Photo TR: Fahrting Through Virginia (and Maryland)

Having never been to Kings Dominion before and Busch Gardens Williamsburg since 1995, I knew I had to sign up for East Coast Bash. Since it is on the way home, Six Flags America was a extra stop on the way home that I kind of wish I didn't make (more on that later).

~

After driving to Baltimore and carpooling with Matt, we got to the Country Inn & Suites across from KD and stayed the night. The place had to be one of the best hotels I have ever stayed in even though the breakfast was kind of bland.

After stopping at Burger King for some Coke Freestyle, we checked into the event and headed for Volcano first.

 

Volcano:

While the launches weren’t too forceful, I did enjoy the high-speed turn, inversion going out the top of the volcano and in-line twists. Having the only other Cedar Fair I've been to was Dorney, I was impressed by the detail in theming in the queue, but then again that was Paramount's doing.

8/10

 

Intimidator 305:

This was the coaster that was the highlight for me. Having ridden Skyrush over 50 times, I was really interested in how it would stack up. Where Skyrush is more of an airtime beast, I-305 was the exact opposite by focusing on positive-g's and sudden direction changes. It did have a decent airtime hill, but it wasn't ejector air. One of the complaints I have heard is about the trim in the middle of the course slowing down the train a good bit. Personally I feel it's needed because that last sudden direction-change was intense as so as it was. If it wasn't there, it would be very painful there. While it did meet my expectations, it didn't end up being the best coaster on the trip.

9/10

 

After taking several laps on each coaster, the Morning ERT was over and it was time to move into the rest of the park. The next credit for me was Ghoster Coaster.

 

Ghoster Coaster:

I can be very critical with coasters that have PTC's on them. For not having a seat divider and car-like seatbelts, Ghoster Coaster was great even though it was a "kiddie coaster". It had a few great pops of airtime and was mostly smooth. I just wish the line was shorter so I could take more laps on it.

7.5/10

 

Next we took a practice lap on Boo Blasters before the competition. My only complaint about this ride is the fact that the scoring system uses such a low point scoring system. Having been raised on Reese's Extreme Cup Challenge, I loved the fact that you could score up to 100,000 or 200,000 points. On these, 16,000 is the higher score. The detail to the ride was pretty good, but you could still make out the old Scooby Doo theming spots in the queue on where they were. After the competition I took a lap on Backlot Stunt Coaster.

 

Backlot Stunt Coaster:

The layout was pretty good with some airtime coming out of the last tunnel, but all the theming was off making the ride feel kind of boring and unfulfilling. The boring looking trains didn't help either.

5/10

 

Anaconda:

Riding Anaconda kind of made me flashback to riding Great American Scream Machine in it's final year and it made me feel nostalgic a little. I was expecting it to be bad, but it turned out it didn't hurt much (just the corkscrews). I was really worried about the figure-8 though.

5/10

 

Avalanche

I was really excited for this one having never ridden a bobsled coaster before. This was a pretty good starter coaster with a good tame layout and a touch of thrill for the veteran coaster riders. Though-out the layout I kind of thought it being weird that my feet could feel the floor and how much the car would flex and bend. I though the transfer track elevator system looked cool.

6/10

 

That's it for this section. I'm going to be a little busy over the next few days, but I'm going to try to get the rest up. Now on to the photos!

The view from the hotel room.

Nothing like waking up the next morning to a view of WindSeeker getting it's morning inspections done.

I'm guessing that it's law in the book of KD trip reports that you must include a photo of this, so here you go.

Kind of looks like Volcano is erupting a little.

Hello Skyrush's older sister.

Very basic station.

The lift looked slower than Skyrush's for some reason.

Weeee....

Looks like I-305 makes you posessed by the end of your ride.

Turns out that KD doesn't open all their rides at opening.

Sally did a good job on this ride.

I wouldn't call this a kiddie coaster, but hey, that's just me.

Here is some Dominator porn until I get into the awesomeness of this coaster later.

I love how the track goes over the exit plaza because you can get some great shots of the trains going by.

Much more coming up soon!

Edited November 22, 2012 by Ccron10

Why did I think the title read "Farting through Virginia..."? Nice TR & photos!

Here is some Dominator porn until I get into the awesomeness of this coaster later.

 

Fact.

Nice start so far. Can't wait to see why you shoudn't have stopped at SFA!

^

I completely agree that Sally did a great job with the shooting dark ride refurb.

Let's get moving on to Part #2 (More Kings Dominion)

After the Boo Blasters Tournament was Backlot Stunt Coaster. To sum up the ride, the word bland comes to mind, but that's probably becuase all the effects were off. The ride itself was okay, but not noteworthy and the closest is the pop of air you get coming out of the tunnel and into the splashdown. Glad that we didn't have to wait in line becuase the queue didn't look too shaded.

6/10

Next was Anaconda. I do have to say that I did get a little nostalgic while riding this becuase it reminded me so much of GASM on a good day. I was really expecting this ride to kick the crap out of me. While you can tell that Ron Toomer took a coathanger to this thing, it wasn't terrible. I only rode it once and it was in the front, I have a feeling it would be a different reply if I rode it a few rows back.

7/10

Before lunch, we took a lap on Avalanche which was my first bobsled coaster. I really wanted to re-ride this becuase it was relaxing, yet still thrilling. It was strange feeling the car flex through the turns and hills.

7/10

By this time, the catering area opened up for us. I ended up having a piece of chicken, a load of tortilini with tomato sauce, and a roll or two. I also partisapated in my first TPR Quest, which was quite fun and I'm suprised that I lasted without passing out since it was hot and humid.None the less, it was worth it. Thanks to those who helped me out!

Next, Matt and I decided to see if we could go across the park and quickly get a ride on Windseeker before our behind-the-scenes tour of I-305, but we were kind of distracted by the Schwartzkopf Troika on our way and settled for a lap on it. It's a great and thrilling flat and worth the trip across the park.

The behind the scenes tour was short, sweet, but still worth it. Austrailian Steve broke Intimidator, but that added to the experience.

The oddest ferris wheel I've ever seen, but since it looked randomly placed and pointless, I skipped it since Windseeker was nearby.

I know that Paramont added this ride, but c'mon, they could've added some trees around it.

...coathanger...

I watched the other Intamin with double track be built, time to go behind the scenes and check out the other.

So photogentic.

The station is a little boring though, but then again I'm probably used to Skyrush's.

I saw people taking photos of Rebel Yell's turnaround so I snapped a photo of it as well.

X marks the spot.

Intamin cable lift hill motor. What's that I see on the mounting bracket?

INTAMIN TAPE! Sadly being the nerd I am, I remember that Skyrush's had some it's bracket as well at the same spot.

*sigh*

Is this close enough?

One of the original footers.

*clank, clank, clank, BANG* (turns around)...

...and there's Steve.

That's it for this section. Part #3 covers KD from the air and more.

Part #3 The rest of Kings Dominion

After the behind-the-scenes tour, it was time to go up the Eiffel Tower. For it's size, it offered a great view of the area as well as the park.

Next, we went to the other side of the park passing through the Old Virginia area, which reminded me so much of Knoebels. The amount of trees, the shops, and rides really made me feel like I wasn't at a Cedar Fair park. Towards the far end hidden behind the Dinosaurs Alive gift shop (which I skipped since I have no interest in it) was Grizzly, which had a very energenic crew with an operator who would sing. As for the ride, it was mostly thrilling, but the center of the layout was really rough making it a one-lap coaster. I've ridden worse, though.

5/10

I am no stranger to tall swing rides. Having ridden Luna Park's last year and SFGadv's two or three times this season, I find them to be more family-focused unless you have a fear of heights and Windseeker is no different. The music selection is great, the lighting package at night is an attraction to itself, and the seats feel more secure than a Funtime version. I wish there were one of these closer to me. Best flat ride I've ever been on.

9.5/10

Contrary to what I've heard of Hurler, it wasn't too bad Sure the turns are a little rough (less than Grizzly), but it was overall enjoyable.

7/10

Ricochet:

Not much to say about this coaster other than that yellow jackets are a problem at the bag drop and that I still prefer a regular wild mouse. Since it didn't include Fast Lane, it was around a 15 minute wait.

6/10

As for the last wooden coaster(s) at KD, Rebel Yell was fun even though what it was doing isn't something I'd call racing. It produced a suprisingly good amount of air on two spots of the ride with one being right after the far turnaround.

By this time ,it was dinner and I wanted to eat something that had chicken, so Country Kitchen it was. Even though the service was a little slow, my Chicken Strips meal was pretty good. I have a feeling that I could've ate at some place better in the park though.

 

After a decent meal, it was time for Shockwave. The wait was around 15 minutes and after it, I now know the true meaning behind the word Togo. I don't know how, but I somehow managed to fit into the torture device they call restraints after a minute. As for the ride, if it was just a shuttle loop and just did a straight line, it wouldn't be too bad. The true killer parts were in the turns (especially the one before the brakes). Also gotta love how it rumbles into the station as well with so much speed. Still not worse than a Zamperla Volare, but pretty darn close.

2/10

Having ridden Pitt Fall and Dominator at Dorney, I was really interested in trying Drop Tower and seeing where it ranks. Turns out it blew them away. Great views, a very sudden freefall, and a great operating crew made it one of those memorable highlights of the day.

8/10

From here, I seperated from Matt to go off and ride my own stuff, so I went over to the Shenandoah Lumber Company Log Flume. The layout tremendously reminded me of Knoebels based on the fact that it had a smaller drop followed by a larger one. Since it was dark by now, you are pretty much traveling through a forest in near darkness not knowing where the layout goes. Arrow did a great job on this one.

8/10

From here, I went towards the main gate, got some souvenirs, then spent some time watching Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular. Having listened a little to the soundtrack for the Cedar Point one a little, it was totally different to hearing it synced to the lights and hearing other soundtracks I've never heard before for it. I really hope Dorney would get this.

Since I still had some time before the night ERT, I quickly got two night rides on Windseeker. Here is why I say this ride is my #1 flat ride. The lighting package that came with this ride is mindblowing and add in the view of the park and music, it makes it memorable.

By this time, I journeyed back over to I-305 to take some nighttime laps as well as a lap on Flight-of-Fear with the lights on. FOF was pretty good in the dark earlier in the day and is a great example on how you can put a big layout in a small space. As for how it ranks up to Joker, you'll find out in my SFA section.

To round out the night was some laps on Dominator. This ride blows Hydra and Bizarro out of the water. period. B&M did a really great job on the layout and it's hard to believe that this coaster was once at a different park. I think the ending has to be my favorite part since I've never seen a B&M stay close to the ground and do some tight turns. Then again the overbank after the loop was good as well.

8.5/10

From here, we drove the hour down to Williamsburg to our hotel, ended up going to the wrong hotel on the other side of town at 12:30am in the morning,and eventually finding the right one and calling it a night. Even though this hotel was less nicer than the first one, it still wasn't too bad.

The real one must be monsterous.

The area around the base is beautiful.

Time to go up.

I feel sorry for them on the pain that they'll have to endure...

Oh dear...

Grizzly is back there somewhere.

Might I ask, who has fahrted on Windseeker?

Coming in for a landing.

Oww...

I swear KD must've taken an old bicycle seat and said, "here's your test seat".

Here you go Rudie.

Shockwave's real name.

Let's play a game shall we?

This station reminds me so much of Fahrenheit.

This is cool.

This light show is the best one I've seen and it's not even for Christmas!

So many lights...

I'm in love with this ride.

Back to I-305 for some of the night.

That's it for Kings Dominion. We get to go fahrting in the Black Forest in my next section of ECB. Stay tuned!

As far as Intimidator having no airtime compared to skyrush; while skyrush has about 5 moments of somewhat sustained airtime, intimidator 305 has 9 so I dont think its fair to label one as an airtime machine and not the other.

That was a great photo trip you did for Kings Dominion and it got me excited because I'm planning a visit there during Labor Day Weekend (I got a great ticket deal online). When seeing the many photos of Kings Dominion's many colorful coasters, you even surprised me with some shots you couldn't get unless you were able to walk behind the scenes (that shot of Rebel Yell's turnaround was aces high!). Then all those night shots, when all the rides are illuminated and Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular is turned on, were fabulous!

 

"zzz . . .zzz . . .zzz"

Great TR Chris, that trip was lots of fun. Love your photos.

 

I want to say that the most embarrassing moment for me on this trip was in the Country Kitchen. I was still loopy from the beer at lunch and fell going up the stairs to the second floor. While I did manage to catch the tray, my soda spilled soaking my plate. Luckily they gave me another one, and no, I did not fall the second time going up!

 

I can't wait for the Six Flags part...

Great TR. I stayed at the same hotel, and be thankful you were at the front of the building. The trains going through at all hours were quite annoying, lol.

Before we move on to Busch Gardens, here are two videos that I took of Snoopy's Starlight Spectacular and Windseeker's LED light package, which was an attraction onto itself.

 

 

Enjoy!

Some of those up close shots area amazing. What kind of camera do you use?

Great TR Chris, that trip was lots of fun. Love your photos.

 

I want to say that the most embarrassing moment for me on this trip was in the Country Kitchen. I was still loopy from the beer at lunch and fell going up the stairs to the second floor. While I did manage to catch the tray, my soda spilled soaking my plate. Luckily they gave me another one, and no, I did not fall the second time going up!

 

I can't wait for the Six Flags part...

Oh yeah, as I was going up those stairs with my tray all I was thinking was that I hope I don't trip!

________________________________

Park #2 Part #1

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

 

Let me start off this next part of the trip report by saying that BGW is a very special place for me. Back in 1995 my family had some random idea that we'd go to Williamsburg for vacation and stop at the park. I don't know why, but after going on the Skyride there I somehow gained an interest in theme parks. I was 3 years-old at the time.

 

Fast forward 17 years to today...

 

After arriving early, we entered the park at 9am and walked from Ireland back to Ocktoberfest. Having been told that this park had many more hills than Hershey, I kind of just shrugged it off.

Man, was I wrong about that one and found out later! The whole park was a hill! I ended up renting an all-day locker to store my backpack and camera in to save the hassle of lugging my stuff around, so I got one in Scotland near Loch Ness Monster. For the most part, I found out the park was more of a circle with onestair-filled path cutting through the middle, which was the path that heads by LNM's interlocking loops. I should've taken the Skyride, but it closed for wind as I was making my way over there and the line looked like it would be just quicker walking.

Mach Tower

The ERT was awesome and gave a nice preview to things to come. I first took a ride on Mach Tower. I don't know if it always behaves like this, but from what I could tell from it, it seemed to have quite a few problems with it's music cutting on and off going up the tower. The drop seemed to be less intense than Drop Tower at KD, which I rode the day before. I only took one ride on it considering it was down every once in awhile throughout the day. If it ran constantly and had it's effects working, it would rate a little higher.

4/10

From here, I spent the rest of ERT on Verbolten. The best way I can describe this coaster is that it's a great family coaster mixed a little with a show. It has a great storyline that has several different ride experiences.

At the beginning it starts out relaxing, but once you hit the first launch, you fly into pitch blackness and the refreshing feeling of A/C. Then you start flying past the many great lighting effects that are unique to each show and into the suprise drop, which provided a nice pop of airtime and excitement that kind of caught me offguard. The drop off the bridge offered a slightly intense experience especially when you're flying up the final few hills into the brakes. I ended up getting a good 7 or 8 rides managing to sit everywhere I wanted to go. Backseat had to have the best experience though.

9/10

After ERT, the park opened, but we next went on an awesome and very informative behind the scenes tour of Griffon, Pompeii, Verbolten, and Loch Ness Monster. I'll let the photos do the talking, but like I said before, it was really great!

On the way to the first ERT of the day, I catch a glimpse of my first B&M dive machine.

It's love at first-sight...

Speaking of B&M, here's the famous Alpie that I've been hearing so much about.

Great use of the terrain!

Under the bridge...

...and into the zero-g-roll.

Time for a piece of New Hotness!

Great ride for the family...

and great detail as well!

The Gunthermobile! Although I have no idea what Gunther looks like, I'm thinking he more than likely looks like a bony old man in leiderhosen.

I could really see them switching over to just saying the dispatch speech once when dispatching both trains in the dual-loading station.

Nice detail to the entrance.

Here we see Matt. I can't tell if he's trying to rip the bumper off or if he's trying to push the car off of himself.

Verbolten has claimed another victim...

I'm betting Mach Tower is a good ride when it works, but it wasn't very reliable today.

Time for a look behind the scenes.

Skyride isn't open yet.

Let's start with Griffon.

To it's Service Center!

B&M top wheel, yummy!

Restraint anyone?

One of the things that sticks out is how clean and organized the maintenance bay is.

Drive tire. Take notice that there is no track.

Very organized.

It's Nessie!

There were evac. panels everywhere in here.

Now we leave Griffon to travel on to our next stop...

Verbolten. What treasures will we find? Stay tuned for more.

Poor Mach Tower has been problematic from day 1. Its best feature is the revolving as you go up; other than that, it's an average drop tower.

BGW is one of my favorite parks. Just need to convince my wife to take a vacation on the East coast.

Lets continue on...

 

Following the backstage tour of Verbolten (and an encounter with a salamander that scared much of the group), we went up to the ride's control booth.

 

As a ride operator, I was in my glory in that booth (well, it was more like a room).It featured a decent-sized control booth, but after looking at it for at least two minutes, the ride seemed pretty easy to operate. There were also several flat-screen screens set up for a series of cameras positioned around the ride and to top it off, all the attendants and operators communicated with their own walkie-talkie system. Very impressive.

 

Next ride we checked out was Escape from Pompeii. The ride was closed when we checked it out and didn't open until later. After entering the ride building, we climbed a 4 or 5-story flight of stairs. To start, it was already pretty hot and humid outside to begin with but it was *slighty* cooler inside. Safe to say that I got a lot of exercise climbing up the stairs, but this was pretty much the toughest part of the

tour, but worth it. While up there, we got to check out the special effects control room and the room that monitors the final drop.

 

The last stop on the tour was into the service center under Loch Ness Monster. While there, we learned when the correct time on when to change an Arrow coaster's wheels, what a chain dog looks like, and where BGT's Python's surplus of parts went to. We next went to stuff our faces at our catered lunch in the Black Forest where BBQ ribs and mac & cheese were on the menu, which made it an epic meal (can't forget about the unlimited Coke refills here as well!).

 

That's it for the Behind-the Scenes tour portion of BGW. Coming up is the rest of the day, then the thrilling conclusion with a few hours at Six Flags America.

Brakes... probably the midcourse.

Pretty much the freefall and this launch are always suprising for me.

Then up to the bridge for a little more suspense.

There is even sound to the creaking and flimsy-looking bridge.

Here's the entire show building.

LSM's. After thinking about it, I think this was my first LSM coaster.

Next, they got to show us the control room. Since it was so small, they broke our group in half to take us in. Basically the ones under the touchscreen are the main buttons and the others are maintenance functions.

To make sure that the riders are safe, they have a fleet of cameras around the ride. The top left is looking at the first launch, the top right is looking at the drop onto the second launch after the freefall, the bottom left is the second launch, and the bottom right is looking at riders on the bridge.

The station is even covered as well. Top left is looking from the front to the back of the station, top right is looking from the back to the front of the station, bottom left is looking at the block section outside the station, and the bottom right is looking at the transfer track block area behind the station.

My favorite cameras are the ones inside the building. The appear to be some type of thermal or nightvision camera. The bottom two are looking at the freefall portion.

On the panel, there's a touchscreen with the ride layout on it.

This controls Pompeii's scenery effects.

Youv are up there basically isolated with the drop person on the other side of the building.

You turn the corner here and head down the drop.

Kind of reminds me of a Hopkins ride a little, but it's actually an Intamin.

We next get to go into Arrow's...I mean, Nessie's lair.

This is what it would look like if you were an Arrow wheel.

The tranfer tracks are actually under the station. A hoist lowers the trains down here from the top. There are two sides (the other one has a bunch of Python parts on it).

This is an Arrow wheel that was made when it was still in business.

Just like Intamin's wheels.

This, my friends, is an Arrow chain dog.

And this, my friends, is a dark ride enthusiast holding a chain dog.

When that thingy can fit between the wheels, that is when you know when to change the wheels.

Arrow Facepalm: Able to cause facepalms even when you're able to touch the track.

This is an Arrow brake. The flexible black strip inflates with air causing it to move.

Time to head back to the catering area for some grub. Here is some Nessie theming.

One of the rides pictured is what caused me to become interested in theme parks.

And one of these coasters is what turned me into a B&M fanboy.

While the ride was meh, the interlocking loops make it an iconic coaster.

Here is something that I wanted to do. My family took a photo similar to this back in 1995 when I last visited.

Here is that photo.

Here is another one that I tried recreating.

We took a shortcut through the FestHaus. It looked completely different from the last time I was here.

Much different... More to come.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 

Following lunch, we next took advantage of our bonus Quick Queue for one ride on Verbolten, then headed over to DarKastle. I REALLY wanted to like this ride. The detail to the queue and building was astounding with something realistic everywhere you looked and it had a great storyline. When it came to the ride itself, it kind of ruined my expectations. Half of the screens didn't work and the chimney section failed to give me the feeling of climbing one since you can see the opening on where you entered (felt like being twisted down a dark hallway instead). We told one of the attendents about it and she nicely let us go again to hopefully experience the ride completely, but it was pretty much the same problem.

6/10

 

Following this, we got in line for Le Scoot, which had about a 45 minute wait. We did have Quick Queue, but we waited with a friend who didn't have it. It was a decent Arrow flume, but nothing really stood out compared to the others I've ridden. From here, I broke off from Matt, went over to New France to find lockers, failed, then hopped on the Skyride to Germany. My goal was to ride it all the way over to Scotland, but they had to close it because of the wind (which was strange becuase there was none). So instead I walked on the path along the river, dropped my stuff off at a locker near the Scotland train station, got my Alpine Express credit, then went over to Italy to ride Pompeii and Roman Rapids.

7/10

Roman Rapids had about a 1/2 hr to 45 minute wait and I really should've used my Quick Queue for it, but I decided to keep it in the locker from getting wet (big mistake). The ride got me decently wet, but not drenched and it brought back memories of riding Kennywood's and Hersheypark's Intamin rapids rides. I was riding with a family who decided to bring their stuff penguin on the ride and it went overboard. At least they can swim!

8/10

From here, I got in line for Pompeii, which just opened and again waited about 15 minutes for the front row (now I know why it's called an Intamin Spillwater because the nose of the boat just about went below the waterline for a second or two). Nice ride with cool effects and better than a common Hopkins ride.

8/10

My last ride before dinner was Nessie. Overall I thought it was one of the worst coasters at Busch Gardens, but it still wasn't too bad. It still produced an intense ride, but it suffered from a little roughness and headbanging of what a typical Arrow coaster would have. The wait was only 20 minutes.

6/10

By this time, it was almost time for dinner, which we planned to eat at the FestHaus in Germany so I went back to the locker, got some stuff, and hopped on the train at Scotland to travel over to New France and walk the rest of the way to Germany. Having been used to just walking to a place in a park, I knew that if I did this, I would more than likely be extremely exahusted by the time I got over there, so using a transportation ride was something new for me. By the time all was said and done, it took me close to a half-hour getting to the FestHaus.

Let me just say that I was never so much amazed by park food until now. There was so much awesome-looking stuff to eat and it all fit the theming of the area! I settled for a turkey and munster cheese sandwich with homemade potato chips (which tasted epic), and a mile-high slice of chocolate cake (I've never seen a cake this tall). The detail in the building was awesome, but the show kind of killed the atmosphere. You don't put a children's show in an Oktoberfest beer hall! Between this show and the one that they had out in front of the building with the Chicken Dance song, I really wanted to band my head against the table to try to make it stop.

Following a nice, but annoying dinner, we used a Quick Queue for DarKastle, which still had the show effects problem, and then went on Verbolten again to see the pre-show, which had a 25 minute wait.Just like the ride, they played close attention to detail and the queue was constantly moving.

Food: 10/10

Show: 3/10

I broke off from Matt again until ERT and decided to use the last of my Quick Queues, so I stopped at Alpengiest first. All I have to say is...wow. Before this coaster and Griffon, I didn't really ride that many solid B&Ms, but this one truely blew me away. It was intense (especially in the cobra roll and near the MCBR), whipped me around in every direction, and could possibly be placed as my #1 B&M coaster (especially if I didn't ride Griffon, which I would shortly).

10/10

Next was Griffon, which was my first Dive Machine. While it's not as intense as Aplengiest, it took the top spot on my B&M list. I loved the pause on the first drop, the way the trains are set up and the splashdown. My favorite seats have to be the one of the edge considering you are several feet from any track below you.

10/10

It was around 9:20 right now, which only left me 40 minutes to get to the other side of the park to get my last credit, Apollo's Chariot, so I hustled my way without using the train or skyride and made it over there just in time for Illuminights fireworks show to begin. From the lift hill, it was an awesome way to finish the day watching the show from the lift. Apollo delivered quite a good ride and it was all in the dark. Still not as good as Nitro, but it was up there. I need to ride it in the daytime to compare it.

8/10

I still had a few minutes so I stopped in England and bought a few souvenirs, then got one of the last rides of the night and hopped on the Skyride to France for some awesome Griffon and Alpengiest ERT. Interestingly, everyone seemed to go for Griffon than Alpie, so I took a few laps on Griffon, went over to the other and took some nearly solo rides on it and finished back at Griffon.

By this time East Coast Bash was over, but the Fahrting still continued. Stopped at Wendy's on the way back to the hotel and got ready for the journey home with a stop at Six Flags America. It was a stop that made it unique experience for all the wrong reasons.

 

Six Flags America is coming up next. Thanks for reading!

The queue was beautiful, but I wish the ride was as well.

They had this random sink in line.

A B&M coaster and boobs...not a bad picture.

New France seemed to remind me a lot of Knoebels for some reason.

...so is Le Scoot a person?

France was a smaller area than the others in the park.

But it's home to a great coaster so it makes up for it.

Time for some nerdy Skyride shots.

Who knew that skyrides have control panels?

Much more high-tech compared to the one at Six Flags Great Adventure where you dispatch it by pulling on a rope.

Here are some more Griffon shots.

I am quite fond of this shot.

Sounds like my ex-roommate.

Station shot.

Time for the train.

Pompeii was a pretty good themed ride and it's a water ride too, wish was a first for me.

Picturesque.

The last time I was at this park, there was a coaster here.

Strangely, I don't remember seeing Drachen Fire the last time, but then again I don't remember much from that trip.

Again, I am amazed at all the detail in the buildings.

I had to chicken dance my way into the FestHaus.

Wasn't too bad at this point...

yeah... so much for that classical German band.

Time to go Fahrting through the Forest.

Noted.

I think this was the best ERT out of the whole trip.

There was almost no line for Griffon, but there was even less of one at Alpengeist.

So thus ends my first TPR event. I had an epic time and can hardly wait for Midwest Trip next year!

Busch Gardens Williamsburg has to be my #1 park right now. I wish I can return soon... which will be next weekend for Christmas Town!

Here is that awesome dinner that I had.

Fantastic trip report! I'm visiting BGW for the first time in 2013 and it looks great!

Love the weird affection you have with German or German-sounding words - as the word "Verbolten" is pure fanatasy - just the same we in Germany have it with Enlish-sounding words like we call the cell-phone "Handy"...