Scott Gasparich Has Left the Building

Register or Login to Hide This Ad for Free!
Zachary

Zachary

Administrator
Sep 23, 2009
17,340
55,379
280
Virginia
Before anyone casts any doubt on this fact, let me make something clear: The following tweets are 100% sincere. I truly wish Scott Gasparich all the best with wherever he decides to go from here. Lets remember the great things that happened while he was Entertainment VP rather than dwell on the negative.

That said, good luck to Scott and to whoever pick up the torch to replace him.

[tweet=https://twitter.com/BGWFans/status/588767339128037377]

[tweet=https://twitter.com/BGWFans/status/588767703873163264]

[tweet=https://twitter.com/BGWFans/status/588768197672718336]

[tweet=https://twitter.com/BGWFans/status/588768466947051520]

Lastly, if it wasn't clear from my first few lines, I will be incredibly disappointed in anyone who rejoices in this news. No matter what, Scott is a person just like you or I. I haven't agreed with a lot that he has done, but I don't believe him to be a bad person or someone who harbored any malintent towards the park or its fanbase. Quite the opposite really.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jonquil, Ken, Jonathan S and 20 others
RE: New Vice President of Entertainment

Well said, Zachary. Very classy response.

This isn't a huge surprise. It was probably only a matter of time; Scott spent too much budget and didn't bring enough back in. Any whispers on who will be replacing him?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jonathan S, Zimmy, John and 6 others
Back in the Fall of 2012 I wrote this about Scott on BGWFans:

Zachary said:
Now, with all that said, I have to give a nod to Scott Gasparich. I disagree with a lot of the decisions he makes and I’m pretty sure we have completely opposing views of what direction the park should be heading; but, one thing I can say is that he cares about his work. There’s no doubt in my mind that he legitimately loves what he does and believes in the things he’s putting together.
Click to expand...

I still believe all of that to this day and honestly, I have far more respect for someone who is passionate about their work and truly believes they're doing the right thing than someone who just doesn't care.

I am actually going to miss Scott. Again, we didn't agree, but he always struck me as a pretty good guy.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Zimmy, John, Nicole and 5 others
So now, who fills the spot? I hear two names. One bad, in my opinion. The other is generally unknown to me, except by videos and around-about the park. I know who I would like, but who knows if he will apply.
 
It's sad to see what's gonna happen to Christmas Town from here. While many disliked his shows lets take time to look back at some of his more memorable works.
Monster Stomp: on Ripper Row
Scrooge No More
Gloria
Night Beats
Fiends (in the Festhaus)
Mix it Up
Dig it Up
Roll Out The Barrel
Good luck to where ever the wind takes you, Scott.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Celticdog, Mad Ludwig, Ziva and 1 other person
I have to say, Scott definitely did things that I did not like (mostly removing TIO), but I have to say he was a person that was not afraid to take risk and that is a great skill to have in such a high position. He will be missed and I hope him the best in whatever direction he will go in, and I look forward to what is to come in the future of BG's entertainment.
 
  • Like
Reactions: flamanar, Alf33, Nicole and 3 others
I imagine Carl won't actually play the role of VP of entertainment as he doesn't have a background with entertainment. He'll probably fill the position in until the new VP comes in. As for who ever the new VP of entertainment will be, good luck.
 
  • Like
Reactions: flamanar and Zachary
Despite what Zachary said, I must admit that I'm glad that Scott is moving on. He is a very very creative person and came up with many great and innovative ideas. However, I think that his radical thinking and ideas just weren't meant for a park like BGW. I think the natural restrictions of the park's theming were keeping his ideas from reaching their full potential. I wish him the best of luck and hope to see the great things he does in the future.
 
  • Like
Reactions: flamanar, CastleOSullivan and Jake
the thing that worries me more than Scott leaving is the tweet that mentioned some people from Marketing left today as well. What little was left of the marketing dept. has jumped over board. This either means the park will have little to no marketing or

*Breathing Intensifies*

A total overhaul of the marketing department which is well overdue.
 
  • Like
Reactions: John, flamanar, Ziva and 1 other person
I guess I should say something. I wish Scott Gasparich the best in the future, but it would be a white-faced lie for me if I said I wasn't somewhat hopeful or joyous over what this change could mean for the future of the park. As others have already pointed out, Scott Gasparich probably did have a lot of good ideas, but the problem was he put these ideas in a place where they just did not completely belong. With this, none of his ideas were put to their full potential, because of the environment they were set in. I essentially think going off to seek other opportunities for himself was in the best interests of not only the park, but himself also. He needs to find a place where his ideas can be put to their full potential, and actually be executed well.

Now with that, not all of his ideas were executed poorly, I think he has done wonders for the Hamlet of Aquitaine, made Christmas Town to be an exclusive & awe-inspiring event, did an awesome job with the entertainment aspects of the Food and Wine Festival, and a lot of the recent in-park renovations have been stellar. But then there are the things that I have found to be terrible decisions, or otherwise poorly executed ideas. Unfortunately, the negatives always seemed to out-way the positives for me.

I hope that the person who replaces him can maintain the quality in things that Scott Gasparich had done well, but improve, replace, eliminate and fix the things that were otherwise not so good. I hope that the new Entertainment director won't make the park into a Disney-wannabe, Special Event host with booze. But instead, try to focus on making Busch Gardens Williamsburg into a world class theme park again, featuring awesome beauty and solid, one of a kind old world European theming, with fun and inspiring entertainment. Here's to hoping.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lord Robert, Youhow2, Haberdasher1973 and 8 others
Just settled into our hotel for Fury tomorrow. Then I see this whole scenario. I'll just say WoW! There are a few happy people on this forum.
 
I think I need to point out that Scott isn't really responsible for all of those things. I don't think it is fair to other people to give him credit for their work. For example, the bulk of the F&WF (the important part) is the work of the Culinary Department.

In our attempts to eulogize Scott, let's not take away from others' accomplishments.
 
  • Like
Reactions: pcblueeagle, Zimmy, Haberdasher1973 and 8 others
You must log in or register to reply here.
Consider Donating to Hide This Ad