[uscbandfan]

Well, they will have had a year to clean and/or replace the webcams. SURELY, with the rides not running, there have been staff available with SOMETHING to do that could have done that. Do I need to go buy a couple of go-pros for them? It's one thing to not maintain something private to the staff but unbelievable that something on the public website has looked this bad for this long.

[BelowThePeak]

I drove by Intimidator yesterday, and it looks great! It desperately needed that repaint. I didn't get any pictures, though.

[Grobble]

FYI, All Cedar Fair parks except Knotts & Wonderland have come out with 2021 sale prices.

CAROWINDS EARLY SEASON SALE PRICES:
--Gold passes are $99 which is a $8 decrease from 2020
--Dining plan is $96 same as 2020
--Fun Pix is $50 ...$2 increase from 2020
--FL+ is $350 same as 2020

Carowinds cut Gold pass prices, but less than others that did. Kings Dominion cut Gold passes by $13, Dorney by $28. WOF by $16. Seems CF wants to really lure people back to these parks in particular, as CF normally holds constant or increases prices.

Cedar Point & Kings Island both increased Gold passes by $20, MIA by $3.
CGA increased Silver by $7, held Gold constant, VF also held Gold passes constant.

[sorashaun]

Any chance CF changes it's mind and opens Carowinds for WinterFest now that NC is in Phase 3?

[HiveDive]

^ In the Cedar Fair conference call they stated they were open to the idea of hosting Winterfest at the more profitable parks such as Carowinds so I assume its certainly a possibility.

[Justin]

I'm across the park rn eating my ice cream from Culvers in the Cabelas parking lot. ALL of the park's lights are on tonight. Afterburn still has its purple lights from last Scarowinds. It almost looks like they are prepping for WinterFest. If you check the webcam rn you can see WinterFest lights. Im not sure if that was from last year and they didn't take it down. I can see WinterFest being a thing. They say 'Carowinds' is closed for the season, but that's different from 'WinterFest'.

[Justin]

^^yeah so I drove up to the parking lot gate as close as I could get and the main entry gate had it's 'tv' screen on and I definitely saw WinterFest lights in the area of the Initimidator plaza.

[Glitch99]

It'd seem that most of the work required to get ready to open is work they have to do before winterfest every year. The rides are the biggest thing to get in service that would normally already be operational, and those can be limited. So it is possible, although I wouldnt bet on it.

[BS1983CLT]

Wouldn't the rides already be in service? Since the park shut down a week or two before opening?

[jeffdavis]

^ I would expect the rides were stored as if it was the offseason as it became clear to the park that it would not be opening anytime soon.

I expect flat rides can be placed into service rather quickly and the handful of coasters that would be open during a normal Winterfest would only take a few weeks to be inspected and tested. I think the bigger piece of the Winterfest preparation is staffing, decorating, repurposing areas, and setting up props.

[Glitch99]

Wouldn't the rides already be in service? Since the park shut down a week or two before opening?

They may have been spun up in March, but that was over 6 months ago. Twice as long as the typical offseason between Winterfest and the new spring season. Since they haven't been used I'd assume it's be easier than a normal off-season, but it's something they aren't normally prepping for in November (as opposed to putting up all the Christmas decor).

[Glitch99]

Does Carowinds normally post seasonal ride operator, food and beverage, games, and admissions jobs in October? Seems rather early to be collecting applications for the spring.

[Carolinacoasterguy]

They usually post seasonal jobs in January. Between the lights, test flights on ripcord, and the job postings, it looks like winter fest is happening in some form. The park will probably make an announcement any day now.

[sorashaun]

Looks like I may have been right. They should make the announcement sooner rather than later as a lot of people will still be under the impression they are closed all year.

Side note: I also think this is a good indication we will see year round operations sooner rather than later.

[jeffdavis]

Who thinks Carowinds might be doing some of the Winterfest prep work while they wait for decisions from the NC & SC governments and Cedar Fair before making any announcement about it? I feel like in this age of social media Carowinds could announce Winterfest less than a week before it opens and still draw a capacity crowd. And capacity will likely be limited due to the virus anyway.