Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

I'm liking the looks of Verbolten, I really like to see some testing footage of the ride does anyone know when this will begin?

I'm also from united kingdom, and we have a very similar attraction called TH13TEEN, But this coaster seem to be a much better version. I hate when people discuss about how Busch Garden copied the whole 13 idea with the drop section. It muddled with my mind quite a bit when I heard on the video about it's the "First of it's kind, They had to come up with name for it because it hasn't been done before". That exact saying confused me a little however, I can't wait to try the ride out for myself.

One more thing before i finish here. - When Does Verbolten Officially open to public?

^

Darn! I'm going with my school the 13th of May. I barely missed it!

There have been rumors floating around about soft openings before the 18th, take it with a grain of salt.

^A huge grain of salt--BGW rarely "soft opens" a ride. These rumors pop up whenever the park is building a new attraction.

Definitely on the "believe it when I see it" list--but I may be surprised yet.

I'm liking the looks of Verbolten, I really like to see some testing footage of the ride does anyone know when this will begin?

 

I'm also from united kingdom, and we have a very similar attraction called TH13TEEN, But this coaster seem to be a much better version. I hate when people discuss about how Busch Garden copied the whole 13 idea with the drop section. It muddled with my mind quite a bit when I heard on the video about it's the "First of it's kind, They had to come up with name for it because it hasn't been done before". That exact saying confused me a little however, I can't wait to try the ride out for myself.

The park has been testing the ride, but hasn't posted any video of it as far as I know. When talking about the ride, BGW usually refers to Verbolten as the "first of its kind in the U.S." (or something along those lines).

Awesome update Chuck! Thanks for posting it. Verbolten is looking fantastic, and they're really going the extra mile with the theming. It looks like the perfect coaster for BGW!

I'm liking the looks of Verbolten, I really like to see some testing footage of the ride does anyone know when this will begin?

 

I'm also from united kingdom, and we have a very similar attraction called TH13TEEN, But this coaster seem to be a much better version. I hate when people discuss about how Busch Garden copied the whole 13 idea with the drop section. It muddled with my mind quite a bit when I heard on the video about it's the "First of it's kind, They had to come up with name for it because it hasn't been done before". That exact saying confused me a little however, I can't wait to try the ride out for myself.

 

One more thing before i finish here. - When Does Verbolten Officially open to public?

Some testing has already begun, at the Hardhat tour they mentioned that the train had already made the circuit and they were fine tuning the drop track. I'm pretty sure they're doing the bulk of the testing, if not all during the week when the park is closed to the public. The drop section is the first of it's kind in the states, but not the first of it's kind worldwide. It opens on May 18th.

This ride looks awesomer with each update, especially the main drop. Once all the trees are grown around it itll be an incredible experience.

It muddled with my mind quite a bit when I heard on the video about it's the "First of it's kind, They had to come up with name for it because it hasn't been done before".

Zierer has never done this type of ride before, making it a "world first" unless Legoland Germany's Polar Coaster opens up first.

^A huge grain of salt--BGW rarely "soft opens" a ride. These rumors pop up whenever the park is building a new attraction.

Mach was soft opened last year, but then again that ride experienced a pretty long delay beforehand. The park may follow up with V-bolt, but we should just wait and see.

^I don't think of the Mach Tower situation as a "soft opening." It was more like the park finally decided "OK, this thing is finally ready--everybody get on!"

I'm not saying that a soft opening for Verbolten is impossible--only that I'll believe it when I see it.

Soft-openings usually only happen at the Florida parks correct? (Universal, Disney, BGT) I can't remember if Cheetah Hunt had a soft-opening or not.

I agree with Chuck about Mach Tower. It was delayed so much that the park just decided to open it without any fanfare.

^Cheetah Hunt had an employee ride night before it opened, but I don't believe it had a soft opening for regular guests.

^Yeah, I think that's standard operating peocedure for the Busch parks.

The place is looking great and in a few years when the landscaping fills in it will be even better!

I am, and forever will be, confused that they have an inverted track on their advertisements. This is not Aplenghiest, people!

^It's called using the artwork you have on hand. No one outside the enthusiast community would know the difference, anyway.

I was almost certain I wasn't going to make it to BGW this year, but now, East Coast Bash is going to be VERY HARD to resist... Yeah, may have to make that happen.

One thing I forgot to mention--they were letting guests shamble through the DarKastle "preshow" room, again. I'm not sure why, but they had temporary-looking stanchions and ropes in there, too.

Does anyone have a realistic idea of what the crowds will be like on the 18th? I'm trying to decide if it's worth it to take the day off work to ride Verbolten on opening day. It seems like the crowd might be lighter than it would on that Saturday or Sunday since it's a work day for many, but then again, it's a big ride premiere and others might have the same idea.

When BGW opened DarKastle, I waited about 3.5 hours (huge crowd plus technical problems with the ride), and by the time I exited, the line stretched all the way to Alpengeist. I think this was on a Sunday. I'd anticipate a pretty hefty lines for Verbolten on opening day and for that weekend.

There is a Quick Queue option that will allow one ride per day on Verbolten this season, but I have no idea if this will apply to opening day.

I just noticed that Busch Gardens has launched a Web site dedicated to Verbolten. You'll find the ride's layout, the backstory of Gerta and Gunter, and other info there.

While we're on the topic of crowds, how have they been these past few spring weekends? We'll be down there this Saturday, and I'm pretty much expecting them to be moderate or so? We were there last year around this time, but it was 45* and foggy out so the park was empty - this Saturday is supposed to be 77* and sunny, so I'm expecting a little more, just hopefully not anything crazy since it's still spring!

^Today was a crowded day for BGW. The first hour of the park being open was not bad at all! Everything was pretty much a walk on as usual. But then, crowds REALLY started to pick up! So much that they had to use their overflow parking. My guess is that much of the area is on spring break. I am also planning on returning Saturday and am hoping the crowds are more manageable.

@Chuck- I have also wondered about the DarKastle pre-show. I have been about 5 times since pass holder day, and so far, that was the only day they did the full pre-show. But I am glad the fireplace scene is working again!

^I remember visiting the park on a slow day a year or two back with someone who'd never ridden DarKastle. So, we decided to let people pass us in line while we watched the preshow video. A CM actually used the PA system to tell up to keep moving, which I found to be a bit bizarre.

Got back from the park today... A few things.

- V-bolt theming is underway. Little details are being placed throughout the ride. Floating tunnel (into the building) is still there though. I really hope the park fixes that, although gut feeling tells me the building won't be painted and the floating tunnel will remain a floating tunnel.

- Park is pretty busy today. I expect tomorrow to be slammed with vacationers and season passholders since it's supposed to be warm.

- I applied for V-bolt opening crew. Wish me luck.

Quick edit: I sat in the test seat. It was more comfy than Mach, but not as comfy as the B&M's. The middle "bump" that juts out goes halfway down the seat is pointed, making it feel a bit odd. I probably wouldn't recommend slamming your butt into the seat.