Bürgermeister's Hideaway Speakeasy Debuting July 20th

[warfelg]

Who’s to say everything available will be premixed frozen drinks?

Also as someone that was a bartender for a while, you can absolutely turn a frozen drink into a flair, especially if you mix, then add ice, then blend.

Based on everything that people who give good information (@horsesboy and @BGWnut) it seems as though these assumptions being made miss the mark on what it’s going to be.

 

[deacfan31]

I think this would be a better experience if it was shaped somewhat Trader Sam's Grog Grotto. Small bar, good drinks, great experience and reservations to make "exclusive". With this being in Germany it could offer a very unique experience that could keep people coming back. I hope it works but I feel they have over shot the market and bang for the buck.

 

[WDWRLD]

Who’s to say everything available will be premixed frozen drinks?

Also as someone that was a bartender for a while, you can absolutely turn a frozen drink into a flair, especially if you mix, then add ice, then blend.

Based on everything that people who give good information (@horsesboy and @BGWnut) it seems as though these assumptions being made miss the mark on what it’s going to be.

But do you think if the experience is one hour they could crank out 75 drinks especially if they have to mix, add ice and blend? I know many bars that can but can BGW?

Edited to add…..thinking about it it would really be 25 drinks every 15 minutes, so you would have time to drink that 3rd drink before your time was up.

 

[warfelg]

But do you think if the experience is one hour they could crank out 75 drinks especially if they have to mix, add ice and blend? I know many bars that can but can BGW?

Edited to add…..thinking about it it would really be 25 drinks every 15 minutes, so you would have time to drink that 3rd drink before your time was up.

Yes they absolutely can. 3 bartenders, 25 drinks each, making doubles? That’s easily doable especially when the knowledge base can be limited to the few drinks they are making.

 

[Murphy]

Hasn't it also been mentioned that it's supposed to be something of a show as well? I'm amazed how quickly some of us have decided, sight unseen, that it couldn't possibly be worth a damn. Granted, track records of late have left something to be desired, but to act like we know for certain what's up with evidence to the contrary? This could absolutely be a flop, but until it opens, who knows?

 

[WDWRLD]

Granted, track records of late have left something to be desired

Bingo……

If the park had a history of exceptional shows, foods, drinks and service then I think people would be excited. But they don’t so people automatically expect crap, crap and crap. Every time they have something new it’s the same story, people say it’s gonna suck, others say don’t judge it until it opens, then it turns out like everything else. Long lines, poor service, inconsistent food and drink…..bla bla bla.

 

[Icer]

My grievance is with the concept execution itself, and I do not need to experience it to know that the way the speakeasy concept was implemented was a poor decision. The show could be fantastic, the drinks could be fantastic, everything could be the best experience they ever made, but fundamentally the thing doesn't work for their ideal target audience; locals who need a reason to stop by the park a few times a month and buy a drink or meal here and there.

This is very much a "I did it, I enjoyed it, don't feel the need to do it again" type experience when you consider the price tag and time required for it. This is an endeavor that requires booking in advance, fronting around $100, and committing the time to show up for the entire experience. This is not something where locals who know about it can stop in for a drink, talk to the bartender, spend $20 and maybe have a snack on the way in or out of the park to walk all the way back there. That's my problem with it, this isn't gonna work in the long term and the experience is only going to decay as management sees fewer and fewer dollars coming in from it. Give it a couple years and this is just gonna turn back into another building just sitting there, closed.

They had the opportunity to make something that doesn't see HUGE dollars right when they open it but will self sustain forever and help stimulate sales elsewhere by bringing in more locals more consistently, but instead their tunnel vision onto margins on a spreadsheet produced this, and will ultimately be a long term financial failure as well as guest experience failure.

My grievance is time and time again SEAS has no idea how to run a long term successful business, and we keep seeing symptoms of it. Here is yet another. It simply doesn't matter how great of a job those in the building do at executing it come opening, it is a bad version of an overall good idea. I'll enjoy doing it the next time I go to the park. But it'll be a very long time before I make the commitment to do it again, no matter how good it is.

 

[Murphy]

This is a coherent thought process on it, with specific points to be made, and I completely understand where you're coming from on this. I agree with quite a bit of what you're saying. I often overlook how many people are local and could do exactly that, since it is such a process for me to get to the park. I simply see things through a completely different lens since there is no going on a whim in my case.

I suppose my grievances are with the, "Thing has been bad, therefore all thing must be bad" attitude.

 

[EdK]

What would be worth the price of admission is if they brought Stevie out to answer some math problems. I'd pay top dollar to see that again.

 

[warfelg]

but fundamentally the thing doesn't work for their ideal target audience; locals who need a reason to stop by the park a few times a month and buy a drink or meal here and there.

Why is that the target audience and not some like myself or @Murphy who are coming from further away and the experience of this is the scale tipper to not having it at KD?

 

[WDWRLD]

What would be worth the price of admission is if they brought Stevie out to answer some math problems. I'd pay top dollar to see that again.

$50 a person….How much is that doggie in the window?

 

[Icer]

@warfelg Because long term success at this park is driven by consistently having people in the gates, bringing in the people that have sustained it and made it exceedingly popular for decades.

I am like you, I travel to BGW a couple times a year because I am a die hard fan of the park. I drive past KD because I wish to experience this park. Everyone I know who has gone to the park of their own free will has been once or twice, but generally if they wish to travel to a park they choose to travel to Hershey (closer) or just say screw it and do the big Orlando trip (lived in both central and eastern MD). Williamsburg is an in between travel destination, and can't compete with the "travel to our park!" model that SEAS seems to be aiming for here because that's all they know. Williamsburg isn't a large travel destination for the same reasons Orlando and Tampa and San Diego are, those are vacation destinations. Makes sense to try to grab people on vacation through the gates there. Williamsburg can't really fiend off people who find themselves already visiting the area to the same extent as those parks. It either needs to lure a bunch of people to Williamsburg (which again, can't realistically compete) OR compensate for the lack of consistent people traveling to the area with a much larger local audience.

I'm not saying the tourist volume to Williamsburg isn't large, it is large. Just comparably not to other park areas like Tampa and Orlando, therefore a much higher percentage of guests at BGW on a daily basis are locals, that's just concentration numbers. That's a demographic they need to focus on retaining more at this park than any other park since they don't have people in the reserves to account for a drop off in local attendance without Williamsburg's tourist volume increasing. It seems more and more that SEAS is choosing the "increase Williamsburg tourist volume" path rather than "retain local base" path of ensuring long term guest volumes, but I have serious doubts as to their ability to grow Williamsburg's tourism to the extent needed to offset a dwindling local base if this customer experience decline continues.

 

[EdK]

I see @Ice 's point. It makes sense to charge extra for the special tours and add-ons during special events. I'm going to admit that this whole thing strikes me as rather odd. Having to make reservations at a fixed price for a drink and some kind of show seems a little out of character for BGW.

I think a better idea would have been to develop a larger more upscale bar with live entertainment. Someone mentioned something like Grogan's pub with stools. Add the nice leather chairs from Oktoberfest and a full bar and it would become a place to hang out for everyone. I'm really curious to see how this works out and if the people who experience it feel they got their moneys worth.

Personally I'll save the $50 dollars to buy three beers throughout the day.

 

[EdK]

$50 a person….How much is that doggie in the window?

Don't forget they throw in a few drinks. Edit: Plus, you can't put a price on nostalgia.

 

[warfelg]

@Ice I get what you are saying but this is clearly a low volume endeavor. The idea doesn’t seem to be to pump in as many people as possible in as short of time as possible. I get what you are saying about the Florida parks but they are both 1 day parks to add onto an Orlando trip, where as BGW is the big pull for outside the area to come to Williamsburg.

And I’m not saying this is a huge thing (I think more is being made of it than it needs to be) but I don’t this this is intended to be for the locals. I was curious so I went through the process of buying a ticket as a single day. Suggested add on’s were this, WCUSA, a tour, and the Wine Cruise. Went through for a Membership, and QQ, Food, Drink, and Photo key were all suggested add on’s.

What’s interesting is multiple companies have researched that what people want in parks is an experience. That’s what Burgermeister’s Hideaway is, an experience. That’s why, to me, the target audience isn’t the people who come regularly a few times a week for some rides and a bite to eat. This is for people here all day that want an experience and to do something other than ride rides.

 

[Mushroom]

This is very much a "I did it, I enjoyed it, don't feel the need to do it again" type experience when you consider the price tag and time required for it. This is an endeavor that requires booking in advance, fronting around $100, and committing the time to show up for the entire experience. This is not something where locals who know about it can stop in for a drink, talk to the bartender, spend $20 and maybe have a snack on the way in or out of the park to walk all the way back there. That's my problem with it, this isn't gonna work in the long term and the experience is only going to decay as management sees fewer and fewer dollars coming in from it. Give it a couple years and this is just gonna turn back into another building just sitting there, closed.

To be fair to the park (and I say this as someone who is also skeptical of this thing’s success), this speakeasy clearly isn’t meant to target locals and the masses. For those people, the park (in theory) already has Grogan’s, Brauhaus, Festhaus, and a number of other bars. Rather than a casual bar for regulars to hang out in, this concept seems to be targeting a very small niche of “premium” experience-minded guests who don’t care about price. Given how small the physical space is, it makes sense that they’re targeting a tiny, high-paying audience; it can’t accommodate anything more.

The way I see this speakeasy, it’s supposed to be a private, exclusive experience in a way that reminds me of Disneyland’s Club 33. It’s not something that I’ll ever pony up the money for, but then again, I’m not the type of person BGW is targeting with the concept. Like I said, if I want a more casual and (somewhat) less expensive drinking experience, BGW already has locations built for that purpose that they just need to utilize better (or reopen). This candy shop has been shuttered for years anyway so it’s not like it’s a loss for us.

Who knows if it’ll be actually successful, but even though it’s not an experience I’d care for, I do have some respect for BGW for at least experimenting with a creative concept like this instead of just pushing ahead with yet another bar or some other mindless cash-grab.

 

[Icer]

People seem to be misunderstanding me. I agree that this speakeasy they have made isn't targeting locals, it is in fact targeting people there all day who want an experience. My point is I think that is who they continue to target with everything they are doing and will pay the price, and this particular experience was a golden opportunity to throw the locals a bone, an audience they have been shafting for years now. Hence why I think this is a failure compared to what it could've been for a diminishing portion of their guests, of which I am not even a part of. This is a win for consumers like me, but I know this park's wellbeing doesn't survive off people like me.

 

[warfelg]

If it’s a diminishing portion of their guests it makes sense to invest in trying to reinvigorate that guest base. Locals coming in likely aren’t spending more money anyways so investing in that doesn’t have the same payoff.

 

[WDWRLD]

To be fair to the park (and I say this as someone who is also skeptical of this thing’s success), this speakeasy clearly isn’t meant to target locals and the masses.

The way I see this speakeasy, it’s supposed to be a private, exclusive experience in a way that reminds me of Disneyland’s Club 33.

But Club 33 is meant for locals, repeat customers……their core fan base.

 

[Mushroom]

But Club 33 is meant for locals, repeat customers……their core fan base.

Sort of an apples and oranges though since Disneyland is a destination park that mostly attracts tourists whereas BGW is a regional park that mostly attracts locals. Saying locals are Disneyland’s “core fan base” just isn’t accurate.