NEWS: Hot Theme Park Launching Giant Cold-Weather Attraction

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OBSERVER EXCLUSIVE / JEFF ELDER

 

 

Hot theme park launching giant cold-weather attraction

 

Carowinds' WinterFest will offer lights, ice rink, snow

 

 

JEFF ELDER

 

Staff Writer

 

 

On these midsummer days, when the sun glares down and your shirt feels like it was tarred to your back, you might find yourself wishing for a little bit of wintertime.

 

Boys and girls, here it is.

 

Paramount's Carowinds is announcing WinterFest, a new multimillion-dollar attraction, at a news conference this morning at the park.

 

The winter festival, which the park bills as "the largest Christmastime event in the Carolinas," premieres Nov. 25 and will last for 23 nights.

 

Features include:

 

• More than a million twinkling lights.

 

• The park's 320-foot Carolina Skytower transformed into what the park bills as one of the tallest Christmas trees in the world. It will be visible for miles.

 

• A decorated 65-foot fir tree hollowed out so people can stroll through the middle.

 

• Live musical performances portraying Santa's workshop.

 

• A parade of floats depicting classic Christmas scenes.

 

• An outdoor ice rink of about 2,500 square feet, with rental skates and cocoa served nearby.

 

• Turkey and ham dinners.

 

• Snow (made by a machine) falling from the sky.

 

• And, of course, Santa. The park assures parents St. Nick will be there to hear everyone's holiday wishes.

 

Scott Rutherford, a staff writer for Amusement Today, an industry magazine based in Arlington, Texas, says WinterFest is a big deal.

 

"I think this thing will be huge," says Rutherford, who lives in Charlotte and is author of the book "The American Roller Coaster."

 

"Other than the local malls and the McAdenville lights, there's not a whole lot to do outdoors on chilly evenings between Thanksgiving and Christmas."

 

The Gaston County mill town of McAdenville, with as many as 400,000 lights strung along its streets, has been the area's biggest light display, drawing an estimated 600,000 people last year.

 

Rutherford pointed out that Dollywood, the bodacious theme park in Tennessee, has enjoyed great success with a winter festival.

 

And Scarowinds, the Halloween festival at Carowinds, has drawn increased visitors each year since it opened in 2000. (The park says it has nearly doubled the first year's attendance.)

 

Rutherford guessed WinterFest will draw families, grandparents and grandkids, young couples who haven't yet settled into holiday traditions, and groups just looking to enjoy a holiday season out.

 

The park says WinterFest celebrates the holidays and wintertime, but not specifically Christianity in any religious way. There will be small displays honoring Kwanzaa and the religious aspects of Christmas and Hanukkah.

 

Why announce WinterFest now? Check your calendar: It's exactly five months until Christmas. (Carowinds also hoped the early announcement would encourage people to make it part of their holiday plans.)

 

In addition to WinterFest, some children's rides and attractions will be open each night.

 

Carowinds held a WinterFest once before, in 1983. But the park says this will be on a much larger scale. The Skytower was decorated as a Christmas tree from 1983 until 2002, when the Borg roller coaster changed the park's layout. Now the Skytower will be decorated in a much grander way, the park says.

 

We now return you to your regularly scheduled scorching summer day.

WinterFest Details

 

• Tickets purchased on the Web three or more days in advance are $20 per person; purchased on the Web less than three days, $23; at the gate, $25. Food is extra.

 

• WinterFest will take place on Friday, Saturday and Sunday nights, Nov. 25 to Dec. 11, and every night Dec. 16-23 and 26-31. Carowinds will be closed on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.

 

• More details: www.carowinds.com

 

The whole story available at http://www.charlotte.com/mld/charlotte/entertainment/12215254.htm?source=rss&channel=charlotte_entertainment