Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[PennStater]

^ Ohhh, those darn seatbelts. If it weren't for seatbelts on Phantom's Revenge, we could have such better dispatch times. It would also help if 1/4 of every train didn't say they "didn't know" about the seatbelts when there are multiple large signs and a spiel indicating such.

 

Anyways, end of my rant.... back to BGW / Verbolten.

[DJeXeL]

^I feel your pain on that!!! Guests think the seat belts are there for decoration.

[netdvn]

^ Does anything (cars, planes, rides) have seatbelts as decorative pieces? That doesn't really make much sense to me.

[cfc]

As far as I know, Verbolten doesn't even have seatbelts, so can we please keep this on topic? No sense in confusing things here.

 

Thank you.

[DJeXeL]

^^Definitely a possibility I was being sarcastic.

[coolhandluke]

I've already forewarned my family that I'm taking a day trip here on our Virginia Beach vacation this summer, but I'm currently in the process of trying to turn it into a full family event. Verbolten is becoming excellent leverage for the kid in our family who just passed the 48" mark this winter.

 

And for the thrill seeking cousins.

 

And to a lesser extent, for the tamer, soak-in-the-atmosphere-and-charm parents.

 

So basically, it's shaping up to be a winner in every sense. This thing looks so cool.

[netdvn]

The park is adding a new show to the mix replacing This is Oktoberfest.

 

BUSCH GARDENS TO DEBUT NEW FESTHAUS SHOW

 

Entwined: Tales of Good & Grimm Brings Classic Fairy Tales To Life

 

WILLIAMSBURG, VA (March 8, 2012) – Busch Gardens delves deep into Bavarian folk lore in a new musical stage production debuting at Das Festhaus on March 24. Entwined: Tales of Good & Grimm transforms the park's 2,000-seat restaurant into a forest wonderland where fairy tales come to life.

 

Inspired by classic Grimm fairy tales and set to a score recorded by a 40-piece orchestra, Vice President of Entertainment Scott Gasparich produced a family-friendly musical production that plays on Bavaria's rich story-telling heritage. Entwined features elaborately costumed characters, singers, dancers and even acrobats that tell the tales of Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood. A dancing chorus line of gingerbread men, Goldilocks with her three bears and a host of other fairy tale characters make cameo appearances in this Busch Gardens fairy tale with a twist.

 

"We all remember these stories from our childhood," Gasparich said. "The fantasy world we created here at Busch Gardens brings our version of these beloved stories to life."

 

Gasparich anticipates Entwined will join Celtic Fyre and other park-produced shows as fan favorites that combine uncompromising production standards with storylines appropriate for the entire family.

 

"Entwined really is about digging deep within yourself to reach your goals. It reminds you that anything is possible once upon a time," Gasparich said.

 

The creative team behind Entwined has made some significant changes to Das Festhaus to enhance the show experience. Das Festhaus' original stage has been replaced with a modern performance space that incorporates moving scenery, theatrical lighting and other special effects. Façades of Hansel and Gretel's gingerbread house, Red Riding Hood's cottage and a fairy tale castle are blended in with the traditional Bavarian-style architectural designs and landscapes that line the restaurant's interior walls.

 

Other subtle additions that play on the show's theme include the addition of hand-made gingerbread men and gumdrop cupcakes to the Festhaus menu. The show's forest-inspired theme also complements Busch Gardens' newest roller coaster, Verbolten ℠ , which opens later this spring.

 

Entwined replaces the park's long-running This is Oktoberfest show, which ended its 35-year run at the end of Busch Gardens regular 2011 season. Gasparich said Entwined is Busch Gardens' response to guests asking for fresh programming.

 

Live Oompah-style musical performances remain a part of the Busch Gardens experience with seasonal performances performed outside Das Festhaus.

 

Clicky

Link from BGWFans

 

The park brochure at the beginning of the season said the show was gonna be called "Roll out the Barrel". My guess is that this is either a last minute change or a misprint.

That orange costume...

[cfc]

Firestorm from "This Is Oktoberfest" fans to commence in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 . . .

 

They really have made some interesting enhancements to Oktoberfest over the last couple of years, and linking the new show to Verbolten is a good idea.

[Skycoastin Steve]

I may never go into the Festhaus ever again.

[A.J.]

Eh, I never watched the show anyway.

[burningstroller]

Firestorm indeed! I only get to the park once every 2 years or so and always look forward to that!! How am I suppose to bindge drink and gorge myself with sausage while looking at dancing gingerbread men?! Lame. Very, very lame.

[cfc]

I'm curious to see how the new "outdoor" version of the old Festhaus show will go over. It sounds like a good opportunity to add more color and atmosphere to Oktoberfest. They've been playing around with this since last season--for example, with the Maypole dancers and a small "oompah" band behind the pretzel bakery.

 

Besides, you can always get a sausage pretel dog and a beer at the bakery, then scarf and guzzle outdoors while watching the band.

[cfc]

There was a hint about Verbolten's possible opening day in the Daily Press this morning:

 

When Busch Gardens opens March 24, the emphasis will be on last year's new ride, since Verbolten won't roll until May.

 

"We'll market Mach Tower and Vanishing Point at first, then come on very strong for Verbolten when it opens," [Vice Presdient of Marketing Dan] Dipiazzo said Thursday.

 

The article, "Attractions Add Tech Touches" (Sunday, March 11), also notes that Verbolten is the most expensive attraction the park has built to date, that BGW will be speding "four times as much" to promote Verbolten than it did to promote Griffon, and that they'll be pushing their advertising beyond their usual markets (that is, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Richmond, Philadelphia, New York, and North Carolina) into Pittsburgh and Harrisburg, Pa.

 

The park is planning to start shooting their new Verbolten commerials "next week." My guess is that they're shooting for a Memorial Day Weekend opening for Verbolten, as they did for Mach Tower last year.

[Pun_Machine]

There was a hint about Verbolten's possible opening day in the Daily Press this morning:

 

When Busch Gardens opens March 24, the emphasis will be on last year's new ride, since Verbolten won't roll until May.

 

"We'll market Mach Tower and Vanishing Point at first, then come on very strong for Verbolten when it opens," [Vice Presdient of Marketing Dan] Dipiazzo said Thursday.

 

Pretty smart of them to take this route after what happened with the Mach Tower marketing last year... Looks like they've learned their lesson. Also, good on them for broadening their marketing reach for this ride as well. If it turns out to be what we've been expecting it could be a destination attraction, no doubt.

[cfc]

^I agree. Last year, they kept getting slammed for all those Mach Tower ads when they were having all those unexpected issues getting the ride up and running. Best to play it safe and sell Verbolten when its ready for prime time.

[kunpc1]

I just wanted to throw in a thank-you to everyone that posted pictures of the tour. The more I see of this ride, the more I love it! I really love coasters that have a solid "beginning" prior to a lift/launch and this meandering through the black forest looks like a great way to start of a crazy coaster ride.

[cfc]

^You're welcome. It's been interesting seeing enthusiast opinions evolve about Verbolten. They've gone from "Phfft--It's just a lame family coaster" to "Wow--this could be a major ride." The new B&M "wingrider" coasters were getting most of the attention, but Verbolten has slipped in "under the radar" as the park released more details about it.

 

We'll know for certain in a few months.

Edited March 12, 2012 by cfc

[australianalex]

They've gone from "Phfft--It's just a lame family coaster" to "Wow--this could be a major ride."

Thats pretty much exactly what my opinions have been on this ride. Its actually looking REALLY promising!

[A.J.]

Here's a question that I've had for a while about BGW. Does anyone know why Alpengeist's trains were fitted with zero-cars up front? Like, was it originally supposed to run with 36-passenger trains or something?

[swiver]

Here's a question that I've had for a while about BGW. Does anyone know why Alpengeist's trains were fitted with zero-cars up front? Like, was it originally supposed to run with 36-passenger trains or something?

 

It was fitted with the zero car because it has more forces acting on it than any other B&M invert. The zero car helps to guide the rest of the train through the course smoothly. Something we could use on our design project?

[Mark Rosenzweig]

The park is planning to start shooting their new Verbolten commerials "next week." My guess is that they're shooting for a Memorial Day Weekend opening for Verbolten, as they did for Mach Tower last year.

 

BGW has had soft openings for attractions in the past (I recall riding Alpengeist in April of 1997- about a month before its "official" opening.) If in fact V-Bolt is cycling for a commercial shoot next week, it wouldn't shock me to see a soft opening.

 

The hang-up here would be the many unique thematic elements (mostly contained within the show building), which the park would likely want to complete prior to opening the attraction to the General Public.

[Skycoastin Steve]

^^I was under the impression that Alpengeist has a zero car because it wasn't completing the course in early test runs. The zero car added 1,000 pounds to the train to prevent that from happening anymore. I'm fairly certain they told us that during the TPR day at BGW last year.

[Swimace]

It was fitted with the zero car because it has more forces acting on it than any other B&M invert.

 

Umm... are you sure about that? Could you maybe cite a source on this?

 

I don't believe for a second that Alpengeist is the most forceful B&M invert ever created.

[swiver]

^^I was under the impression that Alpengeist has a zero car because it wasn't completing the course in early test runs. The zero car added 1,000 pounds to the train to prevent that from happening anymore. I'm fairly certain they told us that during the TPR day at BGW last year.

 

Hmm, that makes sense. I don't really feel that it goes slow during many parts of the ride other than the end, but it does make more sense than what I said I guess.

 

And no, I don't have a source for that information I posted, haha. I was just told that the zero car helped to control the train more when it is traveling at high speeds, which is why they are also on the B&M hypers.

[Hilltopper39]

^The hypers are a completely different design, every hyper has a zero car because the axle for each individual car is in the rear so it has to have a zero car.

 

I read an article somewhere that had an interview with a B&M Engineer (can't find it now), and it basically said that during testing they decided to add the zero as a precaution for some f the issues mentioned but with the new wheels they use now it really isn't necessary and the park could add an additional row of seats if they want.