Celtic Fyre: A Christmas Celebration

[Zachary]

Celtic Fyre: A Christmas Celebration?

It's really good. It's still very much Celtic Fyre, but they changed just enough to justify the show. Better yet, the additions are good and fit with the show perfectly in tone.

 

[CastleOSullivan]

Celtic Fyre was very fun overall. With just a few tweaks to the preshow, the show could feel a lot less disappointing to people who were expecting an all-new show. Just have the innkeeper say that they’re hosting a wedding and it’s Christmas, so there will be some Christmas stories later on.

Otherwise, I love how they added some Christmas instruments to the pre-recorded soundtrack in The Parting Glass. It was fairly subtle, and a lot of people will probably miss it but it was very cool to hear.

 

[Mushroom]

if it doesn't improve, they're going to have a five alarm fire on their hands.

This is BGW we're talking about, so be careful using that metaphor

For those who couldn't attend this weekend, can anyone give a breakdown of Celtic Fyre Christmas Celebration? Did any of the songs change? New dialogue? Just how similar is it to main season CF? Also: please tell me they sang "Christmas in Killarney."

 

[Zachary]

For those who couldn't attend this weekend, can anyone give a breakdown of Celtic Fyre Christmas Celebration? Did any of the songs change? New dialogue? Just how similar is it to main season CF?

It is VERY similar. There are some slight tweaks throughout the show, but the only major changes are that Finnegan's Wake and Wild Rover have been replaced with Christmas-y "drinking" songs and there's now a "post-credits" encore song that utilizes the entire cast.

People who like Celtic Fyre will like Celtic Fyre: A Christmas Celebration—so Entertainment nailed it in my book. The tone is all correct for the show—it doesn't feel cheapened. That was my main concern.

Would I have prefered to see the wedding storyline replaced with a storyline set around a Christmas gathering amongst friends at the Celtic Fyre Inn? For sure. That said, I don't know if the park has the talent/desire/budget to pull off that dramatic of an overhaul right now—so I'm happy with what we have.

 

[Nicole]

From BGW’s site:

Celtic Fyre returns for the first-time ever during Christmas Town™!

Voted USA Today’s #1 Theme Park Entertainment, the encore performance adds Christmas flair with a new twist on a Killarney classic. Let your heart dance right along as festive holiday music and the pure energy of Irish dance explode onstage in one of our most popular shows ever.

Celtic Fyre®: A Christmas Celebration | Christmas Town Entertainment | Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Celtic Fyre returns for the first-time ever during Christmas Town™! Voted USA Today’s #1 Theme Park Entertainment, the encore performance adds Christmas flair with a new twist on a Killarney classic.

buschgardens.com

 

[horsesboy]

I went last night with family that oy visit around Thanksgiving or Christmas and as such have never seen Celtic Fyre. The joy of watching it with someone that hasn't seen it before really brings out how special this show is.

 

[CoasterAuditor]

Anyone else feel like the CT crowd isn’t really about the clapping part? Maybe I just got a lame batch of people when I went Tuesday last week. I’m glad they decided Celtic Fyre should be featured at Christmas Town such an excellent show.

 

[Alf33]

Some pictures of the show from Friday.

 

[super7]

Is this show only capable of one script over 10 plus years? Having the same show as summer only showcases how little SEAS is putting into the entertainment dept these days.

 

[RollyCoaster]

Celtic Fyre slander will not be tolerated. It’s the Loch Ness Monster of shows at the park at this point. It’s older than something like 10(?) rides built since the shows debut and it’s better than most of them lol

 

[horsesboy]

Is this show only capable of one script over 10 plus years? Having the same show as summer only showcases how little SEAS is putting into the entertainment dept these days.

While I personally would have liked a few more tweaks to it to make it more Christmasy I think your comment is entirely unfair to the entertainment department. They were in the middle of their TWO biggest events with HalloScream and Christmas Town and were debuting FIVE new in the the course of those of 3 months. As well as 3 complex returning shows. I think that with that work load small conservative changes is fairly reasonable and better then rushing to do a massive remake.

 

[warfelg]

I feel like asking for CF to change over its course of 10 years is like seeing the same musical on tour every year and asking why don’t they change it.

CF is still immensely popular. I’ve gone with people that see it every time and people that have never seen it and usually people have a positive take-away from the show.

 

[Zachary]

To be fair, Celtic Fyre has changed over the years—sometimes for the better (this iteration, in my opinion) and sometimes for the worse (remember Celtic Fyre, Dog Edition?).

I've long been an advocate of not allowing actual theatrical productions to become park staples like this (see Feinds, Gloria, and Celtic Fyre) so I sorta understand @super7's position. Any park that is not looking to plus itself regularly is a park in decline.

Unfortunately, I sincerely believe that—especially in regards to entertainment—BGW is a park in decline. Given that, in my opinion, the best thing we can often hope for is, sadly, stagnation. Does ANYONE think BGW is currently capable of producing a new show today that is even on the same tier as Celtic Fyre? I really don't. Thus, though stagnation is poisonous, it is still the most effective path to guest experience harm reduction by my assessment.

 

[warfelg]

@Zachary I do get your point on stagnation being poisonous; and I think that it's a good and bad thing for them. It's good because Celtic Fyre is really good so there's no little pressure to change it, especially as it's popular. But not pressing to improve makes a show feel older and dated easily.

I feel as entertainment sees their budget slipping, maintaining the quality of a few shows is big.

 

[Click]

I feel like asking for CF to change over its course of 10 years is like seeing the same musical on tour every year and asking why don’t they change it.

I don't know. I've often hoped for a version of Phantom of the Opera where he turns out to be a fairly good looking fellow.

 

[super7]

IMO Celtic Fyre is a super high-quality show for a theme park (except for the horrible bar song segment). BGW definitely needs to keep an Irish dancing show of the same quality.

However, the same basic show (yes they have made small tweaks but nothing significant) running for as long as this has run is just stale. There is so much different Irish-style music that would freshen up this show. A new story line. But all of that costs $ to reproduce. I realize that Irish dancing choreography is limited, but this show is definitely due for a change.

Using the summer show for this season is 100% a budget cutting move. It sounds like the only changes are vocalist-related and they didn't even bother to re-choreography the dancers for this Christmas show. This is disappointing. They were advertising the show as "New." It's definitely not.

BGW entertainment has went through a significant decline in recent years. Examples. The elimination of full production "Miracles" with its low-production replacements, the elimination of the orchestra in "Gloria" changing to "Unto Us". Replacing full production "Britmania" with subcontracted sideshows. Replacing (although it was absolutely horrible) "Fiends" with a DJ show. All of these changes have less entertainers, and less production. Pure budget cuts. Just about anything in the Teatro di San Marco in the recent years has been purely low budget.

It's obvious how SEAS runs their company more by budget cutting than trying to attract people with a top quality day. The staggered park opening, outright ride closure without replacement (DarKastle) and reduced operating hours are prime examples of this.

I used to feel there wasn't enough time in a day to experience the entertainment and attractions at BGW. This was mainly because of the show quality and there were several shows worth seeing multiple times. Now I feel like there are only 1 or 2 shows worth seeing on a visit and seeing them once is enough. Everything can be done in a day with time left over.

I think anymore BGW and KD are in a "race to the bottom" instead of trying to outdo each other. One park is doing what the other is getting away with. KD cutting their hours back like Busch, Busch cutting their entertainment back like KD. KD closing major rides without replacement like Busch.

At least BGW is the "most beautiful park in the world" with the weed-filled Colonial Pipeline running right through the center lol.

 

[Jonesta6]

think anymore BGW and KD are in a "race to the bottom" instead of trying to outdo each other. One park is doing what the other is getting away with. KD cutting their hours back like Busch, Busch cutting their entertainment back like KD. KD closing major rides without replacement like Busch.

I don't see it this way, I see it as CF by way of KD is starting to finally care more about CX over just pure thrill rides and money grabbing.

KD limited hours so they can ensure max staffing so everything could be open at regular capacity - shorter lines = happier guests. This is how a company adjusted based on 'the great resignation' trend that affects almost all employers.

KD isn't the jewel of the CF chain and arguably doesn't deserve regular huge capex spending for new attractions as much as other parks - not saying they shouldn't get anything but insane layout rides kinda died with I305 not necessarily increasing attendance/revenue (this is a guess, no hard evidence). CF inherited KD from Paramount whom liked to install prototype rides that were ultimately not made for the use/abuse they received and were on the whole fairly unreliable and potentially becoming safety hazards. Thus the logical conclusion is they scrapped the busted attractions and are awaiting funding for any large replacements... If that's the direction they choose to go over more experiences and smaller flats, etc.

 

[Coasternerd]

Anyone else feel like the CT crowd isn’t really about the clapping part? Maybe I just got a lame batch of people when I went Tuesday last week. I’m glad they decided Celtic Fyre should be featured at Christmas Town such an excellent show.

Who’s up for filling the Celtic fyre theater on January second for the last show (for CT) at 8:30? I am!

 

[mtpelepele]

Has anyone ever heard Earth Wind and Fire's Christmas song, "December"? That's how I feel about Celtic Fyre Christmas.

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[Ice]

Imo Phantoms of the Festhaus was one of the best shows they’ve cranked out recently, I actually want to see it come back next year.

This take is so hot I had to put my phone down. Maybe when it cools off I'll agree with it.

Nope, I still think Phantoms of the Festhaus was a form of biological warfare and should never be allowed to torture the souls of those living ever again.

To keep this relevant, Celtic Fyre is the one consistently good show this park has, probably as a result of the energy the cast always manages to have. Though I agree stagnation is a bad thing, I would say change literally every other show for the better before you mess with the one good thing they have going.