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Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

P. 467: Media Town Hall Report

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This whole Verbolten crash situation has been blown out of proportion beyond belief.

 

While an official statement from the park regarding all the rumors would be nice, if they were COMPLETELY false I think they would have said something by now. It seems like with all the information we've heard and/or seen so far, something happened. What, and how severe? I have no clue.

 

That said the ride is still looking very cool, and I hope all goes well in the next few weeks before the ride opens to the public in a little less than a month. If we see the yellow train with, or without the purported damage, that doesn't mean some catastrophic happened. If it did sustain cosmetic damage (which seems rather odd) it shouldn't be too hard for Zierer to rush order a new Fiberglass part or patch to get the train ready for opening day.

 

All this being said I really think BGW fans blew it a bit out of proportion. Whenever a rumor is posted, you should only post the basics of it, because most of the time, detailed rumors turn out to be mostly false. A more professional way to report it, rather than just parroting exact "testimonies" would be to give the basics.

 

Example: An incident may have occured during Verbolten's testing this past week inside the ride's event building. According to current sources, one of the ride's trains and a worker possibly sustained injuries as a result.

 

The use of the words incident, possibly and may make the statement seem much more vague and wouldn't allow people to majorly freak out as a result. Reporting such a bold claim with such "juicy" details makes it seem much more like an overblown press story used to attract attention to the site where the story is "breaking".

 

Professionalism really should have been used here. I'm sure the site was in a hurry to get the info up, but that's excuse not to look before you leap. BGW fans aren't exactly making friends with the park by sending them to the headlines over and event we know very little about.

 

Just my 2¢

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There's a contest going on for an invitation to a VIP event the evening before Verbolten opens to the public. Here are the details: http://www.buschgardensvablog.com/are-you-ready-verbolten

 

It ends tomorrow, sorry i just found out about this moments ago.

 

I just saw that also, via BGW's Facebook feed. I was already planning on spending all day Friday at the park so I doubt I will even enter this. It would be real cool though.

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Verbolten update: Ride was testing around 4. The last drop looks a little on the slow side. The park wasn't too crowded today (mostly school groups) so there weren't too many people stopping on the bridge to see it. Launches look pretty sweet though.

 

Oh and I saw some costumed actresses running around the Oktoberfest area. I'm thinking this has something to do with what the park has planned for the summer.

 

I'll be at the park pretty much all day tomorrow so stop by and say hey. Sunday I'm gonna try to get pics.

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Here's the latest message from the park on Verbolten--get excited!

 

VERBOLTEN STARTS ITS ENGINES

Busch Gardens Begins Verbolten’s Final Testing Phase Before May 18 Grand Opening

 

WILLIAMSBURG, VA (April 27, 2012) – Busch Gardens reached another milestone last week when engineers and operators began Verbolten’s extensive ride-testing procedures. Ride testing is one of the final construction phases an attraction undergoes before it opens to guests.

 

“We will inspect every inch of Verbolten before it opens May 18,” said Larry Giles, Busch Gardens’ vice president of design and engineering. “We are confident that we will complete our work in time for our scheduled opening.”

 

Ride testing is a multi-step process designed to check and recheck every component of the roller coaster. It is a collaborative effort between the ride’s manufacturer, the park’s engineering team and Busch Gardens’ operations staff. The track, the coaster cars, the ride’s electronic safety interlocks and the physics of the ride itself are among the many checks performed to prepare the ride for the public.

 

The testing also validates the park’s standard operating procedures established to ensure the safe operation of the coaster. Park operators have spent the past several weeks finalizing ride procedures, learning the coaster’s sophisticated control system and practicing shutdown and recovery procedures to ensure the ride and the team operating it are prepared for the millions of guests who will enjoy riding Verbolten over its lifetime.

 

The final aspect of the ride testing program involves the use of special “water dummies” that are secured in each of the coaster train’s 16 seats and simulate the actual ride experience. That is closely followed by actual ride testing by park employees, who are the first to experience the new coaster before it opens to guests.

 

“By the time we allow people on the ride, we are confident that the coaster is ready for service,” said Mark Pauls, Busch Gardens’ vice president of operations. “We can’t wait for everyone to experience this one-of-a-kind roller coaster. It’s truly a special ride”

 

Verbolten is the capstone attraction of a two-year rejuvenation project in Busch Gardens’ Oktoberfest village. Mäch Tower, the park’s 240-foot drop tower, joins the launch coaster as the park’s newest thrill attractions. They join an award-winning pretzel restaurant and new performance spaces that also opened in 2011.

 

Looks like Verbolten is on track (pun intended) for that May 18th opening.

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Speaking of Verbolten, I wandered over to the park earlier this evening to check out the progress the park has made since, well, the last update. Unfortunately, there was no testing going on while I was there, but a number of guests mentioned seeing it cycle earlier in the day. They've added some more little details to the station, bridge, and the wrecked Porsche.

 

Let's have a look.

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" . . . except when Chuck is here."

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Noted!

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So, how about the queue?

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The queue now has rails. I wonder if the ride crew has started practicing the "Please do not sit on the rails" announcement?

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Will Gunter be glaring at us from this monitor inbetween promos for Quick Queue, Celtic Fyre, etc.?

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The water-filled dummies are probably exhausted from testing all day.

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But the blue train looks rarin' to go again.

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Don't be shy, little yellow train.

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A creepy monk peers from "Gunter's Creepy Office."

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This, however, does not seem particularly creepy--well, maybe except for the floating fish.

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German members, please feel free to translate. Your English is much better than my German.

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Knick-Knacks collected from missing tourists, perhaps?

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One last look at the detailing in the station.

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Hmm--they added a little yellow warning light to the sign out front. Nice touch.

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Beemer Boy, you might want to turn away now.

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Yes, the poor Porsche has become . . .

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. . . even more overgrown.

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Look--the creepy vines have sprouted another me!

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Hmm--all the pictures I've taken of this bridge, and I never noticed the broken railing on the side before.

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My homeowners association would not approve of this at all.

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There's some new Verbolten merchandise, too. The black shirts are kind of nice.

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But I'm really not sure what to make of this.

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I call this "Reflections of Verbolten." That's all for now.

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Why did they paint vines on the bridge roof? It looks really cheesy. On a serious note, I could see some floater air on the bridge drop, but only in the back.

 

I don't think those are vines. Looks more to me like a patina, oR perhaps moss or mold... What you might expect to see on an old wooden bridge. I'm more upset that they didn't disguise the steel beams more, but that won't affect my enjoyment of the ride.

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I just think it's interesting how so much effort was put into the bridge's roof but no other part of it. Considering this is the most visible (and will be the most photographed) portion of the ride from the rest of the park, I'm very surprised they left it looking so...well, bad.

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While on the ride will you be looking at the bridge as you go through it or at the supports under it? Also its a bridge, bridges have supports that you can easily see, so that's not unusual. What were they supposed to do, cover the supports with trees or something? And if the bridge supports are an issue then you might as well say the ugly track and supports that can easily be seen everywhere is also bad. At least the supports for the bridge look like supports.....for a bridge.

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