I can confirm infrastructure is something management has been tasked with getting right this year.
Ways to Make SFA More Competitive
- Thread starter MikeLovesKD
- Start date
In my opinion, record breaking would be amazing. Never said it had to be record breaking height. It could just be record breaking speed in it's own category. Kingda Ka was amazing, for it's speed and height. A lot of coasters in this day and time don't see 456 ft in height. We are still having fun with the 300 ft height category, via I305 coaster. Speed can still be amazing by itself if some unique elements are added to it. Let's go back to my Reverse Flash idea. Something with two or three separate launches. I would say the second launch, send the ride to it's maximum height of 280 ft. But who's say, that the 3rd launch can't send the train back up the 280 ft hill, and back towards the station in another direction, via switch track?
I think BGW is a huge exception to the rule as opposed to being commonplace. Most parks I can think of require alcohol consumption in specific areas and those are handed down because of local liquor laws. It's quite possible that BGW has a grandfathered exemption because it started out as brewery property.
No Virginia offers full property permits that can apply even to properties the size of parks KD has acquired one in the last few years. That said I don't know Maryland's laws and permits so I don't know what limits they might be under at SFA.
My main point was that it seems that the majority of parks don't have full property licenses whether they are available or not. I wasn't aware that VA offered them. To be fair, I don't really drink alcohol much but for some reason the signs saying "No alcohol beyond this point" always seem to jump out at me for some reason.
I agree that BGW has always had a very liberal alcohol policy and other parks are just catching on. I thought it would be fun to have some youtube videos outlining alcohol policies for various parks. Just for the record, the parks I've been to with a good selection of beer and few limits on where you can take your drink are KD, SF Georgia, SF Great Adventure, Universal Parks, Cedar Point, BGT, Sea World, Hershey Park (okay selection). My wife was self conscious walking around Hershey with a beer. @horseboy makes a good point that the park may be limited by Maryland law.
Do keep in mind that BGW, and I believe BGT, have signage near the entrance to the kid's areas saying that alcohol is not permitted. This probably explains why you often have a bunch of parents parked at the entry to Land of the Dragons enjoying beverages while their kids play.
You can roam around Hershey with alcohol now? Good Lord PA really did relax some of their blue laws if that's true..... NJ and OH also had some pretty strong blue laws that I think prevented that as well. I'm really not shocked by the southern parks but I know that nearly all of those PA and OH parks used to be more restricted.
PA is super relaxed now. Lititz’s Fire and Ice festival (no not a Game of Thrones thing) used to be no alcohol event and now it’s open carry inside the festival area.
It's a war that Sheetz had been fighting and finally won with their beer cave..... I just didn't realize how much more it affected than just the mini-mall restriction.
I remember when I was a kid and we would visit family outside of Pittsburg, the only place my dad or grandad could buy beer were the bars / taverns or a distributor. You couldn't walk into a supermarket like a Giant Eagle and buy it. When I went back up a few years ago, I remember seeing beer in the Sheetz's and grocery stores.
I think we discussed VA ABC policies in the parks on another thread (too lazy to look up), but the gist of it was that VA used to permit at each service location in BGW including defining what was considered each location's boundaries... but eventually they were able to issue a singular permit covering the entire park. Most of the signs that still exist are leftover from the previous licensing system but are no longer in use (though signs saying you can't drink on a ride or in a theater still apply for obvious reasons). A few years later, KD also received the same kind of blanket ABC permit.
I also don't know how licensing works for parks in other states, but my guess is if there's a singular property with multiple serving locations, they could probably treat it as a singular property for licensure - think like a massive nightclub with multiple bars but only one main point of entry/exit and safe serve limits in place.
I also don't know how licensing works for parks in other states, but my guess is if there's a singular property with multiple serving locations, they could probably treat it as a singular property for licensure - think like a massive nightclub with multiple bars but only one main point of entry/exit and safe serve limits in place.
The biggest hurdle was the Sunday clause that forbid sales of alcohol. Distributors were against it because it meant having to be open more and offer 6 packs and singles to stay competitive.
Yea, this was the fight that was going on for many years..... Sheetz was in the fight and they felt it was inevitable which is why many years ago all of the new Sheetz stores in PA got built with the walk in pop cooler which all of a sudden became the beer cave when the law was finally changed.
IIRC Giant, Wegmans, and Target were also big forces behind it. Those would be the big 4 small pack sales centers in the state.
I don't remember seeing any signs at SFA saying no alcohol beyond this point or the like, but it's very possible they are there. They also have events sometimes that have alcoholic drinks with tables set up and you can certainly walk around that area with your booze. One of the outdoor bars I know of actually has a bar and maybe they require you to sit there - I don't l know.
Bigger question - with good alcoholic beverages being fairly common in most parts of the East Coast, would upgrading their options really do all that much to elevate the park?
If they go from one craft beer and some seltzers (dunno what they actually have) plus the few domestics everyone has to a fairly wide variety of beers, seltzers, wines, and some mixed beverages alongside providing decent spaces to enjoy them in, would that really stand out or just put them on a more level playing field?
If they go from one craft beer and some seltzers (dunno what they actually have) plus the few domestics everyone has to a fairly wide variety of beers, seltzers, wines, and some mixed beverages alongside providing decent spaces to enjoy them in, would that really stand out or just put them on a more level playing field?
Ugly? I happen to think it's a beautiful park especially with the TLC they've done in the last couple of years.