First time to Busch Gardens, VA - any suggestions, discounts, etc.?

So we were thinking of flying out there on a Saturday, going to the park on Sat night and all day Sunday. According to the official BGW website (or is it BGE now?), there doesn't seem to be any night admission.

What would you guys suggest? Is the park that crowded on a Sat/Sun? For myself, I wouldn't set foot in my home park (SFGAm) on a Saturday, especially in August.

Any suggestions/help would be cool, thanks guys.

(I know I know... and yes, it's a last minute trip due to the Big Bad Wolf news. Make fun of me, it's ok. Funny thing is, we were in DC when the BBW commercials were on TV in 1984, but we chose Kings Dominion instead, and just never had the opportunity to get back.)

*looks around and under the keyboard*

Does anyone around here know anything about Busch Gardens Williamsburg? Anyone? Come on, anyone?

Speaking of which, has anyone seen that BBW anniversary logo laying around? It was around here someplace...

;) :)

I know they have a "get an adult ticket at a childs price"($49.95) on there web site. You can also save $2 for parking if you buy and print it out at home.

The food in the park is great, and the price is fair.

There is only 5 coasters, and a few water rides and dark castle that will have lines, so you should not have any problems getting them all in. Check out the kenetix show at the end of the night.

That's all I got for ya.

My advice: skip Big Bad Wolf...it's hella-rough. Best coaster in the park is the new kiddie coaster in the Sesame Street area. That's the one you'll want to marathon on. Griffon, Apollo...meh.

Aw come on Mamoosh, it can't be that rough, could it?

How about lines and crowds in mid to late August, weekends and weekdays? Is it bad?

I was being sarcastic. You're overplanning. You're going to be at the park for 1 1/2 days...you won't miss anything. Just pick a direction and walk around the loop and ride everything once, then reride what you enjoy.

The park tends to be a bit crowded on the weekends now, as the summer pass is wrapping up for locals sothey are getting their last visits in.

This weekend will also be a bit crowded since this is the last weekend of concert series this weekend. "Loverboy". While not my favorite group, it seems to draw crowds nonetheless. Either way, its not an unbearable crowded, the park spreads people well... Its just a bit busy.

Concert goers tend to arrive later in the day, however, if you get there near opening, ride Loch Ness as they open that one early, then work your way through Ireland and around counter clockwise (why do I feel like we said this before). If you dont care for the shows, the time to hit the rides is late in the evening when everyone is either in Kinetix, or concert series. Though I would highly recommend Kinetix. Its pretty darn cool!

With 1.5 days of park visiting, you will be able to get multiple rides easy. The rid ops are good with queues and get people through at a decent pace, so you should have no worry about getting rides in.

oh and LOL Carrie :)

You can buy a meal deal online for $20 which includes two meals and two extra medium drinks. I think that is a very good deal.

Sadly, my mom broke her leg, so I have to postpone my BG trip. No more BBW for me. :(

My first concert was Journey (during their Escape Tour) with Loverboy opening in support of their hugely popular album Get Lucky.

They had Foreigner last week.. Lot of old people there (read: Moosh's age bracket)

:)

Ohhhh...

Your as cold as ice. :)

I'm not playing any Head Games! I saw Foreigner headline a festival with Deep Purple, Kiss, and Judas Priest as openers (with a blow-up Eddie on stage!).

Yes, I'm old.

LOL Moosh.. Its ok.. Im probably not far behind and with the birthday coming up.. Bla!!

There was a couple that sat near us when the Little River Band was performing who were wearing Little River Band concert tour shirts. Yeah, don't be those people. ;)

But I will say the concert series is a nice way to spend the evening. It's pretty cool to sit out on the lawn and enjoy a summer evening... you know...summer breeze, makes me feel fine...

Just bite the bullet and get your tickets online. Purchase the Meal deals for sure. We did not enjoy our meal at the festhaus but loved the italian place. As others have said on your full day get there early and go to LNM. We got 3 laps in before the park officialy opened and were still at the rope drop.

What was Priest doing with Eddie??? That's Iron Maiden's mascot!

Oops. Guess I just aged myself too. Now, if I could just know what love is...

Dave...

Sorry you did not enjoy the fest house. The last few times we were there, we ate there and loved it. Great prices and good food.

I really wanted to check out the italian place, but ran out of time.

Thanks everyone for the hints! Can't wait, after going to BGTampa a couple years ago (for the first time in like 25 years), I'm excited. Was very impressed by that park. Was it me or did Montu have 4 trains (1 as backup)? But Scorpion only had one on the track.

One thing I would like to get clarified, if you all will.. Is BGW the kind of place like my home park SFGAmerica, where I wouldn't be caught dead in on a Saturday? Looks like we're gonna have to do BGW on a Sat/Sun, but if it were that bad (reportedly), I would try to get the trip moved to include a Monday.

NO, While it might be busy, it is nothing like SFGAm. From my gut feeling the crowds here are a bit older and not as much into rides as they are the shows and the atmosphere.

I also got the impression that the ride ops knew how to handle crowds and keep everything running smoothly.

We were at SFGAm a couple of Sundays ago and am so thankful that we opted for a GFP. I doubt that we would have gotten all the credits with out it. At BGW, if you get there early, you will have all the credits before lunch.

One other tip. On Alpengeist & Apollo's Chariot, get in line for the 3rd row. They have a front of line option for these that nobody uses. They block off the 2nd row for them. When there is no one there for the FOL, they fill the 2nd row from the 3rd row que.

BGE is lots of good food, lots of good shows, and a few good rides. Plan your meals and shows and the rides will take care of themselves.

And I too remember to BBW commercials from when it first opened. They ended with the two red eyes.