Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[let1gre]

^ So, an extra surprise could be anything from seats tilting before the drop, or little "teaser" drops, or perhaps a fire spitting dragon just hangin' out up there.

 

Okay, new idea: face first drop tower. Seats tilt 75 degrees.

[DarkStitch626]

Well if Detonator at Thorpe is anything ideal to this a power boosted launch down may be in order.

[Philrad71]

So, an extra surprise could be anything from seats tilting before the drop, or little "teaser" drops, or perhaps a fire spitting dragon just hangin' out up there.

 

Or perhaps instead of a gravy splashdown finale, it would be a splashdown into Lowenbrau and then instead of getting herded into a gift shop, it takes you right into the beer garden for even more whacky fun??

 

 

PS - I still would have gone with my original name for a drop tower - SkySpank

[braztaz]

^ So, an extra surprise could be anything from seats tilting before the drop, or little "teaser" drops, or perhaps a fire spitting dragon just hangin' out up there.

 

Okay, new idea: face first drop tower. Seats tilt 75 degrees.

 

That's basically just the first drop of Griffon though, right?

[A.J.]

Just want to point out that SFOG's Intamin drop tower (Acrophobia) seats 30 riders, and features multiple "surprises" throughout its cycle.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Acrophobia_%28ride%29

 

That would be great! It would be a great way for Intamin to promote the 30-seat floorless gyro drop, too. I really hope that Moser really isn't manufacturing this ride...

[Saldek]

That would be great! It would be a great way for Intamin to promote the 30-seat floorless gyro drop, too. I really hope that Moser really isn't manufacturing this ride...

 

BGW's John Reilly confirmed it on video.

 

Confirmed at 25 seconds...

[cfc]

^Sounds like Moser is building some sort of "customized" drop tower. I'm looking forward to this new Oktoberfest.

[Skycoastin Steve]

I wonder if this new Oktoberfest will have a Piers machine (like Zoltar) where you put a quarter in and you get to hear one of his famous drunken catch phrases.

 

25 cents: "Something terrible has happened!"

 

25 more cents: "She tried to kill me on the Alpine Slide!"

[alpengeist04]

^^That sounds great. ...Can't wait for 2011.

[Saldek]

^Sounds like Moser is building some sort of "customized" drop tower. I'm looking forward to this new Oktoberfest.

 

 

I am looking forward to it as well. Other than DarKastle, Oktoberfest has dwindled over the years with the removal of rides and coasters. It's so odd seeing that section of the park without a coaster since it opened with three back in the 1970s. Hopefully the drop tower and new buildings will be a good jumpstart to revialtizing that area.

 

John Reilly also said in that video (about 2:30 in) that the new coaster will open March 2012 and that they will be releasing details about it over the next 18 months. Looks like they are planning to debut it when the park opens for the season which would be nice as they haven't done that since Apollo's Chariot opened in 1999.

[let1gre]

^Sounds like Moser is building some sort of "customized" drop tower. I'm looking forward to this new Oktoberfest.

 

 

I am looking forward to it as well. Other than DarKastle, Oktoberfest has dwindled over the years with the removal of rides and coasters. It's so odd seeing that section of the park without a coaster since it opened with three back in the 1970s. Hopefully the drop tower and new buildings will be a good jumpstart to revialtizing that area.

 

John Reilly also said in that video (about 2:30 in) that the new coaster will open March 2012 and that they will be releasing details about it over the next 18 months. Looks like they are planning to debut it when the park opens for the season which would be nice as they haven't done that since Apollo's Chariot opened in 1999.

 

If the coaster does indeed recycle the old BBW location, that will be in Oktoberfest as well, revitalizing the area even more.

[Swiftman]

Saldek, thanks for posting the video of the interview I did with John over here. If anyone has any questions about it, just ask.

[Saldek]

Saldek, thanks for posting the video of the interview I did with John over here. If anyone has any questions about it, just ask.

 

Thank YOU for doing the interview and getting him to give a little more insight into the expansion plans than what was initially announced!

[KDcoasterMAN]

Anybody hitting up the less talked about Howl-O-Scream in Williamsburg this year? I'll be there the 16th!

[BridgeMan]

^Absolutely! Having moved up to VA in May, I'm looking forward to finally having a chance to check it out. Any good tips?

[cfc]

^I recommend visiting on Friday or Sunday night. If you go on a Saturday, you might want to purchase Quick Queue, as it includes rides and mazes.

[KingB24]

I went last night. It was fun, not as good as KD's usually is in my opinion, but it was a lot better than previous years.

 

Bitten was ok, I felt like it was just a poor imitation of Club Blood. There weren't many scareactors and the bouncers were letting too many people into the maze at once. 4/10 first time, 6/10 second time

 

Hunted was my favorite maze. There were plenty of good places for scares in it, but they were letting too many people into the maze at once. My biggest complain, though, with Hunted is the vines hanging from the ceiling. I do think they overdid them, but this was still the best maze in my opinion. 5/10 first time, 7/10 second time

 

Harvest Hollow was more or less a scare zone you had to walkthrough to get out the Oktoberfest area. It was pretty fun, and I witnessed some hilarious scares. 4/10 first time, 6/10 second time

 

Catacombs seemed as if it was thrown together at the last minute. It was very short, not many scareactors in it, and the few they did have weren't really scaring. 3/10

 

Revenge of Pompeii was the same as always. A few good scares, but it was the same tricks as all the other times I went through it. Still an ok maze though. 5/10

 

Cursed had cool special effects and theming, but the scares, again, weren't up to par. They were capable of making witch noises and staring at you, but there weren't any really good scares. 5/10

 

Overall though, I still really enjoyed Howl-O-Scream, I just didn't feel the mazes were to good. This very well could be because it was only the first night, everyone was still trying to get their act together, but I don't know.

 

EDIT: ^ I saw you, Chuck, in your Club TPR shirt while in line for Catacombs.

[cfc]

^I bumped into some neighbors there and ended up doing Catacombs and Revenge of Pompeii twice. Catacombs was the weakest maze last night; they had the same problem last year, but got better as October moved along.

 

I don't think of Bitten as a "copy" of Club Blood. They both take very different approaches to vampires--Bitten is more like a "Hammer" film, whereas Club Blood is more like a "Blade" flick. BGW's and KD's vampires don't "twinkle" like "Twilight" vampires, as least.

Edited September 27, 2010 by cfc

[KDcoasterMAN]

^^ & ^ It good to hear Howl-O-Scream is running well... I do feel like this year is one of those "filler" years in between new and awesome years. I've only been to HOS 4 times and I think this is the first year for me they don't really have anything new... (2006, 2007, 2008, 2009) 2008 was by far thew best year for me at least... Had some amazing mazes like Masquerage, and Wicked Woods: the Jack the Ripper Lane. Though I though that 2009 was good, I felt it had no ingenuity to it.

 

I hope next year brings something new to the line up. I think if Sylvie of HOS: Tampa went on a "European Tour"... That would be cool. Maybe I should get hired by the entertainment departemnt.

 

^ And Chuck, are you doing a PTR?

[braztaz]

I wonder if Mach Tower will be operational during Christmas Town (in 2011, of course). Is there a pre-determined temperature that it can operate in like Griffon? (42 degrees)

[Skycoastin Steve]

^The reason Griffon can't operate under 42 degrees is because of the possibility of the coaster stalling. Since a drop tower doesn't have that problem, I would think it can operate as long as the wind speed was low enough.

[braztaz]

^The reason Griffon can't operate under 42 degrees is because of the possibility of the coaster stalling. Since a drop tower doesn't have that problem, I would think it can operate as long as the wind speed was low enough.

 

Yeah, I know. But I also thought it was due to the steel freezing as well? Or is that why it stalls

[A.J.]

The only reason why I'm so apprehensive about Moser building the tower is that they'll plaster their logo all over it...yuck.

[let1gre]

The only reason why I'm so apprehensive about Moser building the tower is that they'll plaster their logo all over it...yuck.

 

I bet Busch Gardens does something about that. I really can't see them letting that fly. They obviously chose Moser over Intamin or Fabbri or whoever else for a reason.

[cfc]

Yeah, I'm pretty sure that this won't be an "off-the-shelf" Moser tower. I imagine it'll be customized.