Busch Gardens Christmastown DISASTER

[Dismayed Visitor]

December 2012: Christmastown at Busch Gardens Tampa was a disaster. We headed to Busch Gardens' Christmastown event in Tampa last evening at 5pm. We live relative close to the location and, since the event started at 6:30pm, we thought we had plenty of time to arrive.

 

Issue #1: Busch Blvd was a complete standstill, from the moment we exited i275 until we made the left onto McKinley which is where the park entrance is. By the time we got into a spot in the parking lot, nearly 2 grueling hours passed. There was an unmarked police or similar person manually working the traffic light at Busch and McKinley but this proved to be the main source of the traffic jam, since people were arriving from every direction to the main entrance.

 

Issue #2: We had intended to use the valet parking, since it was advertised to be $30 versus the standard parking fee of $20. After sitting through all of the traffic, we pull into the valet area only to be greeted by a parking attendant who stated the valet lot was FULL. We had to then turn around and fight our way into the main traffic on McKinley, in order to reach the main lot. Despite being Christmastime, travelers were equally as pissed off as I and therefore made it difficult for us to enter the line of cars already waiting to access the main lot. Again, no police, etc, at the main entrance to handle the insane amount of cars heading to Busch Gardens' Christmastown event.

 

Issue #3: Every single "special" event (throwing man-made snowballs, playing in a snow-covered area, sitting in Santa's sleigh for a photo op, was a minimum of 90 minutes wait. For any family with small children, in tandem with the late hour of the day, it was impractical to wait for any such event. This was the single most disappointing fact of this entire post. While the tickets were moderately priced for a standard family size, the park was WAY overcrowded in comparison to the small-scale, small-numbered specialized events.

 

Issue #4: While the event lighting and displays were nice, they were nothing compared to our prior year's visit to Disney's Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights event. At least there's plenty of room at that event to handle the large number of visitors (parking as well as inside the event), in comparison to Busch Gardens.

 

In summary, I would highly recommend NOT going to the Busch Gardens' Christmastown event, unless you have a ton of patience and arrive 2-3 hours before the event's start time.

[Voxelmatic]

You needed to expect these crowds on a Saturday night. It seems like most of your problems were crowd related, and you thought it would be desserted. Were there any positives to the trip, such as short coaster lines?

[Ccron10]

I may not have been to BGT before, but with all due respect, you should've known that Saturdays are usually the busiest days at a theme park. If you would've gone Friday or Sunday, I would be willing to bet if you went those days, you would see a MAJOR difference. Not to mention that you decided to go in the evening, which is right around the time most parks with Christmas events start getting full. Next time please plan ahead before going. I do this whenever I go to a new park.

For example, I went to BGW's Christmastown event last week on a Saturday and knew that it was going to be packed so me and a few friends got there early, got on Verbolten when it only had a 5 to 10 minute wait and got most of our rides done way before the park got packed and had an awesome time.

I can't stress this anymore, plan before you head to a park.

[Wes]

So you went to a special holiday event on a Saturday night and it was busy? God, what a disaster.

[kidcoaster 2]

At least this was well written vs other people who sign up and post pointless rants but you have to expect those crowds when going to most parks on Saturdays. But how can you even compare Disney to this event which is only in it's first year?

[Skycoastin Steve]

I'm gonna go ahead and echo what everyone else said about going to an event like this on Saturday. That's your own fault. The Christmas Town in Williamsburg hit capacity yesterday and people were blasting them on Facebook like it was their fault a TON of people wanted to go to their event. Try going on a different day! If you're a local, you should already know that BGT is a disaster on most Saturdays, so what would make you think that a special event would make the crowds any better?

 

As for this.........

Issue #4: While the event lighting and displays were nice, they were nothing compared to our prior year's visit to Disney's Osborne Family Spectacle of Dancing Lights event. At least there's plenty of room at that event to handle the large number of visitors (parking as well as inside the event), in comparison to Busch Gardens.

Do you really think a first-time event at a park could really compete with something Disney has been doing for several years now??

[cfc]

I live in Williamsburg, and I wouldn't even consider going to Busch Gardens here on a Saturday night for either Howl-o-Scream or Christmas Town. (And if I was forced to go on a Saturday, I'd get there early and expect crowds--BGW has hit capacity for the last few Saturday nights.)

 

So, while it's unfortunate that you had so many problems, you might want to consider the night you were attending.

[netdvn]

Yesterday BGW hit capacity hard (literally wall to wall people everywhere). But interestingly enough crowds on Saturday don't really come until the lights come on so walk-ons for Verbolten, Mach, penguins early in the day, huge crowds in the middle (good time to see lights), and then the crowds pretty much clear the park around 9, giving you walk-ons to everything again. Not sure if Tampa works out like that though considering their CT is new this year.

[simaticable]

Something I just made:

[TheStig]

Issue #3: Every single "special" event (throwing man-made snowballs,

 

As opposed to those mother nature made snowballs.

[BeemerBoy]

First world problems.

 

Seriously, the same internet that you took the time to create an account on TPR and rant your heart away is the same internet that held the crucial information warning you not to visit a popular holiday attraction on a Saturday.

 

Research is your friend.

[robbalvey]

Seriously, the same internet that you took the time to create an account on TPR and rant your heart away is the same internet that held the crucial information warning you not to visit a popular holiday attraction on a Saturday.

Or at least to set realistic expectations. This is the same reason we avoid HHN on a Saturday, and you won't see us doing many park visits during the main holiday weeks.

 

In the guys defense, if the park really was as packed as he says (and I'm assuming there is some exaggeration here, especially given that I've seen tweets from other people who were there last night, and didn't report any of this), I would hope that the park in coming years can learn from this year, and make changes to better accommodate larger crowds.

 

To be honest, in a way, I'm actually THRILLED to hear this is a problem. I was worried that this event wouldn't be well-received and therefore not highly attended. So if the biggest problem the park has is that too many people showed up for it in it's first year of being offered.... GREAT!!!

 

This only leads me to believe that bigger and better things would come for future years of the event.

 

--Robb

[cfc]

^That's a good way to look at it. BGW started out "small" with their Christmas Town, and have been expanding it each year since. I hope it goes well for Tampa, too.

[kelfsu]

Busch Gardens did post a response on their blog:

 

http://www.buschgardenstampablog.com/message-our-christmas-town-guests

[robbalvey]

^ Wow! Good for them!

[SharkTums]

When I saw the title I figured that Robo-Santa most have gone crazy and murdered children and reindeer!

 

I do see where the OP is coming from. I mean, yes, we understand not to go near an event like this on a Saturday, but many of the GP is dumb and doesn't think. BGT should have been more prepared to deal with these crowds.

 

But 90 minute waits, that's not uncommon at all and certainly not BGT's fault.

[jedimaster1227]

Having already been to the event this season (on what was meant to be a busier night, Friday), I can understand that the park might be busy, as was the traffic surrounding the park. But as was mentioned before, peak season periods at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay have often emulated the same situations on a normal park day, so as everyone else was saying, this shouldn't be a surprise. When in doubt, show up super early--the time you lose waiting early is the time you save not waiting in traffic, waiting for the shuttle from the parking lot, waiting in a ridiculous line at the ticket booths and the turnstiles and waiting in the still-growing lines for the special offerings.

 

Regardless of your experience, I can attest to the fact that the event has plenty of room to grow, but this is a good thing! I'm thrilled to see that Christmas Town is already turning out to be such a success for the park! It was evident that much like the first year at Williamsburg's event, the premier season was designed to start out smaller, leaving room for the event to expand in the coming years. Not all of the park was utilized for the event, nor were all of the rides included. Considering how well received this event has been, I wouldn't be surprised to see Egypt and other sections of the park integrated into the festivities next year.

 

It is very rare for a brand new theme park offering to be perfect from day 1, but I stand by my opinion that this event was pretty darn close for what it was, especially in its first year. Other events at the park have suffered from the same minor nuisances at first, but they've all found their groove quickly and have become staples in the annual calendar, and I don't see this situation being any different. You were unfortunately present to see some of those issues firsthand, but the fact of the matter is, they've addressed the concern publicly, acknowledging the issues and are working to fix them. Cut them some slack...

[bill_s]

December 2012: Christmastown at Busch Gardens Tampa was a disaster. We headed to Busch Gardens' Christmastown event in Tampa last evening at 5pm. We live relative close to the location and, since the event started at 6:30pm, we thought we had plenty of time to arrive.

 

A Saturday. Well I guess not everyone knows that parks are very crowded on Saturdays. Now you know.... I think the BGW version originally started at 6:30 now its 3:00, but they still often hit capacity of Saturdays.

 

Issue #1: Busch Blvd was a complete standstill, from the moment we exited i275 until we made the left onto McKinley which is where the park entrance is. By the time we got into a spot in the parking lot, nearly 2 grueling hours passed.

 

After seeing this Clue, there shouldn't have been an issue #2-4. GO HOME. And I wouldn't recommend getting there earlier either, it's still an overcrowded night.

 

NOW, AS TO WHAT HAPPENED AT WILLIAMSBURG LAST NIGHT, I still wouldn't call a "disaster", that's something else and usually involves someone getting hurt, but I would call it a MAJOR FAIL. The one and only major thrill ride they were running (as a thrill ride), Verbolten, never ran. More substantially, I was lied to by 2 persons about it.

 

I checked thier Facebook page before leaving and someone had said Verbolten was having technical difficulties. So I called the park. It wasn't clear in the phone tree if there was any options to get park information from a live person. I hit 5 and the person I talked to said she didn't know and put me on hold, came back and said Verbolten was running. This call was at 4:52 and the Facebook posting had said "37 minutes ago".

 

It took over an hour and a half to get to the park, no mention of problems when I bought my ticket and I don''t think they have a regular place to post ride closings like KD. I had to enter the park and walk to the ride to find out it was closed. Two different line attendants there I spoke to said the ride never ran Sunday. About 8:30 they announced over the area PA that they were giving up.

 

I stopped by Guest Services or whatever they call it on the way out and the guy claimed he "knew for a fact" the ride was operating until 4:40. He went on to state that by the time they had it ready to run, it was too cold for it to run -- IT WAS 55 DEGREES! Let me guess, 4:40 was after they got the first guest complaint and investigated the situation. Anyway, who am I to believe, people working at the ride or someone in guest relations on the other side of the park? Maybe he didn't know the ride was down until 4:40 but that's entirely different than knowing it was running. I didn't remember the Facebook posting was 37 minutes before I called when I was speaking to him. I should have gotten his name and demanded to speak to others (he was tall and thin).

 

Being lied to really rubs me wrong but I can't really hold that against a whole park, although I expect some policies are in place that encourage it. Clearly the park is lacking communication, at least regarding negative news. They also don't seem to understand the priority of a ride when it is the only one in its category running. Perhaps thrill rides are not that important in their conception of the event, but it should be obvious it is to some guests; any interest in Christmas lights etc. on my part was to be AFTER I got my coaster itch scratched!

 

I don't know if I'll be returning to BGW unless I recieve a material apology. My previous conditional recommendation of this event I can't stand by. A single coaster is not reliable enough to travel long distances and expect it to be running, there is no way to get official information on the status, and the park doesn't consider the customer to always be right.

[simon8899]

This is why I don't visit parks on "special events" like Xmas or Halloween events - and seldom do parks on public holidays or school holidays. And if scheduling can't circumnavigate this times I either go on a Sunday or take the gamble and go on a slightly showery day to avoid the crowds. If all things fail and I have to go during high-season I normally plan 2 days - specially if visiting new parks with many new coasters.

[netdvn]

They also don't seem to understand the priority of a ride when it is the only one in its category running. Perhaps thrill rides are not that important in their conception of the event, but it should be obvious it is to some guests; any interest in Christmas lights etc.

 

New rides break down. That's the nature of new rides. I was at the park yesterday and was told Verbolten was having technical difficulties. Yeah I was disappointed, but then again, I went on to enjoy the rest of the event. You can't really fault the park for having their brand new ride shut down for a good amount of the day, only thrill ride running or not.

 

Being lied to really rubs me wrong but I can't really hold that against a whole park, although I expect some policies are in place that encourage it. Clearly the park is lacking communication, at least regarding negative news.

 

Have you contacted the park about it yet? You're probably better off making your complaint directly to the park about your situation so they can work it out.

[robbalvey]

The one and only major thrill ride they were running (as a thrill ride), Verbolten, never ran. More substantially, I was lied to by 2 persons about it.

If you've been on this website since December 2010, then you should know better that theme park operations is something that is never a "definite" and you should have been smart enough to use your own deductive reasoning not to go to the park.

 

First off, you weren't "lied" to - for right or wrong, the people you spoke to probably just didn't have correct information. They weren't "lying" to you, I guarantee you that.

 

Secondly, if you read on their Facebook the ride was having problems, you called and you said the woman "didn't know" that should have been a clue to you not to go to the park if the ONLY thing you were interested in was riding Verbolten.

 

And finally, the park is catering to people who are there to enjoy the park as a whole not to some "roller coaster weirdo" (Simpsons reference) who is only there to ride ONE RIDE and is now refusing to return to the park because ONE RIDE was down during ONE VISIT. And goes and yells at Guest Relations and tells them how to operate their park. That's just insane to me.

 

I agree that parks should have their sh*t together and be able to communicate to their customers. BUT... in these types of events, where rides are being run under conditions that they aren't normally run under, it's a special ticket and different type of park day from your typical "normal season", and YOU being a "theme park enthusiast" where just being a member of this website should make you smarter than the average guest, YOU SHOULD KNOW BETTER!!!

 

You know, I flew to Abu Dhabi 2 years ago, spent 16 hours on a plane and thousands of dollars later, Formula Rossa was closed all week. I didn't complain at all. Yes, I was disappointed, but I still made the most of it, and we had an awesome trip. And you're complaining, no SHOUTING about Verbolten being closed, a ride that's local to you and that I'm sure you been on before. Sorry, you're getting zero sympathy from me.

 

I just wish more of this group would be a bit more understanding when it comes to park operations instead of complaining so much about such insignificant things. I think more of you guys need to spend a summer working at a park to really understand what it's like. Cut these people some slack. They aren't being paid enough to put up with your crap.

 

--Robb "There...I said it." Alvey

Edited December 10, 2012 by robbalvey

[cfc]

^Exactly. Most of the visitors to Christmas Town are there for the decorations, the shows, and the food--not necessarily for the rides. I went there on a Friday night, and Verbolten was a walk on (unless you wanted to wait two trains for a front seat). This is the first time I've seen that queue empty outside of an ERT event.

[jjune4991]

I think more of you guys need to spend a summer working at a park to really understand what it's like.

 

I think we have the list up to "working in a restaurant or food service, working in the airplane business, and working at an amusement park during the busy season".

 

Honestly, I'm glad that Busch Gardens had a packed night. I didn't think that it would be as busy as last night. I do understand people's complaints about traffic being terrible into the park. Busch Blvd is only a 4 lane road, so it can back up very quickly. I'm sure BG had most, if not all, the parking gates open that evening. I was very upset that one lady had to post so much on BG's facebook that all they wanted to do was take people's money and that BG should take some notes from Mickey. This is their first year and they will have kinks. Complaining that it's too crowded at a major attraction is like complaining that airport security is too long during peak flight hours. It's just stupid to complain about it when it should be obvious that it will occur. I know I will be going on a Sunday, as it should be quieter than any Saturday.

[robbalvey]

^ Exactly! And these are all things you have learned by being a member of this site, visiting parks regularly, and just overall being SMART about your park visits.

 

I'm sorry, but I just can no longer give people sympathy who have been members of this site for YEARS and then complain about a crowded event or a closed ride. In a way I feel like we haven't done our job to better educate our members on things like this, but I can only repeat myself so many times, you know?

 

--Robb

Edited December 10, 2012 by robbalvey

[BeemerBoy]

After reading back through again, I found this nugget from the OP...

 

Issue #3: Every single "special" event (throwing man-made snowballs, playing in a snow-covered area, sitting in Santa's sleigh for a photo op, was a minimum of 90 minutes wait. For any family with small children, in tandem with the late hour of the day, it was impractical to wait for any such event. This was the single most disappointing fact of this entire post. While the tickets were moderately priced for a standard family size, the park was WAY overcrowded in comparison to the small-scale, small-numbered specialized events.

Didn't he pretty much answer his own rant? I mean, if you knew that a moderately priced event would probably attract a larger crowd, then why wouldn't you plan ahead, or as Robb mentioned, at least have different expectations?

 

Perhaps it's now just as simple as Busch upping the price next year, a la a Disney hard ticket event (Not So Scary Halloween, Very Merry Christmas)? Maybe then there will be smaller crowds, and less Trip Adviser-type people chomping at the bit to get home, Google the first theme park-related site they find, and post their displeasure with some place's service.