Register or Login to Hide This Ad for Free!

Jonesta6

Kehoe
Feb 14, 2019
5,168
5,499
260
So this one might be a stretch, but here's an idea that could use both the DK and Festhaus spaces - the idea is to phase it in over a season or two:

FH Step 1: close the Festhaus for renovation. Here they'd redo the kitchen to make it larger, also reshape the queues for food and beverage. Thinking here that they'd renovate the current kitchen putting it around where the current beer room is, and reconfiguring the lines to make them more high capacity. The extra piece is they'd create a second entrance next to the path for 2021. In this space, there'd be a smaller kitchen for snack items and more space dedicated to beverage service - this space is setup for expansion to the adjacent outdoor space in FH Step 2.

FH Step 2: tear down the existing picnic shelters and set up a really nice lawn/patio space with fire pits, games, etc. There should be some covered space, but of the same vibe. Companies can still rent it out (nice wooden picnic tables would work for this environment) so the park can still sell it. Because of this, the path through there needs to be able to be closed off if needed but still allow access to the new ride. The new FH entry would be located here with service stations for snacks and beverages. They could also maybe move cabanas over that way for an upcharge.

DK Step 1: Before working on FH Step 1, DK gets converted to a makeshift Festhaus - a kitchen space gets built out (plumbing and electrical gets set up for DK Step 2) and guests dine in the castle until the Festhaus can reopen.

DK Step 2: a microbrewery permanently takes over the temp kitchen space, presumably at or near the rear of the building. Ideally it would be large enough to produce for park wide distribution, but small enough there's still plenty of space in the building to use for events or any new ride concept. They could possibly make some upsell restaurant in the space, German brewpub... Plenty of possibilities.

As imagined, this project could essentially generate extra incremental revenue plus make use of potential dead spaces.
 
Last edited:
Ooph. I'm really trying to picture this but cannot.

But I do agree that Festhaus needs some reworking on the inside.
 
FH Step 2: tear down the existing picnic shelters and set up a really nice lawn/patio space with fire pits, games, etc. There should be some covered space, but of the same vibe. Companies can still rent it out (nice wooden picnic tables would work for this environment) so the park can still sell it. Because of this, the path through there needs to be able to be closed off if needed but still allow access to the new ride. The new FH entry would be located here with service stations for snacks and beverages. They could also maybe move cabanas over that way for an upcharge.

I really like this part of the concept, and I would expand upon it more:

Turn Brauhaus Craft Bier into an indoor/outdoor serving window rather than a little seated area. With windows facing the back left corner (as you enter) of FH, and the outdoor part where the current picnic area is. Then, tear down the picnic awnings, and build a permanent tent structure (like the real Oktoberfest). I would scrap the fire pits (liability) and the games (theft), but instead introduce a "celebration leader". Someone that comes out, leads drinking songs, sings some, and just interacts with patrons in general. I would leave the area 21 and over only. I would construct the sides so they can be left open (for the summer), some ceiling fans, but can be closed in (for winter) and with electric heaters hanging from the ceiling.

Indoors, where the emergency exits are, folding glass doors that can be opened in the summer and some windows up higher to really 'open up' Festhaus and make it feel more like a tent. A few fans up on the ceiling.

I think in your idea of rejiggering the lines could work, and I got an idea to make it work:
In the old Bier Garden room, it's for Brats, Dogs, and Sausage only (with standard and specialty). Hire someone to cook them in a glass window so you can see it as you walk through line. So after the queue you get up, tell someone what you want, they call it out to the cook, and then someone does the toppings and hands it over. Then a slide window where certain sides are always up in (fries, slaw, fruit cups).

The two back set lines get other entrees in them, like some type of chicken plate, the pizza, and a redone sausage sampler. (1 brat, 1 sausage, 1 dog). Basically a grab and go counter only with no customization. A 3rd offset (new) window for custom orders, and a 4th new window for kids meals. Finally the current offset to the right area becomes the desert only station.

I have all these lines wrap around to the back some (so this would require opening up of some walls and building of some others), and all the checkout counters wrap around to the back (losing a single row of tables back there). So basically you enter on the right as you walk in, and there are 6 different windows to go to, and you stay to the right as you wrap around back to check out. This opens up the food service lines some, adds some quick grab and go options, and some custom options. Makes it less crowded and feel more open.

Sorry @Jonesta6 kinda hijacked your concept some and put some of my thoughts to it. I think I stuck some to what you were picturing.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jonesta6
I like what you did for the most part, @warfelg - however, looking at a Google Map, I realized my mistake with the outdoor space - basically, the new entryway that pulls in traffic from 2021 would have to go somewhere close to the left side of the stage as it sits now when looking from the main entrance.

In order to get the outdoor concept, I think laying out a new main pathway through the current catering area to the new ride area would make more sense with the old path kept in case a company rents out the area.

The new entrance would be over in that corner, but instead of forcing guests to grab food and beverages from the other end of the building, there would be a set of walk-up lines. Still haven't figured out how best to incorporate that though. I really like the idea of retractable glass walls.

I think if many breweries and bars around the Commonwealth are able to do fire pits and outdoor games such as cornhole or giant Jenga, the park could reasonably do it as well - hell, why not charge a nominal fee for game pieces then there's less incentives for guests to vandalize or steal anything. Of course, there'd be the appropriate amount of staffing to supervise the area, fires wouldn't be lit if unsafe, etc.

Unless they want to upsell the experience as adults only, I don't know if it would make a whole lot of sense to age restrict it outside of the obvious ABC regulations.

Your celebration leader - so basically this is a call to bring back the Burgermeister(sp)?
 
The thing that scares me about putting a Brewery in is that ABInBev legal team is very aggressive, and can see them either fighting that thought and/or pulling some loop hole in the old sale of the parks to leverage Devils Backbone, a brewery they own, to set up a satellite brewery there.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jonesta6
That's a good question for how the contracts of sale work.

As far as I'm aware the park can do whatever it wants as far as alcohol production as long as they get all the necessary permits and licenses and don't get into trademark or copyright issues for the naming of things - they are 100% a different legal entity than AB so they're free to do whatever.

Nessie's Cream Ale, Pantheon Pils, Verbolten Porter, Killarney Red and Jack Is Back Stout (Guinness clone), Animal IPA (portion of proceeds go to SEAS wildlife fund or something like that), Trappers Rauchbier, the list can go on and on with new names and styles related to things in the park all coming from the Kastle Garten brewery (assuming the name doesn't have legal ties elsewhere).

Of course I could be totally wrong. A DB outpost would be welcome as well since they make generally good beer and people are familiar with the brand, however I'm not sure if there DK building theming is right for it. Also, they'd probably want to be front and center of whatever space they're in, unlike this idea to only use part of the DK space for brewing and allow other things to use the rest (even if it stays temporary event space).

Also, if I understand it correctly, ABC has licensed the entire property as a singular premise in the sense that guests can enjoy beverages anywhere on the property where it doesn't affect safety (on rides, etc). Not sure how it'd actually work, but I'd imagine that as long as they're not trying to actually sell their microbrew products outside the park they wouldn't have to deal with tied house laws and a 3rd party distributor to move kegs to coolers across the park because all beer served would be on premise.

None of this would be like the old AB days where it'd become the only beer in the park - it'd be sold alongside everything else.
 
  • Like
Reactions: kmccarthy27
Nessie's Cream Ale, Pantheon Pils, Verbolten Porter, Killarney Red and Jack Is Back Stout (Guinness clone), Animal IPA (portion of proceeds go to SEAS wildlife fund or something like that), Trappers Rauchbier, the list can go on and on with new names and styles related to things in the park all coming from the Kastle Garten brewery (assuming the name doesn't have legal ties elsewhere).

This would be awesome.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jonesta6
I’d be skeptical about placing a working craft brewery so close to crowd-heavy areas.

Not all stages of brewing smell particularly great to the general public. Even a little bit of distance can make a big difference.

Noted - though it'd be hard to tell where it's coming from if the wind is blowing the right direction (AB or park).

However, has anyone known any local breweries to be super stinky in the tasting room or right outside the building when they're brewing?
 
  • Like
Reactions: kmccarthy27
Noted - though it'd be hard to tell where it's coming from if the wind is blowing the right direction (AB or park).

However, has anyone known any local breweries to be super stinky in the tasting room or right outside the building when they're brewing?
I live in a small town in NJ and I have a craft brewery literally a football field away and smell nothing. As long as there is good ventilation should not be an issue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jonesta6
However, has anyone known any local breweries to be super stinky in the tasting room or right outside the building when they're brewing?
Yes, for sure, outside and across a large street no less. Depending on the wind direction, someone gets nailed full-face with it unless the brewery location is more remote. It's a yeasty, bready, musty smell and it's very powerful. Not revolting, but not terribly pleasant either. You wouldn't want to smell it for very long unless you're a brewer and live for it.

I suspect the large mega-breweries may have more substantial tech to cut down on the intensity of the ventilated brewing byproducts, and/or they release it at higher-altitude stacks/factory-rooftop vents, so the wind disperses it much more effectively. But the craft-scale breweries, at least, are making enough beer that the airborne byproducts can't be either contained inside or ventilated unnoticed.

Edit to add: I don't want to crap on the idea of DK becoming a small brew house. Not gonna wander down the path of the economics of it, but it would be cool in principle to have a dedicated brewery tour in the park, restoring the old brewery tour without the monorail. I'd hit it up on every visit.
 
So for inside the building, I'm guessing there are construction techniques available to isolate the smells to the brewery side of the building only. As to location, it'd be in the side of the building away from foot traffic so there's some separation there.

Also, because the park sees most of it's guests on nights and weekends, there's less likely to be an impact assuming they can brew on weekday mornings and early afternoons (equipment capacity and demand will have a huge influence to this).
 
Consider Donating to Hide This Ad