Many apologies, but that was what I was told by employees on Preview Day! I'm VERY glad to have been mistaken!

Please, no! No changes, just keep it up! That area is cute, fits with the European themes of the park, and does indeed occupy the kidlets quite well. This is a family park and needs the kids' areas. I've always loved that it's just a Land of Dragons, too -- not some specific dragon character with a merchandise tie-in. But that may be its downfall.

I thought that some of the press release info for FoF assured that LoD wasn't going anywhere. But maybe that only applied to this season?

Please keep us updated with any new information.

I'm glad they will have Emerald Beat this year, because I asked and more than one employee at Preview Day said they weren't having it this year. And the big calendar at the front of the park, as you walk down the hill from the ticket booths, didn't have its opening day listed, nor was Kinetix (or whatever it will be this summer) mentioned on that board, and usually that's where that information is. It listed all the concerts -- the Bud & BBQ, the Glory at the Gardens, the Sock Hop Nights, etc. -- but no Emerald Beat. That's what prompted us to check with the employees, and were told no EB this year. And I didn't see any mention of it in the Euro News, either, though of course I could have just missed it.

So at the very least they should get their employees the correct information!

And as for the official website, it is PAINFULLY slow to load and sometimes doesn't have the most up-to-date info, anyway, on special events, or the info is difficult to find.

I am trying to have this attitude, I really am. But it's hard for us. First off, the "food" e.g. is not quite as good, with the changes in beer. Rides did seem fine, but still felt the physical appearance of the park (rides and everything else) was not quite up to snuff. And eventually, that may hit ride upkeep, too. Of course I hope it never does! Second negative -- shows: We've already lost the Irish dance show. I asked on the thread about shows for 2009, but will ask again here: any specifics on WHY there's no Emerald Beat this year?

FoF isn't of great appeal to us, but it seems innocuous enough. Even the wooden facade castle seemed reasonably ok to me. So some changes I can roll with.

However, even though change is inevitable, is change for the worse inevitable? It ought not be, but that's why DH and I are struggling with change at BGW: most of it seems to be negative change, not positive.

At some point the negative changes, if they continue, will reach a tipping point and we won't be going to the park any more. I hope that doesn't happen, as we've only gone on two overnight vacations in 10+ years, and both were only long weekends, so BGW IS our vacation -- spread out in single day trips throughout the season! BGW is a bit of a lifeline for us ~

Ok, enough complaining from me, I promise.

Darn, I never caught Viva Italia, which I think was only there the last two years? But somehow I caught Holiday in Roma (I think it was) quite a lot.

Hope the new one is good.

Wow, you said it! Saying a park had a very specific and special "soul" and "life force" I'm sure seems silly and hyperbolic to many people, but BGW had it. Oh, yes. I always felt happy just entering the park. My husband and I play and have fun there like a coupla kids. Visits to the park rejuvenated us. Really, really made us glad to be alive.

Also agree as others have said that the parks need to sell fast, before their budgets and policies get gutted to help the parent company's overall financial situation look better. I'm not optimistic that even an owner like Merlin could capture the same spirit the park had under A-B, but I hope it will be better than it is now. To me there IS a feeling of uncertainty about the place, and some of the soul is definitely gone.

It's already crossed my mind that I'll be doing other things more this summer and going to the parks less. Now, that may well change. But the thought did cross my mind a few times on Sunday.

Just thought I'd add my report from Preview Day.

We've been to Preview Day for some years now, and I've been telling DH for about the last 2 years that I actually think the regular opening day can be better than Preview Day as far as crowds AND park "readiness." Because I do think Preview Day is a dry run for the employees, as you said.

HOWEVER, my impression was that the employees were really prepped and happy to be there. We did attend the Jack Hannah breakfast, and am so glad we did, because we heard about the horrific wait at the toll booth plaza. We got right in, and since we started our day in the middle of the park at Festhaus, it was a while before the crowds caught up to us.

Staff: as I said, on top of the game, from what I saw. On the tram ride in, we didn't pass an employee who didn't both wave and speak. Very welcoming, and like they were glad to see us AND glad to be there. Ride ops seemed concerned with keeping lines moving appropriately while still maintaining safety -- at Busch you always feel like they are really actually checking restraints and not simply going through the motions. I get so peeved in the food lines, though -- but not at the staff, at the PATRONS. Why so many people think they have to have a fresh kids meal made up, or a fresh entree, when what they want is already made and on the line, I'll never know. The turnover is so fast there I don't think things can get too cold. But this one guy at Trappers had to have a special entree, and then he was causing some major holdup at the drink station, too. Noticing how long we were stopped, one older lady started chatting with a guy two people ahead of me, asking how he was enjoying his day, etc. The conversation quickly morphed into how much she loved her job and working at BGW. And ya know, I think most of the employees feel that way. Frankly, I wish I could work there, but my one-way drive is 1 1/2 hours, and that's just too long.

Although the flowers were out and facilities were clean, I didn't see the kind of fresh paint I often see at the start of the season. For example, in the bathroom I used, while it was certainly clean, the stall partitions hadn't been re-painted -- there were old scuffs on the doors and such. Seems like usually when the season opens they've either been really cleaned up, or maybe even painted. DH pointed out rust and such on the coaster tracks. Now, I know they don't re-paint the coasters every year -- that would be impossible -- but I just had an overall impression of less fresh paint. Still nice flowers, but I don't think as many as usual??? But they may have more out for actual opening day, and as the weather warms, too.

Sorry we won't be having an Irish dance show. What happened with that, anyway? Simply Inbev not wanting to pay for the dancers to come over, or what?

And the Wild Days and the Garden weekend (can't remember the correct name) were great introductions last year -- sorry to see they are not repeating those. They were very popular. We tried to sign up for a greenhouse tour weeks in advance, but they were all already booked. And will we not even have a Kinetix-type show, either?

I mentioned the InBev takeover to several employees, who said they hadn't noticed any changes yet, but they seemed aware of the potential for problems. DH tried an InBev beer and hated it. It's a shame they can't still have Brewmasters Club -- even if they had to promote some InBev products. It seems shortsighted not to do that.

I actually blame the top for selling out. Augustus IV can say his primary directive was to get a good price for his stockholders, but stockholders aren't the only stakeholders here. All the employees, their families, and the lifetime customers of all the divisions of Busch were stakeholders, and all of us lost out.

No big changes yet, but subtle changes were there IMO and I remain very worried about the future direction of the park.

Oh, and YES, HATE the Sesame Street music in Banbury and hope it will be temporary. On the other hand, I thought the Forest of Fun wasn't too bad. No, it's not a great fit as to the themeing, but it is off to the side and I can walk right past it. And the skyride popping out right there doesn't bother me, it was always strange coming out there on the top of the rise with nothing in front of you and having to turn one way or the other to exit. Now that the FoF is in front of you, it changes the feel of the traffic flow, as though there's a reason to be getting out there. I don't think anything about the skyride station has changed, though -- it just looks different with the FoF there now. ??

But in re-reading my post I don't mean to sound too negative. It was a great day. We rode all the coasters, and the MCBR on Alpie was minimal. I guess because of the cooler weather, all we got was a quick tweak and a hiss and we zoomed on through. AC as smooth as ever, and I had my fanny pack at my back and that caused my restraint to give me more freedom, I think, because I got air time on pretty much every hill! Griffon great as always. LNM and BBW still enjoyable, but BBW is getting shafted by not having any kind of anniversary acknowledgement. Well, it was announced in the queue recording, but LNM got a special logo for the 25th. (And didn't they get the wider trains, too?) Surely just designing and painting one large logo for BBW at the queue somewhere wouldn't have been too costly of time or resources! Come on, InBev! Celebrate what you have -- you certainly paid for it!

I'm clearly having trouble with the site, on the homepage I have a large blank space in the upper left corner. I've reloaded twice -- same result. The background is black, lettering is shades of brown/gold.

I browse with Firefox. I've always loved the elaborate look of the site, and I"m a Sagittarian to boot, so I'd love to see the new look properly!

Heal Jack Hanna +1
Hurt Battering Ram -2

Alpengeist- 19
Apollo's Chariot- 22
Battering Ram- 3
The Big Bad Wolf- 12
Curse Of DarKastle- 15
Da Vinci's Cradle- 6
Escape From Pompeii- 12
Griffon- 21
Jack Hanna's Wild Reserve- 5
Land Of The Dragons- 5
The Loch Ness Monster- 18
Pet Shenanigans- 8
Roman Rapids- 6
This Is Oktoberfest- 8
Skyride- 7

Lake Winnepesaukah, Ghost Town in the Sky. If Dollywood or Cypress Gardens count, add them to the list!

I never went, but what was that Ozark/L'il Abner-like park? Was it Dogpatch or something else? Anybody ever go there?

Heal Pet Shenanigans +2
Hurt Da Vinci's Cradle -1

Alpengeist- 14
Apollo's Chariot- 20
Battering Ram- 8
The Big Bad Wolf- 11
Curse Of DarKastle- 15
Da Vinci's Cradle- 8
Escape From Pompeii- 12
Griffon- 19
Jack Hanna's Wild Reserve- 6
Land Of The Dragons- 6
The Loch Ness Monster- 17
Pet Shenanigans- 8
Roman Rapids- 8
This Is Oktoberfest- 9
Skyride- 7

Geez, maybe I've found a hidden benefit to being fat. I've never been stapled like you guys have! 'Course, now that I've said something, the gods are sure to punish me on my next coaster ride ...

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This is a fun question to consider -- nice thread!

Scary? No, especially not after the first ride or two. But definitely thrilling and fun due to the spooky atmosphere and the immersiveness of the whole experience. So many great details to the rooms and the videos.

We ride it most visits to the park, though you have to watch the lines, as they can be long.

Nessie queue/station house.

"I'm on a ride and I [DON'T] want to get off, and they won't slow down the roundabout" [Duran Duran _Reflex_]

"Speed of fright" because we tend to kind of roll our eyes and laugh over it, but "mythical Griffon" and "voyage to the sun on the wings of Apollo's Chariot" are great, too!

What about operator comments? I like some of the enthusiastic ones this year on Griffon: "The floor's droppin, and you're not stoppin'" and what's the rest? Something about the 205 feet, or the 90 degrees, or something. AC sometimes has enthusiastic operators, too.

I guess what I'm wondering now, though, is if the construction area across from Pompeii might not also be part of the "Project 2008/09" area, because, if you think about it, that's all contiguous area from the old petting zoo on around to Italy. Of course I've never seen that whole area from the other side of the fence, and there may be obstacles back there that would make what I'm talking about impossible, I don't know.

But I have to kinda wonder if they would actually worry about that much construction for a free event that only lasts a short part of the season like HOS (much as we all love it!).

And I dearly hope the Busch family buys back Busch Entertainment Corp/now "Worlds of Discovery." But the fallout from the takeover could mean less $$$ in the next few years for expansion projects even if the Busches keep the parks.

Is there any updated information out there about the expansion?

Given that the construction extends so far that it's across the tracks from Pompeii, it's a lot bigger than I originally pictured, when I was thinking of the Wicked Woods area. Which certainly makes sense if there's going to be a whole new themed section/"land."

But now, the takeover is imminent, so that could easily affect things.

So, again, any new info?

Thanks!

I'll also go with Lake Winnepesaukah as underrated, tho you have to know what you're in for: a classic out and back woodie plus lots of classics flat rides -- in sum, a small but family-owned, very pleasant amusement park.

Somewhat underrated but starting to gain respect: Dollywood.

Overrated? I'd honestly say any Disney park but truthfully it's been so many years since I've been to one that my opinion is very (out)dated. But I never saw any extra "magic" beyond any other theme park ?????

Sorry you missed AC! DH and I went about 4 to 4:30, and all coasters were running then. The only thing we didn't ride was BBW, because of the line, but it was running.

We had a great half day, and the crowd wasn't bad at all.

I avoid Sat. like the plague, but I guess some people can only go on Saturday or hope that the long hours will compensate for the crowds.

Where is this crowned figure? I don't remember ever seeing it, and I rode DarKastle Sunday, looked for it, and STILL didn't see it. I must be blind!

Darn, I thought it was near Pompeii but decided that didn't make logical sense, because surely all that stuff was labeled along the lines of Vesuvius, archaeological dig, etc. Should've gone with my first instinct.

Well, it just seems the game stalls if people don't get feedback on their guesses and 48 hours have gone by ...

Good guess on the flame and Corkscrew Hill.

Man, what is it with this game? People put up a picture and then abandon the thread for a day or more. I see BuschNut usually posts pretty regularly, but no word on this game question.

A wooden box on the dock or bridge at the Rhine River Cruises?