They use to have a partnership with Jack Hannah and the Columbus Zoo but that brought in Animals for some events including some of the penguins for Christmas Town but I have no idea if that is still intact with him retiring.
Year-Round Operations Come to BGW
- Thread starter Zachary
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The penguins that used to come to CT were from the Columbus Zoo. I actually have a Columbus Zoo pin that you could “purchase” for a donation at CT one year. As @horsesboy mentioned, Jack Hannah was a common link at the time.
columbuszoo.org
Animal Guide | Columbus Zoo And Aquarium
columbuszoo.org
Events have been officially announced on the Parks Socials...interestingly enough only Winter Weekends and Mardi Gras are listed as “limited capacity events” for the time being.
I just want to say that I think they are finally moving Food and Wine into it's optimal position. I never understood why they didn't do it in May when attendance is normally less to try to boost it. Instead of doing it in June when it's already busy.
Who knows. They also changed the name in the last few days from what I had heard, so some of the plans might have changed too.
I found at least one reference to Wild Weekends on the site. (I wonder if it’s because they’re not taking down the lights).
I'm actually sad they're moving Kids Weekends to June. Hopefully we're back to "normal" by April - I really enjoyed those times in the park with my daughter in the early spring.
My understanding is that they were never taking down the lights, just removing everything that's overly Christmas from the decor.
So I'm guessing the plan is to go to normal operations once the "limited capacity" events are over (pending Governor Northam's approval)? It's weird to me that the Bier Fest is only on the weekends through the busy months.
Looks like the first day BGW will be back to normal operations is March 6
To be fair, “normal operations“ will still certainly be guest capped and reservation restricted by then. It will likely be a lot like the current events, just with about double the current guest cap and the whole park open.
Can they really start the clock on deferred memberships free months if the capacity is still limited and masks required? Not sure how feasible that is, couple with all-season dining plans, etc...
Good.
January and February are both extremely dark and depressing months and any extra light is always appreciated as a break from the constant gloominess. At Lewis Ginter in Richmond, they would normally run their light event until late January, mainly because it wasn’t centered around Christmas and it still managed to pull in a crowd even after the holiday rush. After the holidays pass, it feels like the world is void of activities to do in the winter time, by keeping the lights up without the holiday message it’s a great way to continue to use the lights from CT, provide a new experince for guests, and has a relatively low cost from the parks perspective to host the event.
If they wait until capacity isn’t limited and masks aren’t required, it’ll probably be 2022, so yes, I think they’ll start the clock before then.
They definitely can. The FL and TX SEAS parks are doing exactly that. Not really any different than what Disney and Universal are doing either. Cedar Fair parks will reopen in 2021 with masks and reservations as well I'm sure. This will be the norm for a while.
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Any rumors on this year round format will be a one off or the new normal? Could be waiting to see how successful it is. It seems like a well thought out and relatively cheap way to use there assets all year, thus increasing potential revenue. Future indoor rides and shows should only increase potential profits. Like @Nicole mentioned about bringing something new, i.e. animals or unique festivals, they've made it something people will want to seek out, not just do if we happen to get a warm day. I know i plan on several visits!