Jump to content
  TPR Home | Parks | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube | Instagram 

Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

P. 467: Media Town Hall Report

Recommended Posts

So SEAworld without the SEA animals would be what then... Ridetown?

 

Why would they only have those two options? Why not just get rid of the animals, tear out the rides, and build a giant mall with apartments nearby?

 

I guess the THOUSANDS of visitors that go to those parks to see the animals are kidding themselves too.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^^ Funny you mention that.

 

I went to Sea World last year, and while all the rides were walk ons, even the 2 year old Manta, Penguin Encounter, Dolphins, the Shark area all had lines to enter. All of the shows had full audiences, but all the rides were walk on? I went to Busch Gardens Europe the summer of 09, yet, all the rides were walk on? I also went to Busch Gardens Africa summer 09, and all of the rides were still walk on!

 

Maybe I just happened to have visited on some really, really good days. But by my past experience, the rides and coasters at many of the Busch Garden and Sea World parks tended to be really short. After all, the parks started off as zoos and aquariums, not theme parks.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ Now, come on.

Now, come on!

 

Parks like the Seaworld/Busch parks are more about the experiences than the rides. That's why the Cheetah Run exhibit was built along Cheetah Hunt. That's why Verbolten has a fantastically themed and detailed indoor section. That's why there are Festhaus shows. That's why Busch Gardens Williamsburg consistently earns the title of "most beautiful theme park". It's all about providing the best and most complete experience for their guests. I think that Busch Gardens Williamsburg is the most complete park experience that you can get in a place that isn't called California or Florida, and it's all because they pay just as much attention to the other attractions and exhibits in the park as much as their rides.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^ Now, come on. Think about this little situation: The management team at Busch has a meeting one afternoon and decide to make some changes to the place.

These are the options:

1) Do away with all the rides.

or

2) Do away with all the animal type things.

In a moment of inspiration the top team choose to put it to an online public internet voting system.

2 weeks pass....The Results!!

By 99.999% majority vote the winner is "We are keepin the rides!"

Who would kid themselves to think that this situation isn't exactly how it would play out?

 

P.S. .001% margin of error!!

 

Hmmm.... trolling perhaps?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

First of all the animal exhibits at BGW only take up a small area between Killarney (Ireland) and Acquitaine (France) and features wolves and eagles along with the animal show theater. That area is also a nice, quiet respite from the rest of the park. It's also a bit hilly so you couldn't just throw a couple of rides there.

 

Busch Gardens isn't all about rides and shows. They also focus on and bring awareness to conservation as well.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

If there is one thing that Busch Gardens Williamsburg needs to focus less on, it's the animals and wildlife side shows. Who really cares for it? I think we can all agree that it is largely a waste of time and especially money that could be used as CASH to upgrade the park and invest in new rides.

 

You must be trolling...

 

If anything BGW needs more animal exhibits to make it a more well-rounded park. Flat-wise the park isn't impressive (BGT and SWO are even worse on the flats). Animal-wise, the park desperately needs more exhibits. Three large exhibits and a small eagle perch underneath Griffon isn't really gonna cut it.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To give you an idea how important the animals really are to BGW, take the case of the Clydesdales. When Busch took their horses after selling off the parks, the new owners decided that Busch Gardens simply wasn't Busch Gardens without them. They rented Clydesdales for the first year of Christmas Town (for photo ops), and the public reaction was so favorable, they bought their own horses, along with sheep and dogs, and rethemed the stable as a Scottish farm.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Hmmm.... trolling perhaps?

 

That is a bit unfair. I am free to disagree and offer a personal opinion, arent I? That automatically means I'm troling?

Not everyone in this world will think like you.

 

But anyway, a few things said above have made me think again. I've only been twice to BGW, and maybe don't fully understand the heritage of the animals.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

 

Hmmm.... trolling perhaps?

 

That is a bit unfair. I am free to disagree and offer a personal opinion, arent I? That automatically means I'm troling?

Not everyone in this world will think like you.

 

But anyway, a few things said above have made me think again. I've only been twice to BGW, and maybe don't fully understand the heritage of the animals.

 

... ok and yes you are entitled to your opinion but, it seems I am not the only one who thinks that way but that's fine.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The problems they have been having were to be expected. No need for that "nickname"

I'm completely shocked the fanboys haven't torn this ride's reputation to shreds. I don't remember any other ride in recent history having as frequent, multi-day closures. Not to say the name should or shouldn't be used, but Verbolten closing for a whole day should not "be expected"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

As for downtime, its a new ride, that may be why its "expected" to be having issue like it is.

Really? I'm fine with occasional downtime throughout the day. But I do not expect this:

Due to technical difficulties, Verbolten will not be operational Monday and Tuesday (June 11 & 12). We apologize for any inconvenience.

or

I rode it twice during the Passholder ERT this morning. They were late getting it going because of problems the night before, and it went down again (for the day) at about the time the park opened. They hope to have it running again tomorrow.

 

There is a huge difference between having a couple hours of downtime each day, and full out not operating for the vast majority of the day.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While Verbolten has experienced quite an amount of downtime (which I find rather rediculous), it's still doing better than its piece of crap neighbor Mach Tower did last year...

 

I give BGW credit for giving these smaller companies (Moser and Zierer) a chance, but it seems like they have had tons of troubles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'm quite happy that they didn't just build a clone of a ride they have somewhere else. Verbolten is unique and a lot of fun--but they need to get the kinks worked out (with the help of Zierer).

 

You can do all the pre-testing you want--the true test is when you finally put butts in the seats.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

While Verbolten has experienced quite an amount of downtime (which I find rather rediculous), it's still doing better than its piece of crap neighbor Mach Tower did last year...

 

I give BGW credit for giving these smaller companies (Moser and Zierer) a chance, but it seems like they have had tons of troubles.

 

Williamsburg seems like they have had an ongoing problem with choosing the correct manufacturer for quite some time. Choose one company to build Drachen Fire, not 2. Use a proven drop tower company like Intamin, not someone new. Use a company with proven drop and launch technology, like Intamin for Verbolten, not someone new. I was there last Monday and I was so disappointed Mach Tower and especially Verbolten were both down. Had I known that, I may not have gone. Verbolten opened before X flight and Skyrush and both of those have been open when I have gone this year. As an outsider who only gets to Busch once every few years, this park badly needs more to do. It needs to catch up to Tampa. Having these 3 rides, plus the mouse that got sent away would help a lot.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^Does BGW really need to "catch up to Tampa"? Remember, BGW is a seasonal park (despite the introduction of Christmas Town), and the only real competition it has in the state is Kings Dominion (and the two parks tend to complement each other). BGW seems to please its audience pretty well; Tampa needs to do more to better compete with the Orlando parks (and has been pretty successful at it).

 

And I'm quite happy to have "traded" the Wilde Maus for Curse of DarKastle, an attraction that's unique for this region (as is Verbolten, for that matter).

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I didn't know about the trade for DarKastle, so yes that was a good one. Does DarKastle still have problems? My second trip on it had several things missing that were in the first trip.

Busch spent a ridiculous $54 million on Verbolten, which seems way more than Intamin would have charged. Thirteen at Alton towers only cost $15 million. It's also been open around 10 weeks when I went. It would have been one thing to be shut down for a couple of hours or so, but not at least 2 days straight.

I had a great time at Busch. But 4 of the other people I went with will probably never be there again and Verbolten was something we all were looking very forward to riding.

I still would like to see one more major attraction added there soon, whether it be another coaster or especially a dark ride. There have been rumors of another dark ride and year round operation on BGW fans.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

^DarKastle went through a rehab last year, so it's doing quite well. Verbolten, according to what the park said at media day, is now the park's most complex attraction.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Over the years that I've found and looked at who all the different ride manufacturers were and what they offer I always wonder why some parks go with certain companies over others for their new rides. I'm sure price has something to do with it but I also figure it's a chance for a new or lesser known company to finally get some attention they might not otherwise get.

 

I sort of thought it was strange BGW went with Moser for Mach Tower over Intamin but I thought it was a great move, despite the problems with Verbolten, that Zierer finally got the opportunity to get away from its Tivoli coaster image and join the big boys. It's nice to finally have a company that could easily stand along with Intamin and B&M (though they have a little ways to go to reach that pinnacle).

 

I only got to ride Verbolten three times when I was there a few weeks ago and thought it was a very good ride, definitely on the border line of family coaster. Very smooth, two nice launches with a hint of intensity, and a surprisingly potent freefall track section in darkness. I hope we'll see more Zierer coasters in the future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

Terms of Use https://themeparkreview.com/forum/topic/116-terms-of-service-please-read/