Busch Gardens Christmas Celebration 2020
- Thread starter netdvn
- Start date
It’s like one of those mystery boxes where there’s 12 possible options but you don’t know what you’re going to get until you open it. You might get there and meet Santa’s Little Hellion, Santa’s Little Helper, or 10 other varieties.
The surprise elf roams around the park and is handing out light up necklaces.
Kids will enjoy that at least
Just saw someone posted a photo on the Rhine River Bridge in one of the Facebook groups, and an employee suggested they intend on opening the bridge when the park is sold out/at capacity.
So I guess we discovered the point at which “if we make then walk back through the park they’ll buy things” is offset by “maybe it would ease congestion* if we complete the loop.”
*I still haven’t gone to the event at a time that I would categorize as “busy,” but I haven’t found the park dramatically more congested than during the Taste of the Season event with a comparable footprint, personally.
So I guess we discovered the point at which “if we make then walk back through the park they’ll buy things” is offset by “maybe it would ease congestion* if we complete the loop.”
*I still haven’t gone to the event at a time that I would categorize as “busy,” but I haven’t found the park dramatically more congested than during the Taste of the Season event with a comparable footprint, personally.
Tonight feels busier than any other time I've been here this season.
Also, I don't think that wanting people to buy things is why they don't have a loop. I think it just has to do with how much of the park they could decorate and staff.
Also, I don't think that wanting people to buy things is why they don't have a loop. I think it just has to do with how much of the park they could decorate and staff.
Are you talking about the bridge between Rhinefeld and Heatherdowns or the one between Oktoberfest and San Marco?
...right, that's a meaningful distinction. I mean the bridge between Rhinefeld and Heatherdowns.
That's what I thought. In that case, I agree with you and disagree with @Nicole about why the bridge has been closed. There's virtually no staff needed to open the bridge, and back in the old days when the bridge was open during CT, it wasn't decorated anyway. I have a hard time believing that wanting people to walk back through the park and buy stuff hasn't been a factor in keeping the bridge closed.
I'd imagine in either case it's based on staffing/profit - with Rhinefeld to Heatherdowns wouldn't bring in much more profit assuming both sides were already open and would require staffing for security and cleaners if nothing else; San Marco to Oktoberfest has food locations on both ends which would offset any additional staffing.
It is the bridge between rhinefeld and Scotland. I'm at the park tonight and can confirm that the bridge is open.
It's 100% a decision made to encourage spending for CC. I have 0 doubt. With the bridge closed, you get people to walk back past all the shops where they saw something they were considering purchasing. Open the bridge doesn't offer that.
It's 100% a decision made to encourage spending for CC. I have 0 doubt. With the bridge closed, you get people to walk back past all the shops where they saw something they were considering purchasing. Open the bridge doesn't offer that.
Yeah. I thought he meant the San Marco bridge, as well.
The bridge under Nessie did have lights the first year, and I thought it was very pretty. I’ve heard that it is usually closed for CT, however, because it is dangerous in winter weather. But who knows if that is true.
Yeah, I'm curious to see if it holds when things do eventually get colder (although this mild streak has definitely been a boon for the park). I'm curious to know what volume of customer service complains were necessary to get them to make this call, or whether it might have been something dictated by the Health Department in terms of managing congestion with crowds of a certain size.
I will say that tonight was the most uncomfortable I’ve been at a BGW COVID Mini-Event. The crowds were heavy; the paths were congested in many places; the queues were far too often not socially distanced; and we saw too many noses and mouths. If our experience is any indication, the park needs to open up more space to accommodate the number of guests, in my opinion.
I found the daytime session on yesterday (Saturday) to be pretty light, but I did notice that when I went back at like 2:30 to maybe ride Griffon again the line was backed up to the bridge, and that’s the kind of situation where a breakdown of distancing/mask-wearing would feel much greater than the more general frustration of seeing violations in situations where you’re able to distance.
I did also have to forcefully tell the people behind me for Verbolten to find their mark, and could see how easily the system breaks down if people are either unwilling/uncomfortable correcting behavior and/or the people in question are belligerent/dismissive about it or, as they were in this case, quiet in their acquiescence.
Winterfest at KD had show times posted at all stages/theaters and the Winterfest information booklet had all showtimes/locations listed in the entertainment section. Plus, KD scheduled all shows on the hour and half-hour.
The only exception to shows was the religious music at the nativity stage. That seemed to have random sets throughout the evening.
Traditionally at BGW they have provided a show schedule for these shows. Unsure why they haven't for CC unless it has something to do with them not distributing park maps. Even then I would expect it to be on the app, which in fairness I haven't checked once.