Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[CoasterAuditor]

Very bummed out by this news. I really was looking forward to there being two cool dark rides at Busch Gardens to compliment the coasters. Hopefully they'll use that money they saved to fix Verbolten's special effects.

[The Alex]

I'll be here, praying to the amusement gods that Sally gets brought in to design something new. Every park needs a solid dark ride.

[yay101]

I am going to miss this ride because I enjoyed it a lot. I do hope whatever BGW has in store for 2019 is REALLY unique though to make up for it.

[cfc]

Europe in the Air at BGT? feh. . take that turd away. . . DarKastle? THIS was a shining gem, and now will just be a hole in the crown at BGW

 

Europe in the Air is becoming the "first VR simulator" this year ("Battle for Erie"). It's themed to Irish mythology. We'll see how that goes.

Edited January 24, 2018 by cfc

[Rai Fox]

Pretty sad. Seems like the ride wasn't incredibly popular, but I always really loved it. The setting was just exactly my thing, and...look, I'm easy to please...give me werewolves, I'm gonna be happy). It wasn't as high budget as some of the other similar rides but it still had some great scenes; I always thought the "flying" part of the ride worked really well. I'm definitely going to miss it.

 

On top of that, as great a part as BGW is, it really isn't amazing as far as sheer number of rides; besides the coasters the lineup really isn't that amazing, so losing one of the biggest non-coaster rides is a hit. The park's responding on facebook to people mentioning that by saying they're adding Battle for Eire, but that's replacing another (admittedly terrible) ride so it's not helping their count.

 

...Still, I AM looking forward to that one, since I still haven't stopped missing Corkscrew Hill.

[TM3988]

I'll be here, praying to the amusement gods that Sally gets brought in to design something new. Every park needs a solid dark ride.

 

If that was the case, they would use the existing building for the new ride but they aren't doing that. They're turning it into an event space.

[bert425]

Europe in the Air at BGT? feh. . take that turd away. . . DarKastle? THIS was a shining gem, and now will just be a hole in the crown at BGW

 

Europe in the Air is becoming the "first VR simulator" this year ("Battle for Erie"). It's themed to Irish mythology. We'll see how that goes.

 

not sure why I typed BGT. . . of course it's also in BGW. . .brainfart, but my interest in the VR simulator isn't that high.

 

we'll see how it is before judging too harshly tho. (it still SUCKS they are closing DarKastle tho )

[prozach626]

Calling it: Fake news.

 

In all seriousness, Emily will be bummed. She really liked this ride. As someone who said before, for those who hadn't had a chance to ever visit a park like Universal, this ride was definitely up to par. We fit that demographic perfectly and we enjoyed at least one spin per visit on Dark Castle.

 

That being said, cost runs everything and you just have to hope that BGW is making the right financial decision in order to come out on top after this rough period for the chain. We don't truly know all of the costs and headaches associated with Dark Castle.

[CedarFanboy]

Really bummed out about DarKastle. I only got to do it once and I absolutely LOVED it.

[Philrad71]

I did like DarKastle but I won't lose sleep over its closure. It was a one and done ride for me every visit. I think I'll most miss the refreshing AC since it always seems to be triple digits for my visit.

 

There's always the craft-beer room in the Festhaus.

 

Now if they took the craft beer room in Festhaus out, I would be showing up at the park with torches and pitchforks!

[michaellynn4]

Rikki and I spent a couple days at BGW last summer. While we both enjoyed DarKastle, we both agreed it was a "one and done" ride to us. I'm not losing any sleep over its removal. However, I do agree with the operational sentiments that have been shared so far. I hope the reasons they ultimately decided to remove it outweigh how its removal impacts the visitor experience on rainy / cold weather days.

[DoinItForTheFame]

A special message to Busch Gardens from Boldikus:

 

I'm right there with you.

 

I LOVED the ride each time I've been to the park. It's enjoyable, and I'm sure it would be a good family ride. I could see updating the ride... or giving it a new story line... But to replace it with an even space?? WTF??

[John Peck]

you know, I wonder if interactive dark shooting rides like Justice League and the Boo Blasters have more longevity due to the interactive nature of them. DarkCastle was just a "regular" ride, so maybe that's why it got so stale. Now me, as a non-locaI, really liked it, but I have only been to BGW 3 times since 2000 and only rode it twice.. and come to think of it, it didn't have the same impact the second time.

[thrillerman1]

I would have ridden it this summer, but I guess that allows me to get another ride or two on the B&M's so.... meh.

 

But then they're answering nearly every post with "Check out Battle For Eire, the new VR ride in Ireland", I'm not happy about that trade off.

 

I noticed that COLD response too. Too bad. I really enjoyed this dark ride (prob a top 5 for me outside of Disney) and felt it was one of the more unique dark ride storylines. UGH.

[cfc]

you know, I wonder if interactive dark shooting rides like Justice League and the Boo Blasters have more longevity due to the interactive nature of them. DarkCastle was just a "regular" ride, so maybe that's why it got so stale. Now me, as a non-locaI, really liked it, but I have only been to BGW 3 times since 2000 and only rode it twice.. and come to think of it, it didn't have the same impact the second time.

 

I think the interactive element helps. People always want to see if they can top their previous score (or beat their friends).

[CoasterLover]

I think one of my biggest gripes is that they are getting rid of a decent quality attraction for kids in the 42" height category. It started when they got rid of Big Bad Wolf (42" height) and replaced it with Verboltin (48" height). Then the next "family coaster they added was InvadR (46" height requirement). Europe in the Air had a 42" height requirement and I would assume that Battle for Eire will have a similar height requirement, but the VR concerns me because I know (at least with all of the attractions that SF added VR to), there was an age restriction of 12 years. It doesn't seem like Battle for Eire will have a non-VR option, so if they do set a age requirement, I'm worried my 42" tall 4.5 yr old and my 49" tall 7 year old could miss this new attraction (in addition to not being able to ride DarKastle now that it's closing).

 

It's funny because none of this would have mattered a few years ago when I didn't have any kids, but you really start to look at stuff like this when you do have kids. We were really anxious planning our last Disney trip because we knew our 4 yr old (at the time) would be right on the cusp of the 40" height mark and knew that if they didn't hit that mark before we went, there would be a pretty decent list of top priority attractions that they would have to miss. With the closure of DarKastle, if Battle for Eire has a age requirement that would keep my two oldest (who are currently both above 42") from riding, we may delay our next BGW trip by a year or two.

[BlahBlahson]

I'd much rather visit this park 10 years ago when Griffon Opened than I would now. It's sad to see the company floundering and I hope they find a way to make it.

[ElvisLuv]

I'd much rather visit this park 10 years ago when Griffon Opened than I would now. It's sad to see the company floundering and I hope they find a way to make it.

 

 

We quite enjoyed our time at BGW last summer. One day soon, SDC will get rid of Fire in the Hole or Flooded Mine, will anyone claim it's because HFE is floundering. DarKastle's was one and enough for us,. However, Verbolten, Invadr, and Tempesto were the longest lines in the park. All from the failing folks running the place. Pretty dmn solid adds to me.

[SLCHeadache]

I think one of my biggest gripes is that they are getting rid of a decent quality attraction for kids in the 42" height category. It started when they got rid of Big Bad Wolf (42" height) and replaced it with Verboltin (48" height). Then the next "family coaster they added was InvadR (46" height requirement). Europe in the Air had a 42" height requirement and I would assume that Battle for Eire will have a similar height requirement, but the VR concerns me because I know (at least with all of the attractions that SF added VR to), there was an age restriction of 12 years. It doesn't seem like Battle for Eire will have a non-VR option, so if they do set a age requirement, I'm worried my 42" tall 4.5 yr old and my 49" tall 7 year old could miss this new attraction (in addition to not being able to ride DarKastle now that it's closing).

 

It's funny because none of this would have mattered a few years ago when I didn't have any kids, but you really start to look at stuff like this when you do have kids. We were really anxious planning our last Disney trip because we knew our 4 yr old (at the time) would be right on the cusp of the 40" height mark and knew that if they didn't hit that mark before we went, there would be a pretty decent list of top priority attractions that they would have to miss. With the closure of DarKastle, if Battle for Eire has a age requirement that would keep my two oldest (who are currently both above 42") from riding, we may delay our next BGW trip by a year or two.

Seeing the competition lose rides for smaller children, maybe KD weren't fools to go with three kiddie flats and the Pre-K Pass for 2017.

 

Pretty sure Battle for Eire VR is optional, though.

 

I'd much rather visit this park 10 years ago when Griffon Opened than I would now. It's sad to see the company floundering and I hope they find a way to make it.

 

 

We quite enjoyed our time at BGW last summer. One day soon, SDC will get rid of Fire in the Hole or Flooded Mine, will anyone claim it's because HFE is floundering. DarKastle's was one and enough for us,. However, Verbolten, Invadr, and Tempesto were the longest lines in the park. All from the failing folks running the place. Pretty dmn solid adds to me.

Those three rides all have lower capacity than the B&Ms and Nessie. Tempesto in particular has awful capacity, only worsened by the clunky restraints.

[DirkFunk]

If SDC gets rid of it's big indoor rides while it is bleeding money, then yes, people will probably say it is floundering.

[ytterbiumanalyst]

I haven't been on this one, but I always hate for a park to lose a dark ride. They are really fun for everyone. I have kids with various interests, but everyone enjoys a dark ride. I wish more parks had one, and yet parks seem to ve ripping them out.

[RAWKIN_coaster38]

The last time I've been to this park was in '09. BBW was still there. I remember really liking this ride and reriding it a couple times. It was my favorite ride besides the coasters.

 

Visited three Universal parks since then, so maybe I wouldn't feel the same about it if I rode it again now. Still, I was disappointed to hear this news.

 

Did they even give the public a chance for last rides or did they just announce it would never open again?

[cfc]

The last time I've been to this park was in '09. BBW was still there. I remember really liking this ride and reriding it a couple times. It was my favorite ride besides the coasters.

 

Visited three Universal parks since then, so maybe I wouldn't feel the same about it if I rode it again now. Still, I was disappointed to hear this news.

 

Did they even give the public a chance for last rides or did they just announce it would never open again?

 

Yes, they did give the public a chance for a last ride on Big Bad Wolf.

[prozach626]

The last time I've been to this park was in '09. BBW was still there. I remember really liking this ride and reriding it a couple times. It was my favorite ride besides the coasters.

I never rode BBW, but at least Verbolten ended up being a solid replacement. In my opinion, BGW is one of the top parks in the country. I trust their judgement.

[VACoasterdude]

Didn't see this posted, sorry if I missed it...

 

BGW announced yesterday that David Cromwell is leaving BGW to pursue an interest with a sports franchise. BGW appointed Kevin Lembke as the new President, BGW & WC.

Article here:

https://wydaily.com/latest-news/2018/01/25/busch-gardens-under-new-leadership-kevin-lembke-named-president/