Project 2022: Pantheon

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Jahrules said:
Wasn't specified. But I'm imagining that if construction workers can keep working and maintain social distancing, there should be no issue. Why put a bunch of construction workers out of jobs when they can do what they need without risk of spreading the illness?
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Out here in IL, it is pretty open-ended and based on CA and NY's declarations. I don't see why the governor would do anything different and I doubt, especially since most physical labor left to do on the ride is plaza/queue/station based, that construction would firmly stop. Chances are that they will continue testing and do what they can to get the ride to open with the park, since this thing doesn't seem to be going away anytime soon, but that's a discussion for another thread.

EDIT: The latest EO from the governor of VA just confirms limiting to 10 patrons at a time for certain establishments (BGW does not have any right now) and social distancing for establishments that do not have members of the public and cannot tele-commute. Since construction work would fall under this, I would assume that as long as the workers feel comfortable continuing the work, Pantheon's construction should not be hindered by much.
 
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Gavin said:
Any, and all construction is continuing unabated. Also the 10 person rule does not apply to workplaces, but employers must still take precautions.
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Construction may and very likely was halted Mon or Tues this past week... Closed lips till now.....?
 
Construction can only go so far. City/government offices are closed in most areas so contractors can't pull permits. And, if they had a permit prior to the closure, there's no inspectors to sign off. I have a contractor replacing a sidewalk at my house; he said he has 10 jobs in a flux because he can't get permits.
 
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I know this was discussed probably two weeks ago but I'm dying for some Pantheon chit chat ?..

Can we go back over the landscaping details around the ride? I'd imagine project landscapists are finally at the stage of planting some flowerbeds, trees, and shrubbery? If I remember correctly, the full site plans indicate details such as tree species, etc. Anyone have some jpegs on hand?
 
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I'm gonna say something kinda 'radical' here:
What if BGW just went with fake greenery for this ride? Fake trees, fake flowers, fave shrubbery. No upkeep costs, always looks good, and easy to install. Bonus of being outside they don't have to clean it or water it in droughts.
 
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warfelg said:
I'm gonna say something kinda 'radical' here:
What if BGW just went with fake greenery for this ride? Fake trees, fake flowers, fave shrubbery. No upkeep costs, always looks good, and easy to install. Bonus of being outside they don't have to clean it or water it in droughts.
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Fake greenery, even the casual stuff you’d use to decorate your home, is REALLY expensive. If they wanted to make it strong enough to withstand the elements for years on end, it would cost even more. And there would still be serious upkeep costs to consider as they’d have to repaint them and repair them over time as they fade and get damaged by the sun and the weather.

Plus, fake trees can’t grow. Just a handful of real trees will eventually give the ride area a lush cover... even if it takes a few decades to fully grow in. But with fake plants, they’ll only ever get as big as when they’re produced.
 
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Joe said:
Fake greenery, even the casual stuff you’d use to decorate your home, is REALLY expensive. If they wanted to make it strong enough to withstand the elements for years on end, it would cost even more. And there would still be serious upkeep costs to consider as they’d have to repaint them and repair them over time as they fade and get damaged by the sun and the weather.

Plus, fake trees can’t grow. Just a handful of real trees will eventually give the ride area a lush cover... even if it takes a few decades to fully grow in. But with fake plants, they’ll only ever get as big as when they’re produced.
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I wouldn't say do everything fake. Yes there's an upfront cost, but weight that out with the long term spending on upkeep of live plants. The fertilizing, trimming, general upkeep, along with the labor to do all of that. Especially if they want an exotic look to anything. Just saying, a little bit of fake plants isn't the worse thing in the world. We did it in one of our parks when I was a township planner. Park was mostly synthetic turf, fake flowers, fake shrubs, real trees. Landscaping alone cost $2.2mil up front as opposed to $1mil. Ten year cost of upkeep saved the township $12million. Just something to consider.
 
But if the trees are real, what’s the point of the rest? Just like all of BGW’s other coasters don’t have flowers and shrubs in their ride area, Pantheon doesn’t need them either. Just plant some trees and let them grow. Adding fake stuff just seems like an unnecessary expense.
 
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Joe said:
But if the trees are real, what’s the point of the rest? Just like all of BGW’s other coasters don’t have flowers and shrubs in their ride area, Pantheon doesn’t need them either. Just plant some trees and let them grow. Adding fake stuff just seems like an unnecessary expense.
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Beauty, which sadly BGW doesn't really care for. There's going to be some areas where they want things that just isn't going to be a great way to get to an maintain the area. Like the interior of the helix at the start, the slope by the drop, between the station and launch #2, 3, 4. Does it need it? No. Would it be all the better with it? Absolutely. My personal opinion is they don't do it because it would be hard to maintain rather than think about the options in front of them.
 
warfelg said:
My personal opinion is they don't do it because it would be hard to maintain rather than think about the options in front of them.
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Not because it would be absurdly expensive? I’ve never ridden Apollo’s Chariot and thought to myself, “Damn I wish there were some more shrubs around that helix.”
 
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Joe said:
Not because it would be absurdly expensive? I’ve never ridden Apollo’s Chariot and thought to myself, “Damn I wish there were some more shrubs around that helix.”
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Agreed.

If the park were to add shrubs, flowers, etc scattered throughout the rides infield it would be a totally unnecessary expense. 2020 is already going to be a hard year for the park and I imagine they aren't planning on installing landscaping that will make only the .1% of the enthusiast population happy. We also all know it would just continue to get worse and worse as the years go on as that is the common trend with all new things in the park. The cost of installing the landscaping, maintaining it's quality in a hard to reach place such as the helix, combined with the wind of a train roaring through the layout ever few minutes is a recipe for disaster.
 
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With big-scale high-speed rides like this, just having the land not be barren is enough. Save the fake plants for Verbolten's show building (which needs it way more).

...and I just made myself sad. It's probably cheaper to keep a Magic Mountain's worth of white-knuckle machines running than to keep a Magic Kingdom's worth of themed rides looking good.
 
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I really don't think artificial greenery is really a viable option. My place of business experimented a bit with artificial plants. They looked like garbage within 18 months.

It literally costs more to buy artificial than pay a worker to come in occasionally and care for them.

Busch Gardens will never do this.
 
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I believe that James City County does have landscaping requirements. I doubt they include artificial plants. There are also Chesapeake Bay preservation requirements that do require live plantings. Most will be down in the RPA, but some can be placed up in the RMA and upland areas, especially if the RPA isn't accessible enough to add additional plantings.
 
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Honestly just some nice green grass around most of the ride would be enough for me. If six flags can do that and mow it why can’t BGW? Sure I’d prefer a few trees in the large areas, but as long as they don’t leave it as dirt I’m happy
 
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