I was going to stay out of this but then reality hit. Let's face it....Do any of us REALLY think BGW is going to invest tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars creating a lounge? They won't even invest in re-opening attractions they chose to close. Like DarKastle or the Rhine candy shop. I just don't see it happening even as good an idea as it is.
Call for Ideas: New Membership Program Perks
- Thread starter Nicole
- Start date
To be fair, this is a thread dedicated to ideas. There is no presumption that these ideas will be put into place. That's why "it won't happen" isn't usually a criticism used in these types of threads, since that defeats the purpose.
When I’m thinking “secret” I done mean limited knowledge. I mean not having a front to a members only area that screams “YOU CANT CONE IN HERE HAHAHA.” Like think Club 33 areas in dDisney. We all know it’s there but it’s a discreet door you could easily pass if you weren’t looking for it.
I personally believe that it could be done with a much lower price tag then what you are thinking. I would think that the answer is that it depends on what the park thinks the return on the investment is. Given the interest on this forum which the park may or may not be still following its possible that they might see it as something that would add value to a membership or even as a higher membership only perk that could be used to attract more people to buy. Also unlike DK and the candy shop which were continually using resources its possible that the running expenses might ber very low especially if sponsored by coke or some one.
I'd like to think you are right horseboy. I'd like to see a lounge as much as everybody else. I guess my point is we need to think about other perks. I mean how much time do we dedicate to one idea? We need to be thinking of ideas (with an "S"). We've talked about the lounge idea for 2 seasons. Can't we come up with anything else? If we come up with some reasonable, less expensive ideas maybe they will listen.
Ive been wanting to mention Club 33 but didnt want to get slammed for comparing anything here to Disney again. But the exact way Club 33 works is how a members lounge should work at BGE. Nondescript door that you enter into a small room where your membership is confirmed and you are escorted inside.....well at least the old entrance. Not sure how it works now that its moved to the Court of Angels since when I havent been inside since it was moved.
I would be happy if they just did more passholder nights liek they did a couple seasons ago. We had a absolute blast at WCUSA, tons od free icecream, drinks and other snacks. There was a band, cant remember if it was Slapwater or someone very much like them and they were open late. We rode, had snacke, rode some more, danced a little, rode some more....its was great. Now the one they had at BGW with the DJ near the drink stand by InVadr....there were more non passholders than passholders.....and they won most of the prizes. Honestly though I dont blame them as some near where we were standing had no idea it was a passholder event and there was no real direction from the park in what it was.
I think Zachary’s original response to this thread has some good ideas about how a lounge could be profitable. Give it a highly visible location to make it a prime advertisement for memberships, sell plenty of alcohol and sodas (or even special park merch), and let Coke sponsor the hell out of it. Lots of potential ROI on this proposed lounge.
Discussion of a members lounge doesn't preclude discussion of other ideas. Since the members lounge idea has remained a productive discussion for two seasons, it's obviously not yet a stale concept. If you'd like to see other ideas discussed, feel free to introduce some ideas and I'm sure discussion will follow.
I'm glad you mentioned that post because I had meant to comment on it - I completely agree with you about the swag. Like you mentioned in a subsequent post, the BGW swag included with membership should be branded by BGW only and not include another company's logo. At what point does partnering with another company (in this case Coke) become selling out to that company? BGW seems to be crossing that line, if it hasn't already. An off-topic example of over-advertising can be found near Griffon. One of the positive features of Griffon is the 6 second pause at the top of the hill before the first drop, where you have a great aerial view of the park. Then they added the giant Coke bottle on the sidewalk below, which drew my eyes away from the park directly to that huge red eyesore. I would expect this type of overt advertising at an amusement park, but theme parks need to be more careful about their advertising to ensure it doesn't cheapen the experience. Tying this tangent back to the membership swag, items are cheapened when a non-BGW brand is present on them.
I completely agree, did I keep my Coke sunglasses...nope but I did put away my St Patricks BGW branded swag to keep. I dont mind some advertising items in theming but when it overtakes a area its too much. Wasnt the giant coke bottle painted for some coke event? If so it was cool.....for one day but then it should have gone away. I wouldnt even mind it the swag was BGW branded with a small coke bottle image, just enough to remind you but not to be the basic sole branding of a gift item from the park. The Sprite beanies were perfect examples. Now if they were BGW branded mainly with a small sprite emblem that would be ok for me. Sure I would prefer no outside branding but I think if the park went that route we would get nothing.
I'm still not understanding the need to complain about something free.
Even though it's technically free, I feel it should have sufficient value tied to the thing you're purchasing (in this case, a certain level of access to a specific park, which includes, among other perks, the swag). By "value," I don't mean something gold plated and ridiculously expensive - just that it should reflect the park's brand since that's the thing you're paying for. Since you're purchasing the park experience, with the expectation that you will receive certain advantages that non-member guests don't receive, it's my opinion that the swag should be reflective of that experience. Items branded with the Coke logo, or any logo other than that of the park aren't reflective of the BGW experience, and therefore don't carry the same value. To be honest, if I wanted Coke swag I could probably just request it directly from the company and they'd be happy to send me something.
Its not "free". They advertised membership perks throughout the year as part of the membership that I pay every month for......so I pay for this. Think of it like this....you pay to join a gym and as part of the membership they advertise that you get perks for joining. Then they send out a mailer saying there will be exclusive health and diet classes every month on certain days. Then you show up on thse days to find out its a just Hello Fresh handing out a placemat plastered with Hello Fresh logo all over it. I just think that the largest logo on what ever it is should be either Seaworld Parks or Busch Gardens Va. I attended something at Aguatica a few years ago and they gave us an amazing assortment or swag from across the brand. Refillable plant based park water bottles (same as BGW uses for refill program), pens, note pads, keychains, lip balm, some phone credit card thingy, highlighters, lanyards, and some other odds and ends.....everything had only the Seas brands on them other than the refillable bottle which had a very small coke logo at the bottom. This is what BGW swag should be.
I guess we can scratch one idea off the list of swag for 2019. Got a postcard from BGW today reminding of the member sneak peek on March 16. What caught my eye though is the following quote....."Exclusive Member Souvenir Drink Reward Offer: 2 for $22 available April 3, 4, 7, 12 & 28". So, based on that I assume we will be paying $11 each for some sort of souvenir drink bottle. I also find it curious that if it is a member souvenir offer; why is not for sale at the Member Sneak Peek day on March 16?
It goes on to announce the Finnegan's Flyer "opening in May". I guess that gives them 31 days to choose from.
It goes on to announce the Finnegan's Flyer "opening in May". I guess that gives them 31 days to choose from.
Forgot about this!, not sure if this helped influence the new pin program in any way at all or not, but it's nice to think that this might have helped in the smallest amount.
Yeah, I was just saying it's nice to think that my original post from the park asking for ideas from members might have helped in the smallest amount with their decision, but I know they didn't start this entire program solely because of me lol ¯\(ツ)/¯