Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

There was a hint about Verbolten's possible opening day in the Daily Press this morning:

When Busch Gardens opens March 24, the emphasis will be on last year's new ride, since Verbolten won't roll until May.

"We'll market Mach Tower and Vanishing Point at first, then come on very strong for Verbolten when it opens," [Vice Presdient of Marketing Dan] Dipiazzo said Thursday.

The article, "Attractions Add Tech Touches" (Sunday, March 11), also notes that Verbolten is the most expensive attraction the park has built to date, that BGW will be speding "four times as much" to promote Verbolten than it did to promote Griffon, and that they'll be pushing their advertising beyond their usual markets (that is, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Richmond, Philadelphia, New York, and North Carolina) into Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pa.

The park is planning to start shooting their new Verbolten commerials "next week." My guess is that they're shooting for a Memorial Day Weekend opening for Verbolten, as they did for Mach Tower last year.

[Pun_MachineWhat's with the donkeys anyway?]

There was a hint about Verbolten's possible opening day in the Daily Press this morning:

When Busch Gardens opens March 24, the emphasis will be on last year's new ride, since Verbolten won't roll until May.

"We'll market Mach Tower and Vanishing Point at first, then come on very strong for Verbolten when it opens," [Vice Presdient of Marketing Dan] Dipiazzo said Thursday.

Pretty smart of them to take this route after what happened with the Mach Tower marketing last year... Looks like they've learned their lesson. Also, good on them for broadening their marketing reach for this ride as well. If it turns out to be what we've been expecting it could be a destination attraction, no doubt.

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

^I agree. Last year, they kept getting slammed for all those Mach Tower ads when they were having all those unexpected issues getting the ride up and running. Best to play it safe and sell Verbolten when its ready for prime time.

[kunpc1I wrote the book about donkeys!]

I just wanted to throw in a thank-you to everyone that posted pictures of the tour. The more I see of this ride, the more I love it! I really love coasters that have a solid "beginning" prior to a lift/launch and this meandering through the black forest looks like a great way to start of a crazy coaster ride.

[cfcI've gone pantless!]

^You're welcome. It's been interesting seeing enthusiast opinions evolve about Verbolten. They've gone from "Phfft--It's just a lame family coaster" to "Wow--this could be a major ride." The new B&M "wingrider" coasters were getting most of the attention, but Verbolten has slipped in "under the radar" as the park released more details about it.

We'll know for certain in a few months.

[australianalexA village is missing its IDIOT!]

They've gone from "Phfft--It's just a lame family coaster" to "Wow--this could be a major ride."

Thats pretty much exactly what my opinions have been on this ride. Its actually looking REALLY promising!

[A.J.Counts I305 as 32 credits...]

Here's a question that I've had for a while about BGW. Does anyone know why Alpengeist's trains were fitted with zero-cars up front? Like, was it originally supposed to run with 36-passenger trains or something?

[swiverHarry Potter is a sick donkey.]

Here's a question that I've had for a while about BGW. Does anyone know why Alpengeist's trains were fitted with zero-cars up front? Like, was it originally supposed to run with 36-passenger trains or something?

It was fitted with the zero car because it has more forces acting on it than any other B&M invert. The zero car helps to guide the rest of the train through the course smoothly. Something we could use on our design project?

[Mark RosenzweigBeware of the Magic Donkey at Lotte World!]

The park is planning to start shooting their new Verbolten commerials "next week." My guess is that they're shooting for a Memorial Day Weekend opening for Verbolten, as they did for Mach Tower last year.

BGW has had soft openings for attractions in the past (I recall riding Alpengeist in April of 1997- about a month before its "official" opening.) If in fact Verbolten is cycling for a commercial shoot next week, it wouldn't shock me to see a soft opening.

The hang-up here would be the many unique thematic elements (mostly contained within the show building), which the park would likely want to complete prior to opening the attraction to the General Public.

[Skycoastin SteveFive babies drowned in a fire]

^^I was under the impression that Alpengeist has a zero car because it wasn't completing the course in early test runs. The zero car added 1,000 pounds to the train to prevent that from happening anymore. I'm fairly certain they told us that during the TPR day at BGW last year.