Party Rocker said:
Idea can be impeccable but if execution is crappy then the areas are crappy.
Howl-O-Scream
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
Idea can be impeccable but if execution is crappy then the areas are crappy.
Unfortunately I have to agree with Atlantis, Terror-tories are about the immense theme, and because they are so poorly decorated they aren't successful in fact I think they are just barely getting by as some people have complained on Facebook already about the lack of decor in the park.
Atlantis said:
From a park perspective, yes.
Party Rocker said:
Atlantis said:
He meant you haven't experienced what hasn't happened. The Terror-tories were not pulled off how they were planned, thus saying the idea sucks is asinine.
Party Rocker said:
People will always complain, otherwise this forum wouldn't exist.
Life is too short, have fun.
Has anybody pointed out that the park has only reached capacity one this year so far? And that was the Saturday they gave away free tickets.
By this time last year, the park closed two or three times in October.
By this time last year, the park closed two or three times in October.
Party Rocker said:
Good post.
Don't get used to it.
Cody said:
From a park perspective numbers are down down down down down.
The concept exists at other parks. Other parks I have been to. I know what something like this SHOULD be and what the half hacked watered down chopped budget version BGW has looks like. Nothing asinine there.
Pretzel Kaiser said:
As I said, numbers are down down. I think Breakout Boy or whatever that band was ten years ago shoulda waited to release that one DOWN DOWN song and dedicate it to BGW's metrics.
Every Saturday I've visited the park, it's been slam packed with people. Last Saturday the Scotland-Bavaria lots seemed pretty full plus there were consistent long waits all over the place.
The Saturday I went with a few friends from PA, all the coasters had 45 min-hour waits at the peak of the event. If the park doesn't close to capacity, it feels like it gets dangerously close.
The Saturday I went with a few friends from PA, all the coasters had 45 min-hour waits at the peak of the event. If the park doesn't close to capacity, it feels like it gets dangerously close.
Attendance is still down regardless. Parks hitting capacity is very good news for the park for several reasons, one of which is that word gets out that this thing is so popular. If the park isn't hitting capacity anymore when they were able to do it on a weekly basis a few years ago, it's very bad for the park.
Pretzel Kaiser said:
Exactly. Debut weekend last year Friday was slammed, Saturday was lot capacity, and the whole event started with a bang. I praised HoS last year but this year has very little to praise.
Sounding like sales for another special event pass are not meeting numbers either. Just sayin'. Some people love some rose colored glasses.
You will have to come by to see for yourself. Might be entertaining.BGWScream said:chickenking said:Join us! You don't wanna miss this...
What is this?
netdvn said:
A couple Fridays capped out last year, and over half of Saturdays capped out as well. Looking like being close is not filling the park up. Park is having issues with that.
To me the terror-tories had great theming in the hamlets (sans Port-O-Skull) but it lacked flow from one area to the next. As far as the crowds go I'd say that Sunday was a bit of a zoo, but it was tolerable. I was told there was around 32,600 people in the park. (Is that bad or pretty good) I felt Ripper Row was great, watching the folding fan scares was hilarious. I also liked the way that demon street was set up, although the fog in that area had a revolting odor at times.
Atlantis said:
And I also remember going one Sunday last year when it reached capacity! Also, there is no doubt in my mind that it is because of lack of advertising. The most you got this year was a radio ad! And I think that people are getting tired of paying $74 for an only partially scary event.
The weather this HoS had been great, warmer than usual in fact. I just looked at the history and there were only two weekends with more than .25 inches of rain ( wunderground.org ).
The park is failing to not only bring in guests, but keep previous guests returning. Just as a personal note, I went to HoS 6 times last year, but only doing 3 (and one two hour visit just to see if things had improved the second week) this year. Blood Banquet and Ripper Row are great and all, but the rest of the parks offerings agent enough fun for me to justify the trip (I remember a few times last year where Fiends was the thing that solidified my choice to visit, now I don't even want to watch the show). While some of the enthusiasts will return for whatever crap the park does, the fact that the park had to give away tickets to reach capacity this year should speaks volumes.
The park is failing to not only bring in guests, but keep previous guests returning. Just as a personal note, I went to HoS 6 times last year, but only doing 3 (and one two hour visit just to see if things had improved the second week) this year. Blood Banquet and Ripper Row are great and all, but the rest of the parks offerings agent enough fun for me to justify the trip (I remember a few times last year where Fiends was the thing that solidified my choice to visit, now I don't even want to watch the show). While some of the enthusiasts will return for whatever crap the park does, the fact that the park had to give away tickets to reach capacity this year should speaks volumes.
I have seen a lot of insinuations about the implications of the lower attendance at HOS this year, but I have not seen any real evidence drawing a causal link between the quality of the event and the attendance rates.
I honestly have no idea why attendance is down, if it is, because I don't have those data either. That said, I want to point out several factors that could also lead to a smaller number of guests.
1. Weather. The fact is that it rained all of Columbus Day weekend and it was colder, as well. In an area with a fairly high concentration of Federal employees, losing that 3-day weekend, has to affect numbers. Similarly, it rained the second Saturday of the HOS. I know this for a fact, because I was there. We all joked that it would make the crowds lighter, which it did.
2. Federal Government furloughs. Once again, I believe the demographics of the region are relevant. Federal employees have significantly less spending money right now because of the Sequester last Summer followed immediately by a 12-day furlough. The lower cash flow affects more than just Federal employees; it also reduces income to the service industry and contractors. So, a segment of BGW's pool of guests isn't spending any extra money right now.
3. Word of Mouth. I can't imagine that all of the bad press on this site has had no affect on attendance. People looking for information on the event are likely to have seen the negative reviews here and decided against going. I'm not saying that anyone should stop expressing his or her opinion, but I would like to emphasize that they are only personal opinions and they can become a self-fulfilling prophesy. Moreover, it is a bit circular to say that lower attendance rates are a result of poor quality, if that drop in n8imbers is a result of the same criticisms of the park.
My guess is that some combination of all three factors probably led to the lower attendance year, assuming y’all are correct in your statistics. But once again, I have yet to see actual evidence one way or another.
I honestly have no idea why attendance is down, if it is, because I don't have those data either. That said, I want to point out several factors that could also lead to a smaller number of guests.
1. Weather. The fact is that it rained all of Columbus Day weekend and it was colder, as well. In an area with a fairly high concentration of Federal employees, losing that 3-day weekend, has to affect numbers. Similarly, it rained the second Saturday of the HOS. I know this for a fact, because I was there. We all joked that it would make the crowds lighter, which it did.
2. Federal Government furloughs. Once again, I believe the demographics of the region are relevant. Federal employees have significantly less spending money right now because of the Sequester last Summer followed immediately by a 12-day furlough. The lower cash flow affects more than just Federal employees; it also reduces income to the service industry and contractors. So, a segment of BGW's pool of guests isn't spending any extra money right now.
3. Word of Mouth. I can't imagine that all of the bad press on this site has had no affect on attendance. People looking for information on the event are likely to have seen the negative reviews here and decided against going. I'm not saying that anyone should stop expressing his or her opinion, but I would like to emphasize that they are only personal opinions and they can become a self-fulfilling prophesy. Moreover, it is a bit circular to say that lower attendance rates are a result of poor quality, if that drop in n8imbers is a result of the same criticisms of the park.
My guess is that some combination of all three factors probably led to the lower attendance year, assuming y’all are correct in your statistics. But once again, I have yet to see actual evidence one way or another.
At capacity or not, the park has been rather packed most days I have been there for HOS in the evenings; even on some of the rainy ones. Just so you know, I have been there every Friday & Sunday, plus four SATURDAYS. :shocked:
That is 16 out of 18 possible HOS days. I'm having fun.
That is 16 out of 18 possible HOS days. I'm having fun.
Look at the park's Facebook page over the past few years (the timeline makes this easy). They announce when the park hits capacity. The number of times this happens goes down each year. Look it up.
I agree that the government budget issues might have some impact, but the weather this HoS season has been pretty good (I already did this research) and it's not like this is the first year ever it had rained during HoS. Not to mention documented attendance declines happened before the sequesture, it's been happening for years. I'm also in no way saying that decreased attendance is responsible for a decline in quality since my main issues are choices that could have been made with the same or less money being spent. However, to say that nobody outside of this site percieves any quality change at all is pretty inacurate as well. People post about these declines on Facebook frequently so people do notice these things. In the end there's no real way to tell why each individual person why they dying go to the park anymore, but at the same time, these new changes certainly aren't boosting attendance either. The November earnings report will be very interesting to see, to say the least.
As far as the negative press about the park, it's the park's responsibility to put on a good event and those who criticize it only really want the park to succeed. People should be honest about their opinions no matter how their loyalty lies. I'll be honest here, people who know I'm into the park have asked me how it is and I told them it wasn't really good and should look into KD (some of which are glad they went to KD instead). I did that because these people are my friends and if they trust me with my opinion, I should be honest and help them have the most fun possible. If the park wanted good word if mouth, it has to be earned.
I agree that the government budget issues might have some impact, but the weather this HoS season has been pretty good (I already did this research) and it's not like this is the first year ever it had rained during HoS. Not to mention documented attendance declines happened before the sequesture, it's been happening for years. I'm also in no way saying that decreased attendance is responsible for a decline in quality since my main issues are choices that could have been made with the same or less money being spent. However, to say that nobody outside of this site percieves any quality change at all is pretty inacurate as well. People post about these declines on Facebook frequently so people do notice these things. In the end there's no real way to tell why each individual person why they dying go to the park anymore, but at the same time, these new changes certainly aren't boosting attendance either. The November earnings report will be very interesting to see, to say the least.
As far as the negative press about the park, it's the park's responsibility to put on a good event and those who criticize it only really want the park to succeed. People should be honest about their opinions no matter how their loyalty lies. I'll be honest here, people who know I'm into the park have asked me how it is and I told them it wasn't really good and should look into KD (some of which are glad they went to KD instead). I did that because these people are my friends and if they trust me with my opinion, I should be honest and help them have the most fun possible. If the park wanted good word if mouth, it has to be earned.
