I felt the opposite with SFA the other week TBH. I had a really bad feeling about bang for your buck last time I was at Dorney Park.
The State of the Park: Busch Gardens Williamsburg
- Thread starter CoasterTalkBob
- Start date
Compared to my $99 all-season dining at KD the value as well as the quality of the food at BGW is pretty poor.
Even the overpriced $14 Golf Tournament burger that was mentioned a few posts ago sounds like it would be more affordable than BGW prices.
The "grab and go" gas station salads and sandwiches for the price of an actual full meal are just insulting.
Even the overpriced $14 Golf Tournament burger that was mentioned a few posts ago sounds like it would be more affordable than BGW prices.
The "grab and go" gas station salads and sandwiches for the price of an actual full meal are just insulting.
They aren’t exactly good fwiw. Usually they are burgers that were frozen grilled about 3 hours ago that have been sitting in a hot box.
BGW Nostalgia may go to some pretty decent lengths for some people but if it can actually make you not hungry that's pretty impressive.
I don’t know, didn’t look but i’ve never seen it close 30 minutes before park
closing. Back in the good ol days it stayed open till 30 minutes after park
close. Lately they close the doors exactly at park close but tonight it’s 30 before.
I wouldn’t be shocked if hard hours are set and they closed because some employees were about to push the payroll hours over.
What is the park doing??? They are missing out on a ton of money by closing anything in England before most people are out of the park. Someone must be incredibly stupid on the management team.
It’s like the drink stand right across from the globe theater, it wasn’t open yesterday…..on a Saturday. We did get a sample at Hawaii…..the poke and the max n cheese. Poke was ok but the mac n cheese was crunchy around the edges and had a dried up crust in the top. It also tasted like hamburger helper. It had definitely been sitting for a long while.
We did ride the train…..got into the Caribou queue at about 10 till 9pm. By 9:30 we had only made it to Scotland. The train moves so slow getting there you could walk faster. They were obviously trying to make sure they didn’t get back to Caribou too early for the sweep train.
We did ride the train…..got into the Caribou queue at about 10 till 9pm. By 9:30 we had only made it to Scotland. The train moves so slow getting there you could walk faster. They were obviously trying to make sure they didn’t get back to Caribou too early for the sweep train.
Having only been a member since 2018 have any of you old heads noticed a steep decline in quality of special evens, such as Howl-O-Scream?
Yes…..actually a steep decline in every aspect of the park except cost……and that’s just increasing.
I had a pass 11 years now and I have noticed a decline in that time in Howl-O-Scream but I don't know that I would say steep so much as gradual but continuing. Christmas Town on the other hand feels very much like it's going the wrong direction at an ever increasing speed to me.
I think it varies from year to year and from event to event. It is also hard to judge anything, until we are fully out of COVID.
General question to those in this thread who seem agitated (and rightly so) at the current state of BGW, but what keeps you involved on this forum and with the park? It seems like many have the attitude that things will continue to get worse and while SEAS owns the park things will continue to looking increasingly grim.
I can only speak for myself, but I still really love the park. I've not been enjoying my time there lately, but I still care deeply about the place.
I've been shifting my visitation and spending towards Kings Dominion pretty dramatically this year—not out of some intentional ploy to make a point or punish BGW, but just because I've been enjoying my visits to KD far more than my visits to BGW. That said, between BGW's history, legacy, mythos, spirit, etc—Williamsburg still does and probably always will have my heart.
Kings Dominion could become the next Islands of Adventure, but all the best times of my childhood will have always taken place at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Busch Gardens Williamsburg will always be where I rode my first coaster, went to my first haunt event, made a ton of great friends, and so, so much more. As long as a park exists on that property, there will always be some chance that it could return to a form I find more recognizable. That hope keeps my engaged.
Last edited:
I’m very much in line with @Zachary right now. The history of the park got me to visit a few weeks ago when I was back. If I still lived there I’d still have a pass and visit, but I would have picked my KD pass back up.
On a related/unrelated note, ran into Kevin when I was there and voiced my displeasure with how he’s being treated from a guest and corporate management end but let him know the position he’s in sucks because the park is suffering. He tried to give the line I bet they want him to give but you could see on his face he wasn’t happy.
On a related/unrelated note, ran into Kevin when I was there and voiced my displeasure with how he’s being treated from a guest and corporate management end but let him know the position he’s in sucks because the park is suffering. He tried to give the line I bet they want him to give but you could see on his face he wasn’t happy.
I have said it before I am local I am in the park at least once a week sometimes as much as 4 or 5 times in a week as it literally is right around the corner fron wotk and on my way home so if traffic is bad it's a great way to kill time till 64 clears up. I have only been local for 12 years so I don't have those distant memories of the glory days of Anheuser ownership maybe that explains my slightly more rosey take on the current status of things. Yes I have huge concerns about it's current state but it's not all doom and gloom and I still enjoy my time there and hope for a brighter future.
That said like Zachary said I find myself migrating more and more to KD on my days off over BGW.