Busch Gardens Williamsburg Social Media

[CastleOSullivan]

RE: BGW's Social Media

I can see how that is a problem for families with little ones. The only problem is that unlike BGT, they don't have the luxury of closing to set up props. If it truly bothers parents that much, then I think the park should try to find a way to start setting up those props at 5:30 PM, but be subtle about it. One thing Tampa does, which I always found those little bit silly, is that they use camo netting over props in the daytime. Maybe Williamsburg could do that with some of the bigger props, and at 5:30 they could have some creepy characters slyly putting that stuff out. They should remember what they learned in 2011, which was the year that they had fairly decent scare zones. You may recall, how many entertainment people could be seen going around the park, and setting up the set. If they do this however, they will have to be sure to play constant reminders that the event is not meant for young children.

 

[Party Rocker]

RE: BGW's Social Media

I believe this one to be inaccurate or misleading.

Stay away - my daughter fell of a ride there straight on her head after an employee unlocked her cart and walked away. Only two kid son the whole ride!!! The park staff was less than compassionate. Any attempts to communicate or get refunds on our passes have failed. My husband is unemployed so going was a huge deal. Disappointed after years of loving them...

My translation:

An employee was unlocking the cars on a certain ride. There were only two kids on the entire ride. One child fell while getting off the ride. The park would not refund our season passes.

This is clearly the park's fault - not. If your child tries to get off a ride and accidentally falls that is not team member error. Yes the team member could have assisted the kid off the ride; however they have to get all the cars open and ready for people to get off and then on again. If each team member for every ride stopped at every car to assist each guest on each ride, it would take up way too much time. I suggest next time, either ask for assistance instead of expecting it or just be careful getting off the ride.

 

[Party Rocker]

RE: BGW's Social Media

Not sure if anyone saw this yet. It is about a month old.

What a MAJOR disappointment Busch Gardens was. We should have known when they charged us $15.00 just to park. Entrance fee was $70 each. The place could learn SO MUCH from Disney World. It was dirty, the bathrooms stunk, the train loop showed nothing of the park. Walking between areas was terrible. No signs to indicate directions or anything. Could not find any food kiosks. Only good thing was the roller coasters. But if you are not riding the coasters, then don't waste your money. Only thing of value for us was seeing the Clydesdales and a couple of Border Collies. That was an expensive way to see big horses and two dogs. The country areas were nothing when you compare to EPCOT. MAJOR BUST AND EXPENSE. " P U" (

 

[Kitty]

RE: BGW's Social Media

^ And this is why we can't have nice things. People just don't know how to appreciate them! I LOVE the part where they said they had to walk between areas. Oh the horror!!!!! :shocked: People. I swear.:dodgy:

 

[Party Rocker]

RE: BGW's Social Media

I think it is funny how they say there were no directional signs and they could not find a food stand. There are many eateries located throughout the park! They have them listed on the back of the map! And you can ask any team member for help!

I think is is also interesting how he says the only good things were the coasters and the horses and dogs, yet when he says the price is not right for just a big horse and two dogs.

Then he goes on to compare BGW to Epcot. How can you really compare the two? One is a local/regional park open seasonally, the other is a worldwide destination center open year round. There is no comparison that can be made.

 

[Mushroom]

RE: BGW's Social Media

Then he goes on to compare BGW to Epcot. How can you really compare the two?

There was a time, Party Rocker, when, yes, they could be compared. In fact, Busch Gardens could have been considered better than Epcot in that comparison. Sadly, those times are long, long gone...

 

[Hoopla]

RE: BGW's Social Media

With hard work and determination, they could be compared again (in favor of BGW of course. ) The park just needs to get back on their feet and get themeing and quality back into their top priorities!

 

[Hoopla]

RE: BGW's Social Media

I didn't feel like finding the BGW facebook thread, so I will post this here. Has anyone noticed that on their FB page, under events it still has Pass member preview weekend. Nothing of How-o-scream. They updated the banner, the cover photo, but not the events tab. It's the little things that count!!

 

[netdvn]

RE: BGW's Social Media

For the record, if anybody falls on their head, common sense says to help out as nuch as possible (apologize, ask if they're ok, offer to call first aid) The operator working the ride either doesn't care or wasn't thinking straight. I'll side with the guest on that end.

As for the other comment. Busch is still a theme park. While I disagree about the park being awful, I will say yes everythings gonna be overpriced. Plus they shouldve bought tickets online or ahead of time instead of buying them at the gate.

 

[Party Rocker]

RE: BGW's Social Media

For the record, if anybody falls on their head, common sense says to help out as nuch as possible (apologize, ask if they're ok, offer to call first aid) The operator working the ride either doesn't care or wasn't thinking straight. I'll side with the guest on that end.

Well I was pointing out they were blaming the team member because she fell. They said nothing about he never tried to help them, in fact I think the post mentioned they said she was fine but didn't call first aid. Let me double check that; however, the way I read it was they blamed the park and the team member because they apparently thought that the team member caused their daughter to fall.

EDIT: So I re-read it, sounds like the team member unlocked the door, then went to unlock the other door, and while the team member was busy her child tried getting out by themselves and fell. In no way is that the fault of the team member; however, the team member should have gone back checked to see if she was okay and called first aid if needed. The team member probably saw that she was not bleeding all over the place and assumed she was fine, which is not right but it happens. Both parties are at fault but for different reasons than stated.

 

[SukaVayne]

RE: BGW's Social Media

For the record, if anybody falls on their head, common sense says to help out as nuch as possible (apologize, ask if they're ok, offer to call first aid) The operator working the ride either doesn't care or wasn't thinking straight. I'll side with the guest on that end.

Well I was pointing out they were blaming the team member because she fell. They said nothing about he never tried to help them, in fact I think the post mentioned they said she was fine but didn't call first aid. Let me double check that; however, the way I read it was they blamed the park and the team member because they apparently thought that the team member caused their daughter to fall.

EDIT: So I re-read it, sounds like the team member unlocked the door, then went to unlock the other door, and while the team member was busy her child tried getting out by themselves and fell. In no way is that the fault of the team member; however, the team member should have gone back checked to see if she was okay and called first aid if needed. The team member probably saw that she was not bleeding all over the place and assumed she was fine, which is not right but it happens. Both parties are at fault but for different reasons than stated.

Also with this team members have to direct to so called accident these patrons refused any first aide or treatment, now they wanna bring it up after the incident solely guests fault

 

[BGWScream]

RE: BGW's Social Media

Ted Marriner
So, what was the deal yesterday? We've lived in Hampton Roads since 1991 and have visited the park many times including for Howl-O-Scream. Yesterday, half the rides not even manned with employees when we got there. Loch Ness broken most of the day, never did get to ride it. Apollo's Chariot closed. Drop Zone closed. Many games and food locations closed. Couldn't get half the games in the arcade to accept your tokens. Then the bees/hornets on two different rides. Very surprised someone couldn't get a can of Raid and solve that one in five minutes. Instead, your employees just kept making announcements about the bees. Then Alpengeist strands several cars of riders on the tracks for 20 minutes. Might be time to stop concentrating so much on Howl-O-Scream and get back to basics. Made for a very poor experience. Not to mention your scare actors going way overboard near the clock tower. I like Halloween and enjoy the scary aspect of it. Saw a girl, about 12 get scared enough to be crying. In years past your actors would back off. This year, two more came over and ganged up on her. Her Mom had to grab her and hugged her in tight as the girl was crying her eyes out and your actors just kept yelling at her. Some folks in the crowd actually moved to block your actors and told them to back off. Need to instruct your actors on what is acceptable and what is going too far. Really disappointed in this last trip to your park.

Was their anybody else at the park yesterday who can verify some of what Mr. Marriner said with the rides?

 

[Nicole]

RE: BGW's Social Media

Sigh. Yes, I was there and I can address some of these claims. I arrived at about 11:30 and stayed until close.

1. Rides not manned. We never saw any unmanned rides, during the day. We did not pay that much attention to them after 6pm, however. Once HOS started, the only rides we went on were the Sky Ride and Train. The train was unmanned for a few minutes at about 10:30 pm.

2. Roller Coasters. I rode all of the coasters, so I know for a fact that they were all running for a while. We hit Loch Ness around 1:45. I did see the train stuck halfway up the lift hill round 5:30. Don't know when it happened. I rode AC at around 4:00, and I saw it running at 10:30. No idea what happened on Alpie. I rode it at about 12:30, I think.

3. Mach Tower. Yes. Down. I did see them testing it though.

4. Games and food. I didn't notice the games or arcades at all. I didn't notice any closed eateries either. Maybe some of the small carts?

5. Wasps. I have been waiting for this one. Yes. Yes. Yes. There was a huge swarm of wasps along the entire turn around at the top of the first drop on Griffon. They were flying around everywhere and must have been riled up, given all of the coaster cars. The ride attendants did warn us (about a "nest" not a swarm). There were also wasps (I think) on the first lift hill on AC. They did NOT warn us about those. Maybe they didn't know. I thought they should have stopped both rides and done something about it, before someone got stung. I bet their lawyers agree.

6. Scare Actors. Do I need to address this? If you bring your child into HOS, expect her to be scared. That is what you just paid $70 for. It is their job. That said, no idea about what really happened in this specific case.

 

[chickenking]

RE: BGW's Social Media

I spent an hour and a half in RR and I witnessed multiple scares in the way that is described above. I applaud them! Excellent job!! All of the actors on RR are really cool. They even added a few more this weekend.

 

[BGWScream]

RE: BGW's Social Media

I'm glad to hear that they are stepping up the scares.

 

[netdvn]

RE: BGW's Social Media

Went yesterday with three other friends. Two from PA and a local.

- All the rides were staffed well (except DarKastle not using its second unload).
- I do know Loch Ness was experiencing electrical issues and went down a few times. From what I was told, there was a full on power loss leading to everyone getting evac'ed off the ride at one point.
- Wasps nest on Apollo and Griffon. Apollo did announcements about it when we rode. Griffon, not so much. It was much worse on Apollo though.
- Actors did a great job as usual. Of the three HOS events I've visited (2011 to today) this is definitely shaping up to by my fave.
- Fastpasses really helped us bypass all the lines all day.
- Saw a few people from the forums. Great seeing you guys again.
Everyone had a fantastic time despite it being unbearably hot and the park at critical mass.

 

[SukaVayne]

RE: BGW's Social Media

Yes wasps even today on Griffon they made announcement.

Scare actors stepped up especially in ROAE I applaud all of the scare squad yesterday and today.

Heard wasps will be taken care of, also yesterday had a great time meeting up with Nic and the others, thanks for making my friend Rudy's first ever HOS an awesome one.

Should get together soon and do it again

 

[Party Rocker]

RE: BGW's Social Media

And the complaints start to roll in:

We really missed the one-two-three pumpkin rating scale used in the past at Howl O Scream. We had a broad age range in our family and were sorry to see that the family-friendly spooks, like the haunted train and the other one-pumpkin shows, see to have been eliminated completely. It seems much less of a unique, all ages welcome, event, and much more similar to the vast number of teenage and adult oriented haunted houses that we can find all over the area.

We did not find it to be a positive change to this event. Next year you should consider reinstating the ratings and a few kid-friendly spook houses. Or just have something special in Elmo's area at night for the littlest ones.

Seriously? Hot nurses <Inoculation Station> with hot pink bras and exposed breasts at a FAMILY amusement park? Leave the half-dressed women for MTV. Absolutely shocked and disgusted.

Some comments under the posts:

Not a priss or a prude. Swimsuits at a water park are one thing. But "costumes" with short skirts, gartered stocking, boobs popping out of hot pink bras, geez I wouldn't expect that at a family venue. You are right; before 6 p.m. it's toddler town. After 6 p.m., it's tweens, teens and parents. Really, what purpose does half-dressed served in this spooky venue? For that matter, where are the half-dressed male counterparts?

Well, it has always advertised itself as a family friendly park and in the past, I saw it pretty crowded wit lots of kids of all ages. They used to make plenty of money. I'm not sure how this gave my kid a chance to experience anything Halloween, as we left when it got too scary and there was nothing for him. All it was ll day was the same park we saw all summer, so not really something for everyone.

Well, I can tell you it used to be. I have not been in a few years, but about 5 years ago, they specifically had the one-pumpkin offerings, shows, and the train, geared towards young children. It was DEFINITELY a family event in the past.

My reply to them coming soon . . .

 

[chickenking]

RE: BGW's Social Media

It occurs to me with all of the comments on them that the wasps should be employed with the Scare Squad. They seem to scare the $h!utz out of everyone. No more choke points in 13, etc. Have one naughty clown walking around with a wasp nest and/or beehive. The bees!!

 

[Applesauce]

RE: BGW's Social Media

Seriously? Hot nurses <Inoculation Station> with hot pink bras and exposed breasts at a FAMILY amusement park? Leave the half-dressed women for MTV. Absolutely shocked and disgusted.

Some comments under the posts:

Not a priss or a prude. Swimsuits at a water park are one thing. But "costumes" with short skirts, gartered stocking, boobs popping out of hot pink bras, geez I wouldn't expect that at a family venue. You are right; before 6 p.m. it's toddler town. After 6 p.m., it's tweens, teens and parents. Really, what purpose does half-dressed served in this spooky venue? For that matter, where are the half-dressed male counterparts?

(I was going to bring this one up earlier, but decided not to. Cause I didn't want to waste my time, but since it was brought up I'll speak.)

I have two complaints about this one.

1, apparently if you're an adult, who isn't married (or not married with kids)with kids, you don't matter.

2, you can't complain about the nurse's outfits for being too sexy and then want male versions. The world doesn't work that way. There should be male nurses (or something equivalent) there, to even out the playing field, sure. But, don't go around saying that they shouldn't be wearing those outfits only to want something equally revealing on a different gender.