Six Flags, LanierWorld give winter a try

Six Flags Over Georgia

275 Riverside Pkwy SW, Austell.

770-739-3400

SnowWorld

Lanier Islands

$25.99 to $34.99 for adults and $19.99 to $24.99 for children, depending on the time of day.

Nov 21 – March 1 (most days and weather depending. Check web sites for exact openings and weather-related closings.)

SnowWorld

7000 Lanier Islands Parkway, Buford

770-945-8787

RELATED: AJC guide to Holiday Attractions and Light Displays

Six Flags Over Georgia and LanierWorld may be synonymous with summer — thrilling water rides, ice cold treats and fun in the sun.

But this year for the first time, they are diving into winter, unveiling a flurry of new elements aimed at turning these summer-time spots into winter attractions.

Six Flags is stringing more than 1 million low-energy LED lights and adorn the park with 400 Christmas trees to create a holiday atmosphere they've coined, "Holiday in the Park," which is set to open Nov. 22.

LanierWorld is turning into "SnowWorld" —with three new ice plants providing snow for four snow play areas and snow tubing.

RELATED: Find 2015 Atlanta holiday light display hours and information for Stone Mountain, Atlanta Botanical Garden, Lake Lanier, Life University, Stone Mountain and more.

These new attractions mark major changes for these destinations closing during the coldest months of the year. They will join other family friendly spots in metro Atlanta adding lights, snow and entertainment capitalizing on the lucrative holiday season. Atlanta Botanical Garden and Snow Mountain at Stone Mountain flipped the sleepy winter months into what now ranks as one of the busiest times of the year. So it’s no surprise Six Flags and LanierWorld want to jump in on the holiday add-ons to keep the party (and business) going throughout the year and into the next.

Six Flag's Holiday in the Park will run (most days) Nov. 22 through Jan. 4. (For a complete list, go to www.sixflags.com/overgeorgia). A handful of other Six Flags parks across the country also host holiday time lights, but they tend to be in warmer climates, such as southern California.

Whether Georgians will brave the cold to ride fan favorites including Goliath, Dare Devil Dive and Georgia Scorcher, remains to be seen. While some winter nights can be quite mild, others can be shivering cold. That’s why Six Flags is banking on other holiday twists with sections of the park featuring different themes including S’mores Village and Peppermint Plaza (complete with wafting peppermint oil). The train ride at Six Flags will have a new destination — the North Pole of course, where Santa awaits visitors. The historical carousel will be festooned with 100,000 lights, 1,350 feet of garland and 250 luminary candles. About half of the space in Six Flags will be dedicated to the Holiday in the Park.

Meanwhile, SnowWorld, is set to open around Nov. 21 until March 1 (To check on exact opening date, and for a complete listing of openings, go to www.lanierislands.com), adding more than three months of business to the summer-time park. For dare devils, slippery water slides of summer will be dry — no water, no snow, no ice — and instead will have a special coating to help sleds go fast. The ever-popular wave pool was drained, and is being transformed into 13 snow tubing lanes. Prices for SnowWorld will vary depending on the time of day, ranging from $25.99 to $34.99 for adults and $19.99 to $24.99 for children. And once the sun goes down at SnowWorld, the lights go up as car riders and people on foot take in the dazzling lights show at the resort.

Formerly known as “Magical Nights of Lights,” the light show, with some minor changes, including a walking portion, changed the name to “Lanier Islands Christmas” The price per vehicle has been slashed in half to a new price of $30 per vehicle this year, and $20 on weekday nights.

Kate Davis, public relations and marketing manager for Lanier Islands, said the park has three snow plants constantly blowing snow, and they’ve hired about 200 temporary seasonal employees with plans to hire about 85 more for SnowWorld.

Both are hoping to find the same winter-time success found by Botanical Garden and Snow Mountain.

At the Botanical Garden, about 155,000 people visited the artsy dazzling lights show over a seven-week period last year. A game changer for the 30-acre garden, the lights show breathed new life into was once a dead stretch of the year, making these winter months into one of the busiest times of the year, rivaled only by the spring-time bloom of hundreds of thousands of crocus, daffodils and tulips. Stone Mountain found success with snow. In fact, the winter months are now the second busiest time of the year after summer at the Park.

“January and February used to be quiet,” said Jeanine Jones, public relations manager at Stone Mountain Park. “Sky Ride and Memorial Hall was open. But it was cold outside and we didn’t have strong attendance. We added Snow Mountain, and it’s been very good business.”