No Longer "World's Most Beautiful Park"

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At the risk of reopening wounds, any mention by the park that their award is by NAPHA is the one they are referencing is truly embarrassing. Can't confirm if it is still up, but last time I went though Gate 3 (has it really been 6 years now???), landscaping still had a "Congradulations on your Golden Ticket!" banner on it. They know they lost. I think they are really trying to noteworthy as they are slipping into the CF/SF esk realm we have been watching over the last 15 or so years. When the park defends their lame award over the one everyone else cares about, they come off as pathetic.
 
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Also, the NAPHA awards can literally be bought and paid for. You pay $50 to join the organization to get a vote. Literally anyone with some money and a handful of friends can stuff the ballot box—especially since the voting base is so small and requires no prior qualifications.

I'm no great fan of the Golden Ticket Awards, but they have a free, application-based system for picking their voters—far more open, far more democratic, far less insular, and far less susceptible to foul play.

Anyway, wouldn't it be a shame if a bunch of BGW fans who know BGW doesn't deserve the award anymore joined NAPHA to vote for BGW's closest competitor for Most Beautiful Theme Park (Dollywood, judging by past results)...? Hmmm... It's almost like selling votes is a bad idea...? 🤔
 
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Zachary said:
Also, the NAPHA awards can literally be bought and paid for. You pay $50 to join the organization to get a vote. Literally anyone with some money and a handful of friends can stuff the ballot box—especially since the voting base is so small and requires no prior qualifications.

I'm no great fan of the Golden Ticket Awards, but they have a free, application-based system for picking their voters—far more open, far more democratic, far less insular, and far less susceptible to foul play.

Anyway, wouldn't it be a shame if a bunch of people who know BGW doesn't deserve the award anymore joined NAPHA to vote for BGW's closest competitor for Most Beautiful Theme Park (Dollywood, judging by past results) just to shut BGW up...? Hmmmmmm... It's almost like selling votes is a bad idea... 🤔
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That would be hilarious.
 
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Jonesta6 said:
Why don't we go for the jugular and vote KD?
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Because the amount of money a theoretical consortium like this would need to spend to make KD win is likely DRAMATICALLY higher than the amount needed to swing the vote to BGW's closest competitor in the category.

This is a pretty great illustration of why first past the post voting systems are so problematic too! (Shout-out to Vote Coasters!)
 
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Zachary said:
Because the amount of money a theoretical consortium like this would need to spend to make KD win is likely DRAMATICALLY higher than the amount needed to swing the vote to BGW's closest competitor in the category.

This is a pretty great illustration of why first past the post voting systems are so problematic too! (Shout-out to Vote Coasters!)
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Yeah, but figuring this discussion is theoretical it's not like prohibitive costs are an actual barrier since it's unlikely anyone here would actually spend their money on such things... Or would they?
 
It's not up anymore and hasn't been for a few years. Until this year BGW had been the only park to win the Landscaping/Most Beautiful Park Award at the Golden Tickets, so it wasn't unrealistic for it to stay up. Ultimately though I think you will find that SEAS as a whole isn't concerned with Golden Ticket awards. They mean very little outside of enthusiasts. It's highly likely that they didn't even campaign for it. Dollywood on the other hand seems to actively campaign for their awards, so it's not surprising to see this happen.
 
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FWIW: All previous press releases I could find reference the NAPHA award. I think this is because they have been around longer and constitute a longer streak. Regardless of which award is more legit(they both have issues), BGW has primarily advertised the 30+ year streak on the NAPHA award.

Of course BGW is far from the most beautiful park imo but this is far from the most rediculous claim I've seen seas make.
 
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Do we know what specifically has changed in the landscaping at the parks over the last few years? I mean sure 2020 the park landscaping was basically non-existent (as were the staff), before they started bringing back landscaping teams, but to the average guest now it's probably hard to tell the difference.

I'm fairly certain SEAS has cut the landscaping budget over the time and it's probably a fair assumption that the landscaping team headcount is less than in years past given SEAS relentless approach to managing overhead.

Things that come to mind is Pantheon landscaping with the lack of rich green grass around the ride still- remember BGW was famous under the AB days for literally painting/applying a green dye to make the grass look very nice for guests.
 
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rvadude85 said:
Do we know what specifically has changed in the landscaping at the parks over the last few years? I mean sure 2020 the park landscaping was basically non-existent (as were the staff), before they started bringing back landscaping teams, but to the average guest now it's probably hard to tell the difference.

I'm fairly certain SEAS has cut the landscaping budget over the time and it's probably a fair assumption that the landscaping team headcount is less than in years past given SEAS relentless approach to managing overhead.

Things that come to mind is Pantheon landscaping with the lack of rich green grass around the ride still- remember BGW was famous under the AB days for literally painting/applying a green dye to make the grass look very nice for guests.
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Invadr pretty bare, Finnigan pretty bare, Tempesto bare, Pantheon bare.
 
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CoasterTalkBob said:
I've not been to Pantheon yet but it sure seems like Tempesto has a lot more theming (even though it's still pretty weak)
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It's probably a close call between the two. Pantheon does have the stone tablets sitting around, which don't really add much atmosphere, but at least explain what they are going for with the ride. Tempesto's station has more character though IMO.

The weakest point of Pantheon most likely is the plain wood fence atmosphere through most of the queue. I am not sure what people are supposed to look at while they are stuck in there for 30+ minutes.
 
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