Funny Photos at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a beautiful, thrilling theme park located in – you lot guessed information technology – Williamsburg, Virginia. The park is so gorgeous that it's been named the World's Most Beautiful Theme Park past the National Amusement Park Historical Association every twelvemonth since 1990! Surely this is because the park is channeling the amuse and beauty of Europe through its nine villages, which represent 6 different European countries. You can take a photo in a typical red English telephone berth, eat gelato in Italian republic, visit the sheep of Scotland, or have a beer in Germany – all inside a few hours.
The thrill rides complement the beauty of the park as they weave in and out of the attractive landscape. There are eight roller coasters, a drop tower, and a big water ride, plus enough of less intense rides for those seeking a calmer adventure. In this post, I'll exist introducing, reviewing, and rating the roller coasters of Busch Gardens Williamsburg, sharing about other rides, such as the Skyride, and, finally, I'll include my tips for visiting the park (click here to skip to the tips department).
Disclosure: I was given gratis tickets to Busch Gardens Williamsburg in commutation for this mail service. As always, all opinions are my own and were not influenced past the sponsor.
Roller Coasters at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
I thing I absolutely LOVED about Busch Gardens Williamsburg is that they did not overly moderate their roller coasters. What I hateful is that park employees were not assigning seats on the trains. My husband, Mr. Meena, and I visit theme parks frequently and 1 of our biggest pet peeves is not being immune to queue in a specific row of a coaster if/when nosotros want to. In this section I will be introducing you to each roller coaster and then rating them using a scoring system of European villages (this is a habit of mine when reviewing theme parks, for example I used Vienna sausages for Wurstelprater and giraffes for Busch Gardens Tampa).
InvadR.
InvadR is the parks newest coaster; it actually just opened a few months ago in April 2017. It's also the parks outset wooden coaster. It's meant to be an invasion of New France by The Vikings and my hubby stated that (in his not so apprehensive opinion) it was the best ride in the park.
Even though the theme is meant to be intimidating, the ride is really more of a family coaster. InvadR drops from 74 ft., takes y'all through nine air-time hills, and hits a max speed of 48 mph. Each element of the ride is great without being overly intense.
Information technology's a great ride, but I feel like it's missing that extra "wow" cistron that many 5/5 wooden coasters have. Also, just equally an FYI, the misting fans in the line queue were quite obnoxious when we visited, in fact they were forcing people to go out huge gaps in the line to avert existence soaked.
Rating: 4/5 European villages.
Apollo's Chariot.
This roller coaster is a typical B&Yard (Bolliger & Mabillard – a roller coaster pattern company) monster in that it gives an excellent, smooth, and consistently intense ride. Or perhaps I should call it a coaster god since it'southward themed after Apollo, who is the god of low-cal, purity, and the sunday in Greek mythology.
In that location'southward a "fake-out" dip after the peak of the lift hill, which seems like the designers are playing a joke on you, but in truth it is there considering B&M wanted to lessen the stress on the concatenation used to haul the coaster upward the hill (they eventually figured out how to exercise this without the dip).
The get-go driblet dives into a ravine, which is pretty absurd because information technology makes the full driblet 210 ft. even though the lift hill is merely 170 ft. tall. The ride then takes you through eight hills, each with fabled airtime, as if yous were with Apollo as he drives his chariot beyond the sky.
Apollo'southward Chariot is a top notch ride, which is why information technology ranked as the 4th best steel coaster in 2012 by the Golden Ticket Awards and regularly makes the summit ten lists for best steel coasters worldwide. Mr. Meena and I only rated information technology as 4/five though, considering we couldn't assistance but compare information technology to rides such equally Fury 325 at Carowinds and Shambhala at Portaventura.
Rating: 4/v European villages.
Alpengeist.
Alpengeist is another B&K monster, although it seems to have aged a lot more than Apollo'south Chariot despite only being 2 years older (it opened in 1997). This coaster is inverted, significant your feet are hanging from the basis, only unfortunately it is crude on its riders.
The coaster is named after a snow beast in the Alps; "Alpengeist" ways "Ghost of the Alps" in German. The queue expanse is full of skiing paraphernalia and during the ride you'll fly by white snowfall on the ground and hear beast-like sounds played over the speaker systems.
Alpengeist is very tall for an inverted coaster at 195 ft. – I loved seeing the park from the pinnacle of the elevator loma. Another unique feature of the ride is how the starting time drop twists to the correct as it plummets 170 ft. downwards. The coaster also has vi thrilling inversions – more than whatsoever other ride in the park.
If this coaster gave a smooth ride it would easily be a 5/five. Perhaps I am a chip biased afterwards riding so many coasters because i of the kids in line behind me stated that it was the smoothest ride he'd ever been on.
Rating: iv/5 European villages.
Griffon.
Griffon was really my favorite ride at Busch Gardens Williamsburg – which actually speaks volumes about it because I normally abhor swoop coasters. In fact, I insisted on riding it three times. If you aren't familiar with dive coasters, they are actress wide floorless coasters and their signature move is holding you at a 90˚ angle over their large drop.
This concur usually freaks me out – it certainly did on SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa – but Griffon did it very well. The coaster didn't shake at all (perhaps considering it is newer) and the view at the elevation was so beautiful that I kind of forgot to exist scared of the dive. At the top of the elevator hill y'all get an expansive view of the James River (which is peculiarly dandy at sunset) and, in one case you are hanging over the drop, you tin see a massive coke painted on the footing.
Griffon drops from 205 ft. loftier, has ii inversions, and tin speed along at upwardly to 71 mph. It's a smoothen ride, if a bit dizzying, and overall is very well done. I actually enjoyed the h2o feature at the end of the ride, where the train runs through the water and then chop-chop turns around to do another pass over it.
Griffon is a swell dive coaster and a shine ride, I only wish it was longer!
Rating: 4/v European villages.
Verbolten.
Verbolten is a play on words every bit "verboten" is the German discussion for forbidden (something we learned chop-chop when we were living in Germany). The coaster theming is based on an accidental detour through the Blackness Forest in Germany. The first half is an indoor track complete with flashing lights and growling animal sounds, while the second half emerges exterior adjacent to the park'due south Rhine River.
The designers really packed a lot of fun into this coaster with three launches, a vertical drop, and the 88 ft. drib past the river. Information technology's so exhilarating, beautiful, and unpredictable that we had to ride it at least twice.
Rating: 4/5 European villages.
Loch Ness Monster.
This bright yellow ride has been running since 1978 and is themed afterward the mythical loch ness monster of Scotland. The coaster starts out by traveling through a forested area before dropping 114 ft., looping over the h2o, spiraling through a tunnel, and finally returning for its second loop. It'due south certainly a must-ride at Busch Gardens Williamsburg despite its roughness, which actually is to be expected considering the age of the ride.
This coaster tends to be very well known because of its iconic interlocking loops.
What a beauty! It was the kickoff coaster in this globe to ever have this unique feature and (at the time of writing) is currently the just ane that has it. As cute as the loops are, the end of each ane is, unfortunately, forceful to the point of being painful.
Rating: 3/5 European villages.
Tempesto.
This relatively new coaster features a massive loop and a rather intense launching experience (much similar Heaven Scream at Holiday Park in Germany). The ride is named after a fictional Italian daredevil and has a circus-like theme. The coaster certainly tin can do some stunts; it launches you forward, backwards, and so forward again before y'all finally attain the top.
I felt like the vertical twists were very painful, simply Mr. Meena thinks they only felt that way because we were sitting in the back. Nonetheless, I wasn't willing to ride once again to notice out. Tempesto also has an extremely strict loose article policy (something I hash out further in the tips for visiting department) in that they won't permit you to vesture spectacles on the ride. (This was a trouble for me since I demand to wear motorcycle glasses on roller coasters considering I take chronic dry eye and have to protect my eyes.) The good news is that the workers mitt out fanny packs for you to apply during the ride for those loose manufactures that you lot demand immediately following the ride.
Rating: 3/5 European villages.
That's all the coasters at Busch Gardens Williamsburg except for Grover's Tall Express, which is a kiddie coaster. Normally Mr. Meena would have ridden this one just to keep some other coaster credit but we ran out of fourth dimension at the park.
Other Rides.
Escape from Pompeii.
This is a classic water ride where you hop in the gunkhole, take a tour of ancient ruins, then rapidly drop and make a big splash you're trying to escape the rumblings of Mt. Vesuvius.
And of grade in that location's a huge splash zone for those wanting to cool off during the hot summer days.
I personally remember the theme is a tad insensitive and I'grand not a big fan of these water rides, but Mr. Meena definitely enjoyed information technology.
Aeronaut Skyride.
This is function ride and part mode of transportation effectually the park. It dangles fourscore ft. in the air and traverses function of each land. There are three stations, going from England to France, France to Federal republic of germany, and Germany to England, which are all marked conspicuously on the park map. We rode the entire excursion and my favorite section was from France to Germany because the takes you between the Griffon and Loch Ness Monster coasters, providing great photo opportunities.
A couple things to proceed in mind about the Skyride:
– It doesn't open until 11am.
– In the morning the England station will be decorated as people arrive, and in the evening the Rhinefield station will be busy as people go out.
– You lot do have to get off at each station.
– Information technology's a pretty short ride, and so information technology isn't really worth waiting in a long queue line.
– In that location tin can only be three adults per cart and at that place's also a weight limit.
Here are a few more than noteworthy rides that nosotros didn't quite go to that twenty-four hours but would take ridden if we'd had more time:
Mäch Tower – a 240 ft. drop ride themed after a Bavarian maypole. I'yard sure it provides a dandy view of the park.
Rhine River Cruise – a gunkhole ride that starts about Loch Ness Monster and takes you downwards the artificial Rhine River past Verbolten and the train tracks. You may want to check the cruise schedule when you lot arrive at the park because nosotros didn't come across these running until later in the solar day.
Busch Gardens Railway – a twenty minute railroad train ride around the park in steam-powered locomotives. Stations are located in France, Scotland, and Italia and train performance starts at 10:30am. I'g more than than a picayune heartbroken that we ran out of fourth dimension to tour Busch Gardens Williamsburg via train. Nosotros'll simply have to visit again!
There are and so many attractions at Busch Gardens Williamsburg that I couldn't possibly cover them all in this post, but you can find them all listed on the parks website here.
Food & Drink.
Mr. Meena and I are by no means foodies and we typically don't eat at theme parks because the food can be and so expensive. However, we waived our rule nearly eating theme park food at Busch Gardens Williamsburg because the park has done such a groovy job recreating foods from all over Europe. These were our three must practise's:
– Have a beer from Munich on tap at Das Festhaus.
– Order a bouquet of delicious fries with a variety of toppings at Les Frites (France).
– Eat Italian gelato at Gelato di San Marco.
Tips for Visiting Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
1| The nearly important tip I tin can requite you, in my opinion, is that Busch Gardens Williamsburg has a staggered opening, meaning that when the park opens at 10am you are only able to visit 5 of the nine villages! This may non matter to y'all (peculiarly if you typically arrive late) but information technology really drives me basics when parks do this – peculiarly if they aren't super upfront about information technology! We strategically program our day to ride the low capacity coasters equally rapidly as possible before the crowds get in in full. And then imagine our frustration when we headed correct to Festa Italy to start our twenty-four hours with Tempesto only to discover that area of the park blocked off until ten:30am. I inquired at Guest Services about this and was told that the hamlet opening times are on the website, but I take scoured the park site and cannot find them. So hither they are:
Open at ix:45am: England, Scotland.
Open up at 10:00am: Republic of ireland, France, New French republic.
Open at ten:30am: Festa Italia, Italy.
Open at 10:45am: Germany/Oktoberfest.
2| Hither is our recommended park road for the morning, now that we are aware of the staggered opening times, if you want to ride all the roller coasters:
Loch Ness Monster → Tempesto → Apollo's Chariot → Verbolten → Alpengeist → Invadr → Griffon.
Nosotros took that route (although we had to change our original route on the fly), and were able to ride all the coasters except for InvadR past 11:30am (This is because InvadR had a long queue, which is to be expected since it is the newest coaster). In fact, we actually rode Verbolten, Alpengeist, and Griffon twice on that route and didn't expect more than than 10 minutes for any of our rides.
We then left the park for well-nigh three hours (I have lupus photosensivity and then I endeavor to avoid potent UV light during the day) and returned that afternoon to practice our second loop around the park. We and then rode all the non-coaster rides that were important to us, sampled the food and drink, and rode InvadR around seven:00pm when the line finally died downwardly.
3| As I've mentioned previously, lots of the roller coasters at Busch Gardens Williamsburg have a no loose articles policy. Most parks just have ane or two rides where you aren't immune to bring numberless with you in line, but at this park information technology seemed like about all the coasters had a strict no loose articles policy. Even so, in that location are tons of lockers available throughout the park and their prices are extremely reasonable. Nosotros paid $1 to store my photographic camera for two hours while we rode InvadR and Griffon in the evening and, if I remember correctly, you can buy an all-day locker pass for simply $5.
4| Free water is bachelor throughout the park, usually at places with a soda fountain, you just have to enquire for a loving cup of h2o. Withal, these places don't open until about 11:30am – and the places where y'all can purchase bottles of water didn't open up until about that time, either. I was incredibly thirsty by the time we finished our morning time coaster tour and places started to open. If you're visiting the park early on a hot day you lot could set up by hydrating before y'all make it, carrying a h2o canteen (which – remember – y'all can't take on some rides), or bookmarking the water fountains along your road.
5| If you are visiting with kids be sure to check out all the kid-friendly park activities to notice tips for your visit.
6| Busch Gardens Williamsburg isn't a huge park, only it is big enough that you won't be able to run across all of it in ane day, even when the park isn't very crowded. We visited on a light weekday in Baronial and ran out of time to do everything we wanted to. Even if nosotros had skipped our break it would accept been difficult to squeeze everything in, peculiarly since there tend to be big crowds in the early afternoon. If you accept a long to-exercise list for the park you may want to consider purchasing a multi-day pass.
seven| If you lot buy a unmarried-twenty-four hour period ticket, do not throw it away afterward you arrive! We had to show our tickets in order to receive a hand stamp when leaving and again when nosotros re-entered.
8| Nosotros usually download the park map before any visit (yous can find the one for Busch Gardens Williamsburg here) but keep in heed that this park as well has a mobile app with plenty of useful information, such as ride wait times, that might brand your day easier.
9| Don't worry most paying for preferred parking! The regular parking is $15/day and in that location is a tram that takes yous from the various parking lots to the park entrance.
10| Stay close by. We stayed at the DoubleTree past Hilton Hotel Williamsburg which is the closest hotel to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and we definitely recommend information technology. The hotel too runs a shuttle to the theme park, only at $5 per person circular trip it could easily cost more than the parking pass if you accept more than 3 people or want to take a break in the afternoon. (The hotel link is a Booking.com affiliate link, which earns My Meena Life money if you book, at no extra cost to y'all. Read my disclosure policy here.)
Have I told yous all y'all demand to know about visiting Busch Gardens Williamsburg? You lot can ask me a question or leave your feedback in the comment section below! Or visit the park website hither.
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