Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[SaldekHave I mentioned how awesome donkeys are?]

^Halloween is the second most profitable holiday after Christmas.

Besides, just because the economy is bad doesn't necessarily mean people are gonna stay home and save money. BGW also has an advantage being situated in a recession-proof metropolitan area with all the military and government jobs nearby and with DC being a few hours away.

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

Saturdays during HOS are always crazy. Quick Queue Unlimited is a must.

FIXED!

Was at the park today and tonight...

Lines were crazy... especially for the major rides... Griffon had a 2 hour line at one point. Only Apollo managed to consistently eat the line...

HOS was top notch though I do believe that some newness is in order for next year

[CardCrazeI wrote the book about donkeys!]

Just got back from a long day at HOS. Breakdown is as followed:

Howl-O-Scream was awesome. While the park was not as decorated as SFA, it had some pretty neat decorations. Anyways, this is the breakdown of what we did today:

FrankenRock: 3/5. It was a fun show, but the audio quality was lacking a bit. They need to turn up the mics, or soften the insturments, or something. It was good, just not great.

Monster Stomp Revamped: 5/5. Good, funny, overall fun. Very good show.

Onto the mazes:

Catacombs: 5/5. Did this twice, both times were VERY frightening. It's a great maze with some awesome scares. To add to this is the fact it is beyond impossible to see the proper pathway in this maze. This was hands down the second best maze of the day and a must do at HOS. The only complaint is, it wasn't very long .

Bitten: 5/5. HAND DOWN THE BEST MAZE! This maze was simply horrifying. I was screaming around every corner. The constant screams, loud noises, and even the more subtle scares who aren't, are still terrfying. This maze was long, scary, and really good. The best maze at HOS, but also the most crowded.

Revenge of Pompeii: 4/5. To start with the bad, the scares are few and far between. However, the scares are REALLY good. All the actors blend right in with the surrondings, and this provided for some awesome scares! It was just about the right length, and overall a pretty good maze.

Hunted: 3/5. This maze was fairly weak. There were a few good scares, but overall this might be one that's skippable. Honestly it's just lacking something. It's short, it's not as scary as the other three indoor mazes, and it's just in my opinion, the let down of this years event.

Harvest Hollow: 2/5. You have to exit Hunted through this area. One or two decent scares, but overall it's just a longer walk back to the main path.

Cursed: 1/5. This was terrible. No good scares. Oh wait, my bad. I was pretty horrifyed at thought of blinding myself in thouse god awful strobe lights. Not even worth the time.

^With mazes, timing is everything. I went through Cursed with a friend last night, and there were witches and goblins jumping out everywhere. Of course, it helps if your companion is easily spooked and walks through with her hands in front of her face all the way.

That was the only maze we did. She was one and done.

[CardCrazeI wrote the book about donkeys!]

There was a girl in front of us who screamed at every slightest movement. She ran away from one person, and than another person jumped at her and she kept running. It was quite funny to watch actually...

[DCodyHave I mentioned how awesome donkeys are?]

OK, so I was a bridesmaid in Virginia last weekend and managed to make it out to BGW for the first time. This required a bit of subterfuge; I had to sneak into town and skip some wedding-related events for my scant 3 hours of Busch-tastic fun. (Try explaining to the average bride that you blew off her her cocktail party for INTERLOCKING LOOPS, OMFG.)

It was a shame to have to do a credit run in such a gorgeous park, but it was worth it. It took a little longer than I expected due to the lay of the land; I'm so used to Cedar Fair parks that I was expecting all the coasters to be starkly visible amidst acres of asphalt and trash cans. Nope, we had to hunt for them! I loved the European themes, the lush landscaping, even the corny music. Best of all, the lines on Friday morning were almost nonexistent. (Weirdly enough, I think we waited longest for Alpengeist-- 3 or 4 trains?) Lots of little kids enjoying the Halloween theming, very few big kids riding coasters.

On to the coasters: Alpengeist was our first. I realize it's supposed to be one of the best B&M inverts, the biggest, blah blah, but I have to say, I didn't find it very thrilling. Fun, yes. Nice and long. Good theming. Even the weather (cold and sunny) was perfect for a "runaway ski lift." After all these years, I think I still prefer the intensity of a little Batman clone to a big record-breaking invert. My husband Dan (not an enthusiast) loved Alpengeist, but he's a big Silver Bullet fan and Alpengeist is like Silver Bullet x 5. Thumbs up overall.

Next we went to Griffon, my first dive machine. I know I'm like 3 years late to the party, but I had no idea these rides were so great! I think I was expecting a forceless gimmick. The front row scared the CRAP out of me. Like, I was more frightened than I've been on a coaster in years. The hangtime was insane-- for some reason my OTSR was super loose. We immediately went back for a back row ride, which I assumed would be underwhelming by comparison. Nope-- huge airtime on both drops! I was really impressed. And I liked the SKLOOSH effect, even though I had to convince my water-phobic husband that he wasn't going to get drenched.

Next, we hiked over and up to Loch Ness Monster. I LOVE THIS COASTER. Now, I know some of you young whippersnappers don't get it, but for those of us who grew up in the '70s and '80s, the forceful, rattly whoosh of an Arrow *defines* a steel coaster. A lot of Arrows suck these days-- Loch Ness Monster is not one of them. I felt like I was a kid again, riding the coolest, scariest new "upside-down" coaster at the park. I'm glad I didn't know about that spooky-ass tunnel in advance; it seemed to go on forever and it had that awesome/terrible tunnel-y smell. This was also one of the most beautiful and beautifully-situated coasters I've ridden. Well done, Ron Toomer.

Finally, we finished out the credit run by enjoying our "voyage to the sun on the wings of Apollo's Chariot." I really like B&M hypers, so I was excited for this one. Waited about 10 minutes for the front, which was totally worth it. Super fun, great drop, great layout, plenty of air. I can see why this coaster was such a big deal when it opened. Dan opined that Goliath at SFOG is better-- it made me very happy/proud to hear my spouse comparing the merits of B&M hypers. (I would agree, but c'mon, Apollo's Chariot is way older!) Thumbs up again.

In short, I really enjoyed every coaster. I appreciate parks like BGW and Dollywood that might not have the biggest coaster collection but make up for it in quality. And I love seeing a classic ride like Loch Ness looking good and running well. If I ever return to BGW, I'm going to try and spend a full afternoon there instead of running around yelling "Where are we? What the hell is 'New France'?"

[ernierockerWhy do I still have a donkey title???]

^I couldn't imagine just making a credit run at BGW, but you do what you gotta do to get credits right? And I agree, the design of the park is not in your favor when you only have 3 hours!

[CardCrazeI wrote the book about donkeys!]

The crew running Griffon yesterday were my heroes. They dispatched the trains in intervals of 19 and 25 seconds.

<3

^^^If you have only three hours to spend at BGW, an October Friday is the time to go. A wee bit 'o' irony: Alpengeist, the runaway chairlift coaster, cannot run during a snowstorm. (I know this from experience.)

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

Well, up n ext- Christmas town! I'll be sure to make it up there again this year (and hopefully on a day about 42 degrees).