Busch Gardens or PKD?

RavenTTD said: BBW is so overrated.

Well now, I assume it was a typo, but wow.. I can tell it's late at night when I see 'BBW' and the first thing my brain thinks is "get out of the gutter". ;)

*** Edited 1/28/2005 8:27:52 AM UTC by dannerman***

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RavenTTD said:

Alpie is not even close to my favorite invert...it needs to be smaller with quicker changes and stronger forces.

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Stronger forces?? Have you ridden it in the back during the cobra roll?

You really should get that big knot on your head checked out... it COULD be a concussion. ;)

Hmmm, you can easily do both but if I were forced to pick one or another it would be BGW. No launchers, but AWESOME Beemas and two VERY decent Arrows. :-P

The park itself is just........beautiful. :-D

-Tina

I like BGW a lot, but I feel in some ways it's very outdated in comparison to PKD. I think the lack of wood hurts BGW also in my eyes. PKD is a park that will have me coming back year after year because of constant additions (hey, even Scooby-Doo and the Haunted Mansion excited me),whereas BGW is more like a visit every four years or so (or when a new major addition is put in) park.

Please... there isn't a stand-out coaster at PKD. Volcano was novel at first, but that effect has long-since worn off. Apollo, Alpengeist, Big Bad Wolf and even Loch Ness are solid performers, among the best of their kind. Throw in the new dark ride, Escape from Pompeii and a really nice assortment of flat rides, and there's no contest.

And we haven't even touched how good the food is at BGW.

Don't forget the great live shows at BGW!

In response to RamblinWreck,

I must correct myself: I believe that Nessy is the most beautiful steel coaster on the East Coast. I can't combine the apples and oranges like that. I mean, you have some pretty steel coasters that have come along since Nessy, but Nessy is like a classical beauty, steel coaster. It always siezes my heart.

In response to RavenTTD,

You can't possibly say that Avalanche is better than anything other than The Hurler or the old Scooby Doo roller coaster, which are/were also in PKD ;-). I go on Avalanche for the people who don't want to ride a 'real' coaster *wink*.

PKD may have an Arrow Looper too, but Nessy is smoother, better cared for, has better layout, is more interesting - Anaconda looks like so many others. Nessy is just more beautiful, it has more creativity. I'm not impressed with Anaconda's little dip under the water surface. I'm more impressed with age and smoothness, and interlocking loops.

You also don't have to place yourself just so with the restraints just so on any of the coasters at BGW in order not to be bludgeoned (anymore, now that Drachen Fire is gone, but it's been out of operation since the nineties and since removed).

Grizzly was good at night when there were trees to block out all of the surrounding lights. Then it was the most amazing wooden coaster ride ever. It broke my heart when they removed so many trees and destroyed that effect.

I think Volcano is overrated - way too short, with minor twists. The towering gleaming glory that is Alpengeist with its powerful sweeping elements is more breathtaking for me.

I appreciate your attachment to PKD as your old home park. I guess SFA is my home park since it's closest to me, but I feel more attached to BGW.

Jeff's right - we haven't gone into the exceptional food.

You know, everyone on here brags about BGW coasters. That is fine, but outside of good entertainment and food, what type of other rides are there? No one ever mentions any specific flat rides that are any good. I am considering a trip to BGW, but so far, other than looking good, good food and a few good coasters, that's all I ever hear. Are the flats so unimpressive that no one ever seems to mention them by name? Everyone seems to mention them in the breath of "some other great rides there" which leads me to believe that the flats are not so great. And, I'm not including Escape from Pompeii either. Also, Jeff Young, if you're not into shows or food, it sounds like you might have a tough time filling up your day with something to do. My brother has been and loves all of their coasters. But, he said that since he is not into shows, there's not much else to do. You may want to consider that.

So it's looking like BGW is winning out. The next question is: Since this is during Spring Break (end of March), what, if anything, won't be up and running?

Thanks,

Aside from the new dark ride (Escape from Darkastle or something like that?), there's DaVinci's Cradle (magic carpet), the Battering Ram, the carousel, their Scrambler (I forget the name), Wave Swinger, a really long train, the most spectacular sky ride I've ever been on, a beautiful boat cruise, Escape from Pompeii, a tea cup ride, Roman Rapids... I'm sure there are others I can't think of now.

If you're a single-minded enthusiast that would get bored at Magic Kingdom, then yeah, you probably wouldn't be much fun at BGW. But in the same breath, you wouldn't like PKD because of its striking mediocrity.

I say go to the most beautiful park in the US, enjoy the food, take in a show, pet the critters, and take as many back seat rides on Apollo as possible.

The scrambler is called "Katapult"... (not to be confused with the original scrambler of the same name that was enclosed.)

And don't forget Le Scoot or what ever their log flume is named.

Also... good thing about their train... as opposed to some parks, it can actually be used as a method of transportation from one point to the other... since it runs around basically the parimeter of the park and has I think 3 stations. We found it real convient to get from Apollo's Chariot (in the front of the park) to New France (in the back of the park) with out walking back there again.

Doesn't their Sky Ride make a circuit like this too?

Jeff, I wouldn't argue that there is a standout coaster at PKD. But I feel there is more to keep me busy, especially since they have been adding on rides in other categories besides coasters. When was the last flat ride added at BGW? That's right, they haven't added any since Italy, and that was eons ago. Out of what they have, there isn't a whole lot of excitement (they run their Orbiter on grandma speed). Unlike some people (I'm not pointing fingers at you), I don't ride coasters all day long. I also like to spend time in the free waterpark at PKD.

Distance is also a big factor for me. BGW is almost twice the distance from Baltimore as PKD. I'm looking at spending 5 hours on the road, versus a whole work day essentially.

Jeff Young,

I can't think of anything that will be closed at BGW. I was there around the same time last year and everything was open including the water rides. Water Country USA willn't be open but it's a seperate admission anyway. All of the rides should be opena and perhaps a show or two might be closed.

Intamin Fan, BGW is about a one hour drive from PKD. I've passed it enough times on the way to BGW.

Jeff Young, if you are going during Spring Break, everything should be open at BGW. Regarding the water park at PKD - that doesn't open until Mid-May, so don't let it factor into your decision.

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Intamin Fan said:
When was the last flat ride added at BGW?

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Uh... what difference does it make? Do you ride something when it's new and then never ride it again? I'm not following your logic. My last two trips to Virginia and those two parks, we spent full days at BGW and stopped at PKD only for a few hours. Naturally your experience may vary, but BGW is the freak of nature in the industry that doesn't need to add something annually to be the "total package" that it is.

Stronger forces?? Have you ridden it in the back during the cobra roll? You really should get that big knot on your head checked out... it COULD be a concussion.

No, I just rode in the front, but my expression when it was over was, “Is that it?” Alpie is too lethargic and my least favorite B&M invert. My order goes: Raptor, the Batmen, Montu, Fire Dragon, Talon, Ice Dragon, and then Alpie. The most underrated of those is the Batmen rides. They are everything Alpie is not with quick changes, fast forces, great pacing, and the “what’s coming next” feeling.

You can't possibly say that Avalanche is better than anything other than The Hurler or the old Scooby Doo roller coaster, which are/were also in PKD ;-). I go on Avalanche for the people who don't want to ride a 'real' coaster *wink*.

I can too. Avalanche is a great family coaster. It is not high on thrills, but it has awesome pacing that makes it fun. It does exactly what it is supposed to do. BBW on the other hand has horrible pacing, and it tries to be thrilling…but a suspended is just not thrilling. It is a waist of space. They should have put a nice woodie in that terrain. Coasters like Avalanche and even Iron Dragon have much better pacing and do what they are supposed to do. I can list so many coasters that are more thrilling than BBW. I have been on it a few times and I still don’t get the appeal other than, “look, someone built a suspended that is wilder than most other suspendeds.” So what? I am not impressed with SOB either. A coaster needs to know its identity.

PKD may have an Arrow Looper too, but Nessy is smoother, better cared for, has better layout, is more interesting - Anaconda looks like so many others. Nessy is just more beautiful, it has more creativity. I'm not impressed with Anaconda's little dip under the water surface. I'm more impressed with age and smoothness, and interlocking loops.

Yeah, I agree that LNM is smoother. Anaconda has the same problem that most Arrow loopers have…they built it with corkscrews. Who cares about inversion counts when torture is involved? LNM is also better looking too. That does not do so much for me, but it is true. Yeah, I like LNM better than Anaconda, but not enough for it to really make a difference. LNM is still just an Arrow looper.

You also don't have to place yourself just so with the restraints just so on any of the coasters at BGW in order not to be bludgeoned (anymore, now that Drachen Fire is gone, but it's been out of operation since the nineties and since removed).

Yeah, so? Shockwave is still a great ride. I’ll take it over Alpie any day.

Grizzly was good at night when there were trees to block out all of the surrounding lights. Then it was the most amazing wooden coaster ride ever. It broke my heart when they removed so many trees and destroyed that effect.

Yeah, I miss the trees too. There still are some, and I will take that good woodie over BBW’s lack of wood any day. There are some great laterals, air, and headchoppers on that ride.

I think Volcano is overrated - way too short, with minor twists. The towering gleaming glory that is Alpengeist with its powerful sweeping elements is more breathtaking for me.

Volcano is still my number 4 steel coaster. A ride in the front at night is hard to beat, and the barrel rolls are the best corkscrews I have ever been on. I like it better than all B&M inverts.

Jeff's right - we haven't gone into the exceptional food.

I even had a problem with BBW’s food. Aside from no large drinks in the park unless you buy a souvenir loose article cup, I had some German food and threw half of it away. Maybe it was just not my cup of tea, but I don’t throw much food away. ;) I think Epcot has much better food.As for the shows, I saw a 3D movie that was pretty cool…and I saw a dance show where I was embarrassed for some of the performers. Maybe I just caught them on a bad day.

As for non-coaster rides, I really like the flying carpet. Second best ride in the park behind AC. As for Escape from Pompeii, I was expecting a darkride with a splashdown at the end…not a splashdown ride with some theming. There is a difference. Again, my reaction was, “is that it?” Not exactly Diamond Falls, but closer to that than what I expected after hearing everyone rave about it. *** Edited 1/28/2005 7:36:39 PM UTC by RavenTTD***

I took a trip and hit them both in 2001. If you have already been to a different paramount park, Busch Gardens is definenetly the way to go. The sheer quality of the coasters is just awesome. BGW has no annoying employees yelling at you to play a game. The food is fantastic, employees are friendly, great flat rides, and Apollo speaks for itslef. I say go to Busch Gardens.

If it still matters my vote goes to Busch.

Even more important is that you can get beer, from an actual bottle, at Busch, and it's not even that expensive for an amusement park brew. Why do you suppose that is? ;)

I'll agree that Alpengeist is not the strongest inverter, but like most of them, the best seat is the back row on the outside of the drop. Raptor, Batman: The Clones, Talon and Fire Dragon are all better rides. Even then, it's still a B&M inverter, and I've not met one I didn't like.

Jeff, I just meant that if he is not into shows or flats, it might not be worth it to him. I think I would not spend a whole day at BGW if I was just going for coasters.