We're in the holiday season, and for Carolina, that means one thing – Return winter festival exist Carol Wentz. Returning to the park for the eighth time in nine years—— Remember the flavor of the season in 2020? Wild times. – Winterfest at Carowinds encourages guests to “enter a world of holiday fun.” That said, depending on your definition of “holiday fun,” your overall Winterfest experience might look a little different than in previous years.
Let's get the obvious out of the way. This year's event is different from previous years. The timing of winter festivals has changed significantly compared to the past. Traditionally operating from 5:00pm to 10:00pm most evenings (New Year's Eve is a notable exception), the event now takes place most days before the sun sets. Opening hours are 12:00 noon to 9:00pm on Saturdays and 12:00pm to 8:00pm on all other business days. (It’s worth noting that the original schedule pushed the schedule back to 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. across the board, and after listening to guest feedback after the first weekend, Carol Wentz did move the time back an hour — a solid move by the park to listen to fans.)
That said, if you come to Winterfest primarily to see the Christmas lights – your experience will be different than in years past, because instead of the five hours of dusk into darkness – when the lights are at their brightest, if you will – you're looking at about 2-3 hours of dusk/darkness on most nights. However, if Christmas lights aren't necessarily your thing, the park actually stays open longer during the day, allowing more time to ride Carowinds' various attractions, which are scheduled to be open during Winterfest, of which there are 29 this year, including 10 of the park's 14 roller coasters, which I believe is the most the park has operated during Winterfest. (Operation of many of these rides is weather-dependent, so if you arrive at WinterFest to find it's unseasonably cold and/or rain/sleet/snow/other inclement weather that the USPS claims they're operating in – don't blame us when all 29 rides aren't operational.)
Live holiday entertainment continues to be a big part of WinterFest, with eight live shows appearing throughout the park, including the new 2025 Tipsy Reindeer Bar, located in the Thrill Zone next to Fury 325. However, the entertainment does not include the Winterfest Wonderland parade from previous years. This parade is also not part of the 2017 or 2018 Winterfest lineup. (People have complained before that it's been part of Winterfest.) There's also a variety of seasonal holiday treats, both savory and sweet, on menus throughout the park. I have some bad news/good news for you, though – if you're looking for the fan-favorite “Gobbler” sandwich at the Juke Box Diner this year, unfortunately, it's not on this year's winter menu. But the good news is that Harmony Hall’s smoked turkey sandwich on focaccia this season is almost as delicious.
For an event primarily based on building family traditions that continue year after year, many Winterfest favorites remain, including the nightly lighting ceremony (which has been moved to the seasonal event space between Thunder Striker and Harmony Hall), and performances like the Holly Jolly Trolley and Tinker's Toy Factory. For those of you who come to Carowinds primarily for the rides, we highly recommend catching at least one show during your visit to WinterFest, the performers are extremely talented and you can tell they take their festival roles very seriously. Even outside of the show, Midway Fun Festival characters can be seen throughout the park, spreading holiday cheer.
However, if your purpose of visiting Winterfest is to build new traditions, then add-ons like the Tipsy Reindeer Bar and musical performances at “Cinnamon The Elf” should be added to your park itinerary. The atmosphere inside Tipsy Reindeer, a converted retail store that transforms into a “lounge” during this year's SCarowinds (and undergoes a scary-to-joyful transformation between Halloween and Winterfest), is festive and bright. Upside-down Christmas trees and tinsel hang from the ceiling. The cocktail menu – if I remember correctly, wine-based cocktails rather than spirits due to some laws in North and South Carolina – was delicious and interesting. Cinnamon the Elf added her own “lounge singer” style to some festival favorites – quickly becoming one of my favorite WinterFest shows (but not my all-time favorite, as that was reserved for “Four Drummers” a few years ago.)
We also had a chance to taste some There are holiday-themed treats throughout the park – There are 14 unique savory options, plus 10 options for those with a sweet tooth. I've already mentioned Harmony Hall's smoked turkey sandwich as one of my favorites, but I also felt I needed to share my love for the pulled pork macaroni bowl at County Fair's provisionally named Cozy Mac Bowl (Fair Fries) and the cinnamon pulled loose bread found in a special event tent near Harmony Hall. As is traditionally the case with special events, the Carowinds culinary team does a great job creating limited-time menus – for example, have you ever had tamales at a theme park? You can attend Carowinds' Winter Festival – inside the Burrito Cafe!
For many visitors, however, the heart of Carowinds Park is dominated by the roller coasters, and if you're willing to brave the frigid temperatures, this is a great opportunity to ride the park's top roller coasters with much shorter wait times (at least during our Saturday visit in December) than on traditional summer weekends. During our visit I rode the Copperhead Strike once and the Fury 325 twice. If you were to put together a “top 4” list of Carowinds roller coasters, you'd probably have a combination of Fury 325, Copperhead Strike, and Thunder Striker on that list – all of which are open during WinterFest. (Fourth on the list would probably be Afterburn – but if you tell me that Afterburn, Hurler, Vortex and Carolina Goldrusher will be closed and I get the chance to ride everything else – I personally have no problem with visiting the park.) Across the park, the Camp Snoopy attraction had pretty good crowds for most of the day – further proof that WinterFest's target demographic is still families looking for holiday cheer.
As for an overall review of the event, you may be wondering how the 2025 version of WinterFest compares to previous versions of WinterFest, especially if you're like us and have been visiting for years. My overall evaluation is that this year, The winter season is different. This is neither a bad thing nor a good thing. It's just different.
To be honest, I find it difficult to compare to previous years. Previous versions of WinterFest were primarily nighttime events, with all activities packed into a five-hour window, making it nearly impossible to complete them all in one night – Who do you think you are? Santa Claus? – However, the new noon August 9th schedule does seem to focus more on the rides and attractions at Carowinds than in past Winterfests, where I feel the rides are secondary in importance to the lights and entertainment. If you're looking for Christmas lights, ice skating, and musicians who will inevitably play “Grandma Got Run Over by a Reindeer” in some way, this might not be your favorite winter music festival ever. If you come to Carolyn Winds for the rides, food, and not the holiday fun, you may prefer this “new”, changed schedule. Especially at regional parks, holiday activities are never “one size fits all.” Some people come for the holidays, and some people are pissed that all the coasters are closed because “if Carowinds was open, I should be able to ride everything.” Personally, I think Carowinds strikes a good enough balance between rides and attractions and Christmas cheer (although it may not be perfect).
Honestly, I'm glad the Carlo Wentz calendar extends into early 2026 – it makes the offseason easier to handle as an area park fan (and someone who lives nearby).
Carowinds is open on select nights through January 3rd during WinterFest. For more information, be sure to Visit the park's websiteand follow the park on social media: Facebook | Twitter/X | Instagram.
