PhotoTR - Busch Gardens Europe 6/30-7/2/08

[CoasterEricHP]

You're going to hate Millenium Force if you rank coasters strictly based on airtime and forces. Millie has floater air at best.. but the drop and the ride in general is pure fun!

 

Then again.. I'm part of that weird group that ranks coasters based on how much fun I have on them over other factors.. which is probably why the parks that have a crappy overall atmosphere (Six Flags America.. ) could have an amazing coaster and because of the park the coaster doesn't seem as good to me.

 

Now.. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is the complete opposite where rides seem to be better because the park is so awesome!

 

Great report and pictures by the way!

[coasterbear30]

Good trip report! I will totally agree with you about AC. I was not impressed at all. It is only my second B & M Hyper. I have the pleasure of riding Goliath at my home park (SFOG) every couple of weekends so I may be biased, but when I rode AC last October, it doesn't hold a candle to Goliath. I have yet to ride Nitro, but I get the feeling that I will love that one as well. I rode AC 4 times in the front, middle and twice in the back and while it did provide airtime, it just wasn't the airtime that I get from Goliath and it isn't even as high as AC.

 

Although I think that BGE is a beautiful park, I agree that their coaster collection was not the most exciting. I like BGA MUCH better. Heck, I even liked Kings Dominion better.

[bgeguy]

^You might want to get your facts straight. Goliath is 30 feet taller than Apollo's Chariot.

[coasterbear30]

^I am meaning the drop, not the actual height. I knew someone was going to correct me on that. The drop on AC is 210 feet and the drop on Goliath is 170. That is what I meant by height.

[NegaDuck]

Negative NegaDuck. The concierge at The Great Wolf however did offer an incredible deal for a SEVEN DAY ticket to Busch Gardens Europe. For $79.99 a person, you get to visit BGE any seven days you want. If you so desire to "park hop" from Water Country USA to Busch Gardens day by day, it's only an additional $10, raising the price to $89.99. Either way, that's a steal considering the fast that one day admission I believe was over $50.

 

Not a bad deal at all, but next time check out the VAVacationValues site, you can get the online discount for an additional $10 off/person.

 

Here it is, bookmark! http://www.vavacationvalues.com/vavacationvalues/offer2.html

Same, 7 day ticket, hop to either park. For the price you paid, you might as well have included Colonial Williamsburg in the trip under the VVV offer.

 

You still got away with a great deal though. Kudos on the pics!

[Captain Jack]

Someone earlier in this thread asked for pictures of The Great Wolf Lodge, and while I did not take any of the hotel, my parents did. Here are some of their pictures:

 

The little sister in front of the animatronic show in the lobby.

 

My sister, my brother, and I in front of TGWL.

 

Outdoor pool, giving you a pretty nice glimpse of how many of the indoor water park's attractions exit the building in enclosed tubing and then re-enter through another side of the building. I must admit, the enclosed Tornado, here called Howlin' Tornado, was sick!

 

The darker, thicker yellow tube is the Tornado. The wider green tube is the family raft. The thin yellow and thin blue tubes are single/double tube slides. In the indoor park, the Tornado and the family raft exit in splash pools right next to each other. The yellow and blow tube rides also exit right alongside each other.

 

Kiddie playground and barbeque tent.

 

Dad and sister mini-golfing it for an extra fee.

 

Little sister mini-golfing.

 

We stayed in a suite, and this is the TV and gas fireplace combo that comes with it.

 

Me and the bro in "the loft." Up here was another bed, dresser, TV, and half-bathroom. (No shower)

 

A really nice overview shot taken by my Dad (he's the man) of the indoor waterpark.

 

Now this was pretty cool, kids could buy for I believe $17.99 their own custom wand that had a sensor in it that enabled them to find codes, tell stories, and trigger animatronics and lights throughout the entire hotel. If you go on the quests and defeat them all, you earn "Questmaster!" status and get to stay in a cooler, Questmaster themed guest room on your next visit. This knight's eyes glowed when you pointed your wand at him. (God that sounds dirty)

 

 

 

 

Now here's a few Busch photos taken by the parental unit:

 

The prettiest horses IMO, and this guy was so gentle and calm.

 

WHAT DO WE DO WITH WITCHES? BURN THEM! What floats in water? CHURCHES! Anyways, to the stocks with the little sister who wouldn't stop asking ARE WE THERE YET on the 7 hour drive down from NY to VA. (only kidding, she's ridiculously well-behaved and a sweetheart)

 

Now here's a little shout-out to my awesome little sister, who took on her first looping coaster at age six at Hersheypark (Sooperdooperlooper) and then challenged Nessie's interlocking loops at age 7. She wanted to go on Griffon and Alpengeist, and I told her you have another 6 inches to grow before you can do those! Such a cool kid with zero fear. In the first loop on her first ride, she kept her eyes closed. Right before the second loop on the second lifthill, she says to me, "CHRIS! GUESS WHAT? I'M GONNA KEEP MY EYES OPEN THE NEXT TIME WE GO IN A LOOP!" So, we're going down the hill into the loop, we're going upsidedown, her eyes wide open, and she says, "WE'RE UPSIDE DOWN NOW!" Once we got off, she couldn't stop singing the Loop-de-Loop and Pull song from Spongebob when he needs to tie his shoes. What a little beast.

[esvadj]

Great pictures of Great Wolf, I am staying the Questmaster suite the weekend of the 19th. I have never been to Great Wolf before and I am really looking foward to it.

 

Of course my son (4 yrs old) has been 5 times with various grandparents and such.

[griffon]

Sweet, thanks for the inside info and pics of the Lodge. I have been by there several times on the way to Pierce's BBQ, but never looked seriously into staying. I'd love to check it out in the winter sometime.

 

Is the Tornado slide completely enclosed, or can you see out of the wide end at all? Just curious as to whether it would be open all year since it's not inside.

[Captain Jack]

Griffon, the Howlin' Tornado is entirely enclosed.