Memorial Day Weekend Coaster Adventure: Busch Gardens Williamsburg (5/25/2025)

Preamble:

Back on Memorial Day Weekend 2023, I set out on a solo coaster adventure that took me to two parks I’d never been to before: Carowinds and Kings Dominion. I had such an incredible time that I decided to repeat the trip again this year and make it an annual event. But while my first adventure was solo, this year I was joined by fellow CoasterBuzzer, TylerWS. He and I have become close friends over the past year, not only visiting Cedar Point and Kings Island a few times, but also hanging out in our respective cities about once a month. Still, this would be the first time we traveled together. Would our friendship survive? Let’s find out…

This year, we nixed Carowinds from the trip because Tyler suggested we visit Hersheypark instead. I agreed, given that I’d never been there and wanted to see what the hype was about. After that, we’d visit Kings Dominion and end our trip with Busch Gardens Williamsburg. I’ve already reviewed Hersheypark and Kings Dominion, so let’s move on to the final stop: Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

The Park:

While I was excited to see what the hype was about with Hersheypark, BGW is a park I’ve always wanted to visit ever since I saw a promo VHS featuring Drachen Fire. Just like when I visited Busch Gardens Tampa, it didn’t feel real that I was finally stepping into a park I’d only seen on a screen for decades.

Simply put, BGW forced Tyler and me to re-evaluate our thoughts on the other parks we visited. Sure, I thought KD was a great park with terrible operations—but it didn’t take long to see why KD was mostly empty. BGW is stunningly beautiful, with trees, plants, and flowers scattered everywhere. Music, ambient sound cues, and other effects make the park feel vibrant and alive. You rarely encounter large pathways or plazas, so the park always feels intimate, even though it’s actually quite big. I now understand why BGW rivals Dollywood for its beauty.

It’s easy to get lost at BGW, and I encourage parkgoers to do so. Coasters are scattered throughout the park, but you almost never see the full layout, which adds a sense of mystery, especially if you haven’t watched POVs on YouTube. We did realize toward the end that there’s a loop you can follow to hit all the coasters, and while I wish we had taken it, I gotta say it was nice just meandering from one area to another, taking in the views. Even as I write this, I’m smiling from the memories.

The Staff:

The operations at BGW were the best of the trip. Ride ops moved with urgency and were always polite. Sure, you could tell some were tired—it had been a long weekend—but there was a marked difference between the experience here and at Hersheypark or KD.

Skip-the-Line:

BGW’s Quick Queue works differently than any other park I’ve visited. QQ riders line up at the exit, and ride operators direct them to the second row of the train when it’s their turn. When we rode Alpengeist, I noticed that the second row is blocked off from regular riders, so it only serves QQ guests. This meant no seat selection (as far as I could tell).

I wondered if enthusiasts who hate skip-the-line systems would see this as a fairer approach. It deprives folks like me of a front or back seat, and only 2–4 QQ riders get on any given train. The regular line still moves efficiently, and guests who wait in line get rewarded with seat choice. The only benefit to QQ is what it promises—you get to ride faster, but you may not love where you sit.

What do y’all think? The selfish part of me wants to pick my seat, but I can admit this system seems more fair. (I pray no one at Six Flags reads this.)

The Food:

Tyler and I visited during the Food & Wine Festival. We got 15 tickets for $90. The portions were small, but absolutely delicious. One ticket could get you different types of entrées, desserts, non-alcoholic drinks, or alcoholic beverages. While I’d be pissed to pay $9 for some of the portion sizes, they were actually perfect—we stayed satisfied without getting stuffed. By the end of the night, I was scrambling to use the rest of my tickets because, again, we were full (and I’m a big eater). Also cool: the food often matched the theme of the area we were in, encouraging even more park exploration.

The Rides:

• Pantheon (2x | 5 min): Y’all, if Pantheon didn’t want us to ride it, it could’ve just said so! I’ve never had a coaster try to fling me off like that...multiple times. Every element felt like it was trying to eject me, and I genuinely wished it had a seatbelt, just in case (just kidding). Pantheon is another example of why I love Intamin: forceful and exhilarating. The swing launch was so much fun, the spike was epic, and the stall was one of the best I’ve experienced. The only thing missing is theming...the lack of trees and decor hurts the immersion. But the ride? Stellar. Huge shoutout to the ops team—hilarious spiels and quick dispatches.
• Loch Ness Monster (2x | station wait): I’m so glad they kept this ride. It still feels like a classic Arrow, but it hasn’t been over-smoothed into blandness. It probably rides like it did when it opened. The loops were fun, but my favorite part was the triple helix. There are projections inside the tunnels they didn’t have to add, but did—and the ride is better for it. The interlocking loops are iconic, and now I can say I’ve been through them.
• Alpengeist (2x | station wait): Alpengeist might dethrone Banshee as my favorite B&M invert. It’s powerful! I felt like I was strapped to the front of a fighter jet. Yet despite the speed and force, it moved with incredible grace. No headbanging, even through Cobra rolls and zero-Gs. And this is a 1997 coaster! It also benefits from weaving through the trees. Phenomenal.
• InvadR (1x | station wait): A fun little GCI. Not the best in the world, but a solid addition to the park. All the signature GCI features, just toned down a bit. Worth riding, but once was good enough for me.
• Griffon (2x | 10 min): I’m shocked at how much dive coasters have grown on me. Tyler loves drop towers (he’s clearly suffering from something), so it makes sense he’s a fan. I used to think dive coasters were one-trick ponies, but between Valravn, SheiKra, and now Griffon, I’ve come around. The drop felt taller than any I’ve done. The rest of the ride is short but fun—and I love a good splashdown. We had to ride it again.
• DarKoaster (1x | station wait): QQ only let us ride it once, but it was a great little launch coaster with fun theming. I think you go through the circuit twice, which made the ride feel substantial. Great airtime and fun effects. Loved it.
• Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf’s Revenge (1x | 10 min): A great family/step-up coaster. I loved the swoopy layout and the theming. The nods to the original ride were a nice touch. Like Pantheon, I wish there were more trees to add mystery to the layout, but they’ll grow in time.
• Apollo’s Chariot (2x | station wait): I’ve ridden a lot of B&M hypers. They’re always fun, but usually nothing special. Apollo’s Chariot surprised me. I loved it so much I rode again at the end of the night. Maybe it was the river turnaround that I didn't expect or the return run. Whatever it was, the coaster has great airtime, great positive Gs. This one aged beautifully.
• Tempesto (1x | station wait): The one ride guaranteed to make you look like a damn fool getting in and out of it. I don’t usually enjoy these types, which is odd since I love launches. Still, hanging upside down that high is wild, and the launch was intense. Just not my jam.
• Busch Gardens Railway (1x | station wait): This might be lame, but I’ve wanted to ride this train since I saw that VHS...and it was totally worth it. We saw so many areas of the park and got great angles of the rides. Plus, it was just nice to sit and chat with Tyler as the world passed us by. We did a full loop.
• Escape from Pompeii (1x | station wait): Our boat wasn’t full, so we didn’t get wet—thankfully. The effects were surprisingly good. I haven’t done a shoot-the-chute since Snake River Falls, so this was a fun throwback.
• Celtic Fyre (show): I love Irish step dancing, so when I saw a show with live vocals and dancing, I insisted we go. Tyler has high standards for live performances, so I expected him to trash it, but we both left impressed. Great talent across the board. I’d catch it again. Runs about 30 minutes.

Overall:

Given the comments about their parent company, I expected to like BGW—but I ended up loving it. The coaster lineup, scenery, food, and entertainment were top-notch. Tyler and I both wished we had another day to explore even more. BGW, Dollywood, and even Hersheypark prove that you can create an incredible theme park experience without being Disney or Universal. Those parks are flashy; these ones are heartfelt. And even though I’ve got a few other new parks to hit this year, I really hope I can return to BGW—to return to the Old Country.

And since this concludes our coaster adventure, I can safely say that Tyler and I are still great friends! In fact, we are already attempting to plan our next big adventure. Also, he has a great singing voice!

Good to hear that ops are efficient as I'll be heading there on the 23rd. Haven't been since 2012 when Verbolten first opened; my son was 6 and my daughter was 2, now both just shy of 19 and 15, respectively. And there are 5 new coasters since then.

I will say that Verbolten was unfortunately down while we were there. It sounded like it would be down for some time. Hopefully it's back up and running.

I saw someone had posted on June 1st that it was testing, so maybe by now it's back up.

It really is too bad Verbolten was down during your visit. It is really one of the best coasters in the park, for what it is. And the surprise element gets me every time.

Thanks for the report. it has been a couple years since we have been to BGW, looking forward to a return trip. Glad to hear nothing has changed.

Celtic Fyre is my favorite regular season show at any park. Always leaves me with a smile. Really wish there was a way to get their sped up version of Parting Glass. See it every time I come. This park will always be dear to me, mainly because my first visit was when I was five. Excited to ride the new BBW later this summer.

Sorry you missed out on Verbolten it’s really a blast, easily the most marathonable ride in the park.

I was bummed about Verbolten being closed too. I mean, the best thing about the POVs that I've seen is that I can't see anything. DarKoaster was another surprise because it's hard to learn the layout via YouTube. But still, I'd really like to return later this year, if possible. BGW is just a really nice park.

Touchdown:

Excited to ride the new BBW later this summer

That's what... he said?