Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[Thom25]

Rudie - I installed a Dunkin' Donuts within the Central Intellegence Agency in Langley VA. I understand contracts and know how billion dollar organizations work. It is a FACT CF cashed a $2.5 million check from Intamin, and in my opinion, makes a TON of sence that CF would protect themselves as Intamin drives their business. We can just agree to disagree, since neither of us will ever see the contract in question.

[Stevo1091]

Rudie - I installed a Dunkin' Donuts within the Central Intellegence Agency in Langley VA. I understand contracts and know how billion dollar organizations work. It is a FACT CF cashed a $2.5 million check from Intamin, and in my opinion, makes a TON of sence that CF would protect themselves as Intamin drives their business. We can just agree to disagree, since neither of us will ever see the contract in question.

 

To me that just doesn't make sense, I'm with Rudie on this one.

[T-BONDIcoasterkid]

So many contracts... hurts my eyes

[kingadam719]

^ Same here! I honestly don't care either!

[AndrewRnR]

While it is hard to ever "prove" the contracts rumors there have been a few others:

 

- Busch parks having an exclusively clause for dive machines in the US

- Paramount Parks having an exclusively clause for the flyer coaster by Vekoma. The story goes Paramount Parks helped fund the R&D for the concept and in turn got a contract hoping to install them at their other parks. They weren't thrilled with the results of Stealth and dropped the contract - giving SF the chance to build X-Flight which ironically ended up at Kings Island afterall. (Some rumors even go so far as to claim as X-Flight was already in production for Kings Island or another Paramount Park when they decided to give up on the project - giving SF a chance to snatch up a coaster already in production - hence why X-Flight was announced later in the off-season and the construction started very late).

 

Those are just some rumors/word on the street I have heard over the years- can't say if they are completely true but good stories non the less. Exclusively clause isn't bad business, rather I would say its smart business. Other industries do it - for example most band's concert contracts with venues restrict them from playing another venue within so many miles within a date range from their show at that venue.

[BG Noeit Al]

I think everyone is loosing sight of the main topic, this isn't the contract forum, lol, this is the Busch Gardens Williamsburg forum. I think we need to try to shift back to that.

 

Anyways, I think BGW wouldn't need an exclusivity clause or what not seeing that there is only 1 park nearby it and they don't seem to care about making similar coasters. I'm just saying KD seems to just want fast and tall rides. But we all know being faster or taller doesn't mean you are better. But yeah, I don't think BGW needs anything like that.

 

BGW News -

 

1) Mach Tower is still testing. Late night work hasn't been going on for a while now, it just seems to be daytime testing. Hopefully, that is a good sign.

 

2) 2012 Coaster (Rumored: Verbolten) seems to be going well. There is still a big hole in the ground and some footers have been poured from what I have seen, I still need to go back and see what else is new there.

 

3) Howl-o-Scream is starting off, sorta. We know Monster Stomp Revamped is back. There is a spider/chainsaw scare zone in New France and 13: Your Number's Up is a maze from the first year of Howl-o-Scream is coming back to Ireland in the Europe in the Air Queue. So no more EitA during Fall. The latest rumors going around is that the Pompeii maze is being re-done to make way for a new Subway Zombie themed maze. Also, the next this to be revealed is a maze which I am assuming by my hypothesis is to be located in France. A new show called Dig it up is also rumored to replace Mix it up in San Marco. Here is a list I complied so far:

 

HAUNTED HOUSES:

3 *CONFIRMED* 13: Your Number's Up (Ireland, Killarney, EitA Queue)

4 *Guessed* Royal Palace Theater Backstage?

6 *Guessed* Drachen Fire Queue Building?

10 *Rumored* Clown Fair (Italy, Festa Italia, "Cursed" Area)

12 *Rumored* The Dead Zone (Greece, Pompeii, Pompeii Warehouse)

SCARE ZONES:

2 *CONFIRMED* Widow Makers (France, New France)

7 *Guessed* Germany, Rhinefeld Area?

9 *Rumored* Clown Zone (Italy, Festa Italia)

11 *Guessed* Wild Reserve Area?

SHOWS:

1 *CONFIRMED* Monster Stomp Revamped (Ireland, Killarney, Abbeystone Theater)

5 *Guessed* Jack is Back?

8 *Guessed* Das Festhaus Show?

13 *Rumored* Dig It Up (Italy, San Marco, Teatro Il San Marco)

 

Anything about this list sound interesting, let's all talk about it.

 

4) Christmas Town is not looking anywhere near ready. All we can say is Rejoice was taken off of last years map, so maybe the map was updated a little bit. The latest rumors going around is Rejoice is not returning and A Sesame Street Christmas will be replaced with a new show.

 

I do plan on visiting the park as a guest sometime soon and I hope to get pictures fro everyone

 

Now you may resume to your regular Busch Gardens Williamsburg talk and rumors.

Edited July 26, 2011 by BG Noeit Al

[T-BONDIcoasterkid]

When I went to BGW on July 19th Mach Tower was testing, but when I asked Danny (netdvn) if it was still testing as of the 22nd he said no. I am confused, is it testing or not?

[bejackso]

mach tower needs to hurry up and open, this is getting pretty bad.

 

speaking of ride openings being delayed, i'm traveling to CA this week and am hitting up knotts while there.......windseeker still not open. sigh.

[T-BONDIcoasterkid]

mach tower needs to hurry up and open, this is getting pretty bad.

 

speaking of ride openings being delayed, i'm traveling to CA this week and am hitting up knotts while there.......windseeker still not open. sigh.

 

 

Hey do you want a ride with frequent breakdowns and terrible capacity, or a smooth operating ride with good capacity. Mhmm, that's what I thought. The reason it is taking so long is that a smaller company is building its tallest drop tower to date, then add in special effects such as shaking seats and music, you are bound to hit some bumps that will cause delays. Just my two cents.

[netdvn]

Mach Tower testing's been slowing down. You'll occasionally see testing as well as moving the elevator up and down, but that's about it.

 

Something's going on back there though. I've been seeing people walk in and out of the area on a regular basis now.

 

As for the contracts thing, Universal's been rumored to have a grip on the Kuka patents right now so it could work either way. I don't believe Busch had the money to throw around for a country-wide DM contract (it prolly wouldn't make much sense from a business standpoint for both Busch and B&M - maybe for a localized exclusivity contract, but not a country-wide one).

 

Granted it wouldn't make sense for Ford to bar two neighbors from owning the same car but it does look kinda funny when you see two competing McDonald's stores or Starbucks locations (which actually does exist) across the street that opened within a year or two of each other.

[T-BONDIcoasterkid]

Hmmmm, Danny that sounds like good news. Could they be cleaning up the site for opening? I hope so.

[kingadam719]

^ I sure hope that is it. But it's weird that we haven't seen any testing with water dummies... Aren't they supposed to do that type of testing for measurement of forces making sure it is safe for people..?

 

Also, Busch still has to do their testing. Maybe Moser is cleaning up their personal mess for Busch to get in there and do their own testing? I'm very hopeful, as i'm sure everyone else is, that it opens soon. Especially so people can stop asking "Is Mach tower open yet??" on the Busch Gardens Williamsburg Facebook.

[B-RadG]

^ I sure hope that is it. But it's weird that we haven't seen any testing with water dummies... Aren't they supposed to do that type of testing for measurement of forces making sure it is safe for people..?

 

Also, Busch still has to do their testing. Maybe Moser is cleaning up their personal mess for Busch to get in there and do their own testing? I'm very hopeful, as i'm sure everyone else is, that it opens soon. Especially so people can stop asking "Is Mach tower open yet??" on the Busch Gardens Williamsburg Facebook.

Well considering that at freefall the minimum one will experience is 0.0G and when slowing down vertically isn't terribly stressful (unless, of course the brakes don't manage to catch it again) so I wouldn't see a need to. With this said, I have no knowledge of what testing is done this is just my thought.

[jmicha]

I was at Busch Gardens on Saturday and had a fantastic day of no waits whatsoever. It was bloody hot but free water plus Darkastle every couple hours helped make it bearable. Many front seat rides were had on all the coasters and all of our 7 rides on Griffon were on the very outer edge seats which was nice. That's such a great ride. I didn't realize the view from the top would include the James River so that was a lovely surprise.

 

As for Mach Tower, it was testing all day. I saw it drop several times plus many slow descents. Although I've never seen the park in person without the ride, it seemed to fit in well and will be a nice addition to that part of the park.

 

Construction seemed extensive for the 2012 coaster. The train ride offered some good views of the site. It's quite a large piece of land. Hopefully I'll be able to get back once it opens.

Edited July 26, 2011 by jmicha

[Skycoastin Steve]

^The view of water from the top of Griffon is the James River. Williamsburg is still quite a distance from the ocean.

[jmicha]

^Sorry, my description was quite poor. I know it wasn't a direct view of the ocean. I was, however, unaware that this body of water is a river and not just an inlet, but that's useful to know.

[BG Noeit Al]

I imagine Mach Tower will be opening up in a few weeks as of now. I know thats what all park employees are saying and have been saying for what seems like months, but to be honest it has only been about 1 month and I don't think that is too bad. I do think it will definitely open before Howl-o-Scream; or at least the day Howl-o-Scream starts at the latest.

 

I wonder how come BGW is still allowed to have 56 nights of fireworks, I would have thought Kingsmill would have stopped all that, however I am glad the fireworks are still here, just a random thought.

 

Anyone have any thoughts on Howl-o-Scream??? Any rumors, guesses at all, or is everyone just being patient and waiting to see what pops up on the site before talking about it?

[Intimidator305]

^ Bringing the clowns back should help Howl-O-Scream a lot!

 

As far as Howl-O-Scream goes, I'm just hoping it is much better than last year. I found it rather weak last year, I don't know if they were trying for a more family-friendly atmosphere or what, but the scarezones weren't good at all and the mazes attention to details were great but really sucked when it came to actual scares... KD's Haunt put BGW's HOS to shame last year by my experiences, but we all know with Halloween events every night can be different. I can't wait to see what the two parks come up this year, hopefully they are both amazing this year!

[cfc]

^^Actually, closer to two months, since Mach Tower was originally scheduled to open over Memorial Day weekend.

 

I agree that last year was an "off" one for HOS (although two friends of mine who had never attended HOS in the past liked it). It does sound like they're shaking things up a bit more for this year.

[T-BONDIcoasterkid]

^ I sure hope that is it. But it's weird that we haven't seen any testing with water dummies... Aren't they supposed to do that type of testing for measurement of forces making sure it is safe for people..?

 

Also, Busch still has to do their testing. Maybe Moser is cleaning up their personal mess for Busch to get in there and do their own testing? I'm very hopeful, as i'm sure everyone else is, that it opens soon. Especially so people can stop asking "Is Mach tower open yet??" on the Busch Gardens Williamsburg Facebook.

 

 

Actually there is a video on youtube of dummy testing from May. Link:

[netdvn]

The car was finally rotating yesterday, but there was a huge thunderstorm. One of the lightning bolts came close and shut power to a few rides in the area. As long as nothing happened to Mach, I'm fine.

 

I wonder how come BGW is still allowed to have 56 nights of fireworks, I would have thought Kingsmill would have stopped all that, however I am glad the fireworks are still here, just a random thought.

 

The fireworks aren't that loud from Kingsmill. At most, you'll hear a rumbling noise for about five minutes. The train is much louder and lasts all day.

Edited July 26, 2011 by netdvn

[T-BONDIcoasterkid]

That's a good sign that the car is rotating, I'm hoping it'll open before September 5th. That's when my fun pass expires.

[Schotcher]

^ I'm hoping it'll open within 3 weeks. Anyway I saw on BGW fans that Mach Tower was supposed to be doing a full test today. AMAZING sign.

[Hang And Bang]

Question: as part of Illuminights are they still projecting a light show onto Griffon this year? Last year I was quite impressed with it, it's cool to look at and really pretty. It really emphasized the height of the structure, too. Plus, we got to take the Skyride portion that goes right through Griffon while the lights were being projected onto it. It was really nice. I haven't seen it mentioned in any TR's this year, and can't tell on the official site because it's loading extremely slowly for some reason. So are they still doing the Griffon projection this year?

[T-BONDIcoasterkid]

^I have no idea.