Christmas Town 2021

[Red Drum]

Have crowds been huge every weekend, or was 12/4/21 just an anomaly? I've gone to Christmas Town every year the day and night before the race, but have always been able to eat and ride a few rides. We did go a couple of hours later in the day though this year so maybe that was it?

70 minutes waiting to park, which was more time than we eventually spent in the park itself. Rode the scrambler. Enjoyed the lights, then got the heck out. Long lines for every attraction and restaurant.

Could have saved an hour had I just turned into the overflow lot initially. The trams were running efficiently though.

 

[Zachary]

The reports I've been hearing are that the event has been pretty consistently packed on weekends.

 

[Red Drum]

The reports I've been hearing are that the event has been pretty consistently packed on weekends.

Sigh... any word on how the weekdays have been? Though I'd imagine even on weekdays over the next 2 weeks, it'll be bad.

We've visited BGW three times this year. Two weekends ago and in the Spring: disaster, long lines, only 1 or 2 rides and no food and got the heck out.. The only BGW trip that worked well was later in the Summer when the entire state was getting rained out, but BGW remained in a pocket without rain except for about 2 hours in the afternoon... that was nice. Nobody was there.

I still haven't decided which was more of a cluster eff: BGW Christmas Town 2021 or WDW Summer of 2021.

 

[Jonesta6]

Maybe I’m misunderstanding your point?

The penguin encounters, like most other SEAS animal encounters, involved direct interaction with the penguins, including petting them.

Here is the thread:
Thread 'Ice Palace: A Penguin Paradise'
https://parkfans.net/threads/ice-palace-a-penguin-paradise.2328/

Sorry, was more referring to @warfelg's post above yours that indicated it'd somehow be a better experience to just show animals vs touching.

 

[Alf33]

I do like the new red and cool white lights in Germany but Germany the colored lights just always fit well.

I also like the red and white/candy cane look. It was a good change even though multi-color is my favorite. Here's some pics I took (OK but not great) of that area, plus one other one, that I've been meaning to post after reading your comment.

 

[Coasternerd]

I am attending Monday Dec 13. The SEAS budget cuts live on!

The lights this year are pitiful. Significantly less trees. KD blows them out of the water (when the lights at KD actually work)

Most food locations are closed. Festhaus and Smoke House have 1 line open. Pretzel place is open. Some snack locations open. That’s it!

Show quality is good overall this year. The shows are rewatchable and Busch always has strong performers.

I would like to point out that you chose to attend on a weekday (I see why, less crowds), but Marco polos marketplace is open on weekends only. Weekends are where you see most lines for each place open.

Have crowds been huge every weekend, or was 12/4/21 just an anomaly? I've gone to Christmas Town every year the day and night before the race, but have always been able to eat and ride a few rides. We did go a couple of hours later in the day though this year so maybe that was it?

70 minutes waiting to park, which was more time than we eventually spent in the park itself. Rode the scrambler. Enjoyed the lights, then got the heck out. Long lines for every attraction and restaurant.

Could have saved an hour had I just turned into the overflow lot initially. The trams were running efficiently though.

From what I’ve notice Saturdays are definitely busy… get there early to get your rides in early and then watch shows later on. And you avoid the Scotland/Bavaria parking so..

 

[Rothbury]

Some people don't "chose" to go to CT during the week. It may be the only time they can go due to work schedules or other circumstances. They pay the same price to get in and the same price to park. They should be able to get the same experience as those people who "chose" to go on the weekends.

 

[I64 Trekker]

Some people don't "chose" to go to CT during the week. It may be the only time they can go due to work schedules or other circumstances. They pay the same price to get in and the same price to park. They should be able to get the same experience as those people who "chose" to go on the weekends.

For those not in the know, I can understand the frustration of going during the week versus on the weekend and the different experience receieved. But one could argue that the price during the week should be higher, given the fun experience everyone is having on weekends.

That said, SEAS could do a better job communicating which dining locations and rides are open/closed each day. Perhaps something similar to what they do with the daily entertainment schedule?

 

[bill s]

I went Monday 12/6 and got a few things that someone going on the weekend wouldn't get. I got to go to Winterfest instead on Sunday and not even Dollywood was open on that Monday. I got 15 rides in less than 3 hours. Not dead but no madhouse.

Cons, no Celtic Fyre that night. They had the show with skating in it but I didn't know until later. Bigger deal, no trams (again) but admittedly the Germany lot was mostly empty. Few places to eat and lines for it and also where to get a cup of water. Religious show serving alcohol nearby but no food. Nacht not running.

Train was very popular, didn't ride. They sent out the last train after closing time, almost full, but I asked, even then everyone was going to have to walk out from New France when it got back. I considered trying to catch the skyride out but would have been close.

 

[AlpenChrist97]

Photography tip, Christmas Town is an excellent event to practice cinematic foreground and background blur...

 

[super7]

I am attending this week of the 13th on the weekdays. The crowds have been VERY pleasant. Not many food locations open but as long as the pretzel place is open that keeps me content for the stay.

I’ll take less food locations for lighter crowds. But Festhaus is packed since it is one of only 2 major locations open All of the food also closes at 8 or 830.

I really don’t understand limiting food locations and hours BG doesn’t offer season dining like KD, so there are profits in every food sale. KD has all of their food locations open the entire time, and many times they are just giving away food to season pass holders with dining plans.

My only beef is the 9 pm closing. It’s nice to enjoy the night hours and the lights longer. Now that they have gotten away with closing early, it will continue.

 

[Coasternerd]

I am attending this week of the 13th on the weekdays. The crowds have been VERY pleasant. Not many food locations open but as long as the pretzel place is open that keeps me content for the stay.

I’ll take less food locations for lighter crowds. But Festhaus is packed since it is one of only 2 major locations open All of the food also closes at 8 or 830.

I really don’t understand limiting food locations and hours BG doesn’t offer season dining like KD, so there are profits in every food sale. KD has all of their food locations open the entire time, and many times they are just giving away food to season pass holders with dining plans.

My only beef is the 9 pm closing. It’s nice to enjoy the night hours and the lights longer. Now that they have gotten away with closing early, it will continue.

From what it looks like, that’s weekday operations. Weekends is usually a 10:00 closing. Early closing is 6:00 *cough cough Winter Weekends cough cough*

 

[super7]

From what it looks like, that’s weekday operations. Weekends is usually a 10:00 closing. Early closing is 6:00 *cough cough Winter Weekends cough cough*

They close at 9 this week instead of 10

 

[GrantLee123]

Today was probably the worst day for Christmas town. It was raining off and on, which would be manageable if it was cold, but since it was right on the edge between warm and slightly cool, having to wear a jacket made it too hot. Also, it was packed beyond belief, which is understandable for a Saturday, yet ops were so slow. Also, upon us is ok, just feels disjointed as more of a medley of Church service songs. The train ride is meh for the long line, it’s really just like driving through a well lit neighborhood without the cool house that has music the lights interact with. Also, the sky ride shut down for the rest of the night basically once the sun went down because of wind.

 

[c.timber17]

The last 2 Saturdays were both slammed at the park, but that is not a surprise. This Saturday was actually fairly manageable for the first few hours because the rain kept crowds away for a bit, but once the rain left everyone came out to the park. What I don't get is why both of the previous Saturdays has Verbolten only been running 3 trains and 1 station... That makes the line incredibly long, and they are beyond slow at dispatching trains.

 

[horsesboy]

The last 2 Saturdays were both slammed at the park, but that is not a surprise. This Saturday was actually fairly manageable for the first few hours because the rain kept crowds away for a bit, but once the rain left everyone came out to the park. What I don't get is why both of the previous Saturdays has Verbolten only been running 3 trains and 1 station... That makes the line incredibly long, and they are beyond slow at dispatching trains.

Staffing. Which I think likely may only get worse in the coming year if BGW/SEA Corporate doesn't realize they are slowing digging their own grave of the staffing front.

 

[warfelg]

Staffing. Which I think likely may only get worse in the coming year if BGW/SEA Corporate doesn't realize they are slowing digging their own grave of the staffing front.

I’m not sure how they can fix that.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/11/08/job-search-not-getting-hired/

Why everybody’s hiring but nobody’s getting hired

Everyone is hiring. So why is finding a job still impossible?

www.vox.com

Now, who knows what the problem is with the amusement industry in general (I was at SFA Sunday and well….woof), but this is something I wouldn’t look to get better fast. I think over the course of the next year we will see Pels adjust and figure out where they can start to minimally staff and still run well. And we will see some things become automated and employees cut out completely in certain areas (like on ride photo booths). Lastly, and I wouldn’t be shocked to hear this at all, but I can see cleaning/general maintenance (ie light bulbs, broken windows, etc.) becomes something they “outsource” to keep their maintenance team small and focused on rides while bringing in outside people a few times a month to do it for them.

 

[RKRCC]

All 14 VB childcare programs slated to close will stay open after pay increases lead to influx of applicants

All 14 of the Virginia Beach before- and after-school childcare programs that were recently slated to be closed due to staffing issues will remain open after pay increase led to hundreds of applica…

www.wavy.com

I don’t know…. The city of Virginia Beach seems to have figured out the ‘secret’ at least temporarily….

 

[horsesboy]

I’m not sure how they can fix that.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2021/11/08/job-search-not-getting-hired/

Why everybody’s hiring but nobody’s getting hired

Everyone is hiring. So why is finding a job still impossible?

www.vox.com

Now, who knows what the problem is with the amusement industry in general (I was at SFA Sunday and well….woof), but this is something I wouldn’t look to get better fast. I think over the course of the next year we will see Pels adjust and figure out where they can start to minimally staff and still run well. And we will see some things become automated and employees cut out completely in certain areas (like on ride photo booths). Lastly, and I wouldn’t be shocked to hear this at all, but I can see cleaning/general maintenance (ie light bulbs, broken windows, etc.) becomes something they “outsource” to keep their maintenance team small and focused on rides while bringing in outside people a few times a month to do it for them.

I mean I am not saying it's entirely their fault but when they start cutting salaries down to bare bones including highering for Christmas Town at the CURRENT minimum instead of at least offering what it will be January 1 then they don't help themselves. On top of that some of the stories I have heard about the current mid level management culture are very concerning.

 

[warfelg]

I mean I am not saying it's entirely their fault but when they start cutting salaries down to bare bones including higher ingredients for Christmas Town at the CURRENT minimum instead of at least offering what it will be January 1 then they don't help themselves. On top of that some of the stories I have heard about the current mid level management culture are very concerning.

I don’t want to come off like I’m absolving them of issues, just rather it’s not a BGW alone issue to have staffing problem. Yes, their added salary cuts and management culture isn’t helping, but the culture thing is more widespread as well.

Should BGW/SEAS stop being so profit focused and remember where the profit is coming from? Absolutely. Should we,consumers, be more concerned about widespread customer service employment issues? Absolutely.

He’ll let me give you an example: I work as a manager of a golf instruction facility. The other day I had someone walk in asking if we sold golf balls. I said no. They got frustrated, and rather finding out what we do they started pressing about getting something. I stated again, we do instruction. They started getting mad they couldn’t walk out with golf balls because they can see some in the bay and I must sell them balls because I have some they can see. I said, they are for my bays for practice reasons. They started saying how absurd it was to have balls but not sell them and finally goes “fine, I’ll get them a gift certificate to buy them from you”. I stated we don’t do value gift cards, they are for the service itself. I had to stand there for 5 minutes getting yelled at in front of a student because I wouldn’t let that person just buy golf balls. Politely I suggested they try Dicks. They said, verbatim, “I was trying to help a new business but I guess you don’t care about Annapolis.”

Like, if your a high school or college kid…why do you want to deal with that. And if you are an adult how high does the pay and how good does the culture need to be to deal with being degraded like that.