BroganMc Jan 15, 2016

This is how Busch Gardens decorates their steam train for Christmas. The lights are powered by a generator in the caboose. And they play Christmas carols over the train's PA. Riding it makes you weep for what Disney could do if they just tried. For the record, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is laid out in "countries of the world" style. It's like a mixture of EPCOT, Magic Kingdom and Osborne. Each country is transformed into it's own unique style for the holidays. England has the typical Dickensonian style. Light garland and wreaths. Lots of boughs of holly about. Ireland is transformed into a uniquely Irish Christmas with lots of shamrocks, green and orange decorations. San Marco becomes Holiday Hills with it's 1940's style lights. Very kitchy. That red & white lit up ride is their spinning tea cups. It's renamed "Peppermint Twist". The water ride (Escape from Pompei) is drained of water and transformed into a polar bear's icey playland with blue and white LEDs standing in for water and trees decorated with green and purple. Even the walkway from the Polar Playland is decorated with tiny trees and bushes all wrapped tight with orange and white flickering lights. The huge maple tree that marks the meeting place between San Marco and Italy is wrapped with so many lights on the trunk and each individual barren branch it is visible throughout the park. Italy is where all the kiddie rides are. That's decorated with more classical white and yellow LEDs. There's that gorgeous Nativity scene brightly lit in golden white with a blue flood lights casting a gentle background behind. Germany gets that tall Christmas tree and a dancing spectacle of lights (O Tannebaum) every 5-10 minutes. That segues into France and Canada where we find Santa's North Pole and an ice skating show. There are holiday musical productions in each land. Actual stage shows with live performers who bring as much energy to the experience as the Lion King performers. And the train circles all of it. My favorite part is the bridge from Italy to Germany. That's deemed the "Peace Bridge" because they play the song "Let there be Peace on Earth" on a loop and you get to overlook the water that runs through the park with it's many lit trees. I zoomed in on that Peace on Earth sign. That's attached to the train trestle across the river. (The park train.) All those little trees reflect in the water and seem to quadruple. No, you don't get to go on all the rides. They only open one rollercoaster. They don't stay open past midnight (it closes at 9, 10 or 11pm). They don't do fireworks. (Too many trees.) And the weather can be biting cold. (Park doesn't close even if there's up to 4 inches of snow on the ground.) But admission is extremely reasonable ($30 for the season last year) and it feels very like being inside a Christmas train garden. They do not have any buildings over 2 stories tall (most are just 1). What they do have is land and lots of creativity. And an executive staff willing to support their ideas. Just imagine what Disney could do. No sorry, I cannot agree with the sentiment Disney's hands are tied. That's pure lazy thinking. But they can go ahead and rest on their laurels. When attendance plummets next holiday then they can blame construction or the economy or some other reason other than they were too uninspired and lazy to produce quality holiday entertainment. I'll rejoice in their competitors eating their lunch.