Last night I went to a park in Williamsburg, VA and had my heart broken. I've always had a strong emotional connection to the park, but tonight was the first night that connection has lead me to tears. I've seen the park go through bad times and I've seen the park go through good times but, through all of that, Busch Gardens Williamsburg was still the park and that bond between the park and I remained. Yesterday, that bond was severed. I didn't feel the heartbeat of the park- that park in Williamsburg, VA that I went to last night felt cold and dead. All the things I had ever loved about the park had been completely erased and replaced. After getting over the initial shock, I quickly realized that the park that had always been under all the nonsense- through the good and the bad- wasn't there last night. That connection- that link that has caused me to stand by the park for so long- was gone.
I know there's people reading this right now that are scoffing at the idea that I love and stand by the park but those people have to understand something: Standing by the park doesn't mean standing by Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is simply a management structure full of incompetence and ignorance that has been given the right to do as they please with the park. Throughout the park's history, we've seen different eras of management affect the park in different ways- some good and some bad but, like I said, the park could still be seen under all that garbage and fluff so I still cared and I still had hope. Looking at the state the park is in right now- not just IllumiNights, but everything that's happening internally and throughout the rest of the chain- as of this morning, my hope is gone.
That leads me back to the two words at the top of this thread. I'm done. As much as it pains me to say it, I can't write about a place that I see no hope for. I don't have anything to defend anymore. I don't have anything to stand up for anymore. The thing- the park- that I have spent the last 4 years defending is dead- all that's left behind is the garbage someone piled on top of it. There have been times when things looked rough, but I've always been able to point to something someone could do to fix it. That's no longer the case. I don't see a way to fix it. It feels too far gone.
Over the last few years, I've seen these occasional sparks of hope coming out of that park in Williamsburg, VA. It hasn't been much, but those sparks- those little things that cause me to hope that things are turning around- are what have kept me going this long. Last night, every last one of those sparks had been extinguished- the park's heatbeat had flatlined. The park was dead. Trust me, there's nothing I want more than to see another spark of hope or to hear another faint heartbeat from under the rubble but, until that happens, I'm done.
I'll still try to keep up with the forum, but until I see something positive to grasp onto come out of the park, I fear I'm just another radical on the verge of letting their season pass lapse and that isn't the type of person who should be writing for BGWFans.
I know there's people reading this right now that are scoffing at the idea that I love and stand by the park but those people have to understand something: Standing by the park doesn't mean standing by Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is simply a management structure full of incompetence and ignorance that has been given the right to do as they please with the park. Throughout the park's history, we've seen different eras of management affect the park in different ways- some good and some bad but, like I said, the park could still be seen under all that garbage and fluff so I still cared and I still had hope. Looking at the state the park is in right now- not just IllumiNights, but everything that's happening internally and throughout the rest of the chain- as of this morning, my hope is gone.
That leads me back to the two words at the top of this thread. I'm done. As much as it pains me to say it, I can't write about a place that I see no hope for. I don't have anything to defend anymore. I don't have anything to stand up for anymore. The thing- the park- that I have spent the last 4 years defending is dead- all that's left behind is the garbage someone piled on top of it. There have been times when things looked rough, but I've always been able to point to something someone could do to fix it. That's no longer the case. I don't see a way to fix it. It feels too far gone.
Over the last few years, I've seen these occasional sparks of hope coming out of that park in Williamsburg, VA. It hasn't been much, but those sparks- those little things that cause me to hope that things are turning around- are what have kept me going this long. Last night, every last one of those sparks had been extinguished- the park's heatbeat had flatlined. The park was dead. Trust me, there's nothing I want more than to see another spark of hope or to hear another faint heartbeat from under the rubble but, until that happens, I'm done.
I'll still try to keep up with the forum, but until I see something positive to grasp onto come out of the park, I fear I'm just another radical on the verge of letting their season pass lapse and that isn't the type of person who should be writing for BGWFans.
