Could be but I do remember hearing about all the other animals they had mentioned during some of the booths I stopped at. I took it as them putting their offerings out there as more of a “come to the zoo we have so much more”.
Winter Weekends 2022
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
To add to this, are we sure BGW wasn't paying a fee to these places to have them attend last year?
We went today, and I've never seen the park that empty, even during restricted pandemic admissions. There might not have been 250 people in the entire park. We walked right on to any ride that was open, and my kids got a private Sesame Street show: they were the only ones there. They started clearing horses out of the stables around 4, and Forest of Fun shut down around 5. By 5:30, everything was closed in France, there was one shop open in New France (no rides), and one shop open in Ireland. Walking back from New France through Ireland toward England, we were the only people around besides employees. It actually got a little creepy as it got dark.
I just don’t believe this event is “reducing losses” as previously stated. The additional overhead for payroll, ride operations and the small performances. cannot be met with that kind of crowd. Especially consider most are members (additional visits by members add $0 gate revenue) and probably not purchasing much food in 6 hour span.
The park would be losing less money sitting closed unfortunately.
This weekend wasn't a winner for the park for sure. That said, if you look at the weather thus far this January, the park has been getting massively screwed. Many weekdays have had perfectly reasonable weather and many weekends have been frigid messes. Hopefully they get more lucky the next two weeks and throughout February.
I actually had to run to Williamsburg this afternoon and was coming by the park about 4ish. I thought about stopping in to make a lap around and grab a bite to eat but then when I saw the about 4 rows of cars thought about the fact there would probably be no where open to find food since the park closed at 6 they would start closing everything soon. Guess that was about right. Also there really was not any ride that I thought would be fun to ride because of the cold…..who would have ever thought Battle for Eire would have been the one interesting attraction for the day.
The husband and I spent our MLK Jr. Monday at Winter Weekends and we had an absolutely amazing time! This event was enjoyable and has a lot of potential to expand on if the weather decides to cooperate in January! The only ride that was closed was Apollo's because of the temperature and wind. All other rides were walk-ons. Most of the shops (except Italy) were open and very well stocked. We used our $10 BGW Bucks and spent some more to help support this event. The food selection was decent for a scaled back event like this. The Animal Ambassadors show at the Globe was fantastic! Hearing the fun facts about some of those animals and seeing them on stage was awesome. It makes me miss some of the old zoological experiences the park used to have year round! The music show in the Festhaus was entertaining. Overall we had a really good time. It is nice to walk the park this time of year, get our 'steps' in, and see some of the off season maintenance that goes on. It is definitely an event to check out at least once!
Weather has really been tough for the park. Tomorrow 56 and clear would be a great park day. Instead this weekend will be pounded with a blizzard. Hopefully February is more cooperative!
Honestly if the park would open in the snow I would definitely be there…..heck i’ll even bring a shovel! If you’ve ever seen the park when it’s closed during a decent snow you know how beautiful it is.
And then someone would slip and fall and hurt themselves and say it was the park's fault for being open.
Just hand everyone at the entrance slip on metal cleats to put over their footwear, problem solved.
I read somewhere that such waivers are not actually enforceable in court depending on the claim being made, they're usually more to prevent activity participants from seeking lawsuits in general.
Not sure how true that is, but food for thought.
A liability waiver does not work in place of reasonable safety measures a business is expected to take, such as putting down salt or closing off dangerous areas.
I do think that it's likely that BGW paid or at least had a ticket trade agreement with these groups for them to come.
Kings Isjand has fully operated Winterfest in snow except for the wooden coaster. The park is fairly level and they shoveled and salted what small slopes there are. However they did not plow or shovel the level walkways. This is Ohio where there is proper snow clearing equipment for the highways, etc
I have been lucky enough to experience that 3 times. It’s the best experience I have ever had at any theme park. It was a true fantasy with all of the Christmas lights and everything covered in snow.
Busch has some pretty steep hills. The ramp from up into Oktoberfest from Italy can get slippery on its own.
Here are some photos The park was actually fairly busy these nights. I waited until it cleared out to take pics.
I have been lucky enough to experience that 3 times. It’s the best experience I have ever had at any theme park. It was a true fantasy with all of the Christmas lights and everything covered in snow.
Busch has some pretty steep hills. The ramp from up into Oktoberfest from Italy can get slippery on its own.
Here are some photos The park was actually fairly busy these nights. I waited until it cleared out to take pics.
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BGW actually spent a decent amount of money on snow clearing equipment during Carl's time there. It was right after they had a significant December storm that closed Christmas Town for a while. I think the major problem BGW would have is can they get enough staff willing to brave the roads and come in to run things. For that matter could they get enough guests willing to do it to make it worth while to open?
Not to mention, would the inevitable 20 car pileup on the exit ramp allow people to even get in?
That’s the issue. Eastern VA doesn’t clear its roads like Ohio does. There is the question of travel safety for staff and guests.
My post wasn’t to mean that BG should stay open in a snow storm. It was just to state that it can be done in the right place, and it’s amazing
Although BG and KD are two absolutely beautiful parks and they Both would look
stunning in the snow. It’s a shame we probably won’t ever get yo experience it.
BGW has been open in the past with snow in the park. However, it hasn't been actively snowing and enough time has passed that they could clear the park and roads have been cleared. If it snows this Fri/Sat it is possible that there is still a significant level of snow on Sunday.