Christmas Town 2019

[BGWnut]

I think the bridge from the Loch Ness Monster to Rhinefield / Land of Dragons should be open. They could decorate the stairs leading down from the Loch Ness Monster, decorate the bridge on the Rhine River, put some decorations in the River, decorate the boat docks, and decorate the path / hill leading up to the Land of Dragons. Not to mention, it would give another path through the park and ease some congestion in Ireland and by Pompeii.

As has been said the reason the park his this area closed is that it frequently gets iced over and is unsafe.

You have to consider available power. Many of the trees along the track in "unoccupied" areas such as near Boneyard Road are powered by generators. They have to have access to refuel as well as start/stop.

Once Pantheon opens, you'll have limited access areas on both sides of the river. Might be a safety issue for personnel to access the coaster areas as well.

Actually almost all of the lights in the park are powered by generators not just some of them. The park rents something like 30 large industrial trailer generators and places then all over the park.

 

[Jonesta6]

To be honest I wasn't thinking it was realistic, another problem I could see beyond the whole icy issue (I'm guessing salting the pathways would be sufficient for most nights - maybe even applying highway brine) or the power supply (even if it's small generators, my guess is they'd be able to get a staffer in a jon-boat to go around and refuel/turn on every night) would be if they're able to place anything within the RPA buffer zone.

 

[WDWRLD]

Again....by this point you would think they would be installing/upgrading the park for CT. If you look around there must be considerable time and manpower spent putting out cords and stringing them overhead to the "island" flower beds and trees.

 

[Mushroom]

Come to think of it, I don’t recall seeing many generators at WinterFest. In fact, I remember KD digging lots of new electrical lines for the event.

Not a criticism of BGW, just interesting that they’ve chosen a more temporary power solution for their event for the past decade.

 

[WDWRLD]

Yea, KD invested heavily in infrastructure for the first year. Others have mentioned here that the supply from Dominion won’t support it but i’m sure for a price Dom would make it happen.

 

[belsaas]

For large power consumers, Dominion charges based on peak wattage rather than just charging kW/h. It could be actually be cheaper for BGW to just do this instead.

What would really be cheaper is just building their own power plant on the Rhine. Preferably nuclear.

 

[Ghost of Pretzel Kaiser]

Oooooh, a Chernobyl ride!

 

[Jonesta6]

So they could go grab all of the rides at the abandoned Pripryat park, would fit the theme...

Curious where they could realistically hide that many generators without being super obvious - guessing they're also running a lot of really long cords so the generators mostly stay hidden?

 

[Ryan]

Review of last night:
Last night was.. underwhelming. I entered in expecting what was here last year, Holiday Hills, good nights and smelling some trees (kinda weird, I know). I came in and instantly got a peppermint fudge hot chocolate and saw Scrooge No More. The show was good and so was the chocolate. Next we headed over near Oktoberfest to go view potential food trucks that were there last week. None. Ok, that could’ve gone better but we ate at the steakhouse. There was no brisket platter so we settled for the sliders. The pulled pork did not seem fresh and it didn’t eat the turkey (the rest of my party got to it before me). Next after Trappers, we went through Ireland, which had just let out Gloria, which had a huge crowd walking through wolf valley. We headed back through England and out towards Sesame Street to ride the sky ride. It was enjoyable and we headed through France and New France until Germany when we got to the Cookies and Cocoa place. I could not taste the peppermint (probably my own fault for not using the mixing stick provided) and the cookies were sorta hard. Around this time we headed through the tree maze and were utterly disappointed. After this we promptly exited the park.

I don’t expect a park to be great but dang. On a low capacity night, I expected more from Busch. Overall I’d give this visit/year a 4-5/10. It may be a bit harsh but this was a complete let down.

 

[BGWnut]

So they could go grab all of the rides at the abandoned Pripryat park, would fit the theme...

Curious where they could realistically hide that many generators without being super obvious - guessing they're also running a lot of really long cords so the generators mostly stay hidden?

They are almost all in back areas of the park. The park did run wiring and a lot of infrastructure for CT. They just hook it up to the generators instead of to the power grid.

 

[mikes]

Heading there tomorrow. No cancellations this time as we have a non refundable hotel. I know it's going to be busy I bought QQ for the train and reserved seating for twas that night. I hope I'm not wasting money. I just know the crowds should be crazy with the crappy weather today

 

[halfabee]

Oooooh, a Chernobyl ride!

With all the Cherenkov radiation, it could be Christmas Town year-round!

The blue glow might look more like Hanukkah Village, though. Could O'Tator's go exclusively to serving latkes?

 

[WDWRLD]

So they could go grab all of the rides at the abandoned Pripryat park, would fit the theme...

Curious where they could realistically hide that many generators without being super obvious - guessing they're also running a lot of really long cords so the generators mostly stay hidden?

There are quite a few in the park, one is right between the smoking area and Mach Tower.

 

[DJTLG]

Curious where they could realistically hide that many generators without being super obvious - guessing they're also running a lot of really long cords so the generators mostly stay hidden?

I'm pretty sure I've seen generators along the banks of the Rhine River where the trees are lit with white lights near the Italy bridge. There's usually one behind the Germany pretzel shop hidden behind fencing. I know I've spotted others around as well.

 

[BGWnut]

I visited Christmas Town for my first visit ever this past Tuesday. I intended on writing a full trip report about the event but my experiences on Tuesday weren’t... great.

Instead of solely speaking of bad, I’d first like to speak on how much I enjoyed the shows. In my personal opinion of first to worst, I saw Gloria, Scrooge No More, ‘Twas That Night, and whatever was in the Festhaus.

All of them were quality shows. ‘Twas That Night needs some actual dialogue (tricks were awesome) before it becomes amazing; Scrooge was fantastic at story telling; Gloria was absolutely beautiful. The other show doesn’t get a mention because I didn’t think it did anything great nor poor.

So far so good, right? So far, you would be right, but you’re actually wrong because I did not like a Christmas Town.

Lights here and there, missing bulbs, displays not functioning properly, poor show schedule planning, lack of things to do, no walk around characters, etc. I didn’t think any of the light displays were all that great to be honest. No particular area stood out to me. Hot chocolate was overpriced. My food was served cold. No popcorn refills available, though they offered me to purchase a whole new bag of popcorn for the inconvenience? My Membership wouldn’t let me in at first. Not enough heaters to stay worm. I thought my train ride was a rather waste of time and resources on the parks behalf. Soundtrack was annoying, lights scattered about (half working), and the operation was horrendous.

Remove the shows from the equation and the place was a clusterfuck. Will I go again? Yes, because I don’t think one trip should dictate an entire opinion of the event. Maybe I missed things I was supposed to do, or see. First impressions are very important though, and mine were blown.

I'm sorry that you had such a terrible experience. CT is my favorite event at BGW so it saddens me when someone has a poor experience. I didn't go this past Tuesday due to the rain despite the temps being in the low 70s.

I have noticed that there is a distinct lack of heaters in the park this year. I don't know the reason but I don't normally find that I need them during CT.

I will say that having been multiple times this week that it is frustrating to see how many light displays haven't been functioning. I've seen employees working on certain ones while I'm there and then the next time I go by it seems like the broken display was fixed, but another display is now broken. Especially on the train. I really wish that they would just keep the displays but make the train transportation again and let people board at all the stations.

Some of your complaints I don't really agree with though. Personally I don't find the hot chocolate to be overpriced, especially the peppermint fudge hot chocolate. It's an item that I look forward to all year. I've tried to replicate the recipe and despite actually knowing the recipe Busch uses, I can't seem to get it just right.

All in all, despite some minor complaints I love CT. I think the light displays are beautiful, although I do wish that they would begin changing them up as @WDWRLD has suggested.

 

[WDWRLD]

I visited Christmas Town for my first visit ever this past Tuesday. I intended on writing a full trip report about the event but my experiences on Tuesday weren’t... great.

Instead of solely speaking of bad, I’d first like to speak on how much I enjoyed the shows. In my personal opinion of first to worst, I saw Gloria, Scrooge No More, ‘Twas That Night, and whatever was in the Festhaus.

All of them were quality shows. ‘Twas That Night needs some actual dialogue (tricks were awesome) before it becomes amazing; Scrooge was fantastic at story telling; Gloria was absolutely beautiful. The other show doesn’t get a mention because I didn’t think it did anything great nor poor.

So far so good, right? So far, you would be right, but you’re actually wrong because I did not like a Christmas Town.

Lights here and there, missing bulbs, displays not functioning properly, poor show schedule planning, lack of things to do, no walk around characters, etc. I didn’t think any of the light displays were all that great to be honest. No particular area stood out to me. Hot chocolate was overpriced. My food was served cold. No popcorn refills available, though they offered me to purchase a whole new bag of popcorn for the inconvenience? My Membership wouldn’t let me in at first. Not enough heaters to stay worm. I thought my train ride was a rather waste of time and resources on the parks behalf. Soundtrack was annoying, lights scattered about (half working), and the operation was horrendous.

Remove the shows from the equation and the place was a clusterfuck. Will I go again? Yes, because I don’t think one trip should dictate an entire opinion of the event. Maybe I missed things I was supposed to do, or see. First impressions are very important though, and mine were blown.

I feel like you have a accurate discription of CT 2019.

 

[BGWnut]

Maybe it’s because I’ve been to so many other Christmas events now? Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas was beautifully done. Holiday in the park was well done of the 3 I have attended. Winterfest at Carowinds, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island are all beautifully done as well. Overall, entertainment at Busch was 2nd only to Dollywood’s event. I really enjoyed the show offerings at BGW; Gloria made me tear a bit godamnit! I think I just went on an off day where everything else just wasn’t clicking. Staff was super friendly as usual on my visit though!

In regards to the hot chocolate, it’s the only hot chocolate at a Christmas event that makes you pay more than a dollar and a few cents for a refill. The hot chocolate on its own wasn’t unfairly priced, however the souvenir option seemed a bit extreme in my opinion. I’m not saying the hot chocolate wasn't tasty, because it was, but to refill the already small thermal cup at a price of $2.29(?) on the date of purchase didn’t settle well with me. Winterfest, you can buy a thermal mug and get free refills that day and $.99 refills for the rest of the event. Same pricing applies with Holiday in the park. I can even reuse those mugs the very next year for the same refill cost.

As a traveler it’s a cost that isn’t in line with the industry. Was very yummy though

Maybe I'm in the minority but I was not a fan of the light displays at KD and Carowinds. I found them to be vastly inferior to BGW.

I do have to agree though that Dollywood and Silver Dollar City are by far the best Christmas events I've been to. I think they are 1 and 2 with BGW being 3rd.

 

[Nicole]

Maybe it’s because I’ve been to so many other Christmas events now? Dollywood’s Smoky Mountain Christmas was beautifully done. Holiday in the park was well done of the 3 I have attended. Winterfest at Carowinds, Kings Dominion, and Kings Island are all beautifully done as well. Overall, entertainment at Busch was 2nd only to Dollywood’s event. I really enjoyed the show offerings at BGW; Gloria made me tear a bit godamnit! I think I just went on an off day where everything else just wasn’t clicking. Staff was super friendly as usual on my visit though!

In regards to the hot chocolate, it’s the only hot chocolate at a Christmas event that makes you pay more than a dollar and a few cents for a refill. The hot chocolate on its own wasn’t unfairly priced, however the souvenir option seemed a bit extreme in my opinion. I’m not saying the hot chocolate wasn't tasty, because it was, but to refill the already small thermal cup at a price of $2.29(?) on the date of purchase didn’t settle well with me. Winterfest, you can buy a thermal mug and get free refills that day and $.99 refills for the rest of the event. Same pricing applies with Holiday in the park. I can even reuse those mugs the very next year for the same refill cost.

As a traveler it’s a cost that isn’t in line with the industry. Was very yummy though

To be fair, the hot chocolate at both Winterfest and Holiday In the Park taste like Swiss Miss packets in boiled water. I would expect to pay more for the hot chocolate at CT.

But your post got me thinking about something I really miss at BGW: the chocolate and caramel covered popcorn. I recall one year being able to select among several flavors.

 

[Thomas]

Very.

 

[BGW Family]

Ditto @RollyCoaster. Additionally, being the shows were also the salvation for us, the time arrangement made it nearly impossible to enjoy them more than once per night. Showtimes were right on top of each other where you could not make it to another show. And the crown crapper being THREE shows scheduled at the same time. So we had to pick what show we wanted to see the most rather than seeing them all several times. Really piss poor job at this BGW. This has been a growing problem there, but this was the worst ever. We did two days and @RollyCoaster will likely not see an improvement. We couldn't enjoy walking around and barely had time to eat just so we could actually see all the show at least once. This is supposed to be fun, right? Oh, and did I mention how much it pisses me off to see SO many rows of good seating eat up for reserved with only a few people using them? We usually stay three days, but two was more than plenty and we left early. We also use to go up about 12 days during CT. Too far and too much money to invest for this event anymore. We are done for the year. Double bonus points for the rude and stinking crowd that can go devour itself.

Oh, and @Thomas feeds on your sadness.