the pedestals over the gift boxes, but a glad they figured out a way to keep the wireframes in the middle of the ice.  Maybe someday the old pedestals in the bone yard will become patterns for future pedestals many years from now.

It was also nice to see the Festhaus restored glockenspiel playing Christmas tunes.   If you are standing in line waiting for the Feathaus to open at either 4 or 5pm, you will definitely hear it.

We are not big fans of the new Tinkers Toy Factory.   My kids never understood the story line and kept saying eeeew about Santa disgustingly blowing his nose so loudly and frequently.  However, the cast and choreography are excellent.  There are Christmas traditions that the original Winterfest parents bring back their kids and grandkids to see, but that tradition is no more with this newer version. (Where did Wendel’s fuzzy brown bear go?)

 

hi my name is Kevin and on Friday Nov 29 me an my wife will be going to the winter fest an we were wondering does anyone know if they will be having the mac&cheese station like the truffle mac&cheese also can anyone tell me if they have a list on where we can use are dinner plan pass thank you and god bless

Has anyone done the carriage ride yet this WinterFest?    It would be a nice ride to go all the way to International Street, around the Eiffel Tower and back to Coney Mall.  People would be lining up for it more if it was a 20 minute ride I bet.

I know they don't have ERT for Winterfest, but do they open the gates earlier than the posted opening time? I don't remember if it was last year or two years ago, they started scanning tickets at 430 (for a 5pm opening), and let people onto International Street. Then folks for Mystic Timbers were stopped at the end of IS and allowed back to MT at 5pm. Any experience with this this weekend?

5 minutes ago, kikid74 said:

I know they don't have ERT for Winterfest, but do they open the gates earlier than the posted opening time? I don't remember if it was last year or two years ago, they started scanning tickets at 430 (for a 5pm opening), and let people onto International Street. Then folks for Mystic Timbers were stopped at the end of IS and allowed back to MT at 5pm. Any experience with this this weekend?

Friday they let everyone in about half an hour early, yesterday they didn’t. 

2 hours ago, retrofan22 said:

hi my name is Kevin and on Friday Nov 29 me an my wife will be going to the winter fest an we were wondering does anyone know if they will be having the mac&cheese station like the truffle mac&cheese also can anyone tell me if they have a list on where we can use are dinner plan pass thank you and god bless

Hey Kevin. 

They do have a mac n cheese bar in Oktoberfest where Hank’s Burritos is during the regular season. It is highly recommended!!

Here is a list of the locations included in your 2019 dining plan for Winterfest:
 

At WinterFest, 2019 All-Season Dining Plans are currently accepted at the following locations in the park:

11 Pipers Piping Pizza

Classic Christmas Café

Dasher's Diner

Old St. Nick's Potato Factory

Prancer's Pizza

Tinker's Spielzeug Haus

Chick-Fil-A

Panda Express

Skyline Chili

Tom & Chee

Much more info can be found here: https://www.visitkingsisland.com/tickets-passes/drinks-dining

Have an amazing time this Friday! Make sure you let us know what you thought!!

 

17 minutes ago, Ben43065 said:

Friday they let everyone in about half an hour early, yesterday they didn’t. 

Thanks for the quick reply!!

The one disappointment I do have is the flags are gone from the International Street buildings. Why was it necessary to remove them? I was so happy to have them back over the summer and now they’re gone again. So sad to see one of the “three Fs” of Gary Wachs removed yet again. At least temporarily replace them with the old green and red striped ones and not just remove them altogether.

Let's hope they come back in April...along with the Coney Mall and Rivertown signs!

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49 minutes ago, BeeastFarmer said:

Let's hope they come back in April...along with the Coney Mall and Rivertown signs!

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There was a Rivertown sign? Was that the one by The Beast?

There was a Rivertown sign? Was that the one by The Beast?

It used to be near the vine tunnel when I was a kid. I think when you came out. The flume and Linus Launchers pad used to be part of Rivertown. Thanks Paramount! Lol

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Ok. I barely remember that vine tunnel, but I never remember a sign... maybe I didn't look for it lol. That would be cool if someone could find a picture (paging @IndyGuy4KI; I'll look as well,)

I miss that vine tunnel. Didn't it also have benches?