Busch Gardens Railway
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I've gone to the park dozens of times per year for about twenty years now. I think I've been on Alpen Express three or four times.
I assume because since Alpen Express has a lower capacity than the two other trains, they only run it if they really need the extra capacity, one of the other trains is out for maintenance, or when they don't need the larger capacity of one of the two other trains. All of those situations are pretty rare though, which is probably why most people don't see it operated a lot.
Yeah, what Matthew said is pretty much the case. I assume they are using it almost full time right now with the Red train out of commission.
Can we talk about the Festa train station?
The other two stations are so nicely put together by comparison. Festa as an area came years later and clearly didn't enjoy the same design commitments as the earlier hamlets IMO, but even in light of that -- they really just crammed a bare-bones concrete train platform into a narrow and awkward space. It has all the "charm" of the aluminum queue rails in the parking lot tram boarding zones.
It is clear why they picked that location for the station, given the way Festa is laid out. So how about a long tent with ceiling fans over the boarding platform? A shady end-to-end trellis? Entry archways? Attractive permanent signage? Something a bit more structurally substantial than the limited shade currently on offer in that location?
I ought to spend equal time lauding the very presence-heavy stations in Scotland and New France, rather than focusing only on the weakest station in Italy. But next to the other two, the Festa station is so sparse... as if somebody managed to poured the conglomerate-style concrete and then forgot to build the rest of the thing.
The other two stations are so nicely put together by comparison. Festa as an area came years later and clearly didn't enjoy the same design commitments as the earlier hamlets IMO, but even in light of that -- they really just crammed a bare-bones concrete train platform into a narrow and awkward space. It has all the "charm" of the aluminum queue rails in the parking lot tram boarding zones.
It is clear why they picked that location for the station, given the way Festa is laid out. So how about a long tent with ceiling fans over the boarding platform? A shady end-to-end trellis? Entry archways? Attractive permanent signage? Something a bit more structurally substantial than the limited shade currently on offer in that location?
I ought to spend equal time lauding the very presence-heavy stations in Scotland and New France, rather than focusing only on the weakest station in Italy. But next to the other two, the Festa station is so sparse... as if somebody managed to poured the conglomerate-style concrete and then forgot to build the rest of the thing.
halfabee said:
These two things are basically everything Festa Italia doesn't stand for.
I think it's no doubt that the seating area definitely needs help. The shade structures are of really no help. Not to mention that they are extremely faded.
I do have to admit, I do have a little sentiment to the Festa train station. I guess people other than me aren't as interested in the giant planter across the tracks to look at, which is something the other two stations don't have to offer. In fact I kind of enjoy waiting for the train while taking pictures of the Butterflies that are enjoying the lantana planted every summer.
I don't know the Festa station seems to be just in line with the rest of the hamlet. Run down, and only half thought out. Fixing it up would kind of destroy the ambiance!
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From today
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Here's the view facing more in the other direction.
Here's the view facing more in the other direction.
Give some cheers to the Busch Landscaping Team they did a great job so far, can't wait to see how the rest of the park turns out throughout the year.
That landscaped area was there prior to the clearing, as it is now.
In fact, that whole hillside was one of the areas that was already fairly clear before the mandated complete clearing this off-season.
In fact, that whole hillside was one of the areas that was already fairly clear before the mandated complete clearing this off-season.
Train from Rhine River Cruise
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Something I forgot about until recently:
The beautiful flowerbed at Festa Italia is gone! When did this happen? I don't always ride to Festa so I hadn't notice this until August. I was so sad.
The beautiful flowerbed at Festa Italia is gone! When did this happen? I don't always ride to Festa so I hadn't notice this until August. I was so sad.
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