Christmas Town

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Well besides the poor weather, Grand Illumination was going on in Colonial Williamsburg and I suppose that helped to kill the attendance even more.
 
Party Rocker said:
Well besides the poor weather, Grand Illumination was going on in Colonial Williamsburg and I suppose that helped to kill the attendance even more.
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Actually no. A widely known tip to non local people is that this night is the perfect to go. Plenty of Southsiders could not careless about something happening in WBurg either.


So no.
 
Met up with ChickenKing and the Gunsmith at the park today. I know it's bad for the park, but being there when no one else is there is AWESOME. It's pretty much just you and the employees. The show performers are pretty much playing to empty houses, so they really interact with the audience. I recorded three shows of 'Deck the Halls' before the park closed at 7pm, and got some great footage I wouldn't be able to get any other time. For the last two shows, we sat on the back side of the stage, and were pretty much the only ones back there. We got to sit at the tables which are normally reserved. The performers really played to the cameras, so the edited 'Deck the Halls' video is going to be great. The cast of Miracles came by for the 5:30 show, and there were performers from Gloria there for the 6:30. Even though it was cut short, this was one of my favorite days at the park this year.
 
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ToddF said:
Met up with ChickenKing and the Gunsmith at the park today. I know it's bad for the park, but being there when no one else is there is AWESOME.
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It really is a shame that the most enjoyable times to be at the park are the worst times for the park itself.
 
Personally I like CT when there are a decent amount of people at the park. Makes it feel more festive.
 
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James said:
Personally I like CT when there are a decent amount of people at the park. Makes it feel more festive.
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Yea that one is all personal preference. I enjoy the serenity of it being empty. The feeling of being alone in the village or in the woods with lights all around. Some of the massive scale is lost to me when it is crowded.
 
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This isn't a great picture but we went last night and it was amazing how dead it was. This is what it looked like when we first got to England, I don't think we saw a single other guest until we got to Pompeii.

Despite the bad weather and lack of crowds, the employees were absurdly cheerful. What's funny is that we also went the first day (which was also kind of dead but really nice weather) and everyone seemed to be really grumpy.
 
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Also, someone mentioned the Christmastown Dash earlier and I thought people might find this article interesting.
Source: Virginia Gazette
There won't be a surplus of "ho ho hos" at the Christmas Town Dash 8K this Sunday.

That's because Busch Gardens exercised a clause in the race contract specifying that the only Santa at Christmas Town is the one in Santa's Workshop.

Edward Tate was one of several men who'd volunteered to be a Santa for the race.

"I was going to be in a tent at the start/finish line and there were going to be other Santas spread out across the course," he said in a phone interview Friday.

Tate said the volunteer Santas were canceled.

"I was told Busch Gardens has a clause in the contract that there could not be any Santa except theirs," Tate said.

Deanna Hill of race sponsor Chick-fil-A was the one organizing the extra Santas.

She confirmed the existence of the "Claus clause" Friday and that the idea of Santas on the course was scrapped after Busch Gardens objected.

It's not an issue that Busch Gardens wants to address.

"We do not discuss the planning details of our partnerships publicly," company spokesman Kevin Crossett wrote in an e-mail Thursday.

It's not so much the partnership, but the Christmas Town concept, that caused the conflict.

When Busch Gardens first started Christmas Town it had a concept for the Christmas Town Santa. The premise was that the park's Santa, chosen through auditions, would become a regional icon in the same way Robert Bauman, the original burgermeister at Busch Gardens, was iconic.

Bauman danced and sang at Das Festhaus from the time the park opened in 1975 until his retirement in 2002. Bauman died in 2009.

In Christmas terms, the Santa Claus at Miller & Rhoads in Richmond was the only Santa known to several generations of Virginia children.

The connection wouldn't be possible if kids could see several other Santas around the park.

This is the fourth year of the Christmas Town Dash, which benefits the Marine Corps Toys for Tots campaign. In addition to the 8K, over a tough course that winds through the park, there's a half-mile fun run known as the Running of the Chick-fil-A Cows.
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MCMM said:
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This isn't a great picture but we went last night and it was amazing how dead it was. This is what it looked like when we first got to England, I don't think we saw a single other guest until we got to Pompeii.

Despite the bad weather and lack of crowds, the employees were absurdly cheerful. What's funny is that we also went the first day (which was also kind of dead but really nice weather) and everyone seemed to be really grumpy.
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Interesting..The staff were very polite, charming, and cheerful, when we were there Thanksgiving weekend. In fact, the other guests were the only rude people I encountered that night.
 
Just a cool update. The last pass member email has a coupon for 25% off gift purchased of $50 or more until Dec 31st. You have to print out the coupon and be a annual pass member. Here is the link to the coupon from Busch Gardens link: http://www.pages02.net/seaworld/BGW_CTCoupon/?spMailingID=5922048&spUserID=MTI3MjY0ODMyNTcS1&spJobID=352322436&spReportId=MzUyMzIyNDM2S0
 
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I wanted to touch on something that MCMM wrote above: "In Christmas terms, the Santa Claus at Miller & Rhoads in Richmond was the only Santa known to several generations of Virginia children."

This is very true. I remember my mom driving my brother and I up to Richmond to see Santa. There were other mall Santas- but that was "The Santa" we had to see as it was the one they saw growing up.

From Wikipedia: "Stories exist of parents who've driven their children to Richmond from as far away as Texas - or grandparents who've flown their grandchilden from Colorado just to see THE Santa."

Here is the picture of the Santa I remember. I'm sure there is an old faded pic like this of me and Santa at my mom's house somewhere.
 

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It's basically last year's event with a few plusses and minuses all around. Aquitaine looks better. There are less street performers. Gloria! is performing better than ever. Deck the Halls needs a little work. Europe in the Air isn't open. Culinary has taken a massive dive. Prices are up some. Miracles is performing brilliantly. Basically, don't expect anything revolutionary, but it's a fine event. Nothing feels horrendously broken and, well, compared to what we've seen this year, that's a breathe of fresh air.
 
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I did a long write-up somewhere in this thread. BLUF: decorations, sky ride, and crepes = good. Train and s‘mores = bad. Penguins are the same.
 
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Wife and I are heading down for Friday and Saturday. Saturday looks a bit sketchy with the weather though....

Only thing I want to try is one of CK's bacon wrapped Pork Shanks!! I believe my life will be complete if they are as good as he says!!

Anyone that wants to say hi please hit us up with a PM and we will get together!
 
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