Coasters and Craft Brews 2020

[WDWRLD]

I think the side of the park open makes sense form a logistic side of things. Thinks like first aid and other park services is on that side. If they moved to the other side many of those essential functions would need to be moved/made available over there.

 

[warfelg]

I think the side of the park open makes sense form a logistic side of things. Thinks like first aid and other park services is on that side. If they moved to the other side many of those essential functions would need to be moved/made available over there.

They could use the back way area by the train crossing at France to have a cycle of France/New France/Germany/Oktoberfest open then use the main gate for England/Scotland/Italy/Festa Italia. Then the current setup.

 

[Jonesta6]

Though there are access roads everywhere, and we know they could theoretically have some kind of socially distanced tram service to get to some of them, realistically it probably doesn't make fiscal sense to go through the motions to open one side of the park, operate it, then close it down to use the other. That means in reality that they have to prep and staff both areas even if not at the same time. Plus they'd have to clean up the side that gets closed.

And then there's the question of safe seating and dining arrangements - I highly doubt they'd let anyone into the Festhaus at this point.

 

[Nicole]

On the other hand, by rotating open sections they would give themselves the time to do a really thorough cleaning. When a hamlet was closed to the public, they could disinfect everything.

 

[Jonesta6]

On the other hand, by rotating open sections they would give themselves the time to do a really thorough cleaning. When a hamlet was closed to the public, they could disinfect everything.

In theory, but that would also mean they would have to employ more cleaners or make some other arrangements to be able to be thorough in both the closed and open sections. Or, more likely, have the same cleaning crew try to manage double the work and probably be a little too hasty to cover everything thoroughly.

However, if that was their plan all along to operate half of the time in one section and half in the other then they would likely have already factored the extra cleaning crew expense into their planning.

 

[Eric]

So it looks as though the first official day of the event is now completely sold out, even for single day ticket holders. That is looking to be a good sign for the event.

 

[Brambo]

At full capacity for this event, what does everyone think the coaster lines are going to be like?

 

[Zachary]

At full capacity for this event, what does everyone think the coaster lines are going to be like?

That’s going to depend massively on what operations look like. I assume we’ll see every other row, but are we looking at one or two train ops? Will they be cleaning every cycle? Every thirty minutes? Way too many unknowns right now to forecast.

That said, expect to be able to ride Loch Ness a lot with very little trouble. Location, popularity, likelihood of rerides, and capacity will all favor very short LNM queues.

 

[Eric]

I think it will definitely depend on if they run 1 or 2 trains on the coasters, but with 3 coasters operating that are so spread out(and 6 rides total) I hardly see there being a line for any of the rides.

Considering that in an ideal world where everyone would spread equally between the rides, there would be about 166 people at each ride(of course some rides would have more than others in the real world, but still)

 

[Brambo]

That’s going to depend massively on what operations look like. I assume we’ll see every other row, but are we looking at one or two train ops? Will they be cleaning every cycle? Every thirty minutes? Way too many unknown right now to forecast.

That said, expect to be able to ride Loch Ness a lot with very little trouble. Location, popularity, likelihood of rerides, and capacity will all favor very short LNM queues.

This image is directly from the event's main page, so I'm guessing they will likely try to follow that loading format for Griffon. That thing is definitely going to get hurt the most in terms of theoretical capacity. I couldn't see them doing one train ops I feel like BG is usually pretty good at starting off a day with the right train count to avoid having to load another one on the track mid-day.

 

[Zachary]

I couldn't see them doing one train ops

I don’t know if you visited on one of the lower-priced, lower-capacity Wednesdays or Thursdays last year during Howl-O-Scream, but operations were pretty wild—absolute minimal staffing on rides of all kinds—lower than I ever knew possible in some cases—with only one train running on most/all coasters. I anticipate these 1k-capped days to look a lot like those nights did.

To be clear, I don’t anticipate substantial lines after a possible initial surge, but I won’t be surprised if 10/15 minute waits exist regardless due to operations limitations.

 

[Jonesta6]

View attachment 20936

This image is directly from the event's main page, so I'm guessing they will likely try to follow that loading format for Griffon. That thing is definitely going to get hurt the most in terms of theoretical capacity. I couldn't see them doing one train ops I feel like BG is usually pretty good at starting off a day with the right train count to avoid having to load another one on the track mid-day.

I'm gonna go on a limb and guess Griffon gets 2 trains while the rest get one

 

[Eric]

The picture of Griffon demonstrates the procedure with single riders only. Ideally, the capacity would be higher because larger groups would site next to each other. Also, I have just noticed that another time period is completely sold out for single days tickets now, August 9th at 5pm. I really am curious about just how many reservations were for single day ticket holders now.

 

[BGW Family]

They don't want to open up Germany or the Fetshaus because we'll see that Deck the Halls is still up. ??

 

[WDWRLD]

Now.......wonder how the possibility of pretty bad weather Monday into Tuesday will affect getting ready for this event?

 

[wombat96]

With the cap for pass holders and ticket holders already so low I imagine none of the waits will be more than a few cycles, but if you have a low tolerance for lines I would highly recommend rope-dropping InvadR. Another GCI in the SEAS chain, Texas Stingray, at SWSA has been loading every other row which I assume will be no different in Williamsburg. Combine the socially distanced seating with smaller trains, a low height requirement, and a brutal queue to wait in during the summer, it's a perfect recipe for the longest line at the event.

 

[warfelg]

I think the riders being done the way Hershey has been would be a good thing. Let groups that want to sit together do so. Put one or two seats for people who want the space.

 

[PrincessArlenasDad]

And then there's the question of safe seating and dining arrangements - I highly doubt they'd let anyone into the Festhaus at this point.

Wouldn't this be one of the easier ones to figure out? Same restrictions as any other restaurant?

No sharing tables with other groups, and every other table blocked off from use. Shouldn't be a problem, really. Put arrows on the floors to make all the aisles one way. It'd probably be easier to dine here without getting close to other groups than in about any other restaurant operating now, given the size of the place.

They would have to clean the tables between uses, but they have to do that with the Trappers seating areas also. But, given how Trappers has seating spread into different areas, it would be easier to keep track of what tables needed cleaning in the Festhaus than the Trappers seating.

Food service is basically the same in both locations.

 

[Nicole]

We actually ate in the EPCOT Biergarten Restaurant this month. It has similar tables, designed for communal eating. I believe they also usually have a buffet (shudder). They were limiting each table to one group and had converted over to family style service. I think they could have done a better job of spacing the groups out (all of the occupied tables were near each other), but generally it felt fairly well socially distanced.

That said, I don't think BGW would bring in the staff necessary to manage that kind of system.

 

[Memles]

Now.......wonder how the possibility of pretty bad weather Monday into Tuesday will affect getting ready for this event?

Definitely the last thing the park wanted to be thinking about this week, on top of everything else. We'll know more tomorrow, likely, about its possible strength when it hits the region, but it's sort of a lose-lose situation: a stronger storm will move through faster but have higher winds and require more cleanup, while a weaker storm will bring more rain and potentially stick around into Wednesday.

As for the question of the park rotating which sections are open, there would obviously be some different logistics required, but it would have the benefit of convincing people to make a return visit to experience a different part of the park who might not return again otherwise.

Provided people spend lots of money and tickets sell well (which are big question marks even the park doesn't fully understand right now), let's say they take a week off and then do Member Preview August 26, and then run up through Labor Day.

Coasters: Apollo's, Verbolten, Alpengeist (or, if they decide the Germany shop corridor is too tight, Pompeii)
Other Rides: Turkish Delight, Mach Tower, two Kiddie Rides (which would make this a more family-friendly event)

There's a lot of question marks, though. Are there specific areas of the park that the state might have identified as a social distancing concern that the park needs to avoid to open in ANY capacity? Are there concerns about ventilation/crowd management in Festhaus that would make opening a large indoor space an issue? Is there a sense that because Oktoberfest/Festa are more attraction-rich, the need to close/not operate a large portion of the attractions would be bad optics and deflate the perceived value of the experience?

Unclear. But I definitely think that rebranding the event and reframing toward families might be a way to get a bit more mileage out of people who would otherwise not return for a repeat of the same setup.