On a fall flight, Kim (K) flew to Charlotte, North Carolina, in the early morning. Upon landing, she admired the lights glowing at Carowinds Amusement Park below, thankful that they had left the pretty lights on. A little website wandering later, and she realizes Carowinds is hosting a holiday celebration called Winterfest, debuting in 2017. Our family typically travels to Williamsburg, Virginia, for part of Christmas, taking in Christmas Town at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Christmas Town, however, has become exceptionally crowded, including during the "off days" of the week between Christmas and New Years. Looking for something that was a little less overrun, we were very pleased to find Winterfest. It was simply magical.
The park was bedecked in lights and had several festive zones, including a Dickens Christmas Carol display and a Peanuts land J found especially delightful. Visiting was a lot about admiring the lights and enjoying experiences like strolling carolers, photo ops, and a nativity petting zoo. We took in a fun Charlie Brown show and especially appreciated the references to the nature of the season, including a gorgeous display of Holy Family figures and a lighted Hanukkiah. Rides were understandably limited by the season, but we immensely enjoyed ourselves on J's new favorite ride, Snoopy's Pirate Ship, and others. This was our first visit to Carowinds, and we were extremely impressed with the friendliness of the staff, their engagement with visitors, and the fun they were sincerely having. We hope to return--E was especially intrigued by the roller coasters (mainly closed for the season) and the planned expansion of Camp Snoopy looks like a ton of fun.
If you go, arrive at opening and plan to stay til closing. The parking process is easy, but you want as much time as possible in the park. Look into preschool passes for anyone qualified in your party in advance, and enjoy the relatively flat landscape of the Carolinas, another difference from Williamsburg. While in town, we also visited the awesome holiday display at Daniel Stowe Botanical Gardens, IKEA, Charlotte Premium Outlets, and SouthPark's American Girl and Lego stores. Hotels catering to business travelers were well-priced for the season. We'll always recommend to you that you "holiday" during Christmastide, so see what you can do between December 25 and early January. Virginians, get ready: Cedar Fair Parks Kings Dominion is also hosting Winterfest in 2018!
If you are looking for really detailed pictures and videos of 2017 Winterfest, try the Coaster101 blog.
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