I will be driving by BGW on Saturday heading to VB. Is it worth stopping and getting all 5 kids out to see it? Also, do the Saturday 630 or 8 shows fill up where i have to allow time to get there early?
Summer Nights 2019
- Thread starter Gavin
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The last page or so was about fighting gravity.
This week, freckled sky is playing.
That's a different show.
Oh never mind then, has anyone even seen that group? I’m getting the feeling that all the acts are gonna be kinda b list.
@Thomas liked it.. and Thomas is notoriously tough to please.
Only one more night of this awful event???
So I been trying to see the show each week I went tonight and was twice turned away because of capicity at the theater. Ok the parks busy the theater can safely hold only so many. But a friend that was inside texted me that the reserve seating was more then half empty. I get that those are paid seats but if you are turning guest away and those seats are not filled before showtime then you are being stupid. We were turned away with less then five minutes from start after waiting for over 10 minutes prior if you don't have those seats filled at that point remove the limit and fill them fro the guest waiting in line. You lose nothing.
Except you anger the people who paid for the tickets to sit in the reserved area.
Sorry don't buy that as an excuse they paid and were guaranteed those seats the fact that you fill any that are empty if there are any doesn't take away from their value of A. being guaranteed the seat. B. Not having to wait in line for the seat. And again it's also only if they have not been sold and filled by show time. Also it would only come up at capacity shows.
Saw it tonight. Freckled Sky was ... okay. The interplay between human performer and digital imagery had a couple of cool moments, but it generally was of the "coping with implied tragedy and vague dread, absent any context" variety, and that goes cold after maybe two scenes. Symbolism stands in to help differentiate the implicit stories being told from one scene to another, but honestly there's only so far one can go with this show's obsessively repeated big cat imagery.
The dancing itself was kind of uninteresting, honestly. Wasn't expecting Alvin Ailey choreography, but still. Only one of the dancers (the dude) had moments that grabbed my attention at all, and that happened maybe three times. The gigantic digital screens are the real stars of the show, which is fine. I don't think I'd make a point of seeing it again, especially after seeing something like Light Balance which tells no story at all yet can hold the audience rapt for at least ten minutes. (Not sure about twenty minutes; I didn't see their longer-form Globe show this year.)
Arriving JUST in time to snag some of the very last general-admission seats for the 8pm performance, I noticed the multitudes of unclaimed up-charge seats. Keeping them empty at curtain clearly is the park's policy -- and I can understand the decision not to give premium seats away to the proletariat who didn't pony up, preserving a sense of exclusivity for those who did. Still, were I a performer, I'd be at least a bit miffed that substantial sections of prime rows went unused for a big Saturday night show that was otherwise jam packed. Clearly someone at the park was expecting one hell of a lot of people to shell out extra cash for a 20-minute Freckled Sky show. Not sure how wise that was. Oh well.
I want to say one constructive thing here, since I just dumped on a Summer Nights act. Last year's and this year's incarnations of the BGW nighttime event have been the best angles at a "keep 'em in the park late" play I have seen over the past decade or so. BGW seems to have hit on a rich vein of insight that dictates people will stay late if you give them nighttime spectacle, not some attempt at nighttime story. And nighttime spectacle at scale tends to be stuff like bright lights, lasers, screens, tech, and music. The park is at least trying a bunch of things within this general space from year to year, and seeing what works. Projection mapping didn't go too well, at least not the way the park went about it; IMO Freckled Sky is not very interesting. But Light Balance was major when they showed up last year, and smaller things like the presence of up-lighting in the forested Threadneedle area add terrific mood, tying the notion of an event together as guests move through the park at night. I love that the park continues to try things within the light-music-spectacle universe, instead of trying to move toward less abstract fare which IMO is likely to yield more All For Ones and London Rockses (albeit less "Scott"-ish).
Which brings me to Spark. People here seem to hate Spark, but it's fine for once or twice per year. It's a bubble rave for kids, plus adults who hit up La Belle Maison before the show to grab a bottle of wine and keep their buzz on. That's either your demographic or it isn't; not a ton of line straddling. For a great many people, it fits. Honestly, BGW's realistic options for the RPT are (1) tech spectacle like Spark or (2) amazing-human showcase like Imaginique. As Imaginique doesn't seem to be happening these days, spectacle it is. Far too few theme park attractions these days offer immersive foam bubble pits.
DJ Melody, your crowd work set you apart. Best of luck and thanks for pushing harder than you had to.
The dancing itself was kind of uninteresting, honestly. Wasn't expecting Alvin Ailey choreography, but still. Only one of the dancers (the dude) had moments that grabbed my attention at all, and that happened maybe three times. The gigantic digital screens are the real stars of the show, which is fine. I don't think I'd make a point of seeing it again, especially after seeing something like Light Balance which tells no story at all yet can hold the audience rapt for at least ten minutes. (Not sure about twenty minutes; I didn't see their longer-form Globe show this year.)
Arriving JUST in time to snag some of the very last general-admission seats for the 8pm performance, I noticed the multitudes of unclaimed up-charge seats. Keeping them empty at curtain clearly is the park's policy -- and I can understand the decision not to give premium seats away to the proletariat who didn't pony up, preserving a sense of exclusivity for those who did. Still, were I a performer, I'd be at least a bit miffed that substantial sections of prime rows went unused for a big Saturday night show that was otherwise jam packed. Clearly someone at the park was expecting one hell of a lot of people to shell out extra cash for a 20-minute Freckled Sky show. Not sure how wise that was. Oh well.
I want to say one constructive thing here, since I just dumped on a Summer Nights act. Last year's and this year's incarnations of the BGW nighttime event have been the best angles at a "keep 'em in the park late" play I have seen over the past decade or so. BGW seems to have hit on a rich vein of insight that dictates people will stay late if you give them nighttime spectacle, not some attempt at nighttime story. And nighttime spectacle at scale tends to be stuff like bright lights, lasers, screens, tech, and music. The park is at least trying a bunch of things within this general space from year to year, and seeing what works. Projection mapping didn't go too well, at least not the way the park went about it; IMO Freckled Sky is not very interesting. But Light Balance was major when they showed up last year, and smaller things like the presence of up-lighting in the forested Threadneedle area add terrific mood, tying the notion of an event together as guests move through the park at night. I love that the park continues to try things within the light-music-spectacle universe, instead of trying to move toward less abstract fare which IMO is likely to yield more All For Ones and London Rockses (albeit less "Scott"-ish).
Which brings me to Spark. People here seem to hate Spark, but it's fine for once or twice per year. It's a bubble rave for kids, plus adults who hit up La Belle Maison before the show to grab a bottle of wine and keep their buzz on. That's either your demographic or it isn't; not a ton of line straddling. For a great many people, it fits. Honestly, BGW's realistic options for the RPT are (1) tech spectacle like Spark or (2) amazing-human showcase like Imaginique. As Imaginique doesn't seem to be happening these days, spectacle it is. Far too few theme park attractions these days offer immersive foam bubble pits.
DJ Melody, your crowd work set you apart. Best of luck and thanks for pushing harder than you had to.
I totally agree with you about Freckled Sky. The interplay between the dancers and the screens was moderately interesting. I thought the last segment with the spinners was probably the best part. The fact that they essentially had to work in two dimensions, however, seems to have limited both the choreography and the dancing. I guess the overall show was more important than the technique, but it was uncomfortable for me to watch.
I would add that neither of the last two shows worked very well in the Globe. Both Freckled Sky and Fighting Gravity needed to be seen head on. I understand that the park had limited venues and large crowds, but there was almost no point in watching either of them from the sides.
I would add that neither of the last two shows worked very well in the Globe. Both Freckled Sky and Fighting Gravity needed to be seen head on. I understand that the park had limited venues and large crowds, but there was almost no point in watching either of them from the sides.
Actually I thought of a better answer to this response. Should the park beholding open the fast lane seats on coasters if there are no fast lane riders. I mean those people pay for those seats it wouldn't be fair for s non paying guest to sit in them right? That actually basically the same once the train is dispatched no one can sit there and once the show starts no one can sit in those seats. The parks policy is to fill fast lane seats when not occupied and possible. I see no logical reason that this should extend to shows.
The guest’s perceptions of value, fairness, and importance aren’t the same between the two.
The notion of “value” of an up-charge roller coaster seat is very low when another train will arrive in 60 seconds, vs. multiple hours for the next Freckled Sky 2-D dance spectacular. And when the entire coaster experience is at most two minutes long, with no expectation of “theatre proper” behavior amongst the bourgeoisie section during the experience. And when the coaster’s fast lane seats often aren’t the best seats on the train, vs. the (ostensibly) premium location of the down-front Globe rows. And when the unconscious socialized-in price expectation for a roller coaster ride is minimal, vs. a more expensive seat for a theater show. And when the very notion of differentiated pricing for roller coaster seating is newer than for indoor live event seating — at least in the minds of people over the age of 30.
I may be missing some. Don’t mean to be an ass about it — I just mean to point out that I can see why the park structures those two policies differently.
I have no problem with the reverse section but point. The park KNOWS exactly how many seats they sold in that section if you sold 20 seats you don't need THREEr rows. Shrink the section based on sales if you don't need it. You should not be turning guest away when you can acominate them. They are more or less saying we won't acominate you so we can try to blackmail you into spending more money on a future show. It goes back to take care of your guest first and foremost. As for the over thirty comment I would direct you to some of your own post about member events and admission.
Easy, Hoss. I was only commenting on the fact that roller coaster seats and theater seats are not equivalent in the ways that you suggested.
I agree with you that it’s odd to see the park reserve so many seats in the Globe and then insist upon releasing none of them. Odds are, nobody would really notice if the park released an entire reserved row or two when it was apparent that no seats in that row would even come CLOSE to being needed for premium-paying guests. They could do that and still keep us mouth breathers completely out of the bring-your-butler rows.
No idea what you’re getting at with that last sentence. Looks like you missed my meaning on that one, too. ?
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Maybe I am reading it in context you didn't intend. If so I apologize. It came off to me as an off handed way of calling me childish and I was simply pointing out that some might feel the same about some of your post regarding the soft opening of Cutback and other events.No idea what you’re getting at with that last sentence. Looks like you missed my meaning on that one, too. ?
To be clear I completely understand the idea of up saling reserve seating but any ticket selling system out there has the ability to access the number sold. The park has easy access to knowing how many seats have been sold and can easily safe those plus a handful of extras without withholding access to a large number of seats to the general public. They choose not. This is either a direct effort to limit general public se as ts to drive up demand for the the premium or laziness we don't want to change the seating section to meet demand. Or worse just plan uncaring incompetence.
My point was only that there are old(-er) people like me who vividly remember the days when the amusement park queue was the great equalizer -- nobody got to skip the line unless they were filming a Buster Keaton silent movie scene on a hand-cranked camera. For us, the single long line -- with no way to jump the queue for cash -- was the one and only available vector to board rides in most parks. And then there are younger people who have come up during the era of buying oneself out of long lines, at the park and at the airport and etc., for whom Fast Lane style queue avoidance has been an available option (cash permitting) for as long as they can recall. Didn't mean anything beyond that, save perhaps for a mild self-effacing comment about my own age.
Out of curiosity, which Cutback soft opening comments are you referring to? I looked at a few of them, but didn't see anything that would particularly imply my youth, either in age or spirit. I did see my note about skipping a 30-minute line for that attraction, but if anything that makes me look old and cranky.
Not too old to enjoy Summer Nights, though! And the smooth, effective crowd work of DJ Melody! It's no mean feat to get physically active buy-in from a crowd of tired folks who thought they were just coming in to sit down for some kind of light show.
The issue with not filling every seat is this. This is the line 20 minutes before the 8 clock show tonight they have already open the theater and filled. Note the large number of guest excluded. Also note it wasn't until after the show start that any staff member informed the crowd that they were not letting anyone in. If you have an 800 seat theater with crowds like this there is no valid excuse for not getting 800 people in there.
