Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

^EDIT: Let me shut up and learn to count rows...

^That is what I thought too, but after checking with RCDB - Apollo's, I just assumed I couldn't count or something. Guess they have it wrong!

Edit: Well, this entire page has been a fail so far ha ha. Apollo's has 9 rows, end of story.

Apollo has 9 rows.

Has anybody heard anything about the new tower ride recently? Most new attractions announcements come around this time, right? We have yet to get even a tease. I wonder if something is up...

^All will be revealed in its own good time. BGW has always been good at keeping things quiet until they're ready.

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).

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.

DELETE.

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.

Busch Gardens

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

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.

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

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

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

That is true. I was called a "cheater" by several little kids.

If you have to go on Labor Day Weekend, go on Labor Day itself. Spent a few pleasant hours at the park, and the longest wait was about 20 minutes for Apollo's Chariot.

If you have to go on Labor Day Weekend, go on Labor Day itself. Spent a few pleasant hours at the park, and the longest wait was about 20 minutes for Apollo's Chariot.

Was AC running well and often? It was down for a lot of yesterday.

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

Not so much howl-o-scream days as nights. Last year our German class took a field trip on a saturday. Nessie was a walk-on, Griffin was around 15 minutes. Apollo's Chariot we rode 3 times in 10 minutes, and we didn't ride Alpie until night time which was an hour. Griffin was an hour fifteen minutes, and Apollo's was around 45, and was well into the switchbacks.

Ah yes, Howl-O-Scream days are just like summer weekdays. I get all my riding in during the day, and just enjoy the haunt during night.

Just got back from the park, and, as always, it was awesome. The rides were running very well and the lines were so short pretty much all day. Like cfc said above, the longest I waited was about 20 minutes for any ride. It was really weird though: I got to the park with my family around 11:30 and the park was still dead. Griffon was a walk-on, as were several other major rides. I closed out the day riding Loch Ness in the front row (for the first time) as the only person on the train. And really, the only person on any roller coaster, as far as I could tell.

Really the only "bad" (if you can even call it that) part was Curse of Darkastle. I feel like since it opened the ride has gone so far downhill. Before it was silent in line, save for the creepy music. Now there is that TV in line that nobody pays attention to. There was also the pre-show. I feel like they need to bring back some of the "mystique" and atmosphere it had when it first opened. Then inside I saw several show scenes reset; that has never happened before. Some of the effects have been turned off, too (though some have been off for awhile). But all in all, I feel like BG needs to brush this ride up a bit. And perhaps I am being way to critical, paying attention to minor details, but I remember being in awe at the ride when it first opened and I still enjoy it but now "ehhhh"...

Anyone else care to comment?

Really the only "bad" (if you can even call it that) part was Curse of Darkastle. I feel like since it opened the ride has gone so far downhill. Before it was silent in line, save for the creepy music. Now there is that TV in line that nobody pays attention to. There was also the pre-show. I feel like they need to bring back some of the "mystique" and atmosphere it had when it first opened. Then inside I saw several show scenes reset; that has never happened before. Some of the effects have been turned off, too (though some have been off for awhile). But all in all, I feel like BG needs to brush this ride up a bit. And perhaps I am being way to critical, paying attention to minor details, but I remember being in awe at the ride when it first opened and I still enjoy it but now "ehhhh"...

 

Anyone else care to comment?

I hadn't been on it before yesterday but I also felt kind of "ehhhh" about it. I think I've been spoiled by the motion simulators at Universal.

I like DarKastle a lot, but I do have one major gripe--I wish they would do something with that "chimney" area, where you just spin around in the dark. Maybe some lighting effects to simulate fire and smoke?

I miss the preshow, but they quit using it to speed up the line.

Busch Gardens has announced today that on september 18th they will announce their 2 year plan for Busch Gardens and Water Country U.S.A.. They say that both park will be receiving new attractions. i saw this this morning and now when i go back to look it just says big changes to your williamsburg parks. So we should wait and see what happens but I do remember seeing the 18th as the announcement date during their Pass holder appreciation weekend.

Praise the Lord, finally an announcement!

Now what are the going to announce (and for the next two years, too)?