Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

[KBrylczyk]

23 hours ago, Haymaker said:

Id try it anyway, let them tell you youre too tall

Yeah, go ahead and try to sneak one past them.  Get your bell rung by cold steel at 70mph. Have a blast!  I'm sure ICON Park would be ok with this plan, why not Busch?

[anonymouscactus]

This reminds me of the story I used to scare the $#_$ out of my friend when I was a kid. Nightmare at Phantom Cave at Darien Lake, since you can't see the ride I told him you have to listen when I say to DUCK otherwise your head will get chopped off. He didn't believe me. Not 5 minutes later, no joke, guy comes out of the exit door with a wheelchair with some sort of neck brace. Never seen someone so freaked out as that moment, and what were the odds of this actually happening. Almost as good as "see that mist on the mind eraser? That's acid. That's why people are screaming" line.

I was such a lovely child.

That *is* a really shitty height requirement, I will agree with that, but there has to be a reason it's there; like it or not. They aren't doing it just to piss people off for no reason. Please don't argue with the ops when you're too tall.

[Invertalon]

No, I will not be arguing with no ride ops... You kidding me? I simply will try to get in line and if they deny me, then I move on and move on with life. While I like coasters, I am not some credit whore who will get all upset and throw a tantrum because I couldn't get on a ride. Plenty of other great things to do in the park and this won't make or break my trip/visit by any means. 

And no, I doubt my "bell" will get rung at 70mph by being 1" over the max height (also note, people hold their height differently... So while some may be 'short' enough to ride, may have longer arms and/or torso than I, therefor, their bell can be easily as rung while still being 'legal' to ride).  

 

[Haymaker]

3 hours ago, KBrylczyk said:

Yeah, go ahead and try to sneak one past them.  Get your bell rung by cold steel at 70mph. Have a blast!  I'm sure ICON Park would be ok with this plan, why not Busch?

Highly doubt thats why theres a limit. Ride of Steel (also an Intamin) has one listed because they might not fit in the restraints, which is something that will get a green light or red light. 

[Garet]

 

All Lotte World's big Intamin rides are set at 190cm maximum height and T Express is set at 195cm.

[JJLehto]

So it's settled I will be going Good Friday weekend, probably Friday the 15th itself. Taking a gamble, not sure how many people get this day off....tbh this is the first job I've ever had where I do and not sure I did for school etc so I'm hoping it will be not jammed. 

Not sure if anyone has any experience with this situation, but if anyone has been to this park on Good Friday lemme know lol Just to be safe I'll look into fast pass. 

[disownedpear]

How's this place with weather? Pretty cold today, SFA closed down entirely. 

[cfc]

What Have the Roman Gods Wrought? Some Thoughts on and Photos of Pantheon

Sing to me, o muse, of Busch Gardens Williamsburg and its tribute to the majesty of the Roman gods!
Swift Mercury of the winged feet!
Minerva, whose wisdom and beauty shamed the rosy fingered dawn!
Neptune, master of the wine dark sea!
Pluto, the sinister lord of the Underworld!
And Mighty Jupiter, father of the gods and the most powerful of all!

OK, my knowledge of classical poetry is a bit rusty, so I think I'll stick to regular old prose now.

Pantheon, Busch Gardens' new multi-launch coaster, opened to the public on Friday, March 25. Well, "officially" opened following a few weekends of previews for Busch Gardens member passholders. I rode it three times during those preview days--front, middle, and back. The verdict: It's a very good ride that's finally brought some nice Intamin ejector air to the Williamsburg park. Here are a few thoughts:

1.  For me, the backseat is the best place to ride most coasters, and Pantheon is no exception. The ejector airtime is more pronounced, and when you go backward up that spike (excuse me, "Neptune's Trident"), it's  pretty hair raising looking straight down.
2. That being said, the front seat offers a great ride too--especially when it comes to the hangtime through the inversions.
3.  The initial launch into an inversion is a great beginning, and the weird outward-banked bit just before the brake run is a good finish. 
4.  I like the outward-banked turn near over the banks of the Rhine River, too. I wish the Rhine River Cruise was operating, as you can get some good views of Pantheon from down there.
5.  The station is rather small for such a big coaster. The queue is a bit odd, too.
6.  The ride is susceptible to windy conditions; that is, they'll suspend operations during gusty days until things die down.

Although this isn't a "top 10" ride for me, it could find a place in my "top 25." My first ride was in a middle seat during a cold day, and the coaster seemed a bit sluggish. But when I rode it on a warmer day in the back and front seats, I thought, "This is more like it."

Let's have a look at Pantheon.  

This rather threatening sign shows you the way to Pantheon in Festa Italia.

Those who would ride Pantheon must get past this imposing iron monster! (Fortunately, that's pretty easy to do.)

Here's what you'll be getting yourself into. You can put your bags in the lockers on the left. There is a wire basket on the station for smaller loose objects. I think you can wear glasses on Pantheon as long as you have sport straps for them (they've been getting stricter about  glasses on coasters this year.)

After you leave the station, Winged Mercury gives you a nice launch through this inversion, which I think has something to do with Minerva.

Perhaps Minerva, in her wisdom, is preparing you for what's to come.

Come on, Mercury! You can do it!!
Oops! Big raspberry from Jupiter, try again.

Fortunately, Neptune is there to help with his trident.

Jupiter says, "Greetings, mortal fools!"

Yep--nice pop of air in the back seat here, as the train just makes it over the hill.

Pantheon:  Hi, Tempesto!
Tempesto: Back at ya, new kid!

Here's part of what Pluto has in store for you after your initial plunge.

"Nice view . . . aghh! What the hell?"

You can get a good view of this element from the bridge between Italy and Germany.

It's such a weird (but cool) feeling as you lean toward the river.

Tempesto: Hi, Loch Ness Monster.
Loch Ness Monster: Best returns of the day to ye, laddie--as long as ye show proper respect to your elders."

Verbolten: Ach! don't mind him, Pantheon. Those old Arrow coasters are always grouchy.

Congratulations, mortals! Your quest is at an end!

And that's a wrap from Pantheon. Get out to Virginia and ride it, lest your cowardice anger the gods! Thanks for reading.

[bert425]

great pics!  (*and report)

 

ummmmmm. . . I just NOW noticed that's supposed to be a sword, as I see the "fist" at the bottom of the sign.

(I know I have a filthy mind. . but having the fist there makes it somehow even dirtier to me than it looked before!!!)

[Haymaker]

2 hours ago, bert425 said:

great pics!  (*and report)

 

ummmmmm. . . I just NOW noticed that's supposed to be a sword, as I see the "fist" at the bottom of the sign.

(I know I have a filthy mind. . but having the fist there makes it somehow even dirtier to me than it looked before!!!)

I saw it too.

[cfc]

The gods were a randy bunch. 

[Haymaker]

[teacherkim]

16 hours ago, cfc said:

The gods were a randy bunch. 

Invented and written about by men, hmmmmm 

[rachelmadcow]

Lol if you want to get esoteric then every obelisk shape is. 

I guess the theme is the ruins of the temples so they can explain why there is no theme... 

I'm goin to have to make a trip to BGW maybe this week if I can sneak away. 

[Nrthwnd]

^ Speaking of 'obelisks' ......

Oakwood Park, Wales. TPR 2010 UK/Europe Tour.

[teacherkim]

So we were at the park last Friday and Saturday. Short trip report: Friday was kind of a rough day Pantheon was down all day, one of the trains spent most of the day stuck on the first launch and only starting some testing about an hour or so before the park closed. Griffon of course wasn't supposed to open but was testing and training all day Friday. Skyride was closed and at one point in the early afternoon in addition to no Pantheon, Griffon, and Skyride; Apollo, Tempesto, and a couple of flats including the drop tower were all down. And of course none of the water rides were open for the season yet. So much so that we actually went back to the hotel for a break and ate dinner outside the park which is most unlike us. Came back for the last couple hours and caught a few night rides including all 3 "stories" on Verbolten. We were planning on going to KD the next day but delayed it and went first back to BGW hoping to catch a ride on Pantheon and Griffon. Got there at open, neither running despite it being the day Griffon was to debut for the season. Did a few things and had a bite to eat and we were just about to give up when we saw that Pantheon had riders, rushed over, apparently it had JUST opened and got a front seat ride with about a 30 min wait which was up to 60 when we got off. Definitely an awesome coaster and backwards air time is super fun. Who knew, lol.

Since we had purchased the higher level QQ that included a one time Pantheon ride for Friday but couldn't use it since it was down all day the park did give us 2 one time skip the line passes which we used next to get a second ride. Finished there about 1:30, did one more quick check on Griffon but it was still closed, testing but closed and the whole path to the station was blocked by benches. I have no idea if it ever opened Saturday or not. Skyride was working on Saturday. At this point we took off for KD so we could at least catch the second half of the day there.

And while this is probably of little interest to most of the thoosies on here, the lorikeets were never out which was an extra bummer for me. However the park had all it's spring flowers going and looked awesome as usual.

One thing we ran into and I have no idea if this is the norm or not; they had rows dedicated to QQ only so if you do get QQ you will most likely get assigned a row. It was row 2 on Apollo, row 5 on Invadr etc etc. Which means if there were no QQ people that row just went empty. Dunno doesn't seem the best way to do that to me but whatever, I was just posting for anyone contemplating buying them so they are in the know.

[AmyUD06]

Thanks for the report.  And great to know about the QQ "assigned rows" situation; kinda solidifies my decision to not buy one for an upcoming trip.

[cfc]

They've had Quick Queue row requirements for some rides for years.

[AmyUD06]

12 minutes ago, cfc said:

They've had Quick Queue row requirements for some rides for years.

Good to know.  I haven't been since the year they removed Big Bad Wolf.

[teacherkim]

37 minutes ago, cfc said:

They've had Quick Queue row requirements for some rides for years.

I wasn't sure since the only other time we were there it was for Con and didn't need QQ due to ert so thought I would post it just in case people didn't know.

[JJLehto]

....Has Griffon been down? I sure hope not, I just bought my tickets, booked places, etc I'll be here April 15. 

[dankeykang]

Griffon was running today. 

[JJLehto]

Well that's a relief. Also looking at both part ticket prices and fast pass prices I'm thinking it was wise to do the park on Friday (though it's Good Friday) rather than the weekend. Wasn't sure if this is really a travel holiday or even one most people get off....I never have before this year. So hoping for a not too packed day!

Excited not just for Pantheon but I've not been here in over 20 years  Big Bad Wolf was still around as was Drachen Fire SBNO. Needless to say I've missed a few things.

[teacherkim]

10 hours ago, JJLehto said:

Well that's a relief. Also looking at both part ticket prices and fast pass prices I'm thinking it was wise to do the park on Friday (though it's Good Friday) rather than the weekend. Wasn't sure if this is really a travel holiday or even one most people get off....I never have before this year. So hoping for a not too packed day!

Excited not just for Pantheon but I've not been here in over 20 years  Big Bad Wolf was still around as was Drachen Fire SBNO. Needless to say I've missed a few things.

I don't know if it will be as bad as a weekend but be aware that most schools are off on Good Friday now so probably worse than a regular Friday. I don't think Griffon was ever down just that it was supposed to open on April 2 and didn't quite make that deadline.

[coneyislandchris]

On 4/4/2022 at 12:14 PM, teacherkim said:

So we were at the park last Friday and Saturday. Short trip report: Friday was kind of a rough day Pantheon was down all day, one of the trains spent most of the day stuck on the first launch and only starting some testing about an hour or so before the park closed. Griffon of course wasn't supposed to open but was testing and training all day Friday. Skyride was closed and at one point in the early afternoon in addition to no Pantheon, Griffon, and Skyride; Apollo, Tempesto, and a couple of flats including the drop tower were all down. And of course none of the water rides were open for the season yet. So much so that we actually went back to the hotel for a break and ate dinner outside the park which is most unlike us. Came back for the last couple hours and caught a few night rides including all 3 "stories" on Verbolten. We were planning on going to KD the next day but delayed it and went first back to BGW hoping to catch a ride on Pantheon and Griffon. Got there at open, neither running despite it being the day Griffon was to debut for the season. Did a few things and had a bite to eat and we were just about to give up when we saw that Pantheon had riders, rushed over, apparently it had JUST opened and got a front seat ride with about a 30 min wait which was up to 60 when we got off. Definitely an awesome coaster and backwards air time is super fun. Who knew, lol.

Since we had purchased the higher level QQ that included a one time Pantheon ride for Friday but couldn't use it since it was down all day the park did give us 2 one time skip the line passes which we used next to get a second ride.

We ended up visiting Busch on Saturday as well! However, we apparently just missed y'all. The original plan was going to be for us to drive down from NJ leaving early afternoon on Friday, hopefully make it to the park in time to grab some night rides on Pantheon, and then do a full day there on Saturday. Needless to say, 95 did not agree with our plans, as per usual. When we realized that even with a best case scenario we wouldn't make it to the park before they closed on Friday night, we made a pit stop at the Applebee's in Ashland, VA just a few miles away from Kings Dominion to grab some dinner.

Ugh. I really should have known better.

Saturday morning, I woke up and felt like absolute hell warmed over. It felt very similar to a bout of food poisoning I got a couple months ago, and so, cursing the shrimp and steak from last night, I retreated back to the hotel bed praying that I wouldn't throw up. Thankfully, the feeling passed after a few hours, I managed to down some solid food, and by 2:30 PM, I was feeling good enough to try for the park. So my son and I hopped in the car and swung by. Obviously at this point our first stop was Pantheon, and at this point, we were greeted with a reported 60 minute wait time. Since we lost most of the morning, we decided to invest in the Quick Queue Plus which included a one-time ride on Pantheon as well as Tempesto and Invadr (honestly, not sure why these two are still single rides only, but whatever). Was pleasantly surprised to see that they honored the discount from our SeaWorld San Antonio platinum memberships, and we ended up getting the QQs for half off!

After a brief bout of planning, we decided on our course of action. We would save the quick queue for the evening, hoping to get a ride on Pantheon with their awesome lighting package we've seen elsewhere. We decided to hit up Apollo and Tempesto first before hopping in that hour-long line for Pantheon. Apollo; still great after all these years. Tempesto; damn you, "comfort collars". Crossing back over to Pantheon, we walked into the queue which was still posting up 60 minutes at the entrance, only to discover that the line was moving MUCH faster than advertised. From us getting in line to getting on a train, it only took about 25 minutes!

At this point, I do want to note something. I'm pretty goddamned blind without my glasses, and so, I've been wearing a strap for them on every ride I go on. Pretty much every park I've been to, this isn't a problem. If someone asks, I tell them and/or show them that I've got a strap, and that's the end of it. Unfortunately, that's not the case with Pantheon. JUST Pantheon. Apollo, no problems. Tempesto, same. Pantheon, even with a strap, they are considered to be a "loose object" and need to be removed. I was a little bit upset about this, but complied, and after the ride was over, one of the employees took some time to discuss the situation with me. Apparently the story is that during the preview weekends, they were allowing people to ride with them, but during opening weekend, reps from Intamin were on hand and they put the kibosh on it. So unfortunately Busch's hands are tied in that regard.

With that out of the way, I want to say that Pantheon is an incredible ride. I haven't been on Velocicoaster yet so I can't really compare the two, but from start to finish, it was absolutely thrilling. Lots of great moments, from the inversion right out of the first launch, to that swing launch with unexpected backwards airtime, to the trio of hangtime from the spike, top hat, and final stall inversion. We ended up riding it three times over the course of the day and it simply didn't disappoint once! I would probably put this in my top five, once I figure out what the hell the rest of them actually are.

Quote

Finished there about 1:30, did one more quick check on Griffon but it was still closed, testing but closed and the whole path to the station was blocked by benches. I have no idea if it ever opened Saturday or not. Skyride was working on Saturday.

After we finished up our first ride on Pantheon, we backtracked through Italy to get to the England skyride station, and took that over to France. By this point in the day (probably about 4 PM?), Griffon was indeed open and serving up screams. We got the middle of the front row and this ride is always a pleasure. I know a lot of people hate on dive machines for whatever reasons, but this still makes me laugh and smile every single time.

From here, we used our single ride on Invadr, which sadly was running a lot rougher than it had felt in previous years. Not bad by any stretch of the means, but noticeably rattly compared to opening season or its past few years. Even though the lines were minimal, we decided to not go for a second ride.

Next up was my favorite invert and my son's 2nd favorite overall, Alpengeist. They ended up moving the Quick Queue entrance point for this so it merges into the station, instead of being around the exit side of things. We did two rides on this and at that point I felt like I had reached my limit. Given my stomach's sensitivity from earlier in the day, I didn't want to push it any further.

From here on out, we made our way over towards Oktoberfest. We did a quick ride on the bumper cars, then noticed that although it was listed as being closed out front, Mach Tower was testing! We hopped on the next cycle and were rewarded with excellent views of the entire park. Then it was over to escape the Black Forest with a ride on Verbolten. As much as I miss the nostalgia of Big Bad Wolf, I really do think Verbolten is a fantastic replacement and a lot of fun.

We backtracked a little bit to Germany to get a ride on the carousel, then with the skyride being temporarily stuck, decided to take the low bridge across the river to get to Loch Ness Monster. This was running surprisingly well this year and didn't have too much headbanging. By this point, the park had cleared out considerably. The sun was setting, temperatures were dropping, and crowds had thinned.

We trekked back to Festa Italia, got our first night ride of the season on Apollo, then used our quick queue for the second ride of the day on Pantheon. At this point it was 8:35, and we decided to try our luck at a third ride before they closed off the line. We ended up riding in rows 4, 7, and 11, and there wasn't a bad spot out of all of them. To be honest, I preferred row 11, mainly due to the height on the spike, but I wouldn't complain about sitting anywhere on the train.

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One thing we ran into and I have no idea if this is the norm or not; they had rows dedicated to QQ only so if you do get QQ you will most likely get assigned a row. It was row 2 on Apollo, row 5 on Invadr etc etc. Which means if there were no QQ people that row just went empty. Dunno doesn't seem the best way to do that to me but whatever, I was just posting for anyone contemplating buying them so they are in the know.

This was also in effect at Pantheon, where Row 4 was the designated QQ lane. But when we were there in the evening, if the row was empty, the ride op on the mic was calling for volunteers to fill in. "Oh, let's give it up for purple sweatshirt and blue t-shirt! Wooooo!" Granted it could have just been because everyone wanted to get the heck out of there earlier, but they weren't sending out any empty rows during the night rides.

For what it's worth, neither Verbolten, Griffon, nor Alpengeist had this rule in effect - you could choose any open row, mainly because the QQs let you into the station rather than through the exits.

All in all, it ended up turning from what looked like was going to be a complete wash into one of the best days we've had at BGW! Fantastic start to our 2022 coaster season.