Trip Report for Busch Gardens
6/3/04
Crowds/Weather: Medium/Sunny

Park Rating
Mike: 3.75 out of 5
Mike’s Park Comments: I suspect the sweet, gauzy haze of alcohol has clouded most enthusiasts judgement on Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Sure, any park is great once you’re wandering around with a beer buzz.

With only 4 roller coasters and none I rate a 5, BGW is hardly a thrill seekers park. With a $48 ticket price and no significant discounts and no one year discount combos with other parks, it’s also not a value park.

So what is it?

BGW is a park that tries to please everyone but really only 100% satisfies one group.

As a kids park, BGW lacks a great kids area like Kings Dominion offers next door. As a thrill park, Kings Dominion and many other parks also beat BGW easily. So what is BGW good at? Shows and theming, it seems, which are really only qualities that attract older adults.

For thrill rides, none of BGWs rides garnered a 5 out of 5 rating. Appolo’s Chariot falls short of Nitro, while Alpengeist falls short of Talon and Montu. Loch Ness Monster may well be the best old, steel multi-looper we’ve been on, but that’s like stating a particular piece of shit is the sweetest smelling.

As a park, BGW is almost too well operated with 4 people, for example, working to help me park my car. It’s also very pretty, though I prefer a more natural setting like Knoebels, or a mixed natural with theming setting like Dollywood, or just plain cooler theming like IOA. Still, it’s a park with a sharp aesthetic, if not the best for my taste. It also has above average (if also overrated and overpriced) food. Though really, unless you are trying the more outlandish menu items, the regular food is the same as can be found at Seaworld, or BGTampa and the Universal parks beat their “normal” food in quality.

BGW is a relaxing place that caters to older guests, not thrill seekers. As such, we were slightly disappointed.

Clarisse: 3 out of 5
Clarisse’s Park Comments: This park is cute with all of the theming and shows and stuff. It’s a great place for kids and grandparents. Teens and those who just wanna ride rides may not be that thrilled though. That’s not to say that there aren’t good rides here, it’s just that the emphasis isn’t focused on the rides, it’s more on shops and shows.

Alpengeist

Mike: 4.75 out of 5
Comments: This suspended looper is fantastic for it’s custom visuals and close turns. It’s not so great for a feeling of speed or forces or a lot of elements. Still, this is a top notch ride.

Clarisse: 4.56 out of 5
Comments: This suspended coaster has plenty of nice inversions. It’s a pretty smooth ride as well, there's only one spot where I experienced significant head banging, and that was only experienced sitting in the back row, when they break it to an almost complete stop. Long ride time, with absolutely beautiful scenery. Busch makes sure that there are no parking lot views, instead riders see trees, and other rides among themed areas.

This is a front seat ride. It’s the smoothest up here and from the front you have the best view of the theming both off and on the ride. The other attractions are pleasantly close by. Out of all of the suspended coasters with over the shoulder restraints that I’ve been on so far, these ones give you the most personal space. The only thing that this attraction could use is a higher sensation of speed.

Big Bad Wolf

Mike: 4.25 out of 5
Comments: I didn’t realize a coaster of this type could be so much fun. Whizzing by the structures and poles was original and thrilling and ooh, that second half!!! Rides with 2 lifts always get extra points from me.

Clarisse: 4.05 out of 5
Comments: This coaster seems to have 2 sections with 2 lift hills between which the coaster is braked to an almost complete stop. I liked the second section of the coaster more than the first because it features a steeper descent and the speed is also faster. I appreciate the design of the closed bottom suspended cars on this coaster, because the car swings freely from side to side with turns, this adds F-U-N especially during banked turns.

Escape from Pompeii

Mike: 3.75 out of 5
Comments: This shoot the chutes surprised and entertained me. Of special note was the cheesy falling statue with a skating sticker stuck on it. Go kids go!

Clarisse: 3.665 out of 5
Comments: When done well, theming adds a lot to a ride. This chute the chutes gives you a lot to look at on this typically short ride. The real Pompeii was buried under lava and ash; this ride is kept consistent with the addition of real fire. Passengers on the ride actually feel the warmth from the fire. This ride also contains ancient artifact replicas, one of which a clever rider before us stickered!

Apollo’s Chariot

Mike: 4.8 out of 5
Comments: B&M perfected their hyper concept when they created Nitro. While this 205ft coaster is great, I missed Nitro by the end.

Clarisse: 4.59 out of 5
Comments: This ride is like Nitro’s (Great Adventure) shy twin sister. It’s very similar; it has the same restraints, very nice airtime, yet it falls short in almost every single aspect.

Corkscrew Hill

Clarisse: 3.15 out of 5
Comments: This ride is advertised as a 4D ride, although I think that it’s a misnomer. This attraction consists of a 3D movie, with moving seats, that incorporates tactile sensation. The movie tells a cute story; which is themed appropriately for the location in the park. The 3D characters seem to reach right out and touch you and the seats move in synch with the movie, giving the viewer the sensation that they are a character in the movie.

Mike: 2.6 out of 5
Comments: Our first “4D” attraction was kind of ruined for me by a teenager behind us who was either really high, an asshole, or both. Still, “4D” attractions seem interesting enough. I imagine I’ll be doing a ton in Orlando.

Lochness Monster

Clarisse: 3.46 out of 5
Comments: This multilooper with over the shoulder restraints caused me pain. The headbanging exacerbated my ear injury from the previous day. As a result of the injury, I can’t say with any accuracy how bad the headbanging really was; however, even though my head miraculously almost cleared the restraint (mike was a tad too big for the coaster) I still experienced headbanging.

Mike: 3.5 out of 5

Le Scoot

Clarisse: 2.62 out of 5
Comments: I got a only a little wet on this ride. There are 2 drops on this flume. During the second drop the flume is passed through a tunnel. In the tunnel the theming is a fake saw – which would have been more impressive if it was spinning and if it was closer to the rider.

Mike: 2.5 out of 5
Comments: 2 drops helps this boring flume a little, but it’s the structure over the last drop that improves it the most.

Congo Rapids

Clarisse: 2.5 out of 5
Comments: This is a sparsely themed raft ride. Each boat has seats for 6 passengers. I got damp on this ride, but not seriously wet.

Mike: 2.25 out of 5
Comments: Boring, pathetically themed rapids ride that’s not exciting or interesting.