Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[vacoaster09]

I watched the POV in question and It was torture. The guy talked way to much... if I was riding next to him I would said STFU. He ruined everything that was coming and proceeded to explain why he had a camera when no one even asked him to. Just a self-fulfilled guy out to make himself seem cool because she got special permission and knows the name of every team member. Anyway... Lesson learned wait for the TPR stamp of approval and experienced/quality videos. GO TPR

 

Anyway Verbolten looks amazing. I want to go to Busch Gardens soooooo bad!

[Top Thrill Dragster]

^Seriously.

 

The guy in the video was very, VERY annoying. If I had waited 1+hour to ride I would have been pissed to have him sit next to me talking the entire time.

[Jon Sabo]

Verbolten was great!

 

I had about 9 rides on Friday with about a 10-15 minute wait for each (four train operation). Oddly enough I had the blue train for all 6 rides-love the headlights! I enjoyed all 3 scenic events, not sure which I liked best though. In the beginning of the day, they were directing guests to specified rows. After 3pm or so they would let you choose your own seats.

 

I had some brief discussions with my former managers at the park and they were ecstatic about the responses they have received and for the most part-the entire building process and testing went very smooth. Marketing was giddy with all the park patrons reactions and screams throughout the day-a pleasant feeling after dealing with Mach Towers troubles from last season. I am not going to discuss anything about the "yellow" train incident, because its not my place to say. But that train should be back in operation soon.

 

One of my former co-workers and friend, Josh (Business Unit Supervisor of Coaster Tours) said they would add Verbolten as part of the coaster tours, but would not be live for about 3-3 1/2 weeks or so while corporate finalizes details-although I can say that the tour will include a tour within the building (while the coaster is in operation!).

 

In relation to the theme, it was superb!-Only thing that was challenging was listening to Gerta's spiel with all the noise/talking going on inside the que area. I love the oil-stained concrete areas inside the station. I love one of the camera angles in Gunter's office showing a video of a "Red riding hood" motif with her carrying her basket while in the woods-only to find the next screen of her missing and her basket hanging on one of the tree limbs. It was quite amusing watching the expression on some of the younger kids talking about what happened to her..lol

 

Overall....it was a very worthy replacement for the beloved Big Bad Wolf. And there are many themed elements to pay homage to the late coaster. So far, I have counted about 7 (or maybe 8) different areas paying respects to the Wolf (including elements inside the building). Did anyone notice more?-it was fun finding a new one each time.

 

Definitely a must-ride coaster for 2012! Great job Larry and Brian on all the hard work put into Verbolten~

[TXman308]

although I can say that the tour will include a tour within the building (while the coaster is in operation!).

 

If this is true then

[RoCo]

I'm just skimming through these reports, as I don't want to know too much about the experience before I finally get on this thing, but I'm so psyched that the general consensus is "kicks ass!" Even though I'm likely not to get back to BGW until 2013 WHICH SUCKS.

[coasterkid21]

I too was able to take a ride on Verbolten on Sunday. I was not expecting it to be open and was ecstatic. The whole experience is just great. Considering that this is my first time to the park in 6 years, I have to say that this was an unexpected treat!

[niiicolaaah]

Am I the only one who thinks this thing isn't the second coming?

 

I rode it 3 times yesterday. Each time we got in line, the queue was completely full, but it only took about 30 minutes to get through with 4 trains running. We rode in the back of the blue train twice, and in the front row of the red train once.

 

I don't understand what is supposed to be different about the "scenic" stuff... it always looked the same to me.

 

I was disappointed about how vibratey the outdoor sections were, the transitions were really abrupt and I thought the second launch was uncomfortable. I liked the scenery inside the box and thought the drop track was fun.

 

Overall, I think it's just like Italian Job Stunt Coaster on steroids. Fun, but not amazing. I'd rather ride Apollo, Griffon, or Alpengeist. If I had known how I'd feel about it, I would have skipped driving down there yesterday.

[Pun_Machine]

^ Like i said in my first impressions, it didn't meet my expectations. I don't think many people are actually saying anything as strong as 'this is the second coming,' The consensus that i'm seeing is that it's a fun ride that was pretty well done.

 

Sure there's some vibrations and some of the transitions might be a little tight, but it's not like it's an Arrow or anything. It's actually not very rough as coasters go... at least many of the ones i've ridden.

 

You're right about the show building stuff... it doesn't change much. The only thing that changes in the different 'stories' is the lighting effects just before, and during the drop section and the soundtrack that's played throughout. That was a bit of a disappointment for me, as was the apparent lack of effects or any light at all for about 40% of the indoor portion (though from reports and guesswork this may be because they just don't have a lot of stuff working yet.)

 

It's certainly not completely what i had envisioned, and i feel like they missed several opportunities and outright botched some minor details, but it's still a good ride. I felt like it was in the same class with Stunt Coaster, but executed much better and a lot more unique, Just my opinion.

[cfc]

^ You're right about the show building stuff... it doesn't change much. The only thing that changes in the different 'stories' is the lighting effects just before, and during the drop section and the soundtrack that's played throughout. That was a bit of a disappointment for me, as was the apparent lack of effects or any light at all for about 40% of the indoor portion (though from reports and guesswork this may be because they just don't have a lot of stuff working yet.)

 

 

I think it's wise to bear in mind that this was a "technical rehearsal," so it's not unusual for some effects to be off while they "tweak" the ride.

 

I'm looking forward to checking it out on Thursday.

[Homeboy23]

^ That is why I am holding off any judgement until I ride it again this weekend just in case they did have some of the effects off in the building this past weekend due to the soft opening.

[DerekRx]

I never expected it to be anything more than a fun family coaster (for the family all over 48") that I'll ride at some point when I'm in the mood for some BGW goodness, a Das Alpine sandwich, and some German potato salad. Still, I'd much rather have another coaster to ride than look at a closed Big Bad Wolf or empty plot of land, and at least it's something new, unique, and themed.

[cfc]

^It would be even better if Gerta served you the Das Alpine and German potato salad.

[netdvn]

I had the liberty of riding both V-bolt and Cheetah Hunt in the same week. CH had a rattle, but I felt V-bolt's was a bit more severe. If anything, V-bolt rattled like Sheikra did (and it did have a noticeable rattle).

 

Anyway, let's get to the comparison.

 

Ride-wise - CH has the edge with the zero-g roll and the pops of airtime throughout the ride. Other than that, both aren't too intense, and both have good transitions. CH's OTSRs will dig into your shoulders if you raise your hands in the air, so I don't recommend trying that too often.

 

Theming-wise - Verbolten takes the cake. Even though both parks reused old stations, BGW definitely pulled out all the stops while BGT sorta kept most of the good theming outside. The Cheetah Run exhibit is pretty nice although the cheetahs were sleeping when I was there. As for V-bolt, I didn't get the full effect going through V-bolt's show building (I was lucky enough to ride with the lights on), but what I've seen so far has impressed me. The floating tunnel still bugs me greatly though.

 

Fun factor - Both coasters are great additions and both coasters are very fun to ride. I'd put the fun factor at a draw.

 

Overall - Cheetah Hunt is more intense with its zero-G roll and pops of airtime, but Verbolten's theming really gives it the edge to beat out CH. Either way both parks got big winners.

[Intimidator305]

The floating tunnel still bugs me greatly though.

 

Me too.

[TXman308]

As for V-bolt, I didn't get the full effect going through V-bolt's show building (I was lucky enough to ride with the lights on), but what I've seen so far has impressed me.

 

Since you were able to see it how much theming is there? Was it pretty easy to see the track way out in front of you, or was it blocked?

[netdvn]

Nothing is essentially "blocked" per se (outside of the drop track and the various elements hidden behind curtains) and you can see the theme elements quite well. The effects don't seem to work when the lights are on though so you don't get a complete experience like you would if the lights were off.

 

The park doesn't have any other props outside of the ones you can see in the dark.

[Expoman]

I was able to ride Verbolten twice on Saturday. It was an amazing ride and I rate it 11 out of 10. I found no flaws with this ride knowing there were going to be some kinks missing in the soft opening. People need to stop whining about the roughness. Why do people always have to find something negative. It's not too fast, the freefall drop wasn't big enough, etc. I did not find the ride shaky at all, and the free fall drop actually delivered a nice kick. I was going into the ride knowing it was not going to be Kingka Ka but a nice spooky family themed coaster.This ride would fit perfectly in a Disney or Universal park. Blackstone has really proved their investment with the Busch parks, and I can't wait to see whats next up their sleeve with the possible Resort Expansion and Water Country Expansion. I feel like Busch Gardens is going through what we saw in the mid to late 90's. I expect a boom in the next five or so years. The Oktoberfest expansion is a great model on what kind of direction is going for the future of Busch Parks. I don't know if they were planning this, but with the success of Christmas Town Busch Gardens was maybe looking for new ways to enhance the experience.With most of Verbolten being indoors maybe it has a higher chance of staying open during colder days. Just a thought.

 

 

 

Here is a little review of Verbolten. I rode twice. Once in the front and once in the back. Since I used to be a ride attendant back in Disney I know that is no problem requesting for a certain row. I liked the back a little more because of the slight increased G's. I was so disoriented inside that I did not quite catch the show scenes. I was having too much fun inside there. I have a passion for indoor coasters. There is something great about zooming around in a dark building and it never matters how fast you are going. This all goes back to the success of Space Mountain in the 1970's. I found this ride to be a mixture of three coasters down in Florida. Cheetah Hunt in Busch Gardens Tampa, Expedition Everest in Disney's Animal Kingdom, and Mummy at Universal Studios. I have ridden all three of those coasters in the past year and I found Verbolten shares a lot of elements taken from all three coasters. Kudos to Zierer, I feel like this is a big project for the up and coming company. Kind of like what Montu & Alpengiest did for B&M in 1996/1997. I have always respected Busch Parks concept to shy away from the cookie cutter coaster designs Six Flags and Cedar Fair Parks usually go with. I guess Sheikra and Griffon are an exception. You can't really customize a vertical drop coaster too much, and Busch Parks even did a good job customizing those rides.

 

 

 

Great job Zierer, Blackstone (Merlin), and Busch on a great ride, and everyone needs to come check this thing out as soon as possible.

[DBru]

People giving this ride an 11/10 is why Verbolten is being regarded as over-hyped.

 

I'm sure the coaster is a fun ride. Let's not blow it out of proportion, though.

[Schotcher]

^ ...8, 9, 11, 10...

 

It seems to me like BGW nailed their goal of "extreme family coaster", not too wimpy, but not too intense. Kudos to the park.

[cfc]

I'm looking forward to finding out for myself this week--sounds promising based on what many people have said so far.

[niiicolaaah]

I'd give it a 6/10. I looked up Wes' "steps of a new coaster thread" thingy and showed it to my boyfriend before we went to the park... then we got off the ride and he jokingly said "OMG ejector air on the brake run and in the station! This ride can cure cancer!"

 

[HersheyBearsDan]

I'm planning on taking a trip down to BGW in July, on a saturday. Should I buy Quick Queue passes online beforehand or can I buy them at the Park the day we are going???

[Homeboy23]

^ You can buy them when you get there if you want. Several gift shops sell them and there is one right when you enter the park.

[deguy123]

lets not blow it out of proportion, though.

 

You have been on this site long enough to know what to expect correct?

 

The ride looks good but yeah an 11/10 seems a bit blown out of proportion but peoples opinions are different. I'm hoping to do all of East Coast Bash because at first I was only thinking about doing KD.

[Moose]

At least it isn't the park that is over hyping the coaster *cough* th13teen *cough*