DAY 2: 12/3 DAY 2 PART 2 BGW
Where I left off mass chaos had ensued as we realized we needed to hightail it in the rain to BGW due to a reservation. And in the rain and with it being slightly cold (it later got humid) this was no fun. We piled in the car by 12:45 and made it to the pet kennel by 1. It was very clean and we got our little one settled and she was not happy. We promised her we would be back (they do not walk or feed them but the kettle is very clean and they have a gorgeous walking path for the animals). I think what scared her more was they put other pets who were more scared then her around her. I’ll come back to this later.
Then we went to pick up my moms ECV she had previously reserved. My grandma refused the wheelchair we had bought for her which we never should have let her refuse it as this caused some slowdown in the rain and understandably so. She is elderly and the wheelchair would’ve kept her feet off the ground and dry.
We get through security and head into the England/UK section of the park (which had a Julie Andrews Holiday album playing I was OBSESSED!) They had some Dickensian characters greeting you, but my goal was to look for staff to get to Germany. For those that don’t know: Germany is in the back of the park and is in my opinion the middle of the park. When asking which way would be quicker to get to the hideaway, the staff member said to go to the left past Sesame Street area, Italy and Festa Italia. Then I’ve the bridge to Germany. Well, I ended up going ahead and stopping every so often to make sure people were there. It was now nearing 1:50 and with the rain and chaos of where to go I was afraid we weren’t going to make it. Thankfully a staff member knew what I was talking about ( a few I talked to along the way didn’t) and led me in the right direction. I finally found a higher up and they led me in the right direction. Due to the rain they actually weren’t having us wait outside like you are supposed to and had us all cram inside and we’re waiting for everyone to arrive as the only times today were 2 and 4. We eventually made it and were given a family name and when you reserve they asked you if you want a beer flight, a cocktail flight or a mocktail flight. Now my mom did not realize this and totally forgot to mention she was allergic to red wine she just did 3 beer and 3 cocktail and we had to switch which caused some chaos.
Now I’m not going to go into full detail as a) they only allowed photos-no video or audio-because they want to preserve but allow for some teasing of the experience and b) I also want to preserve the experience for you. But I also want to give you enough info to deem if you and your family would enjoy this. I would say even though there are mocktail a, kids under 12 will definitely not enjoy this, and I would say 14 is a safe bet. You also only fit including staff and characters maybe 20 humans in the hideaway. So it can get very cramped. The only food is also popcorn which was gorgeously seasoned with herbs and white cheddar. They also have water as they encourage you to stay hydrated.
Basically you are at speakeasy. Ever seen the movie beer fest? That’s how the experience sort of starts. I got really excited but the actors are at Starcruiser level improv aka fantastic and played it off well. You enter and place your cards indicating which flight on the table and are greeted depending on your party’s place in line. The reason we are supposed to start outside is because they call you by the funny name they give your party and it makes people go ***?!?
Just a fraction of the cuckoo clock wall!
Anyhoo what ensued was a fun and hilarious hour of drinking and storytelling and hilarity. Whoever created this deserves a raise. I would love to know what it is like during howl o scream and the summer as I know they changed the drinks up.
One of the two actors (these women in this photo were not part of our group but were seated with us, and the photo of the other actor I have has their faces so visible no editing will help them, so I’m respecting their privacy. The next two photos of our my flight (the cocktail flight).
The beer flight had three seasonal beers and I only tried one and it smelled and tasted like a sugar cookie. I didn’t see the mocktail flight except for the frozen hot chocolate being served to the two teens in our experience and it was a nice size. The cocktail flight was a red Sangria (my mom didn’t think about this being she is allergic to red wine and this would probably be our only complaint is they didn’t ask about allergies prior), Mrs claus’ naughty punch which was a tequila drink and an espresso martini. I don’t like red wine myself but the sangria was very good. The naughty punch and martini were EXCELLENT. At the end we exit out into Germany and we’re able to get pictures with the actors! All in all an experience I am grateful someone created and I highly recommend.
After that we walked around a bit. That’s when two things happened. 1) my dad and aunt T did ring toss and won Bartie the elf squishmallow for the little one and b) we needed to get the wheelchair and check on said little one. So my dad and I headed back. It was gorgeous to see some of the decor in the daylight and it had stopped raining.
The train we would go one the next night goes behind this so we sadly didn’t see it lit up! But I loved this! This is taken from the bridge connecting Germany and Festa Italia!
We got our hands stamped to return back into the park and I headed to the kennel. I got little one out into the walking trail and she did her business. But she was not happy with me as when I put her back I fed her and as I was leaving she knocked it over. I had to go back and clean it as they aren’t allowed to touch the food. That’s when I realized the poor corgi underneath her shaking and sad. One of the employees as I was cleaning it up asked if she was a pandemic puppy and I said we got her prior but the pandemic obviously caused us all ti be home and separation anxiety. Turns out a lot of the dogs old and young have that issue now. Annual pass holders who used to bring their dogs are finding it harder to do so. I felt so bad, and upon helping my dad wheel the wheelchair through the park that’s when we decided to leave her at the hotel the next day with the sign on the door stating there was a pet and to not clean.
My dad and I trekked through the other side of the park we didn’t earlier (England, Scotland, Ireland, France and New France aka Canada) and we stopped to see the wolves and some more decor. The rest of the family had gone inside the huge beer hall to eat and my mom waited for my dad and I to come back to eat as we were still feeling raw from fighting the rain. It was here I discovered they had spirit jerseys! Of course not in my size and when we went back the next night we couldn’t get in!
My mom and I got online and got the food. We split roast chicken with potatoes and mixed veggies, some mozzerella sticks and some Mac and cheese. Aka we pigged out. My dad got the German sausage platter and my aunts and grandma were eating their chicken when we sat down.
The chicken platter (forgive me I started to cut before realizing I hadn’t taken a picture!)
And for those that are used to Biergarten at EPCOT there are two differences: 1) BGW is quick service where you go up and choose your food and then pay and then sit down 2) it. Is. HUGE! I’m talking it can fit 3,000 humans easily. And the stage is in the middle.
Unfortunately, it was here where we decided to do some window shopping and head out as a chunk of people’s shoes and socks were still wet and we just meh. I really wish we hadn’t had fallen asleep. We would’ve missed most of the rain and probably could’ve stayed a bit longer this day and seen some shows. However it turned out to be a good thing we left as when we were heading back my grandmas wheelchair lost a bolt! Thankfully it was towards the front of the park and it wasn’t a long ride. My aunt L and I went to get little one and my mom went to return the
scooter.
England on our way out.
However it was early so we headed to the Christmas Mouse-a for hours store that has some fall and non Xmas decor as well. We bought some stuff there and called it a night. We got Dunkin on our way back and got snacks and ice cream from the hotel lobby and called it a night. We all fell asleep watching various things. I recall my aunts were watching the new Amanda Kloots holiday movie and they said it was cute! Turns out they were the ones who stayed up the latest!
Next part coming up soon!
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