Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[PSiRockin]

I grey a little on the first immelman, and the airtime is nice (all occasions of it). I gotta say, the position the ride is in on the lift is really comfy.

[gisco]

IMO, Griffon is fun but NOT thrilling. If I closed my eyes, I could take a comfy nap. It's gentle and relaxing to me.

You spelled "Apollos Chariot" wrong.

 

 

So did you!

[CardCraze]

Stopped by tonight for one final night of Howl-O-Scream. Here are my final ratings for the event;

 

SHOWS:

 

-Monster Stomp Revamped; 9/10 - Never disappoints.

 

MAZES:

 

-Bitten; 7.5/10 Decent. It wasn't really spectacular like 13 or Dead Line, but it was "decent."

-Catacombs; 7/10. I think this maze is another "decent" maze, but it's far outlived its glory days. I wouldn't be at all surprised to see this one get the boot next year.

-Dead Line; 9/10 - Incredible maze. The scenery, the sets, the everything was far beyond the quality of any maze BGW has done before. I'm so glad they finally dropped the tiring "Revenge of Pompeii" and went with this. It was honestly my highlight for this year.

-Fear Fair; 6/10. Nothing really changes here. It's a nice, funny maze. But you're worse than Scooby and Shaggy if you think this one is anything more than "fun and a bit frightening."

-Thirteen, Your Number's Up; 10/10. This was hands down the best maze of the year. The setup, the theming, the execution, all flawless. I don't see how they can bring this one back next year, 13th year of Howl-O-Scream = 13: Your Number's Up. But, in the same breath, I wouldn't want to see it back. It was kind of just the perfect maze, and that's how I want to remember it. I don't want it to become another "Revenge of Pompeii".

 

 

SCARE ZONES:

 

-Grin and Scare It; 6/10 - A few pretty decent scares, but there seems to be many scare actors (around 10 I'd say), confined to the little bridge from Italy to Festa.

-Scavengers; 7/10 - Loved it, if it was a bit short. The masks were creepy, and there were some decent scares to be had.

-Stitchin Time; 5/10 - Better the second time around, but still overall the worst scare zone.

-Unleashed; 6/10 - Eh. Decent. Not great.

-Widow Makers; 10/10 - I. HATE. CHAINSAWS.

 

 

 

OVERALL HOWL-O-SCREAM GRADE: B

 

It was a lot better this year. I mean A LOT better. But... there's still some work to be done. The scare zones need work. New France is a true "Scare Zone", with Chainsaw freaks wandering from the edge to the edge. But scare zones like Grin and Scare it provide nothing more than an overcrowded walkway with 10 feet of potential scares. This is perhaps the one area BGW needs work with. Last year they tried "The Scare is Everywhere" and executed it lousy, but this year the scare zones seemed to be short, and confined. The Mazes this year were OUTSTANDING. I think this might be the best year on memory for Howl-O-Scream mazes. Catacombs and Bitten should be chopped for next year IMO, but Bitten was better this year than last year. The shows were pretty good with the exception of Jack is Back, which is childish at best. Regardless of any sour notes, it was a great year for Howl-O-Scream. And, while the quality still doesn't live up to that provided by Kings Dominion's HAUNT, it's a great Halloween event in its own right.

 

 

 

The 2011 season was great, despite a few minor setbacks with Mach Tower. Lots of exciting stuff to look forward to come 2012. I wish it would get here faster!

[Skycoastin Steve]

Got a chance to swing by the park for closing day today, left before the crowds got out of hand. Took a few pics of Verbolten's indoor section before the walls went up. Looks like they've started building some of the walls already.

As you can see, some of the wall is going up.

The big swoop from the brake run to the drop track.

Fun looking transition right there.

That transition goes into the upward helix into the brake run.

This helix could potentially pull some g's.

Part of the drop mechanism it seems.

More of the drop track area.

Footers leading into the building.

Closer look at the wall that has started to go up around the track.

I do like the logo, even if the name is nonsensical.

More tapering has been done where the bridge is going to go. You can also see the re-bar where the footers are going to be for the bridge.

Also rode Mach Tower today, my second ride on it. Still think it's a fun ride!

[_koppen]

Awsome update!

[eddie200330]

Don't know if anything has been posted about them yet, but by the looks of the drop section of the track, they must be pretty short trains?

[Skycoastin Steve]

^If I'm remembering correctly, they are 8-row trains.

[alpengeist04]

Great job on the up-close pictures of Verbolten, Steve. Thanks.

[crazywolf88]

I wonder how they are going to disguise the ride building, I mean, a giant show building could take away from the themeing. But knowing Busch, they will not disappoint.

[braztaz]

Definitely looking forward to this ride!

[Skycoastin Steve]

I wonder how they are going to disguise the ride building, I mean, a giant show building could take away from the themeing. But knowing Busch, they will not disappoint.

Invisibility cloak. Wave of the future!

[Intimidator305]

I do like the logo, even if the name is nonsensical.

 

Agreed. They did a nice job with the logo and slogan.

 

Anyways, thanks for the update! I'm glad to see they are coming along nicely.

 

Anyone know what color the outdoor track and supports will be yet?

[netdvn]

Thank you for an amazing season.

 

Meeting so many awesome people

Getting an inside look at the park

Being one of the first people to ride (and even operate) Mach Tower

Making people smile

Meeting fellow enthusiasts (including one that posts here too )

Getting my first look at Howl O Scream

Getting sneak peeks of Verbolten

 

This season was totally worth standing in the elements and dealing with the occasional problem. Thanks Busch Gardens for an awesome year and I hope to come back next year.

[cfc]

I was at Howl-o-Scream with Larry on Sunday--fun, if chilly (especially on Apollo's Chariot and Griffon). Quick Queue sure came in handy. The park was fairly quiet until the hordes started arriving for the last night of HOS late in the afternoon.

 

Verbolten is looking great.

Edited November 3, 2011 by cfc

[hydra]

Great photos.

So what is the deal with all that beautiful dirt in the old Drachen Fire location? Its not for Verbolten. Is this part of the expansion they are talking about that may connect around to the Rhine (in vicinty of the drop down to the river)?

[Vigil]

I was at the park yesterday as well. (I actually saw you, cfc, walking in New France and in line for Apollo's Chariot). It was freezing but so much fun. Verbolten looks so much better in person than in pictures. Also, I did not realize how big it is. Maybe it is just me, but it looked kind of small in pictures. It's huge!

 

The haunts were also really great. I hadn't been to Howl-o-Scream in about 6 years, and it was amazing. I thought all the mazes were really good. Interestingly enough however, I (nor the person I was with) did not really like 13 very much. It might been that we were at the end of the group and stuck with this annoying family who kept stopping to point things out. But there weren't a whole lot of actors (lots of hanging things for sure). It was OK. I actually liked fear fair a lot. It looked like they spent a lot of time on that. Deadline was awesome. And Bitten and Catacombs were really fun too.

 

Oh and Mach Tower was really fun. I rode it three times right when the park opened because nobody was there (and the rest of the park had yet to open). I hadn't been on it, and I thought it was a lot of fun. Not as intense as some others but a great addition to the park.

[cfc]

^I noticed that 13 had more light in it than earlier in the season (and you're right about the scare actors not being as active). In fact, it was lighter in the "fear of the dark" section than it was outside. That maze had definitely slipped since opening weekend (the others were about the same).

[Homeboy23]

^ I was there Saturday night and thought the "fear of the dark" room was still pretty dark as I could barely see but I do remember a slight difference from when I went during the second of week of howl-o-scream. They probably received a bunch of complaints from people running into each other and into a wall

[T-BONDIcoasterkid]

Thanks for the update Steve! That transition into the upwards helix is looking similar to Intimidator 305's twisties, but with lapbars! I cannot wait to ride. 2012 is a big year of coasters for me!

[Austin11KD]

Thanks for the update Steve! That transition into the upwards helix is looking similar to Intimidator 305's twisties, but with lapbars! I cannot wait to ride. 2012 is a big year of coasters for me!

 

They're probably not going to be as intense though, since this will be going 40- mph slower than I-305

[Geauga Dog]

Just saw Steve's awesome photos of Verbolten. This is a Zierer? I'm quite impressed by the look of it already and this is just for the show building.

 

I used to think that Zierer was only Tivoli coasters but it sure is nice to see them enter the big coaster market for a change.

[kingadam719]

I was at Howl-o-Scream with Larry on Sunday--fun, if and chilly (especially on Apollo's Chariot and Griffon). Quick Queue sure came in handy. The park was fairly quiet until the hordes started arriving for the last night of HOS late in the afternoon.

 

Verbolten is looking great.

 

Larry as in Larry Giles?

[cfc]

^As in larrygator.

 

Larry Giles was a bit "tied up."

 

[Randomman295]

Very impressed about the shots for this update. Also kind of disappointed in Intamin for not building this one... I'm probably just surprised that Intamin let Zierer make a vertical drop section.

[kingadam719]

^^ Ahh, yeah. I figured that it wasn't him, just wondering. Also, very clever! I didn't realized those were referring to park officials. Never read any of them.