Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[VigilI just made a donkey in No Limits!]

Ok, ok, I wait...

But, I will be there on Monday. Hoping it won't be too crowded; it actually wasn't last year (contrary to what I thought).

[let1greI wrote the book about donkeys!]

Today I went to BGW for the first time in 8 years. Let me start off with this: Busch Gardens (Tampa and Williamsburg) are the definition of a theme park. Everything they do is above and beyond the call of duty for what needs to be done, theming and otherwise. It was actually quite busy for a Sunday and the Quick Queue saved us hours on line time (thanks Robb!). We were able to get on 15 rides in total, which broke down as:
Alpengeist x4
Griffon x3
Loch Ness Monster x2
Apollo's Chariot x1
Le Scoot Log Flume x1
Pompeii x1
Roman Rapids x1
Curse of DarKastle x1
Europe in the Air x1

My thoughts:
Alpengeist: Holy crap. I have never been on a ride that intense and merciless that packs so much into a short ride. Definitely not showing its age in any way in my opinion. I would say, for what it's worth, it's the best all-around ride in the park. The ride ops were very efficient in 3 train operation all day too, so that's a plus. It's also crazy disorienting.
Griffon: For something that I found a lot of the GP writes off as a one-trick pony, it's a damn fine ride. The drop is amazing and the rest of the ride is fast-paced and fun. Even though the ride claims that everybody has great sight lines (which is true) in every row, it is a completely different ride in the front row.
Loch Ness Monster: We rode this twice, as bookends. After the first run we thought it was a very fine ride, but the second time was after several laps on Apollo, Alpengeist and Griffon and with those comparisons, was much rougher. Granted, Nessie is holding up really well for her old age, but she is showing her years.
Apollo's Chariot: Sadly, Apollo's was down for most of the day for maintenance. We were going to ride it again before we left at about 8:30 pm, but right as we got in line it broke down again. On my one ride, I will say that it was running marvelously. It was a blast and I can definitely see why it ranks in the top 10 for the Golden Ticket Awards each year. I was really bummed that we didn't get a night ride.
Curse of DarKastle: Technically very impressive and I'd like to do a backstage tour or something, but I was decidedly unimpressed ridewise.
Europe in the Air: Seriously? This was the new 2010 installation? It was actually the only ride in the park that wade me dizzy and gave me motion sickness.

Overall a fantastic day. Lines would have been long without Quick Queue but great, friendly staff and good operations meant we never got into a lin longer than 20 minutes. We live only two hours away, a straight shot down the interstate, so I am seriously contemplating buying a season pass for next year.

[Ben BurnettDonkeys give me orgiastic scream!]

DELETE.

[let1greI wrote the book about donkeys!]

Alpengeist The ride ops were very efficient in 3 train operation all day too, so that's a plus.

Yay! That makes me happy. I'm "Team Leader" over there, so when the team makes guests happy, things are usually good.

Were you working today? I may or may not have seen you.

Also, who is that crazy guy who works there? His name was Will, I think. That guy made my day/week/life.

[Ben BurnettDonkeys give me orgiastic scream!]

Busch Gardens

[let1greI wrote the book about donkeys!]

It's all about making the job fun, I guess. And he's winning that.

[KingB24What's with the donkeys anyway?]

I went Saturday with some family and Alpengeist was closed all day. I don't know why, but the entrance was blocked off and they had a sign saying it would be closed for the day.

They were packed on Saturday, as well. 45 min wait for Curse of DarKastle, 25 min wait for Apollo's Chariot, 10 min for Nessie, and Griffon had an hour wait all day, so we never rode it. We also had to park in overflow.

^That's Labor Day Saturday for you. Saturdays during Howl-o-Scream can be like that, too.

[KDcoasterMANFluffy, Fluffy, Donkeys Filled With Medicine and Goo!]

^ Unlimited Quick Que is a welcome necessity during those days!

[braztazDon't make me kick you in the donkey!]

Oh, Quick Queue. The only bad thing about it is that they make you walk right by the regular line, which is the result of many unhappy glares