Greetings from Spring!
Yes, Winter Chill Out was back in February and I wish I could've gotten this up sooner. It was the weekend after we got back from Disney World and I wanted to get all the Disney posts completed prior to talking about this event. Winter Chill Out is an exclusive behind-the-scenes tour of Cedar Point's operations. It takes place at the end of February every year regardless of weather (It was in the 20s when we went. I have seen it happen in -10 degree weather), and is currently a lottery system. All proceeds from this event go to A Kid Again which provides adventures for families raising children with life-threatening illnesses. I had been trying to get tickets for this event for about 4+ years, and was ecstatic to finally get the email saying I was one of the chosen winners. As you all know, I am a huge amusement and theme park enthusiast. Cedar Point is my "home" amusement park, so I was beyond thrilled to have an opportunity to walk around and learn information that the average theme park goer doesn't get to experience.
Prior to arrival, we didn't get a lot of information other than an email about parking and what was on the website. There was no itinerary saying where we'd be going or the layout of the day. After parking and waiting in line to enter the park, we found out we each had different arrival times emailed to us to help spread us out into tour groups. After entering the park, we were given a lanyard stating what tour group we were in, a lunch ticket, and complementary gloves and winter hat. All groups were named after roller coasters. We were Steel Vengeance and our tour guide was Shaun, a manager of ride operations. Groups were about 25 people each and we started in different directions after meeting our tour guides.
Our group's first stop was the C.P. & L.E. Engine House. This is where they house the steam trains and it was fun to see them up close. They had one of the workers there to ask questions, and he told us that they alternate between two trains during the season: Judy, who is 100 years-old, and Myron who is 101 years-old. They also have George who is 80-something years-old, but he is permanently in the engine house for now because he needs work. We were able to go up to the cars and see where they put the coal inside to make the trains run. We could see the room underground that allows them to work underneath the trains. It was a very informative and interesting stop on our tour.
Next up, we went to a backstage section of Millenium Force. We started off walking through the line, then veered off and went beyond the fence to walk through one of the ride tunnels. We were able to reach up and touch the track it was so close. From there, we walked underneath the lift hill. It was one of my favorite experiences of the day being able to look up and see the lift hill and first drop from underneath the ride. Fun fact: We asked our tour guide Shaun which ride do most people lose their phones on. The answer: Magnum XL-200. My aunt did lose her phone on there, so that tracks.
From there, we ventured to Frontier Town to the Barnyard. We visited none other than the handsome and fluffy CHURRO and his alpaca family! Churro was born in 2022 and we've stopped and visited him every time we've gone to the park since. We were able to feed the alpacas some grain if we wanted to, and were able to speak to their caretaker. She told us that all the animals in the Barnyard live on a farm in Berry, Kentucky in the off-season, then travel back to Ohio when the park opens (or for special occasions such as this).
Churro! 
Churro's mom and little brother
It was time for a mini-break at the Farmhouse Kitchen & Grill where they provided us with coffee, hot chocolate, cookies, and mini muffins. We only had about 10 minutes so we had to hurry up and eat or take it to go because it was our first of only 2 restroom stops on the tour. The usual restrooms around the park weren't open so one of the only available was at the First Aid station in Frontier Town. This is where the tour for every group went pear-shaped. There were only two restrooms available and there was a three group back up waiting in line. I don't believe it was anticipated that they would have 45+ people waiting in line for the restroom, and it took about 50 minutes to get through. (Side note: Shaun was telling us they had a strict schedule to get us to lunch and out of the park by a certain time. This hold up put all the tour groups behind.)
Farmhouse Kitchen & Grill
The next stop was my favorite of the entire tour: the Sign & Animation Shops. This is where they house the ride and park signs, even the vintage ones, and all the Halloweekends animatronics and props. The signs get a paint touch up every year before being put back in the park. We then walked through the Halloweekends stuff and they had one of the animatronics, a skeleton on horseback, singing Johnny Cash's "Hurt." (Fantastic song choice, by the way.) They had the majority of the animatronics hooked up and running. We walked into another section of the room that had more props, but also various audio machines for the rides, lights, buttons, the jukebox for the now gone Johnny Rockets restaurant, and more. I wish there were explanations for everything. They did have some workers there that we could ask questions, but unless you approached them they didn't interact. I did ask if they do prank wars on each other with the Halloweekends props, and even though they didn't want to admit it, it was a yes.
Now we headed for what everyone was anticipating all day long: the Top Thrill 2 Garage. Only one group was allowed in the garage at a time, so because of the restroom fiasco multiple groups were waiting around the ride. It was about 25 minutes or so before our group was called in. They do maintenance for Top Thrill and Wild Mouse cars in this garage. We were able to get our photo taken inside the new Top Thrill 2 ride trains. The cars were a lot bigger than I had anticipated. We also got to see Tony Clark-the Director of Communications. He held a raffle for a front-of-the-line ticket when the ride opens to the public, then gave us some information about the new ride. It runs on a magnetic system and has 98% reliability. If you remember how often Top Thrill Dragster was down, they anticipate this won't be an issue anymore. They were able to test to the ride in 30-degree weather in December, according to Tony.
We then ventured toward the front of the park and took an employee-only route towards the Hotel Breakers parking lot (check out when we stayed there here) and went to Linen Services. A few of the workers split us up into smaller groups and took us around the facility showing us the machinery while letting us know what a typical day looks like on and off-season. They do the laundry for all the Cedar Point hotels minus Sawmill Creek, which functions on its own. They take care of all the park and employee uniforms, including restaurants and events. The bins/carts are color-coded so they know where everything gets returned to. They run 3 shifts during the regular season, and 1 shift during the off-season. This was the most informative part of our tour. Just a quick talk at each location about what they do on and off-season would've been amazing. Shout out to the Linen team for doing this for us.
In the same parking lot was the building for Ride Maintenance. This is where they paint the cars; replace upholstery, seatbelts, and shoulder harnesses; maintain wheels; etc...Along with other mechanics like wiring, cables, nuts and bolts, and the such. Talking with one of the workers, we learned that every ride has to go through at least 50 tests prior to opening each day. It starts with maintenance tests, then ride operations, then state testing. So when a ride isn't ready until a few hours after opening, remember it's for your safety.
We made it over to lunch at the old banquet building on the Boardwalk. I have never been in there, so that was exciting. I'm not entirely sure, but when I was kid I think that building was for events or used to be a buffet if you paid extra. They did serve us buffet-style with some of the foods around the park and a dessert table. However, the Restroom Debacle of 2024 struck again-we did not have much time to sit down and eat. It felt like high school where by the time you got through the line and sat down, you only had 15-20 minutes to eat. I ended up just picking at my plate, had 2 bites of dessert, and had to throw the rest away. People around us were very upset about being so rushed. This was also our 2nd and last restroom opportunity of the day.
The arcade was next over on the midway. They gave us a card for free-play and had turned on some of the games. Unfortunately, there were more people than games available so we only got to play mini-golf and one round of basketball before it was time to move on to the next location.
Our 2nd to last stop was the Entertainment Costume Shop. Unfortunately, this was a stop on our tour that we were not allowed photos or videos so I can't show anything 😞. They do costumes for the whole park and the events. It was a massive warehouse with all the sewing materials you could possibly imagine. We walked into an area that they had set up to show us some of the 2024 offerings, and off to the side they had Mr. Midnight's costume on display. You all know from my Halloweekends posts that I am a fangirl of Mr. Midnight, and now our group knew from my delighted squeal. They also had his voodoo looking doll that was displayed in the Midnight Hour house last year. WHY are they not selling this doll as Halloweekends merchandise? We also learned another fun fact: Churro (our barnyard alpaca cutie) is represented in some form in every haunted house during Halloweekends.
The last stop of the day was the gift shop and Starbucks at the front of the park if you needed it for the road home. (Or if you over caffeinate yourself like I do. It was my 3rd coffee of the day.) They had Winter Chill Out 2024 merchandise and we got a sneak peak of the Top Thrill 2 merchandise that we were able to purchase.
For a first timer to Winter Chill Out, it felt a bit disorganized. Especially after the bathroom incident that caused a lot of standing around and multi-group backups. Some people got lost from their group, and the former teacher in me was cringing for not doing head counts and not having someone bringing up the rear. I did really appreciate Shaun's laidback and approachable style. He said he wanted to give us freedom to wander and explore at every location. As a theme park enthusiast, I enjoyed the behind-the-scenes walking and information. I love knowing more about all the pieces that contribute to how the park functions. We went into buildings and walked around areas I've always wondered about since I was a kid. I can't think on the spot so I wish I knew ahead of time to have questions to ask. Other people in my group (my family, not our tour group) felt they didn't get enough information. They wanted a talk at each tour stop to explain day-to-day tasks. Personally, I would definitely do this again because I enjoy learning more about the park. Now that I know what to expect, I'll be better prepared with questions for next time.
Have you been able to attend Winter Chill Out? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!
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