Wow!! This discussion has gone way off the rails. I had to check and make sure I was at a BGW discussion or a Disney site.
The State of the Park: Busch Gardens Williamsburg
- Thread starter CoasterTalkBob
- Start date
I had started to spend more at BGW but due to lines and quality have been going back to my old ways. Between that and having too little time the last 2 visits to bother with food etc. and the water fountains being open, the only fault I've noticed was one train on Pantheon.
EXCEPT one thing -- the horrible commercial music jingle that, best I can tell, accompanies any TV screen. It repeats a single melody very 5-6 seconds and varies only in the bass coming in every once in awhile. Heard at almost every ride and a few other places and sounds like shopping music. Heard little or no other music, such as music specific to a ride.
EXCEPT one thing -- the horrible commercial music jingle that, best I can tell, accompanies any TV screen. It repeats a single melody very 5-6 seconds and varies only in the bass coming in every once in awhile. Heard at almost every ride and a few other places and sounds like shopping music. Heard little or no other music, such as music specific to a ride.
My biggest issue with BGW this year has been its inconsistencies. I was willing to overlook this the last part of 2020 when the park opened back up and to some extent in 2021, but this year has seemed to be worse. Maybe it is because they are trying to operate like they are fully staffed when clearly they aren't. I love the Food and Wine Festival, but think it is a shame that places like the Coke Market in England and Festa, Marco Polo's, Alpie's Ski Mart, Les Frites, and several small drink stands around the park remain closed. The food served at the F&WF kiosks are samples. Sometimes you want a meal instead of samples. It takes forever to get a meal on a crowded day. Also, on a hot day, there are very few places to get a quick drink or a souvenir cup refill without waiting in a long line.
As for the inconsistencies.... I usually go to the park 2 times a month. Almost every visit this year has been different. Some experiences have been great and I have had blast. Other visits have been very frustrating and makes me wish I didn't bother going that day. I'll give two examples:
One Friday in April I used my free ticket to bring a friend that was visiting from out of town. The park was moderately crowded, but operations seemed on point. We rode Pantheon several times, all other rides seemed to operate most (if not all) day without breaking down. We binged Apollo's and Griffon for a while until we got coastered out. We enjoyed the trio wine sampler in Germany, France, and Italy. Got some snacks, food, and drinks from various areas of the park. Park personnel were cheerful and made our visit great. It was a wonderful day and my friend was jealous that my husband and I have tickets to such a wonderful park like this. We dropped some money in the park that day and enjoyed every part of it.
Fast forward to a few Fridays ago in May.... The husband and I played hookie from work to go on a Friday. Park was pretty crowded with some school groups, but not too bad. Rope dropped on Festa at 10am. Pantheon was closed for some reason so we walked over to Apollo's. They had just started the morning checks and announced it would be a while before it was open. Why they didn't have Apollo's ready to go at rope drop was beyond me. We waited for France to open to finally get a few rides on Griffon. With Apollo's and Pantheon still down and Germany not open yet, the Griffon que filled up fast. At 11, Griffon, LNM, Alpie, and Tempesto were the only coasters open. Apollo's, Invadr, Pantheon, and Verbolten were all having issues. At lunch, the F&WF booths were open and running pretty smoothly. We got a free samples, a few drinks, and a few other samples. We wanted to split a meal at Trappers, but with almost every other restaurant and drink stand closed, the line was crazy. The line at any open place was crazy just to get drinks because it was so hot and the options were so limited. Some of the staff encountered at the food booths were grouchy and negative acting. By 1, we grew tired of the lines, lack of rides and food/drink options open so we left and ate at a restaurant outside the park. We had planned on staying most of the day, spending some money, and having a good time. Instead, we left spending very little at the park and feeling disappointed.
It seems to be like this all year so far for us. One visit positive, one visit negative. I can't figure out which BGW I will get before arriving, and it shouldn't be like that.
As for the inconsistencies.... I usually go to the park 2 times a month. Almost every visit this year has been different. Some experiences have been great and I have had blast. Other visits have been very frustrating and makes me wish I didn't bother going that day. I'll give two examples:
One Friday in April I used my free ticket to bring a friend that was visiting from out of town. The park was moderately crowded, but operations seemed on point. We rode Pantheon several times, all other rides seemed to operate most (if not all) day without breaking down. We binged Apollo's and Griffon for a while until we got coastered out. We enjoyed the trio wine sampler in Germany, France, and Italy. Got some snacks, food, and drinks from various areas of the park. Park personnel were cheerful and made our visit great. It was a wonderful day and my friend was jealous that my husband and I have tickets to such a wonderful park like this. We dropped some money in the park that day and enjoyed every part of it.
Fast forward to a few Fridays ago in May.... The husband and I played hookie from work to go on a Friday. Park was pretty crowded with some school groups, but not too bad. Rope dropped on Festa at 10am. Pantheon was closed for some reason so we walked over to Apollo's. They had just started the morning checks and announced it would be a while before it was open. Why they didn't have Apollo's ready to go at rope drop was beyond me. We waited for France to open to finally get a few rides on Griffon. With Apollo's and Pantheon still down and Germany not open yet, the Griffon que filled up fast. At 11, Griffon, LNM, Alpie, and Tempesto were the only coasters open. Apollo's, Invadr, Pantheon, and Verbolten were all having issues. At lunch, the F&WF booths were open and running pretty smoothly. We got a free samples, a few drinks, and a few other samples. We wanted to split a meal at Trappers, but with almost every other restaurant and drink stand closed, the line was crazy. The line at any open place was crazy just to get drinks because it was so hot and the options were so limited. Some of the staff encountered at the food booths were grouchy and negative acting. By 1, we grew tired of the lines, lack of rides and food/drink options open so we left and ate at a restaurant outside the park. We had planned on staying most of the day, spending some money, and having a good time. Instead, we left spending very little at the park and feeling disappointed.
It seems to be like this all year so far for us. One visit positive, one visit negative. I can't figure out which BGW I will get before arriving, and it shouldn't be like that.
I feel like this is a well thought out video on the Disney parks. It seems a lot of the issues with BGW mirror Disney when I read the complaints on this forum.
Basically the pursuit of profits over guest experience
Direct Link to Embedded Media Source
Basically the pursuit of profits over guest experience
Direct Link to Embedded Media Source
This has been somewhat of a harrowing thread to read, haha.
I miss this park so much - of course the way I remember it in December 2019. I had plans to try it again this summer but Jesus H Christ, this place acts like it’s just beginning as a new park with growing pains from the 1970’s. I’m sure it was better even back then!
With all of these inconsistencies in the pleasure component of the guest experience, I can’t help but wonder what safety precautions have been skipped for the sake of profits, lack of staff, staff apathy etc. I think that should be a more worrying thought because it is usually the case that guest experiences are not the only thing that suffer when the quality of services like this is in such dire straits.
I never wish anything ill upon this park, but I feel like that’s the next thing we’ll hear about and it will be interesting to see how SEAS responds. The park cannot seem to get out of its own way, and with inflation and a possible recession around the corner, money spent anywhere on this sector of entertainment better be damn well-spent in the eyes of the customer.
I’m of the opinion that new coasters and food festivals mean nothing if you can’t get water, experiences are closed, and the staff clearly don’t want to be there. It saddens me that they suffer because bean counters have never worked an actual day in their lives and this is the result. But there is proof out there that it doesn’t have to be that way as many have mentioned. There’s another park right up the road that proves my point…
I miss this park so much - of course the way I remember it in December 2019. I had plans to try it again this summer but Jesus H Christ, this place acts like it’s just beginning as a new park with growing pains from the 1970’s. I’m sure it was better even back then!
With all of these inconsistencies in the pleasure component of the guest experience, I can’t help but wonder what safety precautions have been skipped for the sake of profits, lack of staff, staff apathy etc. I think that should be a more worrying thought because it is usually the case that guest experiences are not the only thing that suffer when the quality of services like this is in such dire straits.
I never wish anything ill upon this park, but I feel like that’s the next thing we’ll hear about and it will be interesting to see how SEAS responds. The park cannot seem to get out of its own way, and with inflation and a possible recession around the corner, money spent anywhere on this sector of entertainment better be damn well-spent in the eyes of the customer.
I’m of the opinion that new coasters and food festivals mean nothing if you can’t get water, experiences are closed, and the staff clearly don’t want to be there. It saddens me that they suffer because bean counters have never worked an actual day in their lives and this is the result. But there is proof out there that it doesn’t have to be that way as many have mentioned. There’s another park right up the road that proves my point…
A lot of this was in the works, at least at BGW, prior to the pandemic. The pandemic may have forced them to lean into this cost-cutting strategy more heavily, but at some point, we have to acknowledge that the pandemic has just become an excuse for the park to accelerate these changes.
It’s was happening and accelerated at much more than theme parks too. I know we look at it in a park scope but it has been much broader than just them.
I didn’t say that wasn’t the case? I’m just saying that SEAS’ cost-cutting philosophy, spearheaded by Scott Ross, predates the pandemic.
I think the pandemic is now being used by SEAS’ leaders as a scapegoat to justify practices that we previously would’ve found unacceptable.
I wasn’t trying to be argumentative. Just agreeing and adding that it’s sadly a much bigger problem than just SEAS/Parks. Whole Foods has gotten bad since Amazons purchase and in store (at least locally) COVID has been the response.
I was at Universal in the beginning of May and really enjoyed myself. I stayed at the Aventura hotel and thought it was reasonably priced and the room was nice. The bus system to get around Universal is also really good - hardly any wait no crowding. Honestly I thought WDW was overpriced back in 2010 but I felt I got my money's worth at Universal. Plus they have Velocicoaster which is amazing - Disney has nothing like it. Citywalk is worth the stay alone and you could easily spend three or four nights exploring all the restaurants and clubs. I found a small Irish bar tucked away in a back corner with dueling pianos the night I stayed there. The bar on top of the Aventura hotel is really nice as well with great views of Orlando.
"Basically Disney is offering all kinds of new ways to spend money in their parks where as BGW is making it difficult for visitors to spend money and in the process pissing off once a year vacationeers as well as locals."
Exactly this. and also this
"It seems to be like this all year so far for us. One visit positive, one visit negative. I can't figure out which BGW I will get before arriving, and it shouldn't be like that."
I really just want to know what to expect when I visit.
Exactly this. and also this
"It seems to be like this all year so far for us. One visit positive, one visit negative. I can't figure out which BGW I will get before arriving, and it shouldn't be like that."
I really just want to know what to expect when I visit.
That was exactly us last weekend.....we wanted to see the fireworks bur didnt want to deal with the parks BS and not knowing what side of the bipolar park we would get. So what we did was grabbed us some snacks and drinks, drove to the park and tailgated in the parking lot. Made for an enjoyable experience.
So you continually do things and talk about getting benefits that cost the park something and gaming every edge to get a discount yet want to complain about them doing things that make money….this is quite fucking hypocritical and exactly why I feel the park needs to do things like this.
I probably mentioned this before, but this chasing short term profits and to heck with everything else is a very common thing across industries. It sucks definitely, IMO.
This type of thinking gives the impression that they don't care about customers/guests. I'm a local, so I can go to BGW whenever I want, but for people who come from out of town on a special once a year trip, I can understand if they are disappointed and don't want to return for future visits.
For staffing issues, they need to pay more, IMO. You're not going to find a lot of help when fast food for example is paying more.
The food/drink lines definitely suck. I was at the park recently and the line at the stand by Griffon looked crazy long. One thing I think some guests might not know is that you can usually get free cups of water at places like Grogan's for example which is more beer oriented.
This type of thinking gives the impression that they don't care about customers/guests. I'm a local, so I can go to BGW whenever I want, but for people who come from out of town on a special once a year trip, I can understand if they are disappointed and don't want to return for future visits.
For staffing issues, they need to pay more, IMO. You're not going to find a lot of help when fast food for example is paying more.
The food/drink lines definitely suck. I was at the park recently and the line at the stand by Griffon looked crazy long. One thing I think some guests might not know is that you can usually get free cups of water at places like Grogan's for example which is more beer oriented.
What the actual fuck are you trying to say? I pay for a membership every month that includes preferred parking so how is that "gaming every edge" or "getting benifits"? Have you not ever see how many cars that obviously dont pay for parking or to get into the park are stopped along route 60 on fireworks nights? What fucking money would the park have made off me if I walked into the park and watched the firewrks? We had something else going on and couldnt arrive at the park until right at 9pm anyhow.......what would the park made by me going inside to watch them? So I pay for parking, but im screwing over BGW by using it? Even if I did go inside there was probably no where open to purchase a snack. Give me a fucking break with your bullshit.
We live 6 1/2 hours away and used to be passholders. We'd make 3-4 trips down a season, and stay for 2-3 nights each visit, which justified getting the pass / membership. Then covid hit and it just wasn't worth it for us to go. Based on what I've read in this forum over the past 2 years, I haven't been able to justify making the trek. I LOVE F&W, but that wasn't enough of a draw. It's very sad, as both my husband and I have been going to BGW pretty much since it opened. I remember being there while they were building Nessie and couldn't wait til we could return the next season to ride her.
I don't mean to speak for anyone here, but I believe what @warfelg was saying is that you have habitually stated on this site in multiple threads that you try and find ways to manipulate the system @ BGW in your favor. They're not calling out this specific action.
Im not sure your point….I pay to park, pay to get in the park, when they announced membership and APs were going away I upgraded right then and now seem
to be paying way more than many people I know. I’m not one of those people bringing coolers of food into the park, or sneaking in bottles of water. I take offense to the notion that i’m cheating the park in any way. If by me saying I brought snacks in the parking lot is considered cheating the system then I guess I am, however the park provides picnic tables just for that reason. Heck there’s a lot of things my pass entitles me to that I never use, free tickets, i’ve missed busch bucks, food samples, and who knows what more because the park dosent even list my pass type anymore, or at least I can’t find it and what I get. Yes I had the all season dining and all season drink plans, and I used them…..I don’t consider the fact that I used it very often cheating the system…..it’s what I paid for. I’ve been a passholder over 30 years and paid yearly never being on one of those old super cheap grandfathered plans, I pay for what I use and in 30 years i’ve paid quite a lot for me and my family.
The only positive I can find with the current food and beverage situation is that it has caused me to explore local options. As an example, I didn't even plan on eating at Water Country yesterday, even though I knew Water Country wouldn't be busy on a weekday after the holiday weekend.
I ended up having lunch at home before heading to the park, and wound up at Precarious Beer Project for their $12 Taco Tuesday special afterward. Ordinarily (before SEAS food and beverage situation went downhill) I would have had lunch at the park and dinner at home.
The net result is that my wallet was a little happier, my stomach was much happier, and I didn't have to worry about potentially standing in an interminable line.
I ended up having lunch at home before heading to the park, and wound up at Precarious Beer Project for their $12 Taco Tuesday special afterward. Ordinarily (before SEAS food and beverage situation went downhill) I would have had lunch at the park and dinner at home.
The net result is that my wallet was a little happier, my stomach was much happier, and I didn't have to worry about potentially standing in an interminable line.