So here's a question for the forums. Before I ask it, I am not trying to pick on any specific person, but I'm trying to ask about the general tone of these forums. If it seems like I'm trying to single a person out, I apologize, but I have to pull examples of what I'm seeing. So without further delay, here is my question:
Why are these forums so hard on the park?
I first gave this question serious thought when people started talking about Entwined. We all know what it is at this point, but what I saw was a lot of people condemning it before the show has even been put on. This is kind of surprising (though not entirely) seeing as this site is called "BGWFans". While I know that people shouldn't see the park as some glorious, omnipresent being. I would think that as fans of this park, we should at least give the park the benefit of the doubt before we dismiss something the park does. It really does feel like that people seemed so attached to their own idea of the park, no matter how long ago that was.
Let's look at some of the other complaints I've seen. Once again, I'm not trying to pick on anybody in particular. The reason I'm posting these is just to give an idea of some of the complaints I've seen on these forums.
"The new Oktoberfest is horrible, the colors, decoration, ect don't look good at all."
"Verbolten has cars. Cars are too new for something at Busch Gardens."
"The park doesn't have the magic that it used to have."
"This isn't like the old show."
The one thing that these have in common is that they seem to reference a previous time in the park's history where the person making the comment being made. This makes me think of how these people must romanticize the park. Yes, things have changed, but change is necessary in the entertainment business. I hate to inform people of this, but skateboarders are popular. So are teen musicians, christian music, and girls in saucy outfits during Halloween. As unfortunate as it is, the transition from Polka to princesses is one that the park felt was needed to make money. We all know that the park has some ambitious plans, and these changes are part of it.
Let's take a look at some of the changes that the park is bringing this and last year.
Verbolten: No matter what you say, this is going to be a coaster that is themed well beyond any other coaster the park has had. Who can honestly say that this is a bad thing.
Pretzel shop: How is this a bad thing?
HoS: 2011's HoS has been one of the best. The theming of the houses was (for the most part) very impressive, more than previous years.
Sure, not every idea has been a winner, like Mach Tower. I also understand that some people may feel like everything the park has done in recent years is crap from the medicore Griffon to the horrendous EitA. However, we shouldn't look at every single thing the park does so negatively, especially without even experiencing it first. My goal is not to offend or start a huge debate, but just to try to get opinions on the subject and get people to think, "Is this really that bad?".
Other complaints I've seen are, to put it bluntly, petty. These complaints are only founded on the numerical value of something. My favorite example, is the argument about the final drop of Verbolten. There was a discussion about why there was a two foot discrepancy....two foot. I really can't try to explain this, other than this place is populated by quite a few OCD sufferers. Why can't people simple ignore the minute, pointless details when something as major as Verbolten already has so many fascinating things about it going on with it. Another big discussion was MT versus Drop Zone at KD. When you calculate the time, how long does the difference in height really add up to?
I'm not saying that I don't have my fair share of criticism of the park. I hate EitA, I wish the park would have more animals, I think that Entwined might not be the best show the Festhaus. My point being is that while some criticism is natural, the level here seems like a bit much for a community devoted to a park.
Why are these forums so hard on the park?
I first gave this question serious thought when people started talking about Entwined. We all know what it is at this point, but what I saw was a lot of people condemning it before the show has even been put on. This is kind of surprising (though not entirely) seeing as this site is called "BGWFans". While I know that people shouldn't see the park as some glorious, omnipresent being. I would think that as fans of this park, we should at least give the park the benefit of the doubt before we dismiss something the park does. It really does feel like that people seemed so attached to their own idea of the park, no matter how long ago that was.
Let's look at some of the other complaints I've seen. Once again, I'm not trying to pick on anybody in particular. The reason I'm posting these is just to give an idea of some of the complaints I've seen on these forums.
"The new Oktoberfest is horrible, the colors, decoration, ect don't look good at all."
"Verbolten has cars. Cars are too new for something at Busch Gardens."
"The park doesn't have the magic that it used to have."
"This isn't like the old show."
The one thing that these have in common is that they seem to reference a previous time in the park's history where the person making the comment being made. This makes me think of how these people must romanticize the park. Yes, things have changed, but change is necessary in the entertainment business. I hate to inform people of this, but skateboarders are popular. So are teen musicians, christian music, and girls in saucy outfits during Halloween. As unfortunate as it is, the transition from Polka to princesses is one that the park felt was needed to make money. We all know that the park has some ambitious plans, and these changes are part of it.
Let's take a look at some of the changes that the park is bringing this and last year.
Verbolten: No matter what you say, this is going to be a coaster that is themed well beyond any other coaster the park has had. Who can honestly say that this is a bad thing.
Pretzel shop: How is this a bad thing?
HoS: 2011's HoS has been one of the best. The theming of the houses was (for the most part) very impressive, more than previous years.
Sure, not every idea has been a winner, like Mach Tower. I also understand that some people may feel like everything the park has done in recent years is crap from the medicore Griffon to the horrendous EitA. However, we shouldn't look at every single thing the park does so negatively, especially without even experiencing it first. My goal is not to offend or start a huge debate, but just to try to get opinions on the subject and get people to think, "Is this really that bad?".
Other complaints I've seen are, to put it bluntly, petty. These complaints are only founded on the numerical value of something. My favorite example, is the argument about the final drop of Verbolten. There was a discussion about why there was a two foot discrepancy....two foot. I really can't try to explain this, other than this place is populated by quite a few OCD sufferers. Why can't people simple ignore the minute, pointless details when something as major as Verbolten already has so many fascinating things about it going on with it. Another big discussion was MT versus Drop Zone at KD. When you calculate the time, how long does the difference in height really add up to?
I'm not saying that I don't have my fair share of criticism of the park. I hate EitA, I wish the park would have more animals, I think that Entwined might not be the best show the Festhaus. My point being is that while some criticism is natural, the level here seems like a bit much for a community devoted to a park.
