The State of the Park: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

[CoasterTalkBob]

It was a 10 minute wait to ride Iron Gwazi at 5:30 yesterday, and a 25 minute wait at 2:30 Monday, so it might not just be a BGW issue.

I've seen people reporting that frequently for the last couple of months..... and actually, it was pretty much like that in April when I was there. I think SEAS is really approaching the tipping point.... They've already lost a lot of people (me included) that will need to see years of improvements to improve their image but I think they may be really close to the point where their most loyal fans are starting to fall and building multiple coasters might not be able to fix that if they don't address the other issues immediately.

 

[Zachary]

Not to read the tea leaves too much, but I'd also highlight that the recent ticket and pass sales have been REALLY aggressive and there seems to be an increasing number of compelling membership rewards (another $10 in Busch Bucks was just added the other day for instance).

Anecdotally, though the park has often felt crowded to me lately, I don't feel like the parking lots seem to reflect that during my visits. When I was at the park two Saturdays ago (GORGEOUS weather, start of a new event, concert day, and a holiday weekend), the place felt packed, but judging by the parking lots, that feeling seemed to be more likely a result of decreased park capacity than actual numbers. Not having to park anyone across the street on a summer Saturday with perfect weather pre-COVID felt like it was pretty damn rare.

Without any indoor attractions, minimal shows, limited ride operations, multiple attractions closed, minimal dining operations, etc, it seems to me like the crowds are far more visible these days—but I'm not convinced they're as large as they should be.

 

[WDWRLD]

I would also add, people that may have drove seperately may be riding together now since fuel is so expensive.

 

[halfabee]

Or not going to the park at all, for the same reason.

Particularly if the experience is shit.

 

[Bring Back Questor 87]

I still haven't felt compelled to visit since I last went in 2019. I know I'll be disappointed in some regards, but I miss the park terribly. All the issues that @Zachary mentioned make me wonder if I should dip my toes back in with KD first, and come back in the fall or '23. I don't want to drive 173 miles with things the way they are economically for a lackluster experience that is hopefully in a healing state.

 

[sotomexx]

We celebrated our wedding anniversary with our kids at Hersheypark this past weekend and ended up upgrading to season passes primarily because the weather affected our original preview night/one day plans but also because it had some really nice perks that make it easily worth the 2 hour drive vs 3 hrs to BGW. Primarily I like the early start for members and the self-serve free drink refills all over the park. Their alcohol selection is severely lacking compared to BGW and the discount on merchandise was only 15%. Still, a bucket of fries for $10 compared to Les Frites...

 

[WDWRLD]

Those are both reasons I’m not going like I had been for the past 20 some years……I would gladly fill the tank to go just as much as I used to if the experience was good.

 

[I64 Trekker]

another $10 in Busch Bucks was just added the other day for instance

Meanwhile, BGT dropped early member entry (9 am 7/1 - 7/4: Gwazi, Cheetah, Cobra, Montu) earlier this week, and no one was aware of it! I got 5 rides in on Gwazi, and 1 on each of the other 3, all before 10 am this morning.

 

[CoasterTalkBob]

I still haven't felt compelled to visit since I last went in 2019. I know I'll be disappointed in some regards, but I miss the park terribly. All the issues that @Zachary mentioned make me wonder if I should dip my toes back in with KD first, and come back in the fall or '23. I don't want to drive 173 miles with things the way they are economically for a lackluster experience that is hopefully in a healing state.

The fact that they are trying to entice people to visit the park with gimmicks such as Busch Bucks makes me feel that they really don't get it at all and it concerns me that things are just going to get worse. Part of me wants to agree with you staying away for now but then there's another part of me that wants to tell you to go now and experience some things before they get worse. Right now Palace is the chain that seems to understand the importance of things that you can't market and I think they're being rewarded for that -- SEAS is going in the complete opposite direction of focusing only on what you can market and they are being punished. KD actually has the unique twist of realizing what Palace has but finding a way to do it that's marketable (admittedly they can't long term market it but it's a critical point for the situation they are in).

We celebrated our wedding anniversary with our kids at Hersheypark this past weekend and ended up upgrading to season passes primarily because the weather affected our original preview night/one day plans but also because it had some really nice perks that make it easily worth the 2 hour drive vs 3 hrs to BGW. Primarily I like the early start for members and the self-serve free drink refills all over the park.

It's funny how much I've changed on Hershey. Don't get me wrong, I've always loved Hershey but it was hard for me to justify a pass when it's just a single park. Granted, moving to Martinsburg from NoVA has made Hershey my home park and put it closer to me than KD but logistically that isn't that big of a change. For me, what changed is seeing how much passion Hershey actually has for their park and for their experience. Admittedly they don't get it right 100% of the time because they are struggling just like all other parks are right now but they actually do care when they don't get it right and work to make it better.

Their alcohol selection is severely lacking compared to BGW and the discount on merchandise was only 15%. Still, a bucket of fries for $10 compared to Les Frites...

I can't speak to alcohol but I will tell you that you shouldn't get caught up in that percentage. The discount at Hershey goes A LOT further than the discount at BGW and if you do an apples to apples comparison you're usually going to pay the same price at Hershey as you do at BGW with your discounts. For example, I think that I remember nano coasters being $50 at BGW and they are $30 at Hershey. With the 40% discount at BGW that brings them down to the same price they are at Hershey but you still have your 15%.... So 40% off at BGW is $30 and 15% off at Hershey is $25.50.

 

[sotomexx]

I can't speak to alcohol but I will tell you that you shouldn't get caught up in that percentage. The discount at Hershey goes A LOT further than the discount at BGW and if you do an apples to apples comparison you're usually going to pay the same price at Hershey as you do at BGW with your discounts. For example, I think that I remember nano coasters being $50 at BGW and they are $30 at Hershey. With the 40% discount at BGW that brings them down to the same price they are at Hershey but you still have your 15%.... So 40% off at BGW is $30 and 15% off at Hershey is $25.50.

Yeah, my kids wanted a medium Twizzlers Squishmallow and a small Hershey Bar pillow...I'm used to that grandfathered 50% discount at BGW and was a little shocked when it was almost $50.

 

[CoasterTalkBob]

Yeah, my kids wanted a medium Twizzlers Squishmallow and a small Hershey Bar pillow...I'm used to that grandfathered 50% discount at BGW and was a little shocked when it was almost $50.

I'm not sure you followed me. Similar items at BGW now would have likely been well over $50 even with your larger discount. In my nanocoaster example you would have paid pretty much the exact same price for a nanocoaster at BGW with your 50% discount as you would at Hershey with your 15% discount.

 

[sotomexx]

I'm not sure you followed me. Similar items at BGW now would have likely been well over $50 even with your larger discount. In my nanocoaster example you would have paid pretty much the exact same price for a nanocoaster at BGW with your 50% discount as you would at Hershey with your 15% discount.

No I understood, but 2 squishmallows at BGW would be $30 max after discount. The tiny pillow was also $30. I will check apparel next time but I know some things are similarly priced while others are marked up at BGW

 

[MikeLovesKD]

Maybe I can only speak for myself. Before last year I hadn't visited Bush Gardens Williamsburg since 2008. The experience after such a long time away was amazing. But maybe that's because KD was slacking last year. Now, it's hard for me to go back to KD. But this is for a number of reasons. The park seems different without Volcano. Another thing that draws me to Bush Gardens more is the immersive theme. If it's not the themed areas, the food and the rides themselves. Each theme section feels rewarding once you get there. After you ride that ride, you might visit a restaurant there and then ride again, before moving on. The park has definitely done a good job keeping visitors entertained in each area. Tones of food, music and shows for everyone. The speculation of prices and discounts, does not mean that the park might not be doing as well as it should. Consider the fact that we just came out of a rough economy and Bush Gardens Williamsburg came into the 2021 season swinging. They had enough staff to keep late operation hours, while parks that KD struggled to do this in 2021. Let's be thankful for that.

I visited the park on July 2nd, 2022. The crowd wasn't as bad as I thought it would be. Got there a little after 1:00pm and still had a good day. It was my friend's first time being there and he loved it. He's a KD fan, but I told him he would like Bush Gardens Williamsburg a lot more. Wasn't even going to ride Pantheon more than once and ended up becoming addicted to it. Pantheon night rides are amazing and now give me a reason to stay in that section of the park closer to closing hours.

 

[horsesboy]

I have heard shockingly low attendance numbers for the 4th of July weekend with the park below 50% capacity on the 4th it's self. I understand that SEA may be closely looking at possible diminishing returns from recent price hike and that small reversals may be coming by the end of summer.

 

[Coasternerd]

I have heard shockingly low attendance numbers for the 4th of July weekend with the park below 50% capacity on the 4th it's self. I understand that SEA may be closely looking at possible diminishing returns from recent price hike and that small reversals may be coming by the end of summer.

If this is true then maybe the realized they fucked up and shouldn’t have skyrocketed prices.

 

[Mushroom]

In SEAS’ defense (sort of): attendance isn’t the correct measure of business success. Profit is. If the higher prices are really to blame for lower attendance, it may be the case that the park is making more money by charging higher prices with fewer people entering the park. We just don’t have the data to know.

 

[Rothbury]

Actually, I think their bad reputation has finally caught up to them. As a lot of us have been saying, if you keep screwing over people with a half open park experience it is going to have an impact eventually. I can't begin to tell you how many friends neighbors and people we talk to coming back with the comment, "You're still going there?" I even had annual maintenance on my HVAC and the technician without any prompting from me began talking about how bad his families experience was at Busch Gardens. He emphatically said they would not be going back. I'm overhearing the same thing in checkout lines in stores, people have finally had enough.

 

[mikes]

Actually, I think their bad reputation has finally caught up to them. As a lot of us have been saying, if you keep screwing over people with a half open park experience it is going to have an impact eventually. I can't begin to tell you how many friends neighbors and people we talk to coming back with the comment, "You're still going there?" I even had annual maintenance on my HVAC and the technician without any prompting from me began talking about how bad his families experience was at Busch Gardens. He emphatically said they would not be going back. I'm overhearing the same thing in checkout lines in stores, people have finally had enough.

It's a shame, but so much is their own doing. I've heard a lot of the same and I've even told friends to lower their expectations when going. 2021 I tempered my expectations.

I had a semi enjoyable day at water country on the 5th even though I felt lines were far too long and quick queue is insanely priced. I think slides like vanish point may have only been operating 1 side with the other dedicated to quick queue. This is unacceptable imo when there was no one in the quick queue line. It's unacceptable that they can't get attractions ready on time (splash pad), if it's a supplier/contractor issue, I can be more forgiving, but they need to stop advertising things. When it's ready, then market it.

I've had encounters at both parks with employees that absolutely suck at their job. Training seems to be lacking with many, especially those that should be having conversations with guests.

And there is a Dippin Dot shortage!

 

[EdK]

It's funny that they played games with the opening of Pantheon and it ended up not boosting attendance after all. Or maybe they thought Pantheon would bring in huge crowds and they'd make a small fortune with the jacked up prices. I haven't been back to BGW since March and I have no short term plans to go in the future. KD is hitting the spot for now.

 

[panopticon31]

It's funny that they played games with the opening of Pantheon and it ended up not boosting attendance after all. Or maybe they thought Pantheon would bring in huge crowds and they'd make a small fortune with the jacked up prices. I haven't been back to BGW since March and I have no short term plans to go in the future. KD is hitting the spot for now.

They fucked around.............and then they found out.