Busch Gardens Williamsburg Christmas Town 2023

[Thriller]

What prevents Winterfest from ever overtaking Christmastown are 2 things.

1. The overall low quality of Winterfest shows. Most shows are midway shows that the audience has to stand through. Busch has four full production shows in sit down venues (they used to have 5)

2. No transport rides. The train ride at Busch is a major attraction for the event. As well as the skyway.

These are two main reasons in general that KD cannot fully compete with BGW among the non thrill market of customers during the regular season.

 

[nick]

I do wish they’d St. Nix the express and return to simple transport. I guess they’d need multiple trains running. I haven’t paid attention recently to the number of trains.

 

[Zachary]

What prevents Winterfest from ever overtaking Christmastown are 2 things.

1. The overall low quality of Winterfest shows. Most shows are midway shows that the audience has to stand through. Busch has four full production shows in sit down venues (they used to have 5)

2. No transport rides. The train ride at Busch is a major attraction for the event. As well as the skyway.

These are two main reasons in general that KD cannot fully compete with BGW among the non thrill market of customers during the regular season.

I think Kings Dominion closes the show gap with a wide variety of other distraction and diversion-type attractions that BGW is many, many years behind in. Ice skating, the petting zoo, letters to Santa, crafts, cookie decorating, etc.

I do completely agree about the transportation/leisure ride situation though. That category of attractions is absolutely killer for winter events at parks and, just by the fact that BGW has two of the best transportation offerings in the industry, they're going to automatically have a HUGE advantage over literally almost anyone else.

 

[Nicole]

KD is killing BGW in the culinary department, in my opinion. And I, personally, prefer their lights overall (there are specific exceptions).

 

[TheCoasterNerd]

How crowded do you think it will be on Christmas Day? I'm hoping to go

 

[Zachary]

Historically Christmas Day proper has been notably less crowded than the days surrounding it.

 

[nick]

How crowded do you think it will be on Christmas Day? I'm hoping to go

For anyone interested, these tools are normally helpful:
Queue Times
Thrill Data

 

[Coasternerd]

Well I finally got to go to Christmas Town last night this year. We arrived late so we only had about 4 hours, but we were able to get dinner at Trapper’s, which, surprisingly, was delicious. Probably helped we got fresh everything, food wise. Also did the express. It was nice to see the green train running last night! Then we saw Scrooge No More. All I can say is… Fezziwig and his wife need to tone down the dramatics… they sound like they’re on helium. Now I know their character’s have always been a bit more dramatic, but when they say literally every single line in a voice that sounds like helium… it’s painful. Now for Gloria. Same amazing show, albeit scaled down a bit. Better with a full orchestra, obviously, but it was still as good as it always has.

 

[Mushroom]

All I can say is… Fezziwig and his wife need to tone down the dramatics… they sound like they’re on helium. Now I know their character’s have always been a bit more dramatic, but when they say literally every single line in a voice that sounds like helium… it’s painful.

So glad you said this — glad I’m not the only one who feels this way. The over-the-top shrill these characters have this year is really irritating, and makes it impossible to understand what they’re saying. Not sure if it’s the actors’ choice or the director’s choice, but if this show returns next year, they need to dial these characters back.

That said, I want to take a moment to shout out the performer playing Scrooge this year. He’s fantastic. Both his singing and acting are really good. I’ve seen this show every year it’s been on (9 years? Holy crap…) and I think this Scrooge is easily one of the best they’ve had. Only the original Scrooge from 2014, who honestly was way too good to have ever been performing at a theme park, might have been better. Bravo!

 

[Coasternerd]

Aside from the shrill issues with Fezziwig and his wife in Scrooge No More, it’s the same great show as always. Just this year a little annoying because of those characters.

I will also second the notion of the actor playing Scrooge—absolutely fantastic. He perfectly plays Scrooge, right down to the attitude. The vocalists in the show are also great. However, I still prefer Gloria, even in its scaled down form.

Gloria gave me chills watching it in the abbeystone theater again, because it finally felt right that Gloria was back in the theater. Would I like it to have more of its orchestra back? Absolutely. Is it still an amazing show? Hell yeah. I hope it returns next year with its more full sized orchestra. Otherwise this may have been one of my favorite Christmas town experiences in recent years.

I unfortunately did not get to see the Celtic Christmas trio, but due to the showtimes of Scrooge and Gloria, with our lack of time, I wasn’t able to. Guess I have to go back, haha!

 

[ciffar]

Christmas Town was amazing. There's always a little bit to complain about the bathroom, conspicuous show graphics, etc. but overall it was great this year. The only thing I can majorly complain about is the Polar Pathway: Spectacle of Lights show that looks horrible. Don't waste your time and money on things people don't like! The new tree isn't as bad as made out to be, just not as impressive, but overall, I think the lighting look good enough to satisfy just about everyone (even though there's always room for improvement!)

Just one aside: if anyone wants to complain about Darkoaster's capacity, feel free to cite that it literally fits less people per run than Prince Elmo's Spire. That must at least mean something.

 

[Zachary]

I think anyone who was at the park tonight would immediately attest to the fact that the park was bending and breaking under the weight of the event. Week of Christmas + Good Weather + Day After Cancelled Night was a recipe for catastrophe.

Lines of all types were out of control. Paths were packed shoulder to shoulder. Restaurants were running out of food. Lights were out all over. Rides were down. Parking was, of course, an endurance sport. Security was backed up further than the eye could see. The list goes on and on. It was exceptional in every sense.

That said, while tonight was, undoubtedly, exceptional, I do think it highlights the need for more ways to expand the footprint this event—especially on popular nights. It seems to be time to revisit ideas like the Brass Band in the back of Festa to draw more people back there (alongside operating La Cucina!) and the Christmas Tree Trail or equivalent to draw people into what are typically backstage areas for specialty diversion-type attractions.

I also think that tonight showed the immense folly of things like Spectacle of Lights. Even if the show was any good, the congestion it caused through what was already one of the most brutal walkways in all of Christmas Town is unacceptable. Honestly, if the show was good, it may even be worse.

I adore the Celtic Trio and desperately hope it remains, but I think it should be moved to an at least lightly renovated Pet Shenanigans theater for 2024—at least on non-lightly attended nights. Having another venue where the park can shove people would be a great asset by itself, but clearing the Killarney paths (yet another constantly packed hamlet) of a very popular show that stops all traffic flow would be an enormous, and in my opinion, borderline essential, upgrade.

Perhaps most importantly, dining remains a horrible chokepoint for this event. Despite the immense crowds, the park was full of closed restaurants tonight. Grogan's, Pigs in a Kilt, Les Fries, La Cucina, and others are NEEDED on nights like tonight. Frankly, even if they were serving prepackaged crap, at least it would be something—and it really seemed like a lot of folks tonight really were just looking for something.

I understand the park was operating in full-on crisis mode tonight. The park needs to get way better at bending to accommodate these crises nights better though—and restoring some of the elements we lost during COVID as well as making some minor adjustments elsewhere would really go a long way for 2024.

 

[ciffar]

About the Spectacle of Lights, maybe if they let people walk in the queue of Pompeii or something it could be a good diversion.

Speaking of the closed rides and restaurants you mentioned, how is the staffing situation at BGW looking as well?

And one more thing - who is behind the idea to make the train only have 1 stop and then get the lines up to an hour? Just make it a transportation ride as usual!

 

[wyldbill]

We drove all the way down from Pa first time for christmastown, was raining last night so didnt go. Tonight was just insane, totally packed it was butts to nuts everywhere you went, is it always like this? Lines were insane most were 1 hour long we got on 2 rides, saw most of the shows, didnt even eat, did not want to wait in thoes lines. Why were the parking lot trams not running? Had to walk all the way from england/italy lots. Gonna try again tommorow hope its at least a little less crowded.

 

[horsesboy]

We drove all the way down from Pa first time for christmastown, was raining last night so didnt go. Tonight was just insane, totally packed it was butts to nuts everywhere you went, is it always like this? Lines were insane most were 1 hour long we got on 2 rides, saw most of the shows, didnt even eat, did not want to wait in thoes lines. Why were the parking lot trams not running? Had to walk all the way from england/italy lots. Gonna try again tommorow hope its at least a little less crowded.

It's not always like that but it's usually pretty packed once you get to Christmas and New Years especially in nice weather. It's going to be just as bad tonight so get there early

 

[warfelg]

I understand the park was operating in full-on crisis mode tonight. The park needs to get way better at bending to accommodate these crises nights better though—and restoring some of the elements we lost during COVID as well as making some minor adjustments elsewhere would really go a long way for 2024.

I hate when parks end up having to operate on this mode. I really wish at times there were a few built in "weather nights" where if you had your night cancelled, you could go on this night rather than the next night (or any).

 

[Nicole]

Once upon a time, in a galaxy far, far away, BGW marketing and operations teams were actively looking for ways to address the consistent and growing CT capacity problem. In 2016, they introduced dynamic ticket pricing to provide incentives for going on less popular days and opened additional hamlets and rides to accommodate the greater demand.

Christmas Town 2016 Discount Tickets – BGWFans

Busch Gardens Williamsburg announces their plan for Christmas Town 2016 discount tickets: innovative new dynamic pricing.

bgwfans.com

I'm not sure exactly why the drive to find creative solutions seems to have gone by the wayside. Changes in leadership? COVID? A lack of measurable impact in the past? Regardless, I think everyone needs to remember that there was a time when active measures were being taken to attempt to manage this perennial problem.

 

[Celticdog]

Last week BG discounted single day ticket prices. It only adds to the congestion this week. Its an absolutely dumb move by management, especially during a week that has historically been very busy.

 

[Ultrasuede]

Its probably a lack of workers. And by probably....

 

[tursiops]

I think anyone who was at the park tonight would immediately attest to the fact that the park was bending and breaking under the weight of the event. Week of Christmas + Good Weather + Day After Cancelled Night was a recipe for catastrophe.

Lines of all types were out of control. Paths were packed shoulder to shoulder. Restaurants were running out of food. Lights were out all over. Rides were down. Parking was, of course, an endurance sport. Security was backed up further than the eye could see. The list goes on and on. It was exceptional in every sense.

That said, while tonight was, undoubtedly, exceptional, I do think it highlights the need for more ways to expand the footprint this event—especially on popular nights. It seems to be time to revisit ideas like the Brass Band in the back of Festa to draw more people back there (alongside operating La Cucina!) and the Christmas Tree Trail or equivalent to draw people into what are typically backstage areas for specialty diversion-type attractions.

I also think that tonight showed the immense folly of things like Spectacle of Lights. Even if the show was any good, the congestion it caused through what was already one of the most brutal walkways in all of Christmas Town is unacceptable. Honestly, if the show was good, it may even be worse.

I adore the Celtic Trio and desperately hope it remains, but I think it should be moved to an at least lightly renovated Pet Shenanigans theater for 2024—at least on non-lightly attended nights. Having another venue where the park can shove people would be a great asset by itself, but clearing the Killarney paths (yet another constantly packed hamlet) of a very popular show that stops all traffic flow would be an enormous, and in my opinion, borderline essential, upgrade.

Perhaps most importantly, dining remains a horrible chokepoint for this event. Despite the immense crowds, the park was full of closed restaurants tonight. Grogan's, Pigs in a Kilt, Les Fries, La Cucina, and others are NEEDED on nights like tonight. Frankly, even if they were serving prepackaged crap, at least it would be something—and it really seemed like a lot of folks tonight really were just looking for something.

I understand the park was operating in full-on crisis mode tonight. The park needs to get way better at bending to accommodate these crises nights better though—and restoring some of the elements we lost during COVID as well as making some minor adjustments elsewhere would really go a long way for 2024.

This is nuts to imagine. I was at Busch Gardens Tampa today and it was insane with everything open. I can hardly imagine how miserable williamsburg was.

Today in Tampa food lines were probably close to an hour. After 11am ride lines were over an hour with Cobras Curse peaking at 3 hours and 25 minutes. 75 minutes for Grover coaster.

SEAS in general has to figure out how to deal with demand or limit tickets. The product they are delivering is unacceptable to paying guests.