Banbury Cross Retheme Coming in 2014

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I would say that "Busch Gardens just isn't the same anymore," but of course, that's old news by now. It is what it is. It's not an "Old Europe Experience" park anymore. It's a "Euro2k14 Excitement" park.

This retheme is kind of like if Colonial Williamsburg strung up 50-star flags everywhere and built a Statue of Liberty replica and ran a WWII bugle-boy show and had a cafe '80s. It changes from an American historical context to an Americana party. There's still going to be an audience for that, but, you know...it doesn't interest me as much as it did.

Still, looking forward to visiting this summer and checking it out for myself.
 
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If y'all are interested, the official view of the US government can be found here.

Description of the Union Jack, which the CIA World Factbook lists as the official flag of the United Kingdom:
blue field with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) edged in white superimposed on the diagonal red cross of Saint Patrick (patron saint of Ireland), which is superimposed on the diagonal white cross of Saint Andrew (patron saint of Scotland); properly known as the Union Flag, but commonly called the Union Jack; the design and colors (especially the Blue Ensign) have been the basis for a number of other flags including other Commonwealth countries and their constituent states or provinces, and British overseas territories
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I thought this was just kind of interesting:

National symbol(s):
lion (Britain in general); lion, Tudor rose (England); lion, unicorn, thistle (Scotland); dragon, daffodil, leek (Wales); harp, flax (Northern Ireland)
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Map:

 

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Well now that my childhood memories from Quaint little Banbury Cross are burned. This is what a modern Banbury Cross should look like. Banbury should not look like Spongebob and his friends melted all across the Globe. R.I.P Banbury Cross 1975-2014
 
Joe said:
BGW used to strive for authenticity.
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To my knowledge they have always used the Union Jack to represent England. Heck even England uses it as their flag. You never really see the actual English flag anymore. Why? Because over time the human population including many English people just adopted the Union Jack and accepted it.

Seriously, have you seen what flag they used at the Olympics in 2012 to represent England? The Union Jack. I can see it right now, if the park used the actual English flag, just about most guests walking through with this extreme look of confusion.
 
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The Union Flag (its real name) is not and has never been the English flag.  The St. George's Cross is the flag of England.  With the creation of the United Kingdom, which includes England, Scotland, Wales, Cornwall, the Channel Islands, and Northern Ireland, the Union Flag was created to represent that new political entity.

England is not the same thing as either Great Britain or the UK.  It is also not a recognized independent state; it is part of the UK.  So, England does not compete independently in the Olympics.

Flag of England:

 

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I only object to the Union Jack for two reasons:

(1) The architecture and overall feel of the park puts me into a pre-Union England. This is the minor reason, actually. I don't know what the actual time period being depicted is. I assume it's a mix...there weren't any phonebooths anywhere prior to Union. However, Shakespearean England, which is an idea people can sort of *feel*, seems to be the theme of the hamlet. Shakespeare was dead and gone before there was any such thing as a Union.

(2) The park has an independent Scotland, complete with Scottish flag. This is the major rub. It would seem to me that if we are counting Scotland as a separate area and displaying the flag of Scotland, we would be presenting England likewise, and treating England as England and Scotland as Scotland and not the whole area as the United Kingdom.
 
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jonfin826 said:
Are we actually arguing over which style of flag the park should use?
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Yes, we are. It would be one thing if there was one little Union flag hung up somewhere, but that is not the case. These flags are bombarding the area with a modern look that does not belong in Shakespearean era England. Nowadays BGW is not about providing a truly immersive and authentic experience (unlike what they did impeccably for the past 30 years), but whatever gimmick it takes to "modernize" everything. It's as if the park is trying to fool guests into being more "excited" over a lesser product, and this has been a recurring trend lately. It's not just the flags (still a somewhat trivial thing); they just exemplify what has been occurring quite often lately at the park.

Personal Note: The flags originally featured on the park's maps, signs, and media back when the park's European theme was actually emphasized were indeed the white ones with the red cross, not the "Union Jack."

It really just cheapens the experience. As much as I love Kings Dominion, something that always bugs me there is its inconsistency in themes. Just as dinosaurs don't belong in Old Virginia just because it's "wooded," a Union Jack doesn't belong in Banbury Cross just because it represents "England." Busch Gardens Williamsburg has proven that they can do better than that.
 
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Joe said:
Yes, we are. It would be one thing if there was one little Union flag hung up somewhere, but that is not the case. These flags are bombarding the area with a modern look that does not belong in Shakespearean era England. Nowadays BGW is not about providing a truly immersive and authentic experience (unlike what they did impeccably for the past 30 years), but whatever gimmick it takes to "modernize" everything. It's as if the park is trying to fool guests into being more "excited" over a lesser product, and this has been a recurring trend lately. It's not just the flags (still a somewhat trivial thing); they just exemplify what has been occurring quite often lately at the park.

Personal Note: The flags originally featured on the park's maps, signs, and media back when the park's European theme was actually emphasized were indeed the white ones with the red cross, not the "Union Jack."

It really just cheapens the experience. As much as I love Kings Dominion, something that always bugs me is its inconsistency in themes. Just as dinosaurs don't belong in Old Virginia because it's "wooded," a Union Jack doesn't belong in Banbury Cross just because it represents "England."
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I mostly agree. However, to play Devils Advocate, they are trying to promote a show they sank some dough into and want to get a return on investment. It's gimmicky and cheap, but so are rollercoaster-inspired tshirts. And let's face it, every time ANY park opens a new coaster, a crappy tshirt is waiting in the wings at the closest kiosk. From my point of view, I understand it but I just don't like it much. I also watched 7 minutes of the London Rocks(exclamation point) video yesterday, and I'll never get those 7 minutes back so I'm not really all that hyped to begin with.

Also, the flags are temporary. At least, I hope they are.
 
Well, Ill just put in my two cents.

I see the area as an old town near london, which has old and antique buildings, that has long stood the test of time, so its a quaint village that is setting up for a sort of celebration. (I was going to say the queens coronation, but that was in 1953). The Union Jacks would be an appropiate flag to hang for a celebration about the queen of great britain(or so I would think.) It creates a busy and full feeling to the Hamlet. As for the paint, it was obviously graffiti left by some meddlesome teenagers.
So, in conclusion, its an old 1800s-esque british village in the 60s.From what I have seen on the BBC(mainly Doctor Who) Theres a few places like that around the U.K.
 
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I finally had a chance to visit the park yesterday, and I realized two things. The flags look much bigger in person and the sign looks much uglier. I can no longer support my statement that I don't mind the sign or the flags, though the bus still doesn't bother me. I also got a few pictures of the hamlet at night which I will try to post soon.
 
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