Busch Gardens Williamsburg

I'd hardly say saying "I enjoyed it immensely" meets the definition of "besmirch" :))

Mike, anything short of saying it was as good as the first two is besmirching it ;) I sobbed as the movie reminded me of the passing of my youth without an ounce of shame.

;)

Brian Noble, I'm not much of a water park person, but that is still an amazing deal. I will look it up. Thank you!!

Kpjb, I want that sandwich now! That sounds like, besides the roller coaster, one of the best inventions ever.

Yeah, I could care less about dive machines in terms of an exciting ride. However, Sheikra was definitely the smoothest ride I have ever been on, so I'm excited about riding a nice smooth coaster. I'm gonna get that end seat though!!!

I wonder if the "meh" feelings towards Alpengeist at all correlate to my Dominator at Kings Dominion experience. I didn't really care for it. I got ridiculous airtime on the first drop from the back seat, but then things got weird. The loop disoriented me for a second (which never happens...sometimes I marvel that my favorite coasters have no loops because I am one that was originally in the "if it doesn't invert, it's stupid" camp when I started riding coasters), and the rest of the ride felt lurchy and disorganized. It also felt kind of forceless. It was one that I don't know if I'd ride again to see if I liked it better or if I'd skip it because I cared so little for it.

I am really excited to see which camp I fall into for AC. Videos I have seen make it look as though there are surprises that make this one a winner, but considering Mike is declaring AC<Nitro and we both love Toro and Nitro and from the same seats, I have a feeling I will concur.

Still haven't made up my mind on riding Mach Tower. I just started riding drop tower rides last season and am still a little hesitant.

Back in the day when I last went to BGW, LochNess scared the crap out of me. It was the biggest coaster is ever ridden to that point. I loved it though, and I can't wait to ride it again from an enthusiast's eyes. I was fortunate enough to go through the loop at the same time as the other train went through the other loop too, and I'm curious to see if it will occur again.

I'm upset about Big Bad Wolf going, but Verbolten looks like a decent replacement. I'm excited about that too.

All I gotta do now is talk Hubby into the trip. *laugh*

Did you ride Dominator in the front row, though? Ride it up there and see if it changed your opinion. A lot of my friends enjoyed it in the back row, but I always thought that other than a little bit of extra airtime on the first drop and the drop off the midcourse, it was nowhere near as exciting as the front row. It's a monster up there.

I'll try it! Maybe on my way to BGW. I can see it now: "Hey, honey, wait here for a few minutes...there's something I need to try". *laugh*

But then I'd probably sneak over to i305 as well.

Yeah, Dominator and Talon are among a handful of rides I can enjoy from either extreme end of the train.

And, bunky, Nessie was one of my first big steel coasters too..in 1978, when it opened. My first big woodies (minds out of the gutter, people!) were the ones at the original Elitch Gardens, which I visited when I was around 9-10.

Mike Gallagher said:

My first big woodies (minds out of the gutter, people!)...

That's asking a lot.

eightdotthree said:

In other words. If the line spills out of the queue don't let that scare you. The line moves very fast and you will most likely be on the ride within an hour.

Would you say it moves along at a sprint?

I might go to Busch Gardens in a year or two, is it better or worse than the Tampa?

BGW is the better all-around park, but Kumba is one of the best rides on the planet (and Montu ain't too shabby either).

I didn't like Kumba as much as Montu. Montu was awesome.

BGW is my favorite theme park not run by Disney. As many have echoed the coasters, food, shows, and other rides are pretty fantastic.

Bunky, the flex ticket is the only way to do Williamsburg. If you have ever gone to Disney World it is just like a park hopper, and moving from park to park is great, easy and freeing. Be sure to structure your trip based on what you want to see in Colonial Williamsburg because unlike BGW and WCUSA every day is different. I havent been back in a few years (but will this summer) but some of my favorite presentations were the Drum and Fife Corp concert and any presentations that involve their Thomas Jefferson, he is fantastic. When you arrive in town the hotels will have a schedule for the week.

Be sure to mix things up, while you can do all parks every day, you dont have to. Going to WCUSA the last 3 hours it is open will allow you to do every ride just as easily as going in the morning, that park will clear out fairly quickly and the last hour every slide will be a walk on.

Finally one more aspect about BGW no one has touched on yet, night rides. Before its demise, BBW was my one of my favorite night ride experiences (right up there with a night ride on the Beast) because it was so dark in the woods back there, the only thing lit were the buildings designed to look like you will crash into. I can only assume that Verbolten will also provide an amazing ride at night as its outdoor half follows the footprint of BBW. Nessie is also, always, my first (it opens prior to every ride in the park) and last ride of the day. The latter is true because it also provides a great night ride, the helix is pitch black at night and the only part lit up is the interlocking loops. Unfortunately the B&Ms have a lot of spot lights on them that makes riding them at night not as unique.

Just a few opinionated thoughts....

Bunky, if you want to see some beautiful and natural scenery, travel the road that goes from the main welcome center to Jamestowne. You will see inlets, birds of prey (Probably feeding their young during the summer) and fantastic landscape. Also stop by the glass-blowers demonstration area. Very interesting.

I am very fond of Nitro, but Apollo's Charriot was a better ride. Very smooth and re-rideable. I also liked Loch Ness. Cool layout and fun. Angry about missing the other coasters last spring. Very angry.

Off-campus, stay away from Sal's Italian Restaurant. No Good!

Enjoy your trip!

So, wait. We're three pages deep into this and no one has mentioned/suggested doing the Coaster Insider Tour?

Slackers.

Totally worth it.

Coaster Insider Tour link doesn't work, but what a great shot of Griffon, Gonch!

Touchdown, I LOVE night rides with little to no lighting. The only edge I gave to Kingda Ka over TTD were the night launches: pitch black hurtling into space. Loved Phoenix during PPP and rode 11 laps. There's nothing like it.

I'm so excited to hear the park is as nice as Tampa's version. It just all sounds great!

At Water Country, do they have a water coaster? It's about the only thing I'm interested in in terms of water parks. I'm strangely somewhat scared of water slides.

The Insider Tour link worked for me.

I am wondering if it is because I'm on my phone.

Must be. Tour link is valid.

Okay, it must have been my phone because the link was valid just now on the computer. That is AWESOME. I'm all over that. I'm practically bouncing out of my seat!

Now THAT is the ultimate Flashpass. ;)

Please tell me more about how you are scared of water slides, Bunky. That's nuts.