BGE 5-19 Griffon is good but the park let me down in some ways

I enjoyed reading your detailed trip report. I don't believe you mentioned any shows, so perhaps they don't interest you, but your comment about Ireland not having anything in it surprised me. Ireland is one of my favorite areas of BGE. Irish Thunder and Secrets of Castle O'Sullivan are two of the best attractions at the park in my opinion. Corkscrew Hill is fun for my family...even my parents who are nearing retirement age enjoy it and don't find it rough. Ireland has a terrific restaurant and pub and is one of our favorite places to eat in the park. Ireland is also one of the most beautifully themed sections of the park. I'd say there's a lot of entertainment value in Irleland.

We would've definitely caught a show, as the picture and description of Secrets of Castle O'Sullivan from the website looked very interesting, but there just wasn't anytime to fit it in. The last show was at 9 p.m. and it wouldn't have given us time to ride LNM or BBW. I also wanted to catch Pirates 4-D, since it's back this year, but again--out of time. I didn't see any mention of Irish Thunder in my map. Perhaps it hasn't started yet for the year?

My comments about Ireland I guess are wanting to see a major themed attraction in that area. Remember that Corkscrew Hill is a ride brought back from the dead based on very old technology, and perhaps that's why I don't like the feel of the ride. I much prefer the individually-moving seating types of those rides, as I think they're more comfortable. I seem to remember 2Hostyl not liking Corkscrew Hill much either for the same reasons.

As for the pub, drinking is out of the question for me with my meds, but I remember 2Hostyl having fun at the BrewMaster's Club when we visited in 2001.

I think it would've been great to have been handed a map of the park at the parking booth like most other themeparks. I understand that Busch is trying to be all about conservation (and every urinal had a poster making that point), but there's so much information that we could've gained had we had the map--show times, which way the skyrides run, alternative paths, where to eat etc.

Maybe I'll return later on this summer when it's not bandcamp competition day (those kids wouldn't leave, and they were everywhere!), and definitley not on a weekend!

I have to agree about Corkscrew Hill. All of the parks flats rides are lumped together on one side of the park. Until they built Griffon, there wasn't one ride in France and I don't consider Corkscrew Hill a ride but a show. I don't drink, so the brewmasters school has no interest for me.

Want to talk about old? The Land of the Dragons area could really use some updating. Perhaps Sesame Street will come in take care of that area.

I will agree with I-Fan, the bathrooms are some of the worst I've seen in a amusement park. What is with grown men all of a sudden, not being able to flush the urinal and if they were so concerned about conservation, they would eliminate the handle flushers and switch to automatic.

Or better yet, do it Holday World-style and go waterlesss. I worked at the Maryland Department of Transportation Headquarters a few years ago, and we were a green building and that meant no water in the urinals, and despite what you might think, they don't smell!

Even the stall doors were made out of recycled materials. You could still see remnants of labels and such in them.

Yes, The Land of the Dragons area is really old. I'm really surprised they've never added a kiddie coaster, and of course the mouse went down to Tampa. Well, maybe one of these years...And of course the biggest mystery is why the Drachen Fire station still stands. Hmmm...

I was at the park Friday (for myself -- 6 laps on Griffon, 2 on Apollo, and 2 on Alpie) and Saturday (for my nephews, ages 6 and 4, but scored two more laps on Apollo, 1 on Wolf, and 2 on Loch Ness), and thought the bathrooms were perfectly fine on both days.

And with kids that age, we were in the bathrooms quite a bit.

The only downside from MY perspective was that the park was out of Red Bridge (Busch's gluten-free beer, which is actually quite drinkable), but that was easily remedied with a stop at a grocery store near my sister's.
*** Edited 5/28/2007 11:48:34 PM UTC by GregLeg***

^I dunno, from what I've been reading on other sites it sounds like the crowds for Griffon are tearing this park apart. If what I'm reading is true, then this park has more to worry about than their bathrooms.

^Yes coasterguts, I just went over to a certain Busch Gardens fansite, and to say that their members are downright hostile to the GP would be an understatement. They complain of them ruining the landscaping, the lighting, and the trashcans around Griffon.

Plus there were lots of complaints about people with Fun Cards. From what I read, those are only for Virginia residents. It's kind of like a Six Flags season pass. You pay for one day, and get the rest of the year free or something like that. I guess in their eyes this brings the park down a notch.

You know, I didn't want to mention it in my TR, but now that I've read a bunch of other comments at that fansite, the crowd seemed somewhat rough for BGE. There were points were if you had taken out the rides and scenery and just left the crowds, I might have thought I was at Great Adventure.

When my sister complained to me about a guy wearing an Insane Clown Posse shirt smoking in the Big Bad Wolf line, I was like "My days of playing park police are over." And their were also two teenage girls who jumped the line at Alpengeist right below a sign saying that line-juping is cause for dismissal from the park. Now that was priceless.

---

GregLeg said:
The only downside from MY perspective was that the park was out of Red Bridge (Busch's gluten-free beer, which is actually quite drinkable)...

---

Maybe they need to increase the production if demand is high... ;)

I've found the organic AB beers to be pretty tasty too. Found the Wild Hop available locally, not the Stone Mill....yet.

Great trip report. It seems that there are many who defend certain parks here. I recently went to BG Africa (5/17) and were quite disappointed with the park staff as well. I had good time riding Montu, Kumba and SheiKra, but there were people cutting lines which the staff did nothing about even when multiple people complained. Those types of things do leave a bad taste in people's mouths. There is no defense for that. I insist that KBF, CP and KI workers this year have been far better than BG Africa or HW.