Register or Login to Hide This Ad for Free!

horsesboy

Big Bad Wolf hunter
Advisory Panel
Silver Donor
Jun 16, 2013
6,076
1
15,767
270
I heard some one at the announcement yesterday ask Carl as he was leaving if they would have any concerts thus year and Carl say no.  Any one have any information on this?  Given that Carl is the source I would say it's reliable of course he also said there was no new coaster so then again maybe not.
 
RE: No concerts

I emailed Guest Relations a couple of weeks ago and I got a response that was kind of vague. The response said they were still working things out and the website would be updated at a later time when things were more formalized. I took this as, yes, they were going to have some concerts this year as they didn't give a definite no answer. I really hope they do as going to concerts is one thing I always look forward to each year so long as they have artists I like.
 
Busch Gardens is taking a break from concerts...

Busch Gardens, the Williamsburg-area theme park, will not be doing any concerts this year.

The news comes as a mild disappointment. The park generally brings in a half-dozen or more shows, and the schedule usually includes a mix of teeny-bop acts, Christian singers and some decent indie or classic rock performers. Last year featured Lynyrd Skynyrd and a Fourth of July appearance by Lee "God Bless the USA" Greenwood.

In a statement, park administration wrote: "Busch Gardens is taking a break from concerts this year to focus on the park’s growing number of events and attractions."

Source:
http://www.dailypress.com/entertainment/blog/dp-popcorn-busch-gardens-no-shows-0324-story.html
 
This kinda bums me out. They just expanded the RPT a few years ago and now it's looking to sit empty until Catacombs or Ice Palace, which are both backstage. Those concerts can create extremely high volume days for the park. I remember the day of the Victoria Justice show I couldn't even get off the exit ramp down to the parking gate. Then again cuts have to be made somewhere and as shameful as it is, the concerts are very expendable.
 
Definitely have to agree with Matthew and Brandon.

While I wasn't a huge fan of the concert choices 9 times out of 10. Those were always high volume days. (Speaking from experience of parking in Bavaria just because my dad wanted to see a concert.) SSN probably doesn't bring in nearly as many people as the concerts did. I can't speak on the ratio of how much they made compared to getting the acts there, but I would imagine that they probably made a decent amount of money those days.
 
I have never been to a concert at BGW. I won VIP seats to last years Skynrd concert and still did not go. To me, not having concerts makes absolutely no difference to my park experience. I Agree that they benefit the park by boosting attendance, but to me, they only create 'days to avoid the park'. When DMB, TOOL, Primus, Pixies, Trent Reznor, Bad Religion or Florence and the Machine show up, I will have my first BGW concert experience. So yeah, I'll never be attending one :)
 
ReggaeInMyJeggae said:
Apparently, this wasn't worth the 75-150K investment.

Shocker.


Lol. Those booking fees on those site are usually crap. I've seen artist booked at 60% (or more) less than what those sites or the initial proposal from the agent say or ask for... It's all in the negotiation.


Though I wouldn't be surprised if certain artist demanded that much for a Theme park gig...
 
Mazakman said:
I have never been to a concert at BGW. I won VIP seats to last years Skynrd concert and still did not go. To me, not having concerts makes absolutely no difference to my park experience. I Agree that they benefit the park by boosting attendance, but to me, they only create 'days to avoid the park'. When DMB, TOOL, Primus, Pixies, Trent Reznor, Bad Religion or Florence and the Machine show up, I will have my first BGW concert experience. So yeah, I'll never be attending one :)

Agree with you. We were there last year durring the Bridgette Mendler concert. It made it a pain to get around the park. It also made it a pain to get to our cabanas since the line was forming over in that area of the park.

On a side not: There was also some lady making a scene that ended up getting kicked out of the park. I actually found a partial video of her/the event online. I remembered seeing her in the morning and mentioning her to my wife. Something about her told me she was going to be trouble.
 
  • Like
Reactions: MAZ
I can now guarantee that the number of times I visit the park this year will dramatically decrease as I've always enjoyed going to the concerts if the artist is someone I like. I will probably now not renew my pass when it comes due in June as I see no need to. SSN is not a draw for me and the F&WF is OK but also not a must attend draw. If I do renew it I may wait until HOS is running and even then that will depend on how much they change it up this year.
 
I live in Williamsburg and the concerts were one of the reasons I kept an annual pass. I didn't like every band that came but there was always 1-2 each year that I wouldn't mind seeing.

Putting my personal feelings aside, if the park is going to cut back on something, concerts are probably a safe bet since they are mostly only there for the local market (only anecdotal evidence but I've noticed mostly annual pass members at the concerts and most ticketed guests didn't seem to know a concert was occurring until they got in the park). The whole event is probably very expensive, time consuming and has the potential for customer complaints (every year one concert seems to be canceled last second which always pisses people off) which may just be too much for the park to handle right now.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zimmy
Alf33 said:
I can now guarantee that the number of times I visit the park this year will dramatically decrease as I've always enjoyed going to the concerts if the artist is someone I like. I will probably now not renew my pass when it comes due in June as I see no need to. SSN is not a draw for me and the F&WF is OK but also not a must attend draw. If I do renew it I may wait until HOS is running and even then that will depend on how much they change it up this year.

Slightly off topic, but that thinking about the park worries me.

At its core, BGW is a theme park.  Its chief purpose it to provide standard theme park activities like rides, shows, food, and in the case of SEAS animals.

BGW seems to have reduced itself to a special events venue with some added attractions on the side.  I think the extension of SSN is indicative of this evolution.  When can we visit the park just to see the park?

BGW used to be special for its lovely landscaping and extensive theming.  It appears recently to be turning into a bar with an outrageous cover charge.

Maybe this is what they want?  But from my perspective, I go to theme parks to do theme park things. The occasional F&WF or HOS event is a nice addition, but NOT the primary reason I am a pass holder. As I have said before, I go to the theater for plays, musicals, ballets, etc; I go to regular concerts to see bands I like; and I go to bars to drink. I don't need to dodge a thousand strollers and pay theme park prices to do any of these things.
 
Zimmy said:
jpcommons said:
 We were there last year durring the Bridgette Mendler concert.  

What is a Bridgette Mendler?

I had never heard of her until this event. I will say that it was the most crowded I had seen the park in a long time (Note: I have not been to HOS in a while). It was crazy. People started waiting in the queue at the stadium entrance as soon as the park opened. I was happy that we had no desire to see the show. Plus, with the platinum pass, we were able to use the England entrance to skip the crazy long lines of cars trying to get to the park early to make sure they got tickets.

ETA: This show was actually in 2013. Man time flies.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zachary
Consider Donating to Hide This Ad