"Founders Event" Coming May 2015
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
New and improved lasagna at Il Restaurante Della Piaza would be an awesome 40th anniversary present!
Garfield became redundant after the 2nd book came out... It has been the same 5 jokes ever since.
And now:
The park’s 40th anniversary is a major celebration. Last September, Carl Lum announced there will be a founder’s event in May. There was no other information given at the time. We now know that the founder’s event will take place over the course of a weekend, May 15 through the 17th. May 16th will mark the actual day the park originally opened forty years ago.
Other than a founder’s event, there wasn’t many details given about how the park will celebrate its anniversary. Well, as it turns out there is quite a lot they do have planned. Besides the founder’s event in May. There will also be anniversary signage and photographs throughout the park along with minimal decorations to help promote the park’s anniversary.
There are a few other areas that the park is also planning to participate in the celebration like merchandise and culinary. These two areas will probably be holding the main weight of the anniversary on their backs.
Pegasus Gifts will be a completely new shop this year. It will be comprised of two special type of merchandise. The first type is anniversary memorabilia. The park is reaching back to its roots by incorporating their old, The Olde Country logo into many of its new products. You will see hats and shirts use this revitalized logo.
Along with the older logo, you will also find the park is trying celebrate their six original or most beloved attractions. Le Mans, Big Bad Wolf, Le Scoot, the Raildroad, the Skyride, Wirbelwind and more will definitely be featured. This is probably the first time you will see Le Scoot or Le Mans shirts available. Not only will these older attractions and logos be utilized, but the style in the shirts they appear will be vintage.
You will also see the park open up to it’s pin collecting pass members. There will be special 40th anniversary pins available for pass members to purchase at Pegasus Gifts. Team members will also have their own specialty anniversary pins too. The team member pins will be a horizontal shaped oval that say Busch Gardens Team Member wrapped around the edge. On the inside is a lenticular type design that displays the new 40th anniversary logo and then when tilted also shows the Olde Country logo. The pins will not debut until April or May.
For those who are really interested in the park’s history you can learn about it even more. The park has been conducting interviews with retired, relocated, and current employees. These interviews will be used in a Busch Gardens documentary. The movie will focus on the history of the park, where it has been and where it is now. The documentary as most anniversary items will be sold at Pegasus Gifts.
Authentic gifts have been something the park excels at greatly. They have beautiful Irish jewelry at Emerald Isle, artisan crafted porcelain items in San Marco, and cuckoo clocks in German Gifts. However, one of their more popular items are beer steins. This year only, the park will be selling a special 40th anniversary Busch Gardens beer stein. They will have a couple different kinds, but they are limited time for this year only.
While merchandise will be a big component to the celebration, there will also be some culinary delights. Many old favorites are making a comeback for this year. All throughout the park’s various eateries you will see special menu items. They will be clearly marked. They will be original menu items that the park served as far back as 1975. One item sure to make it’s way back is the Festhaus Hoagie.
Another treat of sorts coming back will be the hospitality center. This is a work in progress admittedly. The only details at this point is, there will be four Anheuser-Busch beer samples in the Festhaus Cafe. You will also be able to get a special mug with your favorite beer. This will be a special premium experience. You will be able to make reservations for it online. Some how free beer will be worked into it, but it is unsure how exactly.
While all the physical things happening in the park are exciting there are a few marketing things that are just as exciting. Something everyone loves are promotions. The park has held some crazy deals in the past but I think this one will really blow your mind to some extent. If you were born in 1975, you can enjoy complimentary admission for opening weekend this year. Sounds like a nice perk for those who were born back then. Full details are sure to come soon.
You may have also noticed, Busch Gardens is not the only park turning forty this year. In fact, King’s Dominion is as well. For this year, both parks a teaming up along with Virginia to try to advertise Virginia as a place of fun for families to visit. What is more exciting is how the parks will offer a combination ticket. The actual combo tickets and advertising campaign will start closer to May.
While this may not be 40th anniversary special, it still holds some value. Busch Gardens has been working with local attractions such as Colonial Williamsburg to help draw more guests. This year, they are taking a new approach. Previously, the area was advertised based on it’s historical value. However, this year it will be advertised as a place of fun and adventure. They will not focus on history as much as they have in the past.
The park’s 40th anniversary is a major celebration. Last September, Carl Lum announced there will be a founder’s event in May. There was no other information given at the time. We now know that the founder’s event will take place over the course of a weekend, May 15 through the 17th. May 16th will mark the actual day the park originally opened forty years ago.
Other than a founder’s event, there wasn’t many details given about how the park will celebrate its anniversary. Well, as it turns out there is quite a lot they do have planned. Besides the founder’s event in May. There will also be anniversary signage and photographs throughout the park along with minimal decorations to help promote the park’s anniversary.
There are a few other areas that the park is also planning to participate in the celebration like merchandise and culinary. These two areas will probably be holding the main weight of the anniversary on their backs.
Pegasus Gifts will be a completely new shop this year. It will be comprised of two special type of merchandise. The first type is anniversary memorabilia. The park is reaching back to its roots by incorporating their old, The Olde Country logo into many of its new products. You will see hats and shirts use this revitalized logo.
Along with the older logo, you will also find the park is trying celebrate their six original or most beloved attractions. Le Mans, Big Bad Wolf, Le Scoot, the Raildroad, the Skyride, Wirbelwind and more will definitely be featured. This is probably the first time you will see Le Scoot or Le Mans shirts available. Not only will these older attractions and logos be utilized, but the style in the shirts they appear will be vintage.
You will also see the park open up to it’s pin collecting pass members. There will be special 40th anniversary pins available for pass members to purchase at Pegasus Gifts. Team members will also have their own specialty anniversary pins too. The team member pins will be a horizontal shaped oval that say Busch Gardens Team Member wrapped around the edge. On the inside is a lenticular type design that displays the new 40th anniversary logo and then when tilted also shows the Olde Country logo. The pins will not debut until April or May.
For those who are really interested in the park’s history you can learn about it even more. The park has been conducting interviews with retired, relocated, and current employees. These interviews will be used in a Busch Gardens documentary. The movie will focus on the history of the park, where it has been and where it is now. The documentary as most anniversary items will be sold at Pegasus Gifts.
Authentic gifts have been something the park excels at greatly. They have beautiful Irish jewelry at Emerald Isle, artisan crafted porcelain items in San Marco, and cuckoo clocks in German Gifts. However, one of their more popular items are beer steins. This year only, the park will be selling a special 40th anniversary Busch Gardens beer stein. They will have a couple different kinds, but they are limited time for this year only.
While merchandise will be a big component to the celebration, there will also be some culinary delights. Many old favorites are making a comeback for this year. All throughout the park’s various eateries you will see special menu items. They will be clearly marked. They will be original menu items that the park served as far back as 1975. One item sure to make it’s way back is the Festhaus Hoagie.
Another treat of sorts coming back will be the hospitality center. This is a work in progress admittedly. The only details at this point is, there will be four Anheuser-Busch beer samples in the Festhaus Cafe. You will also be able to get a special mug with your favorite beer. This will be a special premium experience. You will be able to make reservations for it online. Some how free beer will be worked into it, but it is unsure how exactly.
While all the physical things happening in the park are exciting there are a few marketing things that are just as exciting. Something everyone loves are promotions. The park has held some crazy deals in the past but I think this one will really blow your mind to some extent. If you were born in 1975, you can enjoy complimentary admission for opening weekend this year. Sounds like a nice perk for those who were born back then. Full details are sure to come soon.
You may have also noticed, Busch Gardens is not the only park turning forty this year. In fact, King’s Dominion is as well. For this year, both parks a teaming up along with Virginia to try to advertise Virginia as a place of fun for families to visit. What is more exciting is how the parks will offer a combination ticket. The actual combo tickets and advertising campaign will start closer to May.
While this may not be 40th anniversary special, it still holds some value. Busch Gardens has been working with local attractions such as Colonial Williamsburg to help draw more guests. This year, they are taking a new approach. Previously, the area was advertised based on it’s historical value. However, this year it will be advertised as a place of fun and adventure. They will not focus on history as much as they have in the past.
Oh good, now I can sample shitty Budweiser products. Maybe they will even have Bud Light Lime!
Edit: I accidentally typed "Bug Light" at first, I actually wish I would have kept that typo.
Party Rocker said:
Also, just want to point out that this is actually a local approach (not just a Busch Gardens/CW thing) WADMC is driving this campaign using their local tourism funds: Marketing Group Looks to Storytelling to Boost Tourism in Greater Williamsburg
Pegasus Gifts has always been home to a bizzare collection of items so this refresh is definitely welcome. Will Pegasus Gifts 2.0 be open Pass Member Preview Day?
Honestly, I'm not certain if the shop will be open. There were a lot of staggered dates. I think it may open sometime during Spring Break.
Yaaay Pusheen!!!Connor said:
Pegasus Gifts has always been home to a bizzare collection of items so this refresh is definitely welcome. Will Pegasus Gifts 2.0 be open Pass Member Preview Day?
Just added a bit, the featured attractions are: Le Scoot, Le Mans, Wirbelwind, Railroad, Skyride, and one more. So expect to see special merchandise specifically for each of those.
I think they should've focused on beloved defunct rides. It seems kind of odd to produce merchandise for a transportation ride, or Der Wirbelwind.
As much as I hate Drachen Fire, they probably should have included it.