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BGW should open all the coasters in the park for Christmas. Dollywood does it and its at a higher elevation than Williamsburg is. With the event getting more and more crowded every year, adding capacity to the event would help pull people off pathways on peak nights.
BGW actually doesn't want the rides to be a focus of the event. CT is supposed to be about everything else at the park. Also if you wanted all the rides open your can bet the days of discounted admission during CT will be gone. CT tickets would be back to the same price as the rest of the year.
 
Also, and maybe I'm wrong about this, but couldn't DW have requested rides with lower minimum operating temps than BGW so theirs can still operate?
 
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BGW actually doesn't want the rides to be a focus of the event. CT is supposed to be about everything else at the park. Also if you wanted all the rides open your can bet the days of discounted admission during CT will be gone. CT tickets would be back to the same price as the rest of the year.

Yes this, the price of the Dollywood ticket is also the same as their regular park operating days.
 
BGW actually doesn't want the rides to be a focus of the event. CT is supposed to be about everything else at the park. Also if you wanted all the rides open your can bet the days of discounted admission during CT will be gone. CT tickets would be back to the same price as the rest of the year.

Smoky Mountain Christmas isn't just about the rides. The park puts a lot more emphasis on the craft demonstrations, lights and shows than the rides. Yeah people come for the rides but when I was there, it was walk ons for all the coasters and all the shows were completely sold out.

And I'm totally ok with the park bumping up ticket prices to run the coasters. No real reason to keep everything closed when temps are still relatively mild in December. Christmas Town as an event should be expanding every year and adding more coasters would really help with that and maybe create a bit more competition between Christmas Town and Winterfest.
 
If adding coasters were the deciding thing for most people then SFA would have a leg up on both BGW and KD. When I went two years ago they had 4 coasters open for the event.
 
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If adding coasters were the deciding thing for most people then SFA would have a leg up on both BGW and KD. When I went two years ago they had 4 coasters open for the event.
I thought they had 5 actually... I did tend to prefer SFA's over BGW but they don't make the big money off of me. However, it becomes a tough call when comparing SFA's 4-5 coaster lineup over Twisted and Dominator and I must admit Winterfest is far more spectacular. BG's 3 coaster lineup with Alpengeist is also fairly matched. They could put it over the top easily if they run Pantheon this year.
 
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If adding coasters were the deciding thing for most people then SFA would have a leg up on both BGW and KD. When I went two years ago they had 4 coasters open for the event.

The coasters are at best a side attraction for the main winter/Christmas events. Most attendees are there to take in the scenes, see the shows, and enjoy the spirit of the event. It's also more of a kids event, which is why all the smaller rides and flats are kept open.

That being said, Alpengeist is a completely winter themed coaster, so opening it and adding some other related attractions around it would make a lot of sense and keep with the spirit of the event.
 
Yes, lets fully staff and operate coasters that only a select few handful of people really want to ride in freezing cold temps. It is more cost effective to just keep the rides closed. Yeah some years it will be warmer than others but still, think of all the planning that needs to happen. The staff you have to hire, and then inevitably send home without pay because it just happens to be too cold. Those team members will be hoping for a paycheck only to be turned around every time it gets too cold to operate.
 
Does anyone know if it’s normal for them to still have Christmas Town decor up this time of year? I saw in some Pantheon hard hat tour videos where the lights on the fencing around the train was still up. I could understand that as it’s not that intrusive if they were still there opening day but then I saw the Peace on earth sign is still up as well.
 
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Does anyone know if it’s normal for them to still have Christmas Town decor up this time of year? I saw in some Pantheon hard hat tour videos where the lights on the fencing around the train was still up. I could understand that as it’s not that intrusive if they were still there opening day but then I saw the Peace on earth sign is still up as well.
They might have had safety restrictions for removing them that close to the construction site. A good bit but not all of the decorations were down in the parts of the park that we saw during the Ace event.
 
There was some video ( not sure where or what video) where they addressed the decorations and stated that while putting up decorations, they work on various areas at once due to the spacing between events but when it comes to the takedown, they focus on one section and that decor at a time.
 
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Does anyone know if it’s normal for them to still have Christmas Town decor up this time of year? I saw in some Pantheon hard hat tour videos where the lights on the fencing around the train was still up. I could understand that as it’s not that intrusive if they were still there opening day but then I saw the Peace on earth sign is still up as well.
It takes a lot longer to take down then put up. There are fewer people taking down than seeing up. Also it's a time consuming process ensuring that everything is still functioning and that it's organized in such a way that it's quick to put up. Also some items are the very last items placed in storage because they are the first and easiest things to put out.

Basically it's not odd for them to still be up now. They will probably finish some time in the next week or two.
 
Oh, I though they took all the event down and just now put them back up.

I guess I was wrong. Sorry.
 
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