Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[netdvn]

they have a 48" chair swings, which is normally 42" at most parks.

The chair swings are actually 40" but anyone around that height has to sit on an inside seat and wear a seatbelt. 48" is the height requirement to ride alone.

 

That being said, I fully support BGW lowering Verbolten's height limit, especially when the park already not only has two major rides with a 48" height requirement, but 48" being the height requirement to ride alone on many of the other rides. Maybe adding seat belts will help lower the height limit (although I personally don't think seatbelts are really necessary on a ride like Verbolten when rides like Scorpion don't need them).

[VACoasterdude]

I think it would be a win for BGW to lower the ride requirement to 42" with an adult or 48" to ride alone.

 

Regards,

 

RIP...

[The Yeti]

How does the indoor section compare to Revenge of the Mummy? They look somewhat similar in terms of thrills, with Verbolten looking a little more intense - but the POV's of this ride don't give away a lot.

[cfc]

^I give the edge to Mummy--it's a more intense, immersive ride.

[redfoot12]

I got in two rides on Verbolten Sunday evening. Both fun rides, but with the same story program. I give it a solid 7.5 or 8 out of 10.

This is the type of ride I really look forward to riding with my nieces who are each 8 and 10. They're both big enough to ride the larger B&M's but Verbolten packs some of the unique elements of a Disney-style coaster.

[Saldek]

Beginning on June 1st, BGW will be offering ERT on Verbolten for Passholders on select days:

 

Every Thursday and Friday (9:30 a.m.-10:30 a.m.)

Saturday and Sunday (9:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m.)

 

You have to enter Oktoberfest through Italy and show your 1-park, 2-park or Platinum Pass.

[coasterfreak101]

I take it my Fun Card doesn't count? I don't think I paid nearly enough for cool benefits.

[Homeboy23]

^ Nope it won't work.

 

Also, that ERT is only for the month of June.

[burningstroller]

Hello- I'm coming down from NH in a couple weeks and had some questions about the tours. I was there last October and took the Coaster Insider tour. I really only wanted to check out the maintenance bays and get to the top of Griffon. I felt, honestly, the tour was way too long for me. It was time for a beer by 10am and I was kind of done with it once we did the Griffon catwalk.

 

Looking at the tours available now, the Insider Tour strikes my interest given that you can go into Pompeii and Darkastle, however its 8 HOURS LONG! There is no way I can stomach that. Does anyone have any info on the short 30 minute animal encounters? The description is quite vague on the website. I'm going with my wife (this is kind of like a favor) and I think she would like the animal tours, I'm just wondering what the interaction is like, I want to pet a wolf.

 

Thanks in advance!

[Rai Fox]

I did those tours last year. While I did have a lot of fun with them, I'm afraid you'll be disappointed if you want to pet a wolf. You don't get close enough to touch them; even the best trained wolves are too unpredictable to allow that (and the guests can be far more unpredictable than the wolves!).

 

You do get to handle many of the animals in the animal insider tour. The animals vary depending on which ones are available, and in an appropriate mood, apparently. When I did the tour, we were showed an Opposum, a small alligator, an armadillo, a wallaroo, and a couple others that have slipped my mind. We did get up close with all of them and were allowed to touch all except for the wallaroo, who was not yet used to people enough to be comfortable with that, though we did feed him. We were even encouraged to hold the alligator, though the tour guide never let go of its mouth.

 

The wolf tour was much like a smaller, more focused version of the public wolf show. They showed some of how they train the wolves, more of the tricks and how the wolves learn them, and at the end we were taken to the small balcony that overhangs the right side of the wolf area and allowed to signal for the wolves to perform a trick for us and to toss them a treat afterwards. It was a little less up-close with the wolves than I had hoped, but it was still a lot of fun, and of course I can understand why they can't allow actual contact with them, sad as it is.

 

The Clydesdale tour was fun, though not as much for the actual horses. Anyone who likes horses will love getting up close with them, though. You'll also get to feed and pet the sheep. The highlight for me was getting to meet the border collies, though, and getting them to do tricks for you. Or, in our case, mostly getting adorably confused looks from the "special" border collie of the two - the better trained one was apparently exhausted and not up to performing for the tour like she usually does - though she responded quite happily to me, just not to most of the rest of the group! =P

 

None of those tours is particularly long; I don't remember exactly but I'm guessing probably 40 minutes each.

[Mark Rosenzweig]

No photos, but my general thoughts on Verbolten:

 

Maybe it's social media, countless photo trip reports with

construction shots, or just stronger word of mouth. There is little

left in the way of surprise when it comes to experiencing a new

attraction these days. Even most custom layouts can pretty much be

ridden through Keith McVeen's stellar simulations or actual POV

footage and provide reasonable expectations based on the park it

resides at or manufacturer/designer of the hardware.

 

With that said, here comes Verbolten. Given BGW is not your "typical"

park that installs "typical" coasters (at least at their time of

installation), there was one mystery factor. Given Zierer has but one

major non-tivoli style coaster installation in North America in their

one-off tower launch at Lagoon in Utah, there was another mystery

factor.

 

Starting on the midway, the new attraction's installation completes

the look of the revamped Oktoberfest. An area of the park with decent

attraction density, there had been nothing major added with the

exception of DarKastle since Big Bad Wolf's debut in 1984. Reworking

the area's layout, moving out the Eli Scrambler to New France for the

installation of the Moser Mach Tower drop tower, and the installation

of Verbolten now make this area the center of activity in the park.

 

Because Verbolten is mostly track in a warehouse, a quick run to the

Rhine River drop and "S" curve, much of the attraction's theming takes

place in its richly detailed queue and loading station. This is very

much the "Fahrt" of Expedition Everest queue lines. The queue also

moves at about the clip of Everest thanks to an efficient dual-loading

station and easy to enter/exit trains with a simple lapbar restraint.

With no downtime and four train operation, the queue proper holds

about a 45 minute wait. When the queue stretches about 1/3 of the way

across the Rhine River bridge to Italy, you're looking at about a 60

minute wait. Not too shabby. I pegged hourly capacity in the 1150

range, which would probably bump close to 1300 when the Yellow (fifth)

train is put into operation.

 

The trains look sexy, and as previously stated, the simplistic

restraint system allows for quick load/unload/dispatch. The initial

dip and run to launch one roughly follows the old Big Bad Wolf's run

from station to lift one. An uphill launch takes trains into the

large event/show building where this "Italian Job" becomes a "Skull

Mountain". Several of the helices were tight enough for me to see

stars. After hitting a block, trains take another drop and rise to a

second block leading trains onto the drop track.

 

My understanding as to the difference between the Intamin and Zierer

version of this element is that the Intamin drop track is

hydraulically powered, whereas the Zierer version is a true freefall

into magnetic brakes. Whether or not that is true or if my

information is reversed doesn't really matter- the element works.

It's a short drop to be sure, but it will catch you by surprise unless

you're really paying attention.

 

Back on ground level, trains advance forward and dip into the second

LSM rolling launch- this one taking trains from about 10-53 MPH in

quick fashion. The launch is forceful enough that if you're not

prepared, you may introduce the back of your head to Mr. Headrest in

somewhat of a sudden and uncomfortable manner. The track rises and

zig zags its way to the (not quite) collapsing bridge perched about

100 ft above the Rhine River where Big Bad Wolf riders once braced

themselves for that ride's legendary finale. Verbolten trains glide

slowly through a set of magnetic brakes and suddenly plummet down

towards the river before taking the same famous "left/right/left" that

the Big Bad Wolf traversed for 25 years. In lieu of being able to

swing side to side, Verbolten throws a (not quite) airtime hill into

the mix before gliding into the brakes alongside would-be riders

waiting their turn in the queue.

 

Riders exit left and now cross over the track towards the front end of

the station directly over the hold position where trains dispatched

from positon 2 await for the train dispatched from position 1 ahead of

them to clear the first block. An on ride photo point of sale (taken

on the not quite airtime hill near the end of the ride) and a merch

shop completes the Verbolten experience.

 

Description complete, the ride perfectly compliments the rest of BGW's

roster of rolley rides. It certainly walks the line between family

coaster and intimidation, but does so in an admirable fashion and is

sure to act as a great compliment to Nessie as a building block for

guests to step up to the B&M trio on property.

[VandeSte]

Checking out the webcam at this moment. Good quality streaming pics every few seconds with sound. Looks like there are issues with Verbolten today? There are few trains running, but with no one in it.

 

Good view of the drop, though.

[Tmcdllr]

So is Zierer sort of an Intamin clone? The track looks similar to Intamin.

[simaticable]

Zierer, Mack, Gertslauer, and Intamin use the same track system.

[SoCalCoasters]

Zierer, Mack, Gertslauer, and Intamin use the same track system.

 

That's really not a very accurate statement... Yes, each company uses a triangular style shaping for some of their coaster's track, but they're not the same. Each company engineers their rides differently. B&M and Intamin both used a box-style track shaping for their rides, but they were not the same in terms of engineering.

 

If you look at each company's coasters, you'll see quite a few differences.

[coasterfreak101]

Checking out the webcam at this moment. Good quality streaming pics every few seconds with sound. Looks like there are issues with Verbolten today? There are few trains running, but with no one in it.

 

Good view of the drop, though.

 

Just leaving the park after a sixth ride on Verbolten - we actually had actually just gotten in line earlier during the breakdown. Not sure what was going on, but everything st still for a while and then each train made the circuit and the ride was open again.

 

Now for my words on the ride: it's absolutely perfect for BGW. The drop gets me every time just for the fact that I just shouldn't be moving that way on a coaster! It's a little stop-and-go which hinders the flow a bit, but I wouldn't knock it for that at all. Six rides (two front, four back) later, wolves is definitely my favorite of the three experiences, with the other two tied for second. All are seriously great though, as is the ride! There's the slightest little rattle and the second launch can catch you but neither of those things is even worth complaining about.

 

Oh, and a suggestion to the BGW guys who probably read this thread sometimes: a mirror on the ceiling to reflect that awesome moon light inside the helix!

Edited May 26, 2012 by coasterfreak101

[cfc]

Checking out the webcam at this moment. Good quality streaming pics every few seconds with sound. Looks like there are issues with Verbolten today? There are few trains running, but with no one in it.

 

Good view of the drop, though.

 

I hear that it broke down earlier today for a bit, but it was running just fine a few hours ago. So, no big "issues."

[Skycoastin Steve]

^Remind me to kick you in the nuts next time I see you for calling Alpengeist "Alpy."

[Guy T. Koepp]

^Remind me to kick you in the nuts next time I see you for calling Alpengeist "Alpy."

 

Yeah! It's Geisty!

[Meteornotes]

Both of those names are horrid. I prefer Alpenbrake...

 

dt

[cfc]

Alpengeist prefers to be called "sweetheart."

[cal1br3tto]

I just miss when Cheetah Hunt used to be called "Cheesy Chunks."

[Swimace]

Just a heads up for anyone visiting the park today. From Busch Garden's twitter:

 

Verbolten is closed today due to tech. difficulties. We're sorry for any inconvenience, and we'll update here as soon as we can

 

According to twitter, the ride was down for most of yesterday too. Anyone visit the park?

 

 

I have a contact at another website who claims that the yellow train actually exploded, burning down the entire station and killing at least 15 people. Can anyone confirm?

[Spideyfreak]

^"Family Roller Coaster 1 has crashed!"

[A.J.]

Did it have a Station Brakes failure? I've heard that that's a common breakdown that almost always results in generically-named roller coasters crashing before mechanics can get to them.

 

Hopefully they'll work things out and get it open again.