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[BGW] Trip Report - 5/12/23
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throwawayacct_1879 is age in BGW
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After hitting King’s Dominion last weekend, I had the chance to head over to Williamsburg to finally check out Busch Gardens. Overall, I had a really great time and enjoyed the park. Despite it being a relatively busy Friday, lines weren’t too long (average around 20-30 min). Because I only had a few hours, I opted to pay for the Quick Queue Unlimited, which came in handy on Apollo’s Chariot and Verbolten. The theming of the sections to different countries was nice and I liked the increased effort in that area relative to KD. The rides all were solid as well and I liked them more than I thought I would. This park certainly has a lot of coasters and I’ll detail them below. To preface from my recent post before I delve into the rides: Pantheon was unfortunately closed which was tough to see. I was really looking forward to it but didn’t get the chance so I can’t comment on it. I also am not a member so I didn’t ride the new DarKoaster.

  • Apollo’s Chariot (4x): after seeing Pantheon closed, this was the other ride I really wanted to check out. My last experience with a B&M hyper was Raging Bull at Six Flags Great America so I was curious to compare them. In general, I was pretty impressed with the ride given it’s so old now. The first drop is quite nice followed by a bit of floater airtime on the next hill (I was sitting in the second row on all rides so I didn’t get a back seat experience). I liked the bank to the left over the water a lot, but wasn’t a huge fan of the helix in the middle of the layout. The airtime hills towards the end weren’t too forceful in the second row of the train but I’m sure it would’ve been better in the back. Riding this after I305 so recently makes it hard for me to be unbiased, but they are very different rides and I enjoyed both a lot. 8/10

  • Alpengheist (2x): saw a recent post on here saying this was someone’s favorite ride so I was pumped to try it. At my home park (SFSTL), we have a B&M invert clone with Batman the Ride so the layout of BG’s was exciting. The first drop and inversion is awesome and really thrilling. The pacing is solid throughout as well, but most in the first half, moving through the inversions. I thought towards the end, it slowed down a bit, as the train moves through the near misses with the ground and rock tunnel type thing. The near misses seemed crazy close to me which was cool. Overall though, I thought it wasn’t super smooth and the train rattled a fair bit, but not enough to cause headbanging. 7.5/10

  • Griffon (2x): was having maintenance issues but I got on shortly after they opened it in the middle of the 2nd row, and rode a second time on the right side of the 2nd row after. This was actually the first B&M dive coaster I’ve been on so I was excited. The hanging at the top was incredible and the views from the top were awesome. First hill gave a nice stomach drop and the first inversion was solid. The mid course brake run really slows it down which is unfortunate and I felt the ride was slightly short in terms of length. Had a fun time trying a dive coaster for the first time though. 7/10

  • Verbolten (2x): this one really surprised me. I’m a big fan of launched coasters so I was excited for this - I had seen a POV a while back so thought I knew the layout. The mid course drop element caught me though haha, truly thought we were getting ready to launch again. The first launch was great, the indoor section felt perfect in terms of pacing, and the drop over the water was nice but didn’t provide much airtime in the back row. The coaster kept its speed to the final brake run too which was great through the last few turns. I rode it again to confirm I liked it as much as I did, in the back row again, and I felt the same way. 8/10

  • Tempesto (1x): waited a while for this since it wasn’t on the Quick Queue Pass. Not much to say, it’s a solid Premier coaster. Ran smoothly, launches were fun. Not a massive fan of the model but I enjoyed it. 7/10

  • InvadR: didn’t get on it unfortunately and I love woodies so I was a bit upset about that. Line was so long all day and was limited on time.

  • Loch Ness Monster: another I was mad I didn’t get on. Same story as above, felt I’d rather lap Apollo’s Chariot than ride this even though it’s iconic. Not a huge old Arrow fan so if anyone knows how this is running, let me know and I’ll hit it if I ever get back to BGW.

That was pretty much it for the trip. With limited time, I’m glad I hit the main coasters besides those with long lines or the closed Pantheon. Pantheon was taunting me the whole time and looked awesome so maybe next time.

So hard to say if I liked KD or BGW better. BGW I think has a better roster of rides but the intensity and level of I305 and Twisted Timbers is hard to beat. I’d say BGW is probably a better park in terms of theming and complete ride offerings but KD excels in terms of having the two most intense and exciting rides. Thanks for reading.

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