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  #1  
Old 08-19-2005, 12:50 AM
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Anheiser Busch, BGT over BGW

It has come to my, and many other people's attention that apparently, (gasp) BGT is quite a bit more loved by Anheiser Busch than BGW. And I, as well as a few other people are writing letters to both Anheiser Busch and BGW to try and get them to straighten things out.
Sure, Six Flags does the same things with their parks, but Anheiser Busch doesn't have nearly as many places to take care of. So, if you're with me along with those many other people, write an email to BGW or AB, and lets see if we can get as many people as possible to help us out, and persuade the minds of AB.
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Old 08-19-2005, 12:54 AM
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BGT draws in a much bigger crown and it a bigger tourist attraction than BGW imo.

Bigger numbers and more money meand more time and attention will be spent on BGT over BGW. I don't think Busch id forgeting about BGW. I'm sure something big will come in in a year ot two.

It also may depend on what the guest in that area are looking for.
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  #3  
Old 08-19-2005, 01:21 AM
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Carowinds, i see your name all over the place so i'm not trying to put you down cause you sure as heck know more about this stuff then i do. But where did you find the attendence for the two parks? And do you think there is any chance that the reason the attendence at tampa is because of the type of rides as Disgarde is suggesting. Or even then are we just coaster freaks who don't really make the connection that they did just invest $50 million into codk and we're just pointing fingers cause we wanted them to put $50 million into a kick ass coaster? Not looking for an argument, i'm also tired so i apologize if anything i said makes no sense, but i really don't feel like editing it.
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Old 08-19-2005, 01:31 AM
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Attendance figures are released every year in Amusement Busniess magazine. BGT gets alot mote people than BGW but i didn't mean to say thats why BGT is better.

Just trying to say that BGT is a more popular park only because of it's location so generally i would think Busch would put more money into the park that attracts more guest, Like SF does with SFMM & SFgadv & Paramount does with PKI.

I don't think Busch overlooks BGW but they just add attractions that would fit each park the best and Busch did the right thing, If they would have added Shekira in BGW yes attendance would boost but not as much as it would by putting it in BGT only because Florida gets millions more tourist from all over the world than VA would.

I hope that makes a little bit of sence, It's late :o

I was not trying to say one park is better than the other. I persoanlly have not been to either but hope to some day.
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Last edited by Carowinds 73-03; 08-19-2005 at 01:33 AM.
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Old 08-19-2005, 01:40 AM
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Thank you for the clarification.
I think if bgw could get VDOT to finish the I-64 near hampton colliseum crap more people from the southside would go...
I was thinking about what i did say DarKastle was 50 million its not like they put in a 40,000(this cost is a guess) concession stand only.
Not to ramble on, but it never seemed to me like bgt got that many way out of towners i thought they pretty much stuck to orlando, tampa and orlando are pretty far apart I thought.
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Old 08-19-2005, 01:46 AM
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I don't know for sure if BGT gets alot of tourise from around the world, i was just assuming they do being only an hour or so away from Disney which does get people from all over the world and would think people from all over would spend some time at BGT and not just Disney. Same goes for Sea World & Universal. Not really sure.
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Old 08-19-2005, 01:50 AM
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well universal is right in orlando probably 15-20 minutes from disney(which is slightly outside of orlando)***local correct me please***and sea world is right in there too, tampa is like an hour and a half. Tomorrow i think i'll look at city populations and such and analyze this further, and then probably laugh at my self for taking the time to do all that....good night
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Old 08-19-2005, 02:03 AM
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I have been to the 2 parks in the past year, so here is my opinion:

BGT probably makes more money. It is near a bigger city, it is larger, and more people come to it each year because it is a year round park. BUT, BGW is definately the higher quality park. BGT is....bleh. BGW is the nicest park I have been to, and the theming and rides are great. I think that Anaheiser-Busch should invest into both parks equally, so in the end they get major profits from both parks, and you keep attracting at BGW.
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Old 08-19-2005, 02:08 AM
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Thats what i was trying to say. Thanks.
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  #10  
Old 08-19-2005, 02:26 AM
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Right. I do agree with a lot of that stuff, on what they do for each park. Yes, they did spend 50 million dollars on DarKastle, but there was absolutely nothing in between the time that took. between 2000 and 2004 practicaclly nothing happened. which may be the reason, they were saving money for darkastle. However I do recall someone saying the park wanted to see how long they could last without another coaster, which is a stupid idea that no park on earth should ever try.
I'm not trying to change the world, or "split the system from the inside out"
I'm just trying to level things here.
Disney has been putting in stuff in each of their parks equally, sure Universal studios and hollywood and all others are replicas of each other, they do get good ride balancing. With some nice ride come in at a regularly often pace.
just because a new coaster comes in every two or so years doesn't automatically mean there crappy.(hypothetically speaking) A group of designers could have spent five years on each one and it just turned out, that 2 years was the interval for those rides,(whatever they may be) to be put in.
I lost my point. Its real late, maybe it'll come back to me tomorrow. g'night.
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Old 08-19-2005, 03:28 AM
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I know as an out of town visitor, which I would be...there is not a lot to draw me to Williamsburg (BGW) outside of the park and a history lesson, and maybe the beach. Well, look at Florida. For a bit of a drive, in Florida you have multiple parks, beaches, and more. So while I can't back anything up, I would almost bet that there are a lot more tourists in the Florida area, than there are in the Williamsburg area.
  #12  
Old 08-19-2005, 04:57 AM
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I understand the overall bigger tourist climate in Southern Florida. I'm just not moved to write letters on behalf of BGW. They still stand pretty well with what they already have.
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  #13  
Old 08-19-2005, 06:34 AM
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[QUOTE=DisGardeVersal]It has come to my, and many other people's attention that apparently, (gasp) BGT is quite a bit more loved by Anheiser Busch than BGW. And I, as well as a few other people are writing letters to both Anheiser Busch and BGW to try and get them to straighten things out.
Sure, Six Flags does the same things with their parks, but Anheiser Busch doesn't have nearly as many places to take care of. So, if you're with me along with those many other people, write an email to BGW or AB, and lets see if we can get as many people as possible to help us out, and persuade the minds of AB.[/QUOTE]

First of all, where did this information come from. Facts please, no rumors.
Second, BGT is open year round where as BGW is only open part of the year. Any investments in the parks would obviously be easier to recoup at BGT just because of the fact that they are open all year which would make them the more profitable park. Also, you have to compare the competiton between the parks. The mere fact that BGT being in Florida makes the competition intense. Closest competition for BGW is PKD(1 hour away) Carowinds and SFA(both 3 hours away).
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Old 08-19-2005, 10:42 AM
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[QUOTE=Carowinds 73-03]Attendance figures are released every year in Amusement Busniess magazine. BGT gets alot mote people than BGW but i didn't mean to say thats why BGT is better.
[/QUOTE]
Carrowids...its a known fact that BGW and BGT do not release attendance figures. at least accurate figures. being a private company they have that luxury.....Thats BUD stock on the NYSE not BGW....and also what your saying confuses me....by your rational they would only put in good attractions in florida to drive attendance there effectively taking business away from BGW and just put in something here and there to tide the masses over until they can scrape together the money to go the the promised land of tampa? Thats really not a good business model. The one of the things that paramount does corrrectly is distirbute good rides throughout their company so that the experience isnt quite the same but at the same time you are satisfied with what you have and want to see what else they have in store.
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Old 08-19-2005, 10:44 AM
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  #16  
Old 08-19-2005, 11:02 AM
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well ac and alp were 2 years apart maybe 07 will be the year people will get driven back to the park
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  #17  
Old 08-21-2005, 10:00 PM
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All this stuff is true. However, sometime during the year I saw a few CP commercials, in Virginia. I had no idea they ran commercials down here. If BGW were to make something big, and then advertise it along the whole east coast, they'd attract a lot of people. And I know it works too, even though BGT hasn't had any commercials up here, I'm dying to go on Sheikra because I keep hearing about it. All they'd have to do, is try and bring people in to this area by some new attraction and have a wide range of advertisement.
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Old 08-21-2005, 10:16 PM
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Here are some specs. From 2003 BGT did 4.3 mil and BGW did 2.5 mil.
I remember reading something that BGT did 4.1 last year but I will have to take a look around.
Here are the top 50 parks and figures for 2003 and found the 2002 numbers. These figures come from [url]http://www.amusementbusiness.com[/url] I went ahead and upload the PDF's to TN. Click both the pdf files below.

Adding this, the 2004 figures can be seen at [url]http://www.coastergrotto.com[/url] and the figures are here [url]http://www.coastergrotto.com/theme-park-attendance.jsp[/url]
J.
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  #19  
Old 08-25-2005, 08:13 PM
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The only reason BGT get more guest is because its open year round. If they look at the months BGW is open and then compare I think BGW would come out on top.
  #20  
Old 08-28-2005, 01:05 PM
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that is a very good point....Not that i think bgw would benefit from being open year round. I think the only people who would go in december are the people on this board and the people who would be if they knew about it.
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Old 08-28-2005, 01:50 PM
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[QUOTE=Carowinds 73-03]Attendance figures are released every year in Amusement Busniess magazine. BGT gets alot mote people than BGW but i didn't mean to say thats why BGT is better.[/QUOTE]

So BGW must be empty all the time, because almost every ride at BGT(excluding Congo River Rapids, Sheikra, and Rhino Rally) are usually walk ons. But, we also must not forget that BGT is open year round.
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Old 08-28-2005, 02:47 PM
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one thing i think BGW could do really well is a christmas type thing like PKI is doing this year. they could open the park up between thanksgiving and christmas and in each country have shows, exhibits and things like that to show how that country celebrates christmas. they could really decorate the festhaus and have santa claus set up in the middle where they do the show. they could have a santa claus in each country to show how st. nick is celebrated in europe and see the traditions of the season. they could have some form of a parade and then at night they could open up the train and have a christmas lights tour around the park. in the highland stables they could move the horses somewhere else and put in live reindeer for people to see.i also think it would be neat i every night they have a portion of the messiah performed in the abbey stone theatre since the first time it was performed was in ireland. BGW could really do a lot at christmas. another thing is decorate DarKastle with some sinsiter christmas decorations. i think this could be a way for the park to make a little bit of extra money during the off season.
  #23  
Old 08-28-2005, 03:54 PM
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Theres just one problem with the christmas idea. BGW would have to off-set the ride's annual inspection. Which that wouldn't be the easiset thing to do. Since it's a seasonal park, everything gets inspected during the winter, and, though I'm not against the idea, having a christmastime celebration would destroy their inspection schedule.
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Old 08-28-2005, 04:12 PM
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well they wouldnt necessarily have the coasters open. i mean it would strictly be a christmas event so maybe only open select rides. obviously water rides would have to be closed. but what is the lowest temperature a coaster can operate in? is it in the 40's or something? anyways, it was just an idea.
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Old 08-28-2005, 04:32 PM
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[QUOTE=Montu Man]So BGW must be empty all the time, because almost every ride at BGT(excluding Congo River Rapids, Sheikra, and Rhino Rally) are usually walk ons. But, we also must not forget that BGT is open year round.[/QUOTE]

You can't forget the snowbirds and the Europeans when they are on their way too many holidays. Some of them actually make the hour long trek to Tampa while visiting Orlando.
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Old 08-29-2005, 12:49 PM
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The problem with the Busch parks, is they only add new rides when attendance drops. That's why BGT got Sheikra. It's frustrating to not reward fans for visiting, but that's how it works. Don't expect anything at SWF because their attendance has been great because of UK visitors adding 1 day to their Disney trips.

I've written many letters to both BGT and BGW, and they respond back to me. So go ahead, write, and don't let the nay sayers discourage you.
If you want to get a response back from them, tell them you are frustrated, and not drinking Bud beer anymore. Worked for me, they responded back saying I'd be drinking Bud soon. The letter was posted on BGT Guide, and then the ride rumors really took off about Sheikra.

It's really sad, but we have to hope attendance at BGW is down, which would prove DK didn't bring in the fans like Sheikra, and then you can write saying they need to build Drachen Flyer.

Last edited by robvia; 08-29-2005 at 12:51 PM.
  #27  
Old 08-29-2005, 06:17 PM
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Ha, well thats just funny. BGW does seem to be a very well-rounded park now, but you can easily walk 10 miles in just one day at the park.(if you don't believe me, next time you go bring one of those, step-o-meter things.) for 10 miles in one day, I'd say the park doesn't have near as much as it could. But, of course Kingsmill steps in the way each time, "blah blah, yap yap, no new ride for you."

In getting to know the enemy well, I went to the kingsmill website and found it was originally created in the 1700s, then bought by August Busch(the II, or III, I can't remember.) anyways, he bought the park in the 1960s, along with a ton of land to make a major brewing plant, along with an idea to create another Anheuser Busch park, similar to the one in tampa bay.

with this story, clearly someone was not thinking, putting a park that close to the place wasn't exactly a smart move(not that I'm unhappy they did it.) but since they did, there should have been a few guidelines to hand out to both places, both BGW, and Kingsmill.(yes, sadly there should have been peace, but since Kingsmill has owned the court, it's time for viva la revolution!) Since they did not come to terms with such an agreement, tons of arguments have been made over what each other can and cannot do. In my opinion, Kingsmill isn't really that horribly close to BGW. They're forgetting of the employee parking lot, and big bud plant that's in the way over there. So all their endless complaints really have no foundation. If we were somehow able to get the eyes of Anheseur Busch to see this, we might be able to persuade them a little, and get those wonderful juices flowing.(ha ha, beer, juice...Nevermind.) In short, BGW's noise problem could be solved, allowing just enough open space for something new every two, or three years, instead of every 6.
now:
think, discuss, act.
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Old 09-06-2005, 01:24 PM
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Some have mentioned this already, but obviously the parks are different. One being favored over the other though? Umm, sorry. I really wouldn't say that. While you might not have seen a "major" new attraction there for a few years, that hardly means that there wasn't any improvements or other things being done to help make the park better.

Even if you wanted to look just at the major improvements, DarKastle cost a heck of a lot more than SheiKra did. What major improvements did BGT get in the same time period? Cheetah Chase? Moved from BGW to help clear space for DarKastle. So obviously they were thinking long term on that one. Other than that, I can't recall any major additions that either park received.

And as others have pointed out, BGT attracts an extra 1.5-2 million people every year due to being open year round, being near a major international tourist stop, etc. So with that decided attendance advantage, BGW does more than hold it's own.
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  #29  
Old 09-22-2005, 05:21 PM
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perchance to dream Disgardeversal.........(also add quality attraction into this not some souped up movie....)
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Old 09-22-2005, 07:26 PM
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Pirates, rest in peace, you were the best 3-D film at BGW that I can remember.
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