Christmas Town 2011
- Thread starter Bryant
- Start date
How full has the park been on Sunday nights? I think I am going tonight...with my parents (they have never been to CT).
Plan is to see Gloria at 4, then head to the Ice Palace, then head to dinner in Fest Haus and catch Deck The Halls.
After that see O Tannenbaum, and walk the park. Maybe Mach Tower...will it be open?
Do they close the line for Flight of Lights at a certain time? I know it usually has a pretty long wait...
Any tips are appreciated!!!
Plan is to see Gloria at 4, then head to the Ice Palace, then head to dinner in Fest Haus and catch Deck The Halls.
After that see O Tannenbaum, and walk the park. Maybe Mach Tower...will it be open?
Do they close the line for Flight of Lights at a certain time? I know it usually has a pretty long wait...
Any tips are appreciated!!!
Did the CT visit for the first time this year (with 3-yr old) and some of the observations. What was stuck in my head after so many summer and fall visits to the park I failed to recognize some of the limitations of the winter operations. Understandably, there was going to be the long lines of cars at the parking pay gate. Hit the exit ramp around 3:20 and it took 40 minutes to make the attendant. They only had one tram station open and it was beyond packed to ride to the park entrance... so we walked. While crowded (and still piling in) didn't feel limited in walking around. Did the Elmo show; very good for little ones! Lights were wonderful. The areas they went above and beyond were the placement of lighted trees in the woods b/w Italy and Germany with great views from the bridge. Also I always enjoy what they do with Ireland. Just like HS, all attractions are met with lines, so I had to choose wisely. My second mistaken CT winter operation, was no front access to the FestHouse. Only a side entrance and again, in cold weather versus the horrendous line, we had to miss this area and headed for the live penguin attraction. Lines again. 40 minutes later and while she was enamored with the penguins, I was shocked how small the attaction really was... three holding tanks. Crowd was actual generous and didn't push through so she got some time to view the penguins. Might consider the backstage pass purchase (unless folks recommend no?). We saved the skyride for another visit with Grandma but it was good to talk to the nice employee who was informative of the ride operation, time, photo ops, and crowd wait times. Lines didn't look too bad for Santa but again i wish the park would expand the Santa experience with a country themed Father Christmas and make me chase getting the photo op with each one in each country. The guy with the red suit was at my library, Bass Pro Shops, Candle Factory, in front of Walmart... do something extraordinary Busch Gardens! We have the expectation of a 3 time visit to CT this year and I would highly recommend to co-workers and friends.
shb5007 said:
Tip: Your plan is terrible
That's exactly what 90% of the people there are going to do. Everything will be as crowded as possible. Here are some tips I posted on FB. We've done it this way several times, even on busy days, and it works out perfectly.
Christmas Town tips:
We've been twice so far this season. Once on opening day, once on the second Saturday. Both very busy. Here are some tips for navigating the park around the crowds and accomplishing (most) of the main activities:
-Plan to either eat at the park early in the night, or eat right before you get there so you can eat late.
-Get there early. Gates/England open around 2:15. Scotland at 2:45. Ireland at 3. France 3:15.
-Try to be at each section of the park as soon as it opens to move ahead of the bulk of the crowd.
-1st stop, the penguins. France opens at 3:15 so go straight to the penguins and get in line. It appears they open the penguin exhibit at 3:30, so you should be one of the first groups in. Shouldn't wait more than 5-10 mins.
-2nd stop, Alpengeist. Short to no line.
-3rd stop, Santa. Again a short wait, possibly no line at all.
-4th stop, Festhaus. Oktoberfest doesn't open until 4 so you should be in the early part of that crowd. If you are eating early, eat now. There will be no line for food. You can get excellent up front seats for Deck the Halls at 4:30.
-After the show, it's getting dark. You've accomplished half the major attractions already, particularly getting the the indoor ones done during the daylight.
-Oktoberfest really starts to get crowded at this point. At this point you could hang around Mistletoe Marketplace, ride the rides there, or move on to Italy or back to New France. Trapper's Smokehouse really slows down after 7:00-7:30 if you wanted to eat there. (Eating at Trapper's around 7, then heading to Gloria! for the 8:30 show is a good strategy.)
-It's best to lay low for awhile and just try to relax, shop, ride rides, etc. for the next few hours. This is the busiest time at the park. If you're feeling too crowded or a line is too long, just move on and look for a shorter line or less crowded area.
-You could hit the Sesame Street show in England, or try the later show (8:30) of Gloria! You may have a pretty long wait, so get to the Abbeystone early.
-Toward the end of the night, head to Italy. If you are eating late, eat there. You can then catch the 9:30 showing of Miracles.
-After Miracles, head quickly to the front of the park and get in line for Flight of Lights before 10. There may still be a good wait, but it doesn't really matter, because everything else closes at 10.
Even on really busy nights, if you plan ahead, avoid long lines for food, drinks and rides, and stay ahead of the crowd, there's no reason you shouldn't get everything done and have an excellent time! Good luck.
Note: We've actually been 4 times so far. I wrote this up two weeks ago.
I have been to CT on Sundays and it historically has not been crowded, but since my thermometer at this moment reads 39 degrees, don't count on MT and Alpie to be open.shb5007 said:
If you go to the "Shows" Section, you can find threads based on each of the shows where people have talked about them.
Thing 342 said:
We are going down for a VIP tour, and I talked with the gentleman in charge of BGW tours for a good 1/2 hour. (Everyone in the dept is SO nice!) He said that MT has a very low WIND tolerance, but can operate safely down to 32 degrees. So, he advised us to head over to Alpie and MT early in the evening.
He also said that historically, Christmas Eve is the slowest day for them. Just thought that was good to know.
Looking forward to this tour so much! Has anyone else done it?
By the way, thanks, Shafor, for the tips!
I've been wondering if anyone would come up with a play-by-play for BGW like Touringplans.com does for Disney!
I haven't gotten the chance to get to Christmas Town this year or last season and will try by the time they close for the season.
Anyone know where I can find the flood lightbulbs that are in scottland? They aren't just blue but like a iridescent blue, it sorta changes color as you walk by it and stare at it..
Remember this post? Haha now look at Pompeii and tell me if you were right or wrong.
Atlantis said:
Remember this post? Haha now look at Pompeii and tell me if you were right or wrong.
While it's in the waning days of BG for the 2011 season, if interested, I posted some CT2011 pictures over in the Photo Forum.
Christmas Town 2011
Enjoy... and thanks for a great and wonderful BG year that you provided a Daddy and his daughter!
Christmas Town 2011
Enjoy... and thanks for a great and wonderful BG year that you provided a Daddy and his daughter!
You guys are nuts. How about just avoiding the Festhaus altogether if there is a line to get in?