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Mardi Gras & Oktoberfest 2021

From an email sent out today.

UpYZoz4.jpg
So are we going to be told two stories in a chalet or have to floors to choose from to sit and relax?
 
Got a feeling this will be a temporary bar provided by Mellors (who provided the Retrosquad rides), as they own a two-storey chalet bar and use it for the Nottingham Winter Wonderland event. There is speculation that NWW won't be going ahead again this year, so if that's the case it makes sense for Mellors to find ways to make up the losses.
 
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Looking at these and other pics, it looks like they've made the event bigger this year, Now distancing isn't as important, they have put the tables into traditional rows by the stage so may get more people singing along and joining in



Also, good to see a stage with scheduled entertainment in the courtyard too

 
I believe entertainment continued past ride close last year, so it wouldn’t surprise me! If the food stalls are open too, that would also be a good way to generate a last bit of revenue from those exiting the park…
 
Interesting how they say the entertainment is until 8pm yet the park is scheduled a 7pm close - does this mean entertainment continues after the park closes? Or just a typo...


Remember that the queues close at the advertised time, not the rides or park, so it makes sense to continue the entertainemt catering for an hour or so. :)
 
Interesting how they say the entertainment is until 8pm yet the park is scheduled a 7pm close - does this mean entertainment continues after the park closes? Or just a typo...



Yep, this is how it worked last year too. Hopefully it’s the same in the week.
 
Yep, this is how it worked last year too. Hopefully it’s the same in the week.
Yeah I remember it was like that last year, good to see it's the same this year, and that the entertainment continues in the courtyard and not just on the main stage
 
The event is superb this year. I mean, it was good last year, but they have stepped it up this year. Both venues are well worth your time - but especially the atmosphere in the evening on the lawns was exceptional. The smell of the fire pits, the band on stage, the beers... it was magic.

Go visit.
 
Units were card only last year, as has the wider resort so no major change on that front :).

Do you get MAP discount at the bar?

Gotta get my priorities right you see...

The bar on the lawns (and the food outlets) are externally operated, and doesn't give you MAP discount. Beers on sale there are:
  • Erdinger (although wasn't on when we were there...typical!)
  • Hoegaarden
  • Spaten
  • Camden Pale
The Bierkeller area in the Courtyard includes MAP discount and has the following beers on sale:
  • Spaten
  • Lisa lager (quite citrusy if you like that sort of thing)
  • Hoegaarden
  • Camden Pale
Prices in Bierkeller are £5.50 a pint, and the Welcom-Inn bar is currently closed off with a Wickerman banner, although the indoor seating area is still there for use by guests.

The event was certainly much better than last year's, although they coped admirably with changing circumstances so I don't blame them for not having the same standard in 2020. It's great to see some atmosphere in the courtyard again after seeing it underused for so many years. The addition of the Bratwurst stall in there is a great shout too! I had the ham and mustard pretzel which was...ok, although the meat was too over-salted for my liking and too tough. Not sure whether it's really suited to be added into a pretzel, I'll probably give the brie and cranberry pretzel a shot next week, along with the meatballs and potatoes.

I'm loving the addition of the two tier bar structure too, it's a lovely view from up at the top. Not ideal for watching the shows mind, but as a start to the day when we arrived later, it was quite nice to chill out up there and take it all in :).
 
Double posting like an absolute animal, but a quick note on the beer selection. I agree I would've liked to have seen a heavier German presence. I don't think it's fair to expect actual Oktoberfestbiers on account of them being around the 6% mark. With the vast majority of people driving to the resort that's probably a bit much, but a bit more German representation would've been good. I would've liked to see some lower ABV stuff like Lowenbrau or Bitburger at the very least on top of having Spaten there. I'm sure a combination of them being relatively unknown in the UK market and having difficulty/cost of actually getting hold of them thanks to the "B" word played a part too.

However, in general I'm just glad to see some sort of change to the lineup in beers in general at the resort. There's only so much Stella you can drink, so seeing Camden on there and also for Hoegaarden to make a return after only featuring as a no working tap for lord knows how many years is great to see.

Last year's event thanks to all the last minute changes I very much saw as a "trial event", so I consider this year to be their first big crack at it. I can understand them going careful on the beer selection in fear of things that are perhaps not as well known not selling, but hopefully with feedback from this year and after seeing how well sales went they'll up their game even further next season.

They've clearly invested an absolute fortune on the event side of things in the past 18 months, and considering where we were beforehand with a complete lack of an event calendar it can't be overstated that it's made such an huge difference to the atmosphere across the resort. I'm really looking forward to popping along again next week, and even more so to properly experiencing it with a resort stay at the end of the month.
 
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