Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[Haymaker]

2 hours ago, mulfdog said:

Which literally ends on March 28th.  We are going AFTER March 28th.

[mulfdog]

No worries!

Does anyone have details on the Food and Wine festival that starts on April 2nd?  We will be in Williamsburg from March 29th through April 2nd with one day planned for Busch Gardens and the rest for sightseeing.  I’m trying to figure out if it would be better to schedule our BGW day during the week or hold out until April 2nd.

[qpb2004]

I was planning on going the 2nd, and it looks like that day will have a full session from 11-9 as opposed to the evening and night slots. The lineup has not been announced, but it will probably look similar to what it is now. I wouldn't be surprised if they close Apollo or Griffon and open Alpengeist back up. 

[anonymouscactus]

Looks like April 2nd Busch is the place to be, lol. That was also my plan; it would be my first park in about 17 months; I hadn't realized that spring break was happening in the area, but I love me some food and wine so that's an added bonus for sure and why I'm holding out as long as I am. If they aren't expanding their ride options I may wait a few weeks given it's a long trip for me. I guess we'll see.

[john10693]

love the 7,777 posts!

[JJLehto]

Im just hoping Pantheon will be open by Mid May-ish as that is when Im hoping to travel on through. 

[coasternut79]

On 3/2/2021 at 12:46 PM, JJLehto said:

Im just hoping Pantheon will be open by Mid May-ish as that is when Im hoping to travel on through. 

What is the likelihood of this?  I was hoping to be there the first weekend of June and really hoping Pantheon would be open by then but with absolutely no news I'm worried it won't happen.  It seems to me that with vaccines rolling out at a much higher rate now and with the summer months coming we would begin hearing some news about capacity going up but so far it's been crickets.  Ugh 

[JJLehto]

11 hours ago, coasternut79 said:

What is the likelihood of this?  I was hoping to be there the first weekend of June and really hoping Pantheon would be open by then but with absolutely no news I'm worried it won't happen.  It seems to me that with vaccines rolling out at a much higher rate now and with the summer months coming we would begin hearing some news about capacity going up but so far it's been crickets.  Ugh 

No idea! I'm terrible with following offseason stuff and I always rely on forums/locals. Yeah it's a little concerning there's been no news at all. So many are testing, even with people etc deff I'm on edge. If its not open by then I'll likely be skipping the park. Itd be more convenient for me to do Carowinds as Id not have to deviate from the highway at all but I went 2019 and ofc I wanna do the new ride. If it aint though yeah Im prob skipping here. We shall see! Fingers crossed for you. 

[cfc]

Happy St. Patrick's Day from Busch Gardens

Begorrah! It's almost St. Paddy's Day and the wee folk be on the loose at Busch Gardens, looking for their Lucky Charms, drinking green beer, and scarfing down corned beef. Wait--that's just the guests at another BGW special limited-attendance event, although you might spy a few leprechauns if you look carefully.

This marks the first time that the entire park has been open since. well, 2019. That's not to say that everything's running. The water rides remain closed, but you can ride all the coasters, except for Loch Ness Monster and Tempesto. My understanding was that Alpengiest was to be closed, too, but it was running last Saturday with both trains. No Skyway or Rhine River Cruise, though.

The Smokehouse is still closed, but the Brauhaus in the Festhaus is back in business--yay for beer and German meatballs! If you want green beer, corned beef and cabbage, and bangers and colcannon, Grogan's is the place to go. But if you want your photo with Clancy the Leprechaun, you'll have to walk to France.

It looks the park has been doing some work on Pantheon. One train (covered with a tarp) was on the track, and the other was in the barn. I haven't heard whether they've done any testing, but there's been some more painting and other "finish" work on the station and queue since last October. It's projected to open this year. For now, we'll have to content ourselves with views from the Apollo's Chariot lift hill, Verbolten's covered bridge, the top of Griffon, and the train.

Let's look for leprechauns and beer, shall we? I think Bill and Brit are around here somewhere, too. You just might see a few of the photos they tagged me in on Facebook here.

 

Welcome to Busch Gardens . . . who the hell is that looking over my shoulder?

Everything is green from Big Ben . . .

 . . . to the traditional tree balls of Italy.

Pantheon sees you shiver with an . . .

 . . . tici . . .

 . . . pation.

But Apollo’s Chariot is open. Let’s start there.

Sheesh! They’ll let anyone in here.

“Aye, they will, me bucko!”

N-o-o-o-o-o-o-o . . .

A leprechaun in lederhosen? Has the world gone stark raving mad?

Look at all these hopeless drunks lining up for beer before noon!

Well, when in the Festhaus . . .

What excites Bill almost as much at the Brauhaus being open again?

Good guess. 

Here’s a good spot if you want to see a bit more of . . .

. . . Pantheon. Sigh! Opening this year, I hope.  This ride has some crazy airtime potential.

Meanwhile, back at St. Paddy’s Day Central HQ . . .

That’s the biggest freakin’ leprechaun I’ve ever seen.

If you’re in Ireland, you must have either green Bud Light or Kilkenny Irish Cream Ale with bangers and colcannon. It’s the law (at least until  March 17).

“When Irish wolves are smiling, they’re about to eat your leg.” With colcannon, no doubt.

“I’ll swallow your soul, begorrah!"

All in all, a very nice day with great company at Busch Gardens--just watch out for soul-sucking leprechauns. 

[Nrthwnd]

^ Great visit, Chuck! Glad to see you all had a great time for the season that it is. "Faith and beg ........ go find a greenish pretzel."

[CaptainUnknown]

10 hours ago, cfc said:

“I’ll swallow your soul, begorrah!"

Sounds like you need to shop smart, shop S-Mart and get yourself a boomstick. 

Fun report and it really made me look forward to my visit later this year. Here's hoping Pantheon is open by July.

[coasterbill]

Great report! It was nice hanging out again. This event was awesome. I couldn't believe they opened Alpengeist,

[thrillseeker4552]

Thanks for sharing! One day I will finally get to BGW. It looks like a fantastic park.

[qpb2004]

New information has been released regarding the upcoming Food and Wine festival...

SIP, SOAR & SAVOR AT THE FOOD & WINE FESTIVAL

This popular food festival returns with limited capacity, enhanced health and safety measures and NEW dishes and beverages from around the world.

This spring, flavors are in bloom at Busch Gardens with the return of the park’s fan-favorite Food & Wine Festival. Serving guests April 2 through May 23 with limited capacity, this year’s menu features festival favorites and fresh twists on classic cuisines. Guests are invited to take their taste buds on an adventure through 11 specialty food and beverage areas as they sample from 25+ international tastes and 75+ wines, brews and cocktails.

The Busch Gardens Food & Wine Festival will feature food and beverage items not normally served at the Williamsburg theme park. The festival will take guests on a savory, sweet and scrumptious culinary trip through Virginia; Mexico; Hawaii; Brazil; Jamaica; South Korea; Italy and the Mediterranean. To complement the dishes, an array of beverages will be offered such as frozen specialty drinks like the all-new Honeybee Hurricane, Manta Margarita and a variety of refreshing Sangria choices.
 

MAKE YOUR NEXT DISCOVERY DELICIOUS

Embark on a culinary adventure from cork to fork with more than 75 wines, brews & cocktails and over 25 international flavors - including 8 ALL-NEW dishes and beverages. From Virginia to the Mediterranean, the festival will take guests on a savory, sweet and scrumptious culinary trip around the world.
 

COASTERS & RIDES
FOR THRILL-SEEKERS OF ALL AGES

Soar through the sky on one of our iconic roller coaster or spin & fly on more of your favorite thrill rides: 

Griffon*

Apollo's Chariot*

The Little Balloons*

DaVinci's Cradle

Battering Ram

Turkish Delight

The Trade Wind

Verbolten*

InvadR* 

Finnegan's Flyer™

Busch Gardens Railway

Le Catapult

Kinder Karussel

Der Roto Baron

Der Wirbelwind

Prince Elmo's Spire

Oscar's Whirly Worm

Grover's Alpine Express

*Please note that colder temperatures or inclement weather conditions may impact ride operations during the event.

Feel free to the park’s website for more info:

https://buschgardens.com/williamsburg/events/food-festival/
 

 

 

[coasterbill]

That's disappointing. Hopefully they can open the full park soon.

[qpb2004]

Especially since they're charging up to $75 on peak days for daily tickets. Not great if you aren't a passholder. 

[JJLehto]

Unfortunate, though I reckon you know there's some degree of risk with these out of season (esp when its cold still!) events, but that's fair you'd think they would charge less. That said I accidentally went to one of  these food & wine days at BGT, (bc I had no idea it was happening when I went) and it is quite lovely. 

All I wanna know is....do we have aaaaany idea on Pantheon/should I kill any hope it'll be open by late May? 

[coasterbill]

I'm not too optimistic on the Pantheon opening date since Loch Ness Monster, Alpengeist and Tempesto don't even have an opening date yet. lol

[qpb2004]

I wonder if BGW will quietly open Alpengeist, Tempesto, or Loch Ness on the more popular days of this event. 

[anonymouscactus]

Single day tickets are 49.99 for the event, not the normal full day ticket price, just fyi. They technically should have been $39.99 since it's the same ride list as St Patrick's from what I can tell, so it's essentially a $10 cover charge for the food and wine if you want to think of it that way.

--------
^ Edit: I was incorrect they changed the prices on the calendar from when I looked and bought the other day
----------

Alpengeist and Tempesto are really the only major losses, but maybe we'll get lucky and they underpromise and over perform on the weekends.

Lots of frozen drinks on the menu this year, typically my wife wants straight up cocktails. Haven't done this event in a long time but I felt like years back they had the non frozen stuff. I could be wrong.

Still bought my 15 taste card lol.

EDIT: oh wait, I stand corrected, they did jack up the prices. On April 2 they are charging 74.99, I bought them for $49 the other day. Other days are less.

Glad I purchased a few days ago [emoji15]

[JJLehto]

2 hours ago, coasterbill said:

I'm not too optimistic on the Pantheon opening date since Loch Ness Monster, Alpengeist and Tempesto don't even have an opening date yet. lol

XD I mean I didnt expect it to be with park opening (erm..."real" park opening) but yeah not feeling so good about 2 months from now. Shame bc nothing against the park, would love to go again it's been god...20 years (Im old lol) but if it's not open by then I am almost surely gunna skip this for either Carowinds or KD so I can get another use out of CF pass. Also "less out of the way" for me, with limited time/$ I was only looking to stop here for the new coaster for this trip.

[Canobie Coaster]

3 hours ago, coasterbill said:

I'm not too optimistic on the Pantheon opening date since Loch Ness Monster, Alpengeist and Tempesto don't even have an opening date yet. lol

At least it sounds like they'll open Alpengeist if the park gets busy.  I'm deliberately going to visit on an upcoming Saturday to see if I get lucky.  Otherwise I'll keep eating pretzels and plunging 200 feet on Apollo and Griffon.

[anonymouscactus]

You can still get a $53 ticket after taxes and fees on tickets at work and its affiliates if anyone is looking for a single day ticket on a peak day through April 30

[DoinItForTheFame]

On 3/14/2021 at 2:56 PM, cfc said:

 

 . .

Am I the only one thinking Pantheon might have had an issue... and that’s why the train ended up here... and covered??? 

[JJLehto]

9 hours ago, DoinItForTheFame said:

Am I the only one thinking Pantheon might have had an issue... and that’s why the train ended up here... and covered??? 

Im terrible with offseason/testing stuff so just my pure speculation, but agreed? We just stopped hearing about the ride progress, like I can't find even a sliver of anything anywhere...I get some rides are behind others but seems we haven't heard/seen anything in a while. I did wonder if something went wrong, though not sure what I dont think this even got to testing right?