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Not unexpected, but goodness, what a stagnant year for Christmas Town. New new shows—not even an O' Tannenbaum replacement. No "Tree Trail" replacement. Culinary is setup to be a nightmare. Don't see any mention of a Holiday version of Hideaway in the upcharges area either.

Oh, and returning Santa to Wilkommenhaus is going to be a HUGE guest experience downgrade too. Even if they can manage to fit multiple Santas in there, it means they won't have a large indoor queue area anymore. That will be a disaster. Not having the new event space ready to house Santa this year was a massive blunder on the park's part.

After two "COVID-y" CMT years, I really feel like we should be expecting a return to form for the event by this point... And this certainly isn't that. There's just nothing here to get excited about if you ask me. 🙁



Arguably a downside since there are very few places to use it and it may increase lines.
My understanding from reliable sources is that Santa's Workshop will have one Santa and look pretty much exactly like the pre DK one. My understanding I that the original plan was to have it in the new event building but they are delaying moving it back there till next year.

I would add they did bring back Santa's Fireside Feast and the Father Christmas thing in England to try add some other stuff. Not saying that it's a huge thing but it is something.
 

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Did we just gloss over Father Christmas in Kidsington Palace?
How is that queue going to work next to the Globe?
We'll get at least one picture with him, but now I'm curious to see how that will unfold.
 
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Did we just gloss over Father Christmas in Kidsington Palace?
How is that queue going to work next to the Globe?
We'll get at least one picture with him, but now I'm curious to see how that will unfold.
I believe that they plan on it working similar to the Rudolph, and frosty photos.and don't anticipate long lines time will tell if that is correct.
 
I sometimes question the logic of how they decide what is open and what is not. I see they plan a show at Teatro di San Marco but there will be no place open for food or drinks. You would think if they wanted to attract people to that venue, they would offer food and drinks like they used to. I also noticed Les Frites isn't open. Isn't that one of the more popular snack places to get something quick to eat? I'll just plan to eat before I go. Their loss, my gain.
 
I sometimes question the logic of how they decide what is open and what is not. I see they plan a show at Teatro di San Marco but there will be no place open for food or drinks. You would think if they wanted to attract people to that venue, they would offer food and drinks like they used to. I also noticed Les Frites isn't open. Isn't that one of the more popular snack places to get something quick to eat? I'll just plan to eat before I go. Their loss, my gain.
I would love Marco Polo open but I will defend this idea a little. My experience at CT has been that using the theater as both dining and and show that it creates lots of issues and either people can't get in to eat or can't get in to see the show. Not sure what the long term solution is but since they don't seem to able to staff Marco Polo this year it seems a mute issue.
 
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Marcos capacity is also not ideal since it is not a very efficient lay out. The Marketplace lends itself fantastically to the walk up and take your pick philosophy of a dining hall, but in high capacity days where efficiency is key, you are much better off diverting resources to Trappers and Festhaus. Why they feel the need to keep Squire's running is always a mystery to me. Maybe they value having options spread out the park a bit more than they should, but I think it would be far more effective for them to scrap Squire's in favor of a 3 or 4 person crew running Les Frites to take some burden off Trappers and put the rest at getting another line open at Festhaus. Les Frites is also a very efficient system when done properly, just too often have I seen the crews there terribly mismanage their resources and not pump guests through like they could.

Honestly the culinary department as a whole could really benefit from a healthy efficiency competition, each location fighting to get their GpH up. Would love to see what an efficient line manager could do if they actually tried.
 
Not sure why they wouldn't have O'Tators (or whatever they want to call it) open, either. The oversized stuffed potatoes were one of the best things they had in the park. Line moved quickly, and it was really good.

Nighttime is the best time at CT, but if there isn't a place for dinner, it's not going to be fun. You need a good meal to get through the chilly nights!

Yeah, Marco Polo's had a long line back in the day when they also had Miracles, and it could be hard to get a table to eat and/or see the show. But, I don't remember people complaining about it much because the food was good when it first opened, and people really enjoyed the show. Both the food and show were worth the wait and struggle for a table.

We used to go at least 5-7 times per season. And, prior to memberships, that meant a CT fun card, 3-4 lunches (if we got there early), 5-7 dinners, 3-4 hot chocolate refills per person, a dessert option, and photos. Fireside Feast was also a tradition for us. As a family of 5, this was not a small expenditure.

Now: we'll go maybe twice. We already have memberships. Never will we eat 2 meals in a day. Less hours = less hot chocolate. We'll probably still do Fireside Feast (might be the best food in the park, and at least there won't be a long line for it).

The result is clearly a lot less revenue generated from our family.
 
O'taters hasn't been opened in years. Recently it has been only opened for special events, like Food & Wine Fest or $1 hot dogs. Unfortunately that space seems to be a lost cause. I predict that they will have a food truck near the eagle habitat.
 
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O'taters hasn't been opened in years. Recently it has been only opened for special events, like Food & Wine Fest or $1 hot dogs. Unfortunately that space seems to be a lost cause. I predict that they will have a food truck near the eagle habitat.
O'taters was open for CT 2019. So, essentially, up until the start of Covid.

I don't see why it's a lost cause. Or why a food truck would be preferable.
 
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I am so happy to see that Pantheon is operating for Christmas Town. Didn't go last season, but since Pantheon is open; this gives me a reason to drive down during the month of November or December. As we all know, coaster operations are based on the weather. What's the cut off temperature; 45 degrees? Saturdays would be the ideal day to visit with the park opening at 2pm and closing at 10pm. I figured I'd go in November. I want the night ride experiences on Pantheon, so night fall will generally be around 5:30pm. Do you think temperatures in November will permit?
 
I am so happy to see that Pantheon is operating for Christmas Town. Didn't go last season, but since Pantheon is open; this gives me a reason to drive down during the month of November or December. As we all know, coaster operations are based on the weather. What's the cut off temperature; 45 degrees? Saturdays would be the ideal day to visit with the park opening at 2pm and closing at 10pm. I figured I'd go in November. I want the night ride experiences on Pantheon, so night fall will generally be around 5:30pm. Do you think temperatures in November will permit?
November temperatures will be more forgiving than December—if you want rides those days will be better for you
 
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Or, if coasters are literally the only reason you are going, plan for a time of the year when they're all likely to be open?
I've been a tone of times. I didn't get a chance to go to Christmas Town last year because of the temperatures. I may give it a try this time. I love the night ride experiences at Bush Gardens. During this time of the year, most of your evening events will be in the night. I'm hoping they keep the field dark where Pantheon is.
 
It's ok to want to go for just coasters, but it really sounds like you're assuming that's why a majority of park guests go for these events as well. Perhaps I'm misreading though?
 
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It's ok to want to go for just coasters, but it really sounds like you're assuming that's why a majority of park guests go for these events as well. Perhaps I'm misreading though?
That's not what I'm saying. I'm currently debating this in the Year-Round operation thread for KD. All I pretty much add is that the coasters keep people entertained.
 
As I said in the KD thread, I think you are incorrect that coasters are required to draw crowds and keep guests entertained. Your personal preferences are not universal. Many of us enjoy the special events, especially in the colder months.
 
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