[gabed]

Where are most of these holiday meals being served (specifically the Roast Beast)? I tried HH yesterday but found nothing

[carolinaman]

The Roast Beast is at Wings

[pproteinc]

Holiday Hall (Harmony) has most of the holiday food and also Dasher’s Diner (Wings Restaurant). Ginger Funnel cakes and peppermint funnel cakes are at the funnel cake stands. The fried Oreos and Twinkies are at Fair Fries and the funnel cake stand near Dino Alive. The Cinnamon Bread is in a hut near Intimidator and ginger bread cookies are in a hut down the candy cane lane under nighthawk’s lift hill.

Yes they communicated it the social media today. 4pm starting Friday.

I also love the midway show and hope do have one for regular season. Something about a show that takes place in the middle of the midway. Holley Trolley is I nice 1930s production. All of the shows are great.

[super7]

Overall and especially for the first year, Carowinds did an excellent job with this event. Cedar Fair did an excellent job with the amount live shows and the roaming characters. The quality of the live entertainment is great.

I also attended King's Island's event. KI International Street looks amazing, and their ice skating is much more spectacular on the fountain. But the Christmas lights at KI in a majority of the park are sparse and the seemed to use more "cheesy" form lighting than Carowinds did. Carowinds did a much better job with their lights with lights high in the trees all over the park.

They did a great job with music selection throughout the park. Not just typical Christmas music. Songs like Winter White Hymnal, And Winter Came, White is the Winter Night, California Dreaming (on a winters day), etc.

So there are some differences between the CF parks in this event. Including the entertainment lineup (Carowinds has Holiday in Harmony and Bluegrass Christmas where KI has 4 Drummers Drumming, What the Dickens and a Melodrama.)

The only things they could do better are to use some different color lights in the different sections of the park. There are a few too many white lights.

The other issue with the event is a general park issue. The park lacks total family rides like a steam train, monorail, skyway, riverboat, etc that they used to have. A Christmas train at these events is always highly popular because everyone can ride it together. The great crowds at this event prove that people are interested in things other than rollercoasters at theme parks!

[formeryogi]

I have to say I was honestly impressed with the lights and decorations! Decorations (garland, etc other than lights) were much more than I expected. I thought the amount of lights was perfect. In fact, I'm not sure I would add more (more would end up being too much in my opinion??)

Even though I'm about to be a bit critical, I really do have a huge compliment about the entertainment. It was a wonderful and pleasant surprise. I couldn't believe the number of live musical acts scattered around the park. The offerings blew me away. Major credit for the music selections to be more than "Jingle Bells" and "Frosty." A great wide-variety of music selections totally unexpected!!!! Along those lines, I'm not trying to be negative, rather simply offering a few "suggestions" for making the entertainment better. I loved the live music at the nativity scene... very appropriate. But I wish the production had been a little more rich/lush... Instead of solos, I would have preferred more group or choral numbers with richer orchestration. I thought the solos were weak (not because of the voices themselves). A single/solo voice was having to fight and compete against crowd noise, roller coaster whirling, screams and general movement. Loved the idea but this is where I would focus on changes in the future. I would prefer a bigger production with orchestration, more voices and candlelights (think Disney Candlelight procession)... respectful of the real meaning of Christmas and make it the highlight of the entertainment offerings. LOVED the 40's singers in the gazebo (wish there had been a place to sit) and thought Harmony Hall radio show was the best. My only true disappointment was the complete waste of a show in the Carowinds Theater (forever Midway Music Hall to me). There should have been a full production show in that facility ... something beautiful... classic... with stunning lighting, costumes and sets. Snoopy could be done elsewhere. Oversized peanut heads really shouldn't have dialogue and can't carry a show in that venue. The lip-sync dancers drove me mad (I was sitting in the very back row where the lip sync issue shouldn't have been as harsh and bothersome). ((This was the moment when I'll show my age and yearn for the OLD Harmony Hall-- the original Winterfest Show in Harmony Hall was charming... the stage was a winter park setting with a gazebo, snow falling, and singers in Victorian costumes with no lip sync.))

Yes, there were VERY long lines at the rides that were open. With so few rides open, there really should be extra staffing to check seatbelts/lapbars to increase capacity! I'm OK without roller coasters at Winterfest. As others have pointed out, Winterfest magnifies the need for "family" rides -- the train and boat were missed. An indoor ride with a Christmas overlay is soooo needed.

But overall, again, I was very impressed and I left hopeful because I saw glimpses that Carowinds really can become a "theme" park once again.

[pproteinc]

^ That was my main gripe as well. I think a full Nativity production should’ve been in the Carowinds theater. I mean I know it’s a corporate thing and they like to be religion neutral, but Christmas is about the birth of Christ sooo......yea. The peanut gang could’ve gone elsewhere. Matter of fact if the other side of the action theater wasn’t being used they could’ve put that show in there. The lip sync was horrible. Lol. I believe all the shows are third party except for the Tinker show, which I absolutely loved, and Charlie Brown’s Christmas I think. They can definitely do away with the Reindeer show or whatever that was and just leave it for pics. The lip syn to that was horrible too. I rather you learn the script. Also add blowing snow in the picture globe. That is all.

[FamousAmos]

The dancers in Charlie Brown's show are third party, and the Peanuts Characters are in-house actors. Some of those guys come from places like New York and other cities.

[uscbandfan]

I think I would respectfully have to disagree. I sing in a church choir and also solos and duets at church. I thought the Nativity show was BY FAR the best show of all of the shows. My wife did too. (The show at the Christmas tree was a close second and I do agree that something like that should be a year round thing at the park. Peanuts was 3rd in my opinion. The reindeer thing was horrible and the radio thing at "Holiday Hall" i could have done without.... good singers, horrible concept)

Back to the Nativity. The solos and small group numbers MADE the show. It was designed to be intimate. It fit the occasion PERFECTLY. So much so, I am going to suggest that the Riverbanks Zoo here in Columbia try to encorporate the exact same type of show into their Lights Before Christmas. I might even audition. The intimacy was awesome, spot-on and down-right emotional for some that I saw. Exactly what you would want at a manger scene. (A big band super production has no place at such an intimate scene.)

[arby]

The only real 'complaint' I had was the carriage rides. I took my wife on it and it was a complete waste of $10. We expected there to be a good light setup to view in the water park, but no such luck. If they continue this in the future, they really need to bring the 'water park' scene up to the level of the rest of the park.

[Stayseeliz]

I was so glad to see Carowinds officially announce that Winterfest would be back!! We loved it so much!!

[gabed]

My one and only wish for next year is for more rides to be open. I can understand why Fury was closed given its location, but rides like Intimidator and The Flying Cobras could have easily been open. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if all of Camp Snoopy is included next year.

Overall I’d like to see these open:

(All of) Camp Snoopy
Southern Star
The Flying Cobras
Intimidator
Nighthawk

[uscbandfan]

Agreed.

[BS1983CLT]

Intimidator would valley. It already runs so slow in the summer over the hills... Imagine it in 35+ degree weather.

[theintimidator]

I think Cobra would valley too. It has valleyed several times this season, even in the summer.

[coasterbruh]

I wonder if they will include Camp Snoopy in this year's winterfest?