Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[cfc]

Then decrease the limit of Invadr and stop overspending on family rides.

 

The "madmax" levels are strong with this one.

 

Not surprising, as they're one and the same. Banned him last night.

[CoasterAuditor]

Wow I knew it.

 

Anyway Busch Gardens is amazing and could literally add nothing forever and still be amazing.

[DoinItForTheFame]

Anyway Busch Gardens is amazing and could literally add nothing forever and still be amazing.

 

Agreed 100%!! It's an AMAZING park, and it has a solid line up of attractions. The atmosphere is amazing, and the park is BEAUTIFUL!!

[CoasterAuditor]

I'm fairly convinced it could be the nuclear apocalypse and the ruins of BGW would still be beautiful and amazing.

[Coaster19]

I'm fairly convinced it could be the nuclear apocalypse and the ruins of BGW would still be beautiful and amazing.

 

All that would change is the park name. Still would be the “most beautiful park”.

 

 

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[StarWars]

I think this awesome looking ride would be a good addition to BGW:

 

 

I think it could fit in France or Germany and be World War I themed. If in France, it could be based around the Lafayette Escadrille (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lafayette_Escadrille). If in Germany, the obvious theme would be the Red Baron.

[TwistyTie]

Nope

[SLCHeadache]

*watches the video*

 

Eh, it's a huge step up from the same old Larson Loops and StarFlyers popping up everywhere.

[DoinItForTheFame]

I think this awesome looking ride would be a good addition to BGW:

 

 

Could you imagine the lines on that thing?? BGW attracts a decent amount of people... And that rides capacity seems pretty low. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[cfc]

 

BUSCH GARDENS® SCARE-RAISING EVENT CELEBRATES XX YEARS IN 2018

 

New Howl-O-Scream® Details Released the 20th Day of Each Month

 

 

 

 

WILLIAMSBURG, Virginia (May 20, 2018) – Busch Gardens® Howl-O-Scream® may be months away, but the Williamsburg theme park is preparing for the scariest and most exciting Howl-O-Scream yet when it kicks off a New Era of Terror in September. This year will mark the 20th anniversary of the popular fall event and that means more scares than ever before.

 

With so many new Howl-O-Scream attractions on tap, Busch Gardens will reveal new scares on the 20th day of each month beginning May 20 through Aug. 20 until the full line-up is announced.

 

New scares coming in 2018 include:

 

3 Haunted Houses- 7 total

 

3 Bars- 5 total

 

2 Terror-tories™- 6 total

 

2 Party Zones

 

1 No Escape (Escape Room Experience)- 2 total

 

Plus more frightening fun

 

May 20 Reveal – Howl-O-Scream 20th anniversary logo

 

June 20 Reveal – A haunted house and one Terror-tory

 

July 20 Reveal – Another haunted house, a second Terror-tory and the No Escape Room

 

August 20 Reveal – A third haunted house, party zones, bars and other frightening features

 

Consumers are encouraged to stay tuned and check back on the 20th day of every month for the next haunting Howl-O-Scream reveal. Details can be uncovered at HOWLOSCREAM.COM/VA

 

Howl-O-Scream opens Sept. 15 and will run on select days through Oct. 28.

[larrygator]

I think this awesome looking ride would be a good addition to BGW:

 

 

Could you imagine the lines on that thing?? BGW attracts a decent amount of people... And that rides capacity seems pretty low. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

This will never happen in a major US park, without a steep upcharge. It's a great ride, but extremely low capacity, less than 200 riders per hour.

[cfc]

Cuba, Brazil, Japan, and South Korea on the Menu: What's New at the Food and Wine Festival

 

OK, who's up for some beef and chimichurri sauce? This guy! Yes, Busch Gardens kicked off their annual Food and Wine Festival last Friday, and (as usual) I went there after work to check out the new menu offerings. A number of booths from last year have returned, such as Hawaii (for all you spam fans) and the Carribbean (for all you Jamba Fritter fans); some are sporting some new items, such as Hawaiian Mac and Cheese; and others have departed, such as Germany (but you can still get a Schnitzelwich in the Brauhaus).

 

But the big news is that the new booths for 2018 are great. Here's what I sampled:

 

Cuba (located in France)--Ropa Vieja (very tasty shredded beef with rice and beans)

Brazil (located in Fort New France)--Churrasco (grilled beef in a very nice chimichurri sauce)

South Korea (Festa Italia)--Korean BBQ Pork Ribs (sauce has a nice bite and the slaw that comes with it is surprisingly good)

Japan (located in Italy)--Matcha Ice Cream (green-tea ice cream with a sweet soy glaze and a sesame cookie, which was both sweet and savory)

 

There are a number of wine-tasting opportunities, and you can sample Scotch in Scotland (appropriate) and tequila in Germany (well, I guess Germans like Mexican liquor, too). You can find more information here.

 

The festival runs on Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays until July 1. I imagine I'll be going back a few times. Go figure.

 

Here's a look at what I ate. Well, before I ate it.

Having trouble finding the Food and Wine Festival? Just look for the wine-fork-glass.

How about a nice local appetizer?

Ham and Cheddar Hushpuppies with Honey Butter seem pretty southern.

Argentinean Malbec, anyone?

I have no idea who these guys are. I'm sure they're perfectly nice people.

Cuba is located in the shadow of Griffon. (Note that I have upheld enthusiast law by featuring a coaster in this photo.)

A little extra detail on the side--the park did a nice job on their temporary booths.

Here's the full menu. Not sure about the Batido de Trigo.

A puffed-wheat milkshake? Hmm--maybe next weekend.

The Ropa Vieja was very good--I liked the sauce in which they simmered the meat.

Brazil is located in front of the Trapper's Smokehouse, where the Canada booth used to be.

I grew up in the Central Valley of California, where linguica was a common pizza topping (thank you, vibrant California Portuguese community). I'm definitely coming back for some here.

Everything is better when you add monkeys.

While the presentation left a bit to be desired, the Churrasco was delicious (best sample of the night). I love chimichurri sauce!

Welcome to the Kastle Formerly Known as Dark.

Tequila in Germany? Why not?

The Germany booth may be gone, but the Schnitzelwich lives on in the Brauhaus. (The beer is Red Willie, which is an Irish ale from Tradition Brewing in Newport News.)

Let's see what's going on in Italy.

There's some spicy stuff at the South Korea booth.

The information kiosk on the left has a blurb about Lotte World.

Definitely coming back for the Beef Bulgogi.

The rib was great, and the slaw surprised me with how good it was.

This was an "Asian" booth last year, but now they're focusing on Japan.

The gyoza sounds good, and the noodle bowl is tempting (come to think of it, so is the lettuce wrap).

But I was in the mood for dessert. The Matcha Ice Cream grew on me as I ate it (wasn't sure about it at first).

I'm stuffed! Think I digest my food during a nice, relaxing train ride. Thanks for reading.

Edited May 30, 2018 by cfc

[Nrthwnd]

Awesome report on this year's festival, Chuck.

Everything looks delicious. But....

 

....no Canada booth? Oh well. Such is the way with food festivals.

[michaellynn4]

Awesome photos, Chuck! Those hush puppies look amazing!

[boldikus]

Me after reading any food + wine TR:

 

Awesome report, Chuck! Thanks for sharing. I want it all.

[Philrad71]

^ LOL!

 

Everything sounds and looks amazing...thanks for sharing, Chuck!

[Satans Hockey]

Food and wine festival was awesome as usual, we tried so many different things and enjoyed basically everything. A few of the samples could have been bigger considering the pricing , the portion size of the muffuletta at the French Quarter was so small I have no idea how they even managed to cut it that small lol and also the crepes just weren't good this time, the line was one of the longer ones and they just seemed swamped and were rushing them out and screwing up the orders. Those were the only actually bad thing we had the entire time and since we had almost 40 things that's pretty good ratio lol

 

Some of our favorites were the German meatballs, the Mac and cheese at Hawaii, the lamb burger at the Mediterranean, the dumplings at Japan, the beef stick at Korea. Drink wise we had so many frozen drinks and beers, can't say we had one that tasted bad lol

 

Haven't seen a lot of people here talk about the battle of Eire but we really enjoyed it. It's a massive upgrade over Europe in the air. The queue was out to the front of the entrance but it took about 25-30 mins to get to the point when you get the head piece. It was a nice break from the heat. Both pre-show rooms were themed very well to me and one setup the story.

 

I've seen a decent amount of people complain on other places online about the plot being non-existent but it was a very easy, simple story to understand so not exactly sure what a lot of people were missing here. A lot of people have been saying the ride is a complete disappointment, blah, blah, blah. It's well themed, has a decent action story, and uses VR better than all the rides I've experienced VR on before.

 

We had no issues with the headsets, it wasn't fuzzy and didn't make either of us sick. The only slight complaint I can see is that the piece that you clip on to the headset is a bit heavy so I can see how that would be uncomfortable for a decent amount of people.

 

The crowd walking out seemed to enjoy it and we did as well so I think Busch Gardens did a great job with this new addition.

 

The place was mobbed this weekend so we actually didn't ride a ton of other things since we mainly went for the food and booze but it was a fantastic weekend.

 

Also went to water Country USA for the first time and the place is excellent, it's definitely up there in my favorite water parks I've been too now. It seemed extremely crowded but the lines for the slides were never that long and some were still walk ons and the weather was perfect.

[Genx24]

Nice report, Chuck. Finally heading down to Busch Gardens for the first time at the end of June. As if I weren't excited enough, I'll get to experience this festival. I can't wait.

[RCjunkie]

Nice report, thanks for sharing....but of course, now I am hungry. The Ropa Vieja looks really good.

[aueft]

About the Food and Wine Festival... I was looking at the Food & Beverage Sampler plans they have listed on their website. Going off of the prices in the pictures a few post ago, are those plans basically not worth it at all? Or am I missing something?

[anonymouscactus]

If you are getting items $4.25 or higher it's worth it. If you are getting items $4.25 or less it's better to pay those separately. Though not a ton, some items and drinks are $7.00+ so you get ahead of the game with the cards pretty easily. Desserts and non alcoholic drinks are usually less than $4.00.

[aueft]

My math was wrong on the Deluxe plan. Okay, the Deluxe plan definitely makes sense to me, but the normal sampler plan is probably too close to call (since the items seem to hover around the 5 dollar range anyways) if you just want sample around casually.

[Satans Hockey]

If you are getting items $4.25 or higher it's worth it. If you are getting items $4.25 or less it's better to pay those separately. Though not a ton, some items and drinks are $7.00+ so you get ahead of the game with the cards pretty easily. Desserts and non alcoholic drinks are usually less than $4.00.

 

To add to this if you're a pass holder only use the 15 item sampler card on items over $5 because you can get 10% off on individual items.

[Kyle Coleman]

I m going to bgw solo for my first time this Wednesday and wants to meet up, feel free to pm or email me.

[VACoasterdude]

Busch Gardens is celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Lochness Monster this year. Starting on Wednesday June 6 in honor of the LNM's 40th Anniversary celebration BGW is offering a $40 thrill ticket (available online only) through June 10, valid for admission through July 1.

 

Other specials throughout the park include:

 

• .40 cent beers in Das Festhaus June 6 - August 12 (limit 2 per visit)

 

• $0.40 popcorn available near the ride entrance in Scotland

 

• Loch Ness Monster cupcakes

 

• Special donuts available in England

 

• Double-looping interlocking pretzel available in Oktoberfest

 

• Loch Ness Monster melon baller frozen drink in Italy

 

• 40% discount on all Loch Ness Monster products around the park

 

• Loch Ness Monster ride photos for $4.40