I had the privelege of being invited out for Winterfest media day by California’s Great America. California’s Great America treats their guests for media days exceptionally well, giving us an hour of “Ice Rink ERT” and access to the Holiday Buffetbefore it is open to the public. With that said, let’s get started.
Upon entering the park, We were greeted with this christmas tree, but this was not the tallest one in the park.
The Ice Rink on the pond is called “Snowflake Lake” and, as you can see, it looks fantastic in front of the carousel.
We then rode Gold Striker and Flight Deck, and headed to the Holiday Buffet. The food was delicious, with the root beer hamburgers being my personal favorite.
Orleans Plaza was incredibly decked out with lights, and was probably my favorite section of the park. The lights were everywhere, and they looked very impressive.
Candy Cane Lane also had this grand facade, which really stuck out from everything else.
GR8 SK8 (X-Scream like the one on top of the stratosphere) had a cool light package, by far the best one of any ride.
Gold Striker was of course donned with a sleigh and reindeer, which looks pretty cool from the outside of the park.
Star Tower became the North Pole for WinterFest, donned with snowflakes and lights on top.
We ended the night with two rides on Gold Striker in the cold, one in the back and one in the front. Gold Striker and Flight Deck are running one train for the first three weeks, and are a bit slower than they were at the end of this year, when of course Flight Deck was hauling hard.
All in all, Winterfest was a very fun event. The park certainly went all out with what they could do for it’s first year, and the people certainly came out for it, as the half of the park that was opened was crowded and filled with happy people.
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Coaster Demon 