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Merboy

Resident Sea Monster
Oct 25, 2009
1,227
2,858
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Raleigh, NC
Wait, what? What's in the Globe now? Are you saying there's an Elmo movie in there? No way. That crap has to stay in its designated area so it's easy to avoid!

Best show ever there was Haunts of the Olde Country.

Dude, Busch is so much classier than those other parks. No way they'd allow Elmo to compromise the vibe of the park. Right? .... Right?!
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

Elmo has been there for a while now...
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

Swiftman said:
Elmo has been there for a while now...

Noooooo!!!!! Why!? WHY, BUSCH!??? This isn't a Blackstone thing is it? Speaking of which, have there been any noticeable differences since BS took over?
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

I know everyone hate the Elmo stuff, but look at the upside: The more kids that are bottled up in Forest of Fun, the Globe Theater, Castle O' Sullivan, and Land of the Dragons, the fewer there are clogging up the pathways and areas around the coasters :p
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

except for AB logos not being in the park. there isnt much of a difference since blackstone took over
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

Though keep in mind there are still somewhat numerous amounts of AB logos around the park that are grandfathered in via the buyout contract. Faucets, appliances, HttH (though that's sponsored by them, so that gets a free pass), and various other things in the park. But for merchandising and sales purposes, yes, all of those AB items were removed.
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

Off thread topic. But since we are talking about AB logos, what ever happened to the great metal bench seats with the AB logo on the back? Sold, trashed or sent to the brewery?
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

Supposedly auctioned off.
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

theres also that huge AB logo eagle on the festhaus. FYI
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

Fur Dozy said:
theres also that huge AB logo eagle on the festhaus. FYI

Oh yes, part of that really nice stained glass with the village street and Clydesdales below. I took a lot of pictures of that after the sale to InBev, fearing its possible destruction. I hope they don't ever feel the need to remove that, it's a really beautiful piece, I think.
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

I guess that entire gift shop near the stables and a train station that sold nothing but AB merch is now being used for something else?
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

ArrowWolf1984 said:
I guess that entire gift shop near the stables and a train station that sold nothing but AB merch is now being used for something else?

That shop is now selling items relating to Scotland such as plaids, sheeps, family crests, swords, etc. There are also Loch Ness Monster souvenirs. It's a lovely shop that fits the area perfectly and is very nice to browse in. I was quite pleased with how that shop was repurposed when I first visited it this summer.
Merboy said:
Noooooo!!!!! Why!? WHY, BUSCH!??? This isn't a Blackstone thing is it? Speaking of which, have there been any noticeable differences since BS took over?

What I noticed this year under Blackston's ownership is more efforts to make money. There are numerous new "tours" offered for a fee, and there are several new coin operated "attractions" in the park (soaking geysers on Escape From Pompei, Remote Controlled Boats, Remote Controlled trucks, and family dryers near Roman Rapids for example). Another major change is the elimination of large scale production shows (although that began last year with the elimination of Secrets of Castle O'Sullivan, Starlight Orchestra, and the Italian show). It continues to a greater extent this year with the elimination of Kinetix and a major show at the Canadian Palladium. I don't feel that Illuminights makes up for these losses. One more change that goes hand in hand with Illuminights but that I don't think would have happened under A-B ownership is the arguably tacky redesign of the facade of the Festhaus into a Cuckoo Clock and the brightly colored paint throughout the village of Killarney. It just clashes with the long-standing charm of the park.
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

Keep in mind those "new tours" were offered last year in the latter months of the year. They were used as a testing ground to see what could be done to give guests more insight into the park (and of course, make more money). This started before Blackstone had any hands in the BGW pool.

The new geysers were actually put in because of guest feedback. People wants more of them in more places - so of course the park obliged. As you can see from Pompeii alone, they are making very good coin off those new soaking machines. Kinetix was removed not to to any in-park design at all. The reason it was removed was because it was too cost-prohibitive to bring people over from Asia to do the show for only two months out of the year. It's a pain on the park as a whole and a pain for the performers who go through all the Visa issues, finding a place to live and getting a second job in most cases). By moving Kinetix to Tampa, the show can now run year-long giving the performers all the time they need to actually "live" and work in the states. The cost is a lot less prohibitive running the show year round with foreign performers than it is only a limited engagement each year.

As for Illuminights, this Summer's events weren't spawned overnight - or even in the recent off-season. Illuminights has been planned for a long while now, starting back when A-B owned the park, through the mergers, through the sale.

I hope this clears some of the confusion a bit. :)
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

I apologize for taking this thread off topic, but I want to discuss the recent post some more. Perhaps a moderator can spin this off into a new thread if necessary.

I appreciate the info about some of the recent changes being in the works before Blackstone came along, however, I don't think you are correct about the resons behind the departure of Kinetix. Some of the former acrobats from Kinetix are the same acrobats performing the Italian Garden show for Illuminights. Also, I don't believe Kinetix is performing at BGT year-round. I understood it to be just for the summer (as it was at BGW), and furthermore, I think it has already ended its run for 2010. Also, it was a very different show with the same name as the version that appeared at BGW.

I'm not a fan of the geysers on Escape From Pompei. I don't mind getting sprayed, but they are as soaking as fire hoses, and there are eight of them on top of that. It's too much for a ride that used to get people pleasantly sprayed on a hot day, but not soaked.
 
RE: Is a Truce Being Made Between the Pirates and Elmo?!

Kinetix is for Tampa's Summer Nights promotion. However, it will be returning before next Summer and becoming a mainstay at the park. it's off now due to their big season pusher - Howl-O-Scream (which is a lot bigger for Tampa then for Williamsburg/San Antonio). Kinetix, as a show, will always change. The format will always be the same but the acts will vary differently depending on the talent for that season. I don't have exact figured in front of me regarding Tampa's shows as that's not anything I really deal with. :(

As for the performers, they were given the option to go to Tampa or stay. Out of that final Kinetix group, three returned to BGW to do Illuminights and other work, while thirteen performers went to Tampa for the show, continue year-round work, then perform in the show full-time when it goes live again. It's a give-and-take relationship. The performers get more hours per week and can stay longer than two months (if they desire) and there's no loss of paperwork, visas and all that fun stuff that comes along with traveling to and from countries every few months.

As for the thread, it could be branched off into another one, but it's become a mish-mosh of stuff anyway. I leave that to the ninja's to decide. :D

[Threads split. ~Swiftman]
 
The BGM (Background Music) in Octoberfest switched from classis polka oompa stuff tot the lame a** euro pop crap. Horrible... come to think of it France lost it's classic BGM too, they play some weird contemporary frech love songs now. Man, it's terrible.
 
I couldn't agree more about the music. It is terrible! Whenever I walk into Germany I feel like I'm leaving Busch Gardens. This isn't a good feeling (obviously). Someone please do something about it!
 
I realize this.

Actually, I don't see many differences at all in the park that could be because of Blackstone (except the horses and the logos).
 
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