Vacation / Travel

#1,776
#1,776
I’m late, I know, but I wanted to rant about an experience I had at Thanksgiving. I visited family, and that was great. What wasn’t great was going to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. It’s so depressing how far it has fallen since it was sold, like 18 years ago.

Anyway, we went there the day before Thanksgiving, and only half of the park was open. Apparently, they do that in the offseason on weekdays, and I get that, but this was the DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING.

It was so crowded, and lines were so long. That wasn’t even the worst of it. I wanted to do the speakeasy, but it was closed. So I decided to do the beer bar inside the Festhaus, but that was closed too. Only one side of the Festhaus was open, so the dinner line took 90 minutes. Unbelievable.

So many people have been complaining about how horrible Busch Gardens is nowadays, and they’re absolutely correct. It’s truly sad. It used to be a top notch park.
 
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#1,777
#1,777
Has anyone flown internationally on Aer Lingus yet. Using them in the spring going Nashville to Dublin. Looking for pros and cons.
 
#1,778
#1,778
KoachKrab127 said:
I’m late, I know, but I wanted to rant about an experience I had at Thanksgiving. I visited family, and that was great. What wasn’t great was going to Busch Gardens in Williamsburg. It’s so depressing how far it has fallen since it was sold, like 18 years ago.

Anyway, we went there the day before Thanksgiving, and only half of the park was open. Apparently, they do that in the offseason on weekdays, and I get that, but this was the DAY BEFORE THANKSGIVING.

It was so crowded, and lines were so long. That wasn’t even the worst of it. I wanted to do the speakeasy, but it was closed. So I decided to do the beer bar inside the Festhaus, but that was closed too. Only one side of the Festhaus was open, so the dinner line took 90 minutes. Unbelievable.

So many people have been complaining about how horrible Busch Gardens is nowadays, and they’re absolutely correct. It’s truly sad. It used to be a top notch park.
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I worked at Carowinds for one summer in college as a lifeguard in the water park area. We would close most of the water slides and only have maybe the wave pool and lazy river open when August hit because most lifeguards were college kids home for the summer. I was at a college locally, so I stayed until the end of the season which was Labor Day. They'd end up closing more of it early and have any of us still around go work in the main park. Fun times with the customer complaints, hope I strapped you in the roller coaster correctly. 😄

But I get your complaint, it's nothing new with part time seasonal positions.
 
#1,779
#1,779
volwindy said:
I worked at Carowinds for one summer in college as a lifeguard in the water park area. We would close most of the water slides and only have maybe the wave pool and lazy river open when August hit because most lifeguards were college kids home for the summer. I was at a college locally, so I stayed until the end of the season which was Labor Day. They'd end up closing more of it early and have any of us still around go work in the main park. Fun times with the customer complaints, hope I strapped you in the roller coaster correctly. 😄

But I get your complaint, it's nothing new with part time seasonal positions.
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I do not blame the lifeguards/workers at all. It’s the management that doesn’t schedule enough people on such days. Like I said, I know a November Wednesday is a middle-of-the-week-day in the offseason, but we’re talking about a holiday…the day before Thanksgiving. You should anticipate that the park will be crowded that day and have everything open. They didn’t. They treat it like a Wednesday, January 16th. Therefore, everything was overcrowded and miserable. Hey, if you want your park to be overcrowded and under appreciated, because you’re only interested in your short-term bottom line, mission accomplished.
 
#1,780
#1,780
KoachKrab127 said:
I do not blame the lifeguards/workers at all. It’s the management that doesn’t schedule enough people on such days. Like I said, I know a November Wednesday is a middle-of-the-week-day in the offseason, but we’re talking about a holiday…the day before Thanksgiving. You should anticipate that the park will be crowded that day and have everything open. They didn’t. They treat it like a Wednesday, January 16th. Therefore, everything was overcrowded and miserable. Hey, if you want your park to be overcrowded and under appreciated, because you’re only interested in your short-term bottom line, mission accomplished.
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Welcome to corporate America.
 
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#1,786
#1,786
ATC_VOL said:
Just worked them. Only departure I had to point-out all night.
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If it’s the Nashville departure they don’t level until they are almost to BKW. Definitely penny pinching on the fuel bill.

You guys ever get those late night Supers? I can’t remember the callsign.
 
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#1,789
#1,789
What are some can't miss or underrated spots in Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, and Channel Islands? Or can't miss spots along the way?

Taking a road trip through all of those parks in March with a group who has been to most of those before, but I haven't been to any.
 
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#1,790
#1,790
05_never_again said:
What are some can't miss or underrated spots in Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, and Channel Islands? Or can't miss spots along the way?

Taking a road trip through all of those parks in March with a group who has been to most of those before, but I haven't been to any.
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It’s way out of the way depending on your route into the park, but the overlook at Father Crowley’s in DV was awesome. I stupidly took a rental down the gravel offshoot, but the view was worth the risk. Would’ve been an incredible spot for stargazing as well.

Artist’s palette at sunset and following is unreal. There is also a trail where you can perch on the ridgeline of where the mineral deposits are.
 
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#1,791
#1,791
05_never_again said:
What are some can't miss or underrated spots in Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, and Channel Islands? Or can't miss spots along the way?

Taking a road trip through all of those parks in March with a group who has been to most of those before, but I haven't been to any.
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There will be some limitations around Yosemite in March. Tioga pass is cool, but most likely will not be open. But, it should be less crowded in the park.

The Valley has become unbearable in summer due to crowds, but should be good in March. Just driving around is beautiful. Some great hikes if they are relatively snow free. Dinner at The Ahwahnee is cool.

Glacier Point Rd is a great drive if it is open. Really good hikes, Taft Point, Sentinel Dome and the Fissures.

Hetch Hetchy is cool, but is a long drive from the park. That is where San Francisco’s drinking water comes from.
 
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#1,792
#1,792
Tri-CitiesVol said:
It’s way out of the way depending on your route into the park, but the overlook at Father Crowley’s in DV was awesome. I stupidly took a rental down the gravel offshoot, but the view was worth the risk. Would’ve been an incredible spot for stargazing as well.

Artist’s palette at sunset and following is unreal. There is also a trail where you can perch on the ridgeline of where the mineral deposits are.
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DV is one of the parks that none of us have been to (the other being Channel Islands). We should be entering it from the west (Panamint Springs side), so we'll definitely stop at that.
 
#1,793
#1,793
05_never_again said:
DV is one of the parks that none of us have been to (the other being Channel Islands). We should be entering it from the west (Panamint Springs side), so we'll definitely stop at that.
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There was a fatal accident there about 5 years ago, but sounds like training flights have since resumed in the canyon the overlook is above. It’s going to be really cold and windy most likely.

Darwin falls is over on that side as well, but they had closed the access road which doubles the hike.

Highly recommend downloading your navigation map and all trails maps beforehand. Hardly had service anywhere in the park.
 
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#1,794
#1,794
Tri-CitiesVol said:
There was a fatal accident there about 5 years ago, but sounds like training flights have since resumed in the canyon the overlook is above. It’s going to be really cold and windy most likely.

Darwin falls is over on that side as well, but they had closed the access road which doubles the hike.

Highly recommend downloading your navigation map and all trails maps beforehand. Hardly had service anywhere in the park.
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I did not realize until just now that DV is the largest part in the Lower 48, and it isn't even particularly close (3.4m acres and Yellowstone is #2 at 2.2m). I dialed up directions from Father Crowley's to Artists Pallette, and it's an hour and 40 mins (77 miles). Clearly we're just going to be scratching the surface of that one.
 
#1,795
#1,795
05_never_again said:
What are some can't miss or underrated spots in Yosemite, Sequoia/Kings, Death Valley, Joshua Tree, and Channel Islands? Or can't miss spots along the way?

Taking a road trip through all of those parks in March with a group who has been to most of those before, but I haven't been to any.
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Where do the rest of us sign up?
 
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#1,796
#1,796
Of the northern channel islands, Anacapa is the most challenging to visit. Decades ago, I went as a volunteer with a US biological survey team. We had to time our move from the boat deck onto a steel ladder anchored into the rock with the swells. Anacapa has unique native flora that look right out of a Dr Zeus book. To save these, we were removing fast growing invasive ice plant. Elephant seals haul out on the western shore. These attract great white sharks. Sea kayaking around the island can be an adventure.
 
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#1,797
#1,797
We just got back from a week or 8 days in Ireland. Flew Am Airlines over, and associated British Airways back. I had heard to beware of BA (not) keeping up with ya checked bags, but we did not check any.

Ireland was great, gracious friendly folks and wondrous landscapes, even in early Feb. But, those traditional town and roadside views are preserved because of their regulatory framework, more stringent than ours. It is what it is. 🤷
 
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#1,799
#1,799
orangebloodgmc said:
We just got back from a week or 8 days in Ireland. Flew Am Airlines over, and associated British Airways back. I had heard to beware of BA (not) keeping up with ya checked bags, but we did not check any.

Ireland was great, gracious friendly folks and wondrous landscapes, even in early Feb. But, those traditional town and roadside views are preserved because of their regulatory framework, more stringent than ours. It is what it is. 🤷
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Were you on a tour or did you go it on your own? If on your own, how did you plan that out?
 
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