What I would like to see

[bigbobdog]

So i just posted a trip report with photos from this past weekend. And I became much more aware of little things that BG could do that would make for a much more pleasant trip.

First is I think Illuminights is a cool idea with these small shows going on everywhere. Here is my first issue. I know these shows only run for a small time but it would be nice to see a more open area for these shows. At both Voila and Giardino Magico there are people just scattered everywhere. Two issues with this. It makes it hard to be at a good angle for the show. Secondly if you are going to take photos as i have it is impossible without having something crazy in the background. Voila gets a plus for having a background but a negative because it is almost impossible to take photos of the entertainers with the background behind them. In fact before the show there were people sitting on the flower beds that border the stage for voila. I will give one photo below which i really like until i noticed how apparent the people in the background are.

Smile for the camera by LVnative, on Flickr

When i think of other theme parks with Disney being one I think of their shows and how much room is given for an audience and the entertainers.

The other thing i noticed does not effect my experience so to speak but i looked at things around the park, objects i would not normally look at.

Buglers by LVnative, on Flickr

Now this is part of the clock that is near the fountain in the german section of the park, just around the corner from Land of the Dragons. I see how there are wear marks on the men and the wood even has marks on it. Now i will say that I am a big fan of this park and have been coming since a little kid. But when i see stuff like this kind of shame that it becomes overlooked. Again i know i am bringing up a disney comparison but it is sometimes little details that make it that much nicer.

I will say this Busch Gardens is not Disney World and I am happy about that. There are certain things that I wish were showcased more in the park. Stuff that would showcase the history of the park.

Let me ask this has anyone looked up as they exit the festhaus. Look at the beautiful stained glass window of a huge eagle with panes underneath being dedicated to the original areas of the park. Seems to go unnoticed for the most part. I think i even noticed a crack in one of the windows. I can see the want for the park to disassociate itself with Budweiser except for the use of its products but the history of the park could be showcased. I mean ever notice that the fountain near that clock has Adolphus Busch on it.

Anyway a little rant sorry about that but maybe something that could be done for more enjoyable experiences at the park. Feel free to let me know if there are small things like what i have mentioned that you have noticed could be improved.

 

[pandorazboxx]

Loch Ness. How hard would it be to paint a monster inside the tunnel? Maybe some flickering lights in there as well?

Also, maybe some closed captions for the videos in the queues.

 

[Party Rocker]

This could just be me but I think this is conceptual. Either way, so I think pathways need to be redone to be smaller or wider or to add more trees and such. Or things like how the large display maps are placed and directional signs.

 

[Zachary]

In-queue advertisements. Stop it Busch Gardens. Just stop. Seriously, that's stuff that I expect to see at a Six Flags park. Don't tell me about your awful iPhone app, tell me about the ride. Tell me about the story. Enhance the experience. You're a theme park. Act like one.

 

[Pretzel Kaiser]

I want to see more sundials throughout the park.

 

[CoolDrMoney]

I want to see more sundials throughout the park.

Oh jeez...

 

[bigbobdog]

In-queue advertisements. Stop it Busch Gardens. Just stop. Seriously, that's stuff that I expect to see at a Six Flags park. Don't tell me about your awful iPhone app, tell me about the ride. Tell me about the story. Enhance the experience. You're a theme park. Act like one.

Agreed swiftman. Focus on more of the experience instead of just trying to boost bottomline. Seems like the best way to boost bottomline is to get more people there and keep them coming back with better experiences instead of trying to just slam people with advertisements.

 

[CoolDrMoney]

I agree about in-queue adverts. While you're inside the park, generally, there should be little to remind you of the world beyond the gates, and while you're in the middle of a ride/entertainment/dining experience (which the queue is part of), this is especially true.

 

[netdvn]

I really don't have that big of a problem with in-queue advertisements as I never really paid attention to that stuff. Even before the ads were everywhere, you could barely hear the audio through the TVs because of the fans that blew everywhere and all the people taking over.

Even then; Verbolten has Gerta, LNM has the ride's stats/history, and Griffon still airs the commercial they had for the ride during its opening year. I've only seen Alpengeist's TV's once in 2007 and Apollo/Mach don't really have a story to give.

I haven't been on DK since last year so I don't know if their preshow TV is still on or if they converted it to straight up advertising.

Plenty of parks throw ads in your face. Even Disney and their "best kept secret, which isn't really a secret if you advertise it everywhere" Vacation Clubs and Fastpasses are touted all over the place.

Let me ask this has anyone looked up as they exit the festhaus. Look at the beautiful stained glass window of a huge eagle with panes underneath being dedicated to the original areas of the park. Seems to go unnoticed for the most part. I think i even noticed a crack in one of the windows.

Last year the park covered up the window during the first few weeks of HOS with a brown wall. I assumed it was being removed for renovation as the brown wall was removed during the height of HOS and the window returned.

As for changes... I've pretty much already said what I want done in other threads.

 

[Zachary]

Last year the park covered up the window during the first few weeks of HOS with a brown wall. I assumed it was being removed for renovation as the brown wall was removed during the height of HOS and the window returned.

Actually, if I remember correctly, the wood was put in place to protect it during that tropical storm that hit late last year.

 

[b.mac]

I want someone who actually knows what they're doing in charge of the shows, Scott has swung 3 times so far and wiffed all. three. times. When your first three attempts in a new job all fail catastrophically, you need to look at what you are doing and consider if you're actually fit for that kind of job. He has basically turned Busch's shows from on par with Disney to almost Six Flags / Cedar Point levels, which is not Busch's calling.

Another thing I would like is BGW adding more intense flat rides like:
an Enterprise
a Calypso
a Wonder Wheel
a Condor - They need a good set of these
a DoppleDecker
a Flyway?
A GOOD SET OF FLYERS
a Jumpin' Jack
a Monster
maybe a speed Carousel
a Revolution
a Rodeo!
a Roll-O-Plane
a Scorpion
a Skydiver
A TECHNO JUMP!
a Troika
a Whip!

 

[Party Rocker]

Scott Gasparich has been Vice President of Entertainment for a while now. It's not just solely him calling all of the shots. He hasn't just come up with these three shows, he has done so much more previously that many people liked. He has done all of the Christmas Town shows when they first opened, Celtic Fyre, Mix It Up, and more. Yes lately they have had a few issues in that department, but I think most of it is a chain reaction from last Howl-O-Scream. Tons of families rejected Fiends which created Entwined which in turn caused an uprising of the chicken dance. Basically meaning, be careful what you complain about and what you wish for. You just might get it.

Yes the window was covered up to protect it from the severe tropical storm and it was many weeks before they took the plywood down. They had other things to worry about I believe.

 

[CoolDrMoney]

Costumes for park workers. Not outfits, not uniforms. This isn't a STAPLES...it's not a bowling alley...it's one of America's top theme parks. Yes, I know -- uncomfortable and $8/hour and embarrassing and blah, blah, blah -- I don't care. People at Colonial Williamsburg wear the knickerbockers, the guy running the Jungle Cruise dresses like Crocodile Dundee and YOU, my friend, ought to look like you came off the set of Gladiator or Braveheart, what have you.

It's a little thing that would make a big difference.

 

[BBW]

So i just posted a trip report with photos from this past weekend. And I became much more aware of little things that BG could do that would make for a much more pleasant trip.
...
The other thing i noticed does not effect my experience so to speak but i looked at things around the park, objects i would not normally look at.
...Now this is part of the clock that is near the fountain in the german section of the park, just around the corner from Land of the Dragons. I see how there are wear marks on the men and the wood even has marks on it. ...

Great post and I especially want to respond to your comments about the "little things" in re: to maintenance and upkeep. Honestly, I don't think the clock figures would've been allowed to deteriorate during BEC's reign, though I could be wrong.

One of my favorite decorative touches are the jongleur type figures on the side of the building that houses the bumper cars -- on the short side of the building next to the iron fence that overlooked BBW/now Verbolten. I dread when these figures get painted out, but for now I'm watching them fade season after season. But I especially like the trick dog holding the scarf!

 

[Shafor]

This may be a ridiculous thought, and I'd have no idea if it's by design or not, but I think it's kind of cool to have some of this stuff "age" with the park. It looks old and distressed like something you might actually see in a European village. It also gives you (or maybe just me?) a sense of the park's long history. I often will look and elements of the park like that and think "wonder what the park looked like back then?" It invokes a sense of nostalgia for something that I have no actual history with (only been going to the park since '09). A perfect example is the faded Indian artwork in the old Eagle's Nest area. Every time I walk by that area, I glance over at it. I think it's really cool. And I'd be upset if they painted over it or "repainted" it to look new. Does anyone get what I'm saying? At all?

 

[CoolDrMoney]

I absolutely get what you're saying...it's a feeling of authenticity...like this is an actual place I am visiting, with an actual history and life of its own, and not just a carefully calculated facade designed by some committee to remind me of some vaguely European stereotype.

I like to imagine that all these hamlets in Busch Gardens have residents and mayors and the like. Speaking of which...I'd like to see some walk-arounders occasionally who claim to the mayors of these little hamlets.

 

[Party Rocker]

I'd like to see street performers that give insight on the background of that town in the park. It makes the park seem to be made up of actual, real, little towns instead of a giant theme park. Like Dr. Money put it, to have residents and mayors. Have performers just sitting around dressed in the time costumes and speak the language somewhat and just act like it a normal day and give them sort of a long list of things to do in just that town (like window shop, sell/give away newspapers that are accurate to the theme of the time and location, etc.) to keep them busy for the time and then have them react with the crowd accordingly.

The park is a stage and all the employees are performing. They stress this a lot yet they don't deliver it. No costumes, no street performers to help further the illusion. The performers could be made up of "police", "citizens", etc and they could give directions for those who are lost. I think security that is designated to a certain country should wear a costume to go with that location/time period.

 

[Haberdasher1973]

Scott Gasparich has been Vice President of Entertainment for a while now. It's not just solely him calling all of the shots.

Wrong - Gasparich gives the final stamp of approval for shows. Lum gives him free reign, believing that someone with the title of VP should know what they're doing.

He hasn't just come up with these three shows, he has done so much more previously that many people liked. He has done all of the Christmas Town shows when they first opened, Celtic Fyre, Mix It Up, and more.

Scott took over during the 2008 season, and his stamp really started to show in 2009 - No show in the Royal Palace. Frankenrock - sucked. Elimination of Starfright Orchestra. The other HOS shows, MSR and Jack is Back, predate his reign.

 

[Zachary]

He actually took the job in the last month or two of 2008 from what I've been able to dig up. I'd guess that Celtic Fyre was already in the pipeline by then and he actually had quite a limited amount of creative power over it. And honestly, Deck the Halls is really the only noteworthy Christmas Town show in my opinion.

 

[Party Rocker]

Hmm, very well, he does seem to be a kid at heart but I think that perhaps he needs to rethink the direction of the parks entertainment. He's probably going one way and everyone else is going the other way.

Oh and I believe corporate does has to approve everything. I remember thy had to approve the new name for the shop on Ireland so I would think they'd have to approve shows and such.