Photo TR: The Kiwis Do Texas Midwest 2013

[beatle11]

Shame you guys missed I-305. It's definitely worth coming back to ride it.

[Double0Kevin]

Wow, too bad about the delayed openings. When I visited back in 2011 the only ride I think opened late as Shockwave. I also visited on an extremely slow day but everything else was going rights off the bat. By the time I had finished everything else, Shockwave opened and beat me so badly I forgot all the other rides and rode them again as if they were brand new to me . I also had a similar experience though, I was lucky to ride I305 (my No. 1 coaster) but Volcano was closed all day. It was a major bummer for me because up until I305, that was the ride to go to KD for, and I wanted to ride SO BAD! Alas, another trip will need to be made.

 

KD gets overlook for it's beauty. It really is a great looking park, but with BGW down the road, it's hard to appreciate KD.

[Werner]

And another great update from the Kiwi's... To bad I305 was down for your visit, well that makes for a good reason to come back. Can't wait to read the next update with Busch Gardens...

[deano]

Thanks for the TR, looks like you guys are having fun and yes I am jealous.

 

I know the feeling of an Intamin being down when you travel halfway around the world with the expectations of riding it, when Top Thrill was closed on our first trip to CP I could have cried... Looking back it was no big deal as I have ridden dozens of better coasters since, I305 however, there's not much better than that.

 

Seeing your pics of Flight Of Fear made me remember when my Oakley's got stolen out of the property box while the wife and I were riding it.

[mattnz]

Next up on our journey after the awesome TPR Texas Midwest trip was beautiful Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and 'beautiful' really is the word to use to describe this wonderful place. There are very few parks I've visited where I can't think of a single thing to critique, and Busch Gardens Williamsburg is one of them, up there with Knoebel's and Silver Dollar City for me.

 

So what makes the place so special? Aside from the beauty and upkeep of the park, which you'll see in these photos, the setting is one of the best things about it. The park's location is perfect for terrain coasters, and they certainly use the terrain well. You can view the park from up high by taking a round trip on the Skyride, which has three different legs, providing amazing views.

 

The coasters are all excellent, with some stand-out B&Ms, including Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot and Griffon. Loch Ness Monster is an iconic ride that I've wanted to ride all my life, so it was great to finally get on this unique, and very fun, Arrow coaster. Finally, Verbolten was a big surprise for us, and I really enjoyed the tricks inside the event building. I had heard mixed reports about the ride, but I think it's an absolutely perfect fit for the park, and rather undderated among coaster enthusiasts too.

 

The Curse of DarKastle was another surprise, and much better than I was expecting, having been on Spider-Man at Islands of Adventure. I had also read somewhere that the park was light on flat rides, but that's not true at all! I can count off multiple flats without thinking too hard about it, and some of them were rather rare too.

 

Rides aside, there is plenty at Busch Gardens Williamsburg to occupy your day, and if you weren't into thrills you'd still find some fun things to do, especially if you like animal exhibits and shows.

 

With the beauty, setting, themeing and great rides, add excellent customer service and you can count me as a big fan of Busch Gardens Williamsburg. We visited the sister park in Tampa (stay tuned for the TR), and I definitely preferred this park. I look forward to visiting again in the very near future.

We finally made it to England! Busch Gardens' version that is.

It started out a bit gloomy today but the weather steadily improved for us.

Next door to England is Scotland (duh...), famous for the park's Highland Stables, featuring beautiful Clydesdales horses.

In Scotland you'll also find the Loch Ness Monster!

I didn't realise this ride was as well-themed as any at the park.

Station shot.

We thoroughly enjoyed the Loch Ness Monster! But to photograph it you have to go down this steep hill to the river...

The money shot!

Another view of the famous interlocking loops.

I love how the coaster begins with a big drop over the river before a turnaround, this second drop and first loop. The rest of the ride is fun too, with an enclosed helix followed by a second lift and final loop de loop. A real classic.

The river also provides great photo ops for some of the other coasters in the park.

This viewing area is deceiving though! It takes a LONG time to get to Alpengeist from here - it's on the other side of the park even though it's just a stone's throw away from the Loch Ness Monster.

One last shot!

We wandered around the park in a clockwise direction.

The train goes clockwise too, and we got a ride in later on in the day.

Next up was Sesame Street Forest of Fun!

Lots of things for the kids to enjoy.

The area is also home to a Zierer junior coaster named Grover's Alpine Express. I can't recall if adults can ride this or not, but we opted not to try. We get embarrassed in our credit whoring without TPR!

Moving onto Italy we came across Escape from Pompeii.

This is how to take a simple shoot-the-chutes and theme the hell out of it.

We rode later in the day and enjoyed it despite some obnoxious teenagers behind us. Anything with fire effects is fun!

Beautiful Italy!

Across this bridge was the Festa Italia area, themed around Marco Polo and Roman mythology.

Urgh, at least it's well themed...

We were looking forward to B&M's very first mega coaster.

Apollo's Chariot was fun, with some nice elements to it making for a top tier B&M. But this was the only photo I took - the ride goes way out into the distant terrain and is hard to photograph!

There were quite a few flat rides in Festa Italia.

Who says this park is lacking in flats?!

There is also a rapids ride tucked away in the far corner of Festa Italia.

Around the corner is San Marco which we thought was the most beautiful area of the entire park.

Stunning!

I loved Da Vinci's Garden of Inventions and the uniquely themed rides. We gave Da Vinci's Cradle a spin.

Well, what's this? ANOTHER flat ride!

Even the kiddie rides were beautifully themed.

We could have spent the whole day exploring San Marco.

Especially because of this...

Yay, wine!

This long suspension bridge led to Germany. Anyone know what all the pirate stuff is about?

A look back to the Loch Ness Monster.

We didn't take the boat ride this visit.

It looked very pleasant.

Looking over the other side of the bridge.

Next up: Verbolten!

The nicely themed queue.

The spiel in the station with the German woman shouting "auf wiedersehen" must drive the ride ops crazy!

The ride itself is excellent.

We loved it! Especially the launches, show building and fun 'drop' track.

This drop was fun too.

I love how the park pays tribute to the Big Bad Wolf with a similar final drop on Verbolten.

In all, we thought Verbolten was a big win for Busch Gardens.

The lines were quite long all day long.

I guess if you don't want to ride you can pet some sheep?

Nearby was Mäch Tower, which was closed all day long, the only disappointing element of our visit.

I was intrigued to ride, so it was annoying to see it testing all day without opening. Bugger.

We ate in the Oktoberfest hall.

Who needs to go to the real one when you have a great recreation right here in Virginia! (Though seriously I would love to go to Oktoberfest someday...)

We were entertained while we ate.

Oktoberfest has a nice, authentic feel to it.

Next up was the Curse of DarKastle.

This was another surprise for us. Again, some middling reviews had lowered our expectations. We thought it was GREAT!

After we took this photo we saw a sign saying this was for children only. Whoops!

BOOBS!!!

The Land of the Dragons was pretty cute.

We finally made it all the way around the park to ride Alpengeist. I thought the queue was gorgeous. But there seemed to be no one riding today. It was a walk on.

That is a looong way up.

The coaster is absolutely enormous.

I liked the sweeping first drop.

As others have noted, Alpengeist's elements are so oversized, the ride seems kind of drawn out, taking away a bit of the intensity. (B&M's NEED intensity to be good!)

But it's still pretty forceful, and a great ride, aided up the absolutely amazing setting.

We gave Le Scoot a ride. It was a short but fun log flume.

New France had an outdoor grill that smelled fantastic. How 'Silver Dollar City' of them!

In France we found Griffon.

Yay for our first-ever B&M dive machine!

This is a good gimmick to get your heart racing...

...because it works!

90 degrees!

You really feel the Gs at this point.

Griffon was a fun ride.

Fun to photograph too!

Parks should build these instead of wing coasters.

Splash downs are always fun to watch.

Especially when people make faces like these!

Continuing around the park you come to an area with animals, including wolves, which was pretty cool.

Not to mention eagles!

We were disappointed to see this ride closed for a Howl-O-Scream refit. Europe in the Air seems to get bad reviews, so that means we'll probably like it, right?

There wasn't much else to do in Ireland...

But it was pretty.

So that takes us around the whole park. Of course we didn't quite do the park in a clockwise manner...

Not when they have a Skyride to help you get around. Leg no. 1 took us back over Ireland.

It was a long way up at some points!

Across to France.

Griffon just looks amazing from up here.

That's a steep lift!

Leg no. 2 of the Skyride took us across Griffon's brake run.

And onwards to Germany.

Back into the Land of the Dragons.

Leg no. 3 took us back over the river. Great views of all the rides from up here.

We loved taking the Skyride. It was a nice ending to a fantastic day.

Thank you for a great day Busch Gardens Williamsburg. We'll be back!

[netdvn]

The pirate stuff was there for Howl O Scream. Since pirates was the new thing this year, the park decided to place emphasis on that.

 

Glad you liked Busch. The coasters here are pretty amazing. Eurpoe in the Air on the other hand... I'm glad that's gone.

[beatle11]

This park is easily the most beautifully landscaped park I've been to, by alot. On top of that, they have a very solid coaster collection and excellent food all over the park too. Great pics!

[kidcoaster 2]

One of my favorite parks! Hopefully my next visit is as quiet as yours was. Thanks for the pics!

[Barge84]

I've been to BGW twice in my life (each of the last 2 summers) and it's quickly becoming one of my favorite parks. Great collection of ride, absolutely the most beautiful park I've been to, and even the food is amazing. Honestly, even you guys wouldn't like Europe in the Air. It's terrible!

 

If they do a food and wine festival again this year I might try to get out there for it.

[The Great Zo]

You captured a lot of the things I liked about my first-ever visit to BGW this year. Really liked the pictures from down near the water, and Griffon is quite photogenic, as you found. As for Europe in the Air, you missed only nausea!

[gerstlaueringvar]

Great TR! How do you think of Alpengeist compared to Raptor CP?

[mattnz]

Great TR! How do you think of Alpengeist compared to Raptor CP?

 

I'd give Raptor the edge. But it's amazing what terrain can do, Alpengeist wins in all other departments in terms of themeing and landscaping. It's amazing how that can add to the ride experience.

[mattnz]

This park is easily the most beautifully landscaped park I've been to, by alot. On top of that, they have a very solid coaster collection and excellent food all over the park too. Great pics!

 

Thank you Chris!

[rollin_n_coastin]

Awesome pics guys! You really captured how nice a park BGW is. I couldn't agree more about a Dive Machine being preferable to a Wing Coaster. Griffon is my favourite ride at BGW although I haven't been on Verbolten yet.

 

I305 is definitely worth a trip back to the area, as is Williamsburg overall and even Water Country USA.

[mike541x]

Alpengeist wins in all other departments in terms of themeing and landscaping. It's amazing how that can add to the ride experience.

 

 

This is why Alpengeist is my favorite invert, the terrain and theming makes a big difference with this ride. Great TR, glad you enjoyed BGW. I think it's becoming rare to find a TR on this park with Mach Tower open.

[Wood Dragon 1988]

Great TR! I haven't been to BGW in MANY years, but really need to get back!

 

You really captured the beauty of the park very well in your pictures.

 

One thing that surprised me was how many flat rides you pictured. I've been to BGW five or six times and never went on any. There's too much other stuff to do like coasters, highly themed water rides, Oktoberfest, animal exhibits, shows, etc. The flats look decent and highly themed as well. They could use a few modern ones though.

[Mrlittle]

I'm not big on the overall ride collection at BGW but the atmosphere and beauty of the park surpasses any other park I've been to. Another great TR.

[Werner]

WOW! This TR recalls many memories about my visit back in 2011, i really want to go back now... And that's a good thing, there are not many parks that make me want to go back that often without something new. Verbolten would just be extra...

[azza29]

Great TR! This is definitely one of my favourite parks, it really is very beautiful and has a great collection of rides. Europe in the Air is difficult to enjoy, even in an ironic hipster "LOLOMG this is so terrible" kind of way. You did not miss much. I agree that the terrain adds a lot to Alpengeist - I always enjoy riding coasters which interact with their surrounds.

[Woodie Warrior]

BGW is definitely on my must-visit list now.

Edited December 16, 2013 by Woodie Warrior

[WFChris]

Cool TR! I miss Alpengeist

 

I need to get back to BGW someday, but for now my only domestic desires are SDC and DW. Other than that, my attention is focused on not-in-the USA!

[ArizonaGuy]

Awesome pics of Busch Gardens!

[mattnz]

After trekking across beautiful Virginia we finally made it to Orlando where we were due to meet up with some other Kiwis for a stay at Disney's Polynesian Resort.

 

But before I get to Disney I would like to make my next update SeaWorld Orlando, where we had a very relaxed, enjoyable day taking in the rides, exhibits and shows at this world-class theme park. SeaWorld has been receiving a lot of flak lately, and I for one think it's totally uncalled for. I don't think people realise that documentaries are like movies nowadays... I won't go into any moral arguments here, as I personally don't think keeping animals in captivity is an issue at all, but suffice to say I think there are a lot of sanctimonious couch critics out there right now who have no idea what they're talking about.

 

This was our third Sea World-style park after Australia's version and SeaWorld San Antonio, and like those two parks, Orlando had a big focus on conservation, and the trainers seemed very passionate about what they do. As with the Shamu show in San Antonio, we felt the killer whales didn't get put through their paces too much, and the show seemed light on 'tricks'. It was just nice watching these majestic animals swim around. But again, as in San Antonio, we found SeaWorld's salute to the military at the beginning of the show very strange indeed!

 

SeaWorld Orlando has some strong coasters, and Manta was the surprise for us. We couldn't believe how intense the pretzel loop was. Holy crap! It's nowhere near as tall as Tatsu's pretzel loop, but it certainly delivers the Gs. Kraken was a fun B&M and glass smooth despite opening in 2000. We thought it was one of the better floorless coasters out there, though I still don't notice the floorless concept unless I ride the front row. Journey to Atlantis was a very enjoyable water coaster, and makes San Antonio's counterpart look pretty pathetic. We didn't ride in the front which may have been a good thing judging by some of the guests getting off the ride.

 

Our visit was on a very quiet day, and having no queues to deal with certainly helped make our day more fun. But Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin was the big exception here, with queues stretching beyond an hour and a half. It was also an incredibly hot day, and we just didn't feel like waiting in the sun for a ride that seems to get pretty bad reviews on TPR. Did we miss anything?

 

This update will be a little light on photos and apologies ahead for my omission of the Turtle Trek/Dolphin Cove corner of the park. As I mentioned, it was a HOT day in Florida, and we had pretty much petered out by mid-afternoon. Anyway, onto the photos.

We finally made it to America's tropical state, Florida! And today turned out to be a very hot day...

I love pink flamingos - both the birds and the movie starring Divine.

We went straight to Manta, which had a 5 minute wait time...

That 5 minutes was mainly spent wandering through the amazing queue.

Beautiful habitat!

Being basically a walk-on, we made sure we got a lot of rides in.

Manta's pretzel loop is crazy-intense!

At this point you can barely breathe.

So amazing.

Manta was much better than I expected. It seems quite modest in POVs, but really packs a punch.

The famous 'splash down'.

Cool effect.

Manta's themeing is just gorgeous. Good job, SeaWorld Orlando!

We checked out the new Antarctica area.

New Zealand is basically the Antarctic Riviera in winter, so it was nice to see Christchurch and Wellington represented here!

This was a good looking corner of the park, but looks can be deceiving... It was sweltering, and there were no trees to provide a bit of shade.

The main draw here, Antarctica: Empire of the Penguin, had mysteriously long queues all day long. Where did all those guests come from?!

We weren't really into the idea of waiting for an attraction that isn't supposed to be very good, especially since most of the queue was outdoors.

Onto another very strong B&M coaster at the park.

Kraken was a walk-on...

It was a very fun ride. I especially liked the subterranean dive into Kraken's lair.

The coaster was a bit hard to photograph, but here's a shot from across the lake.

Kraken eggs in the exit - nice touch!

Journey to Atlantis was another beautifully themed attraction.

It was great fun, and we didn't get too wet (I think you need to avoid the front row if you're worried about that!).

The Pacific Point Preserve area had sea lions and seals swimming and sunning themselves. (That's a lot of S's.)

If I was a seal, I'd much rather live here than in the wild!

SeaWorld did have lots of shady spots, which was nice in the heat.

We found our own wildlife...

Can New Zealand please introduce squirrels right now?!

Shark Encounter...

Apparently you can dine under here by the exhibition tanks. Pretty cool idea.

I loved this poster. It reminded of the ride narrators on the gone-but-not-forgotten Jaws at Universal Studios. "Shaaark!"

Shark Encounter takes you through an underwater tunnel.

Venomous fish...

Sharks, stingrays and lots of other creatures.

This exhibit was beautiful, but I was reminded the whole time of Jaws 3-D, which traumatised me as a kid! (And it was partially filmed here!)

Andrew refused to pose for me...

The paddle boats were a nice idea, and not something you see at many US parks.

Gorgeous!

We had a look around the 'sea garden'.

I love this park!

Shamu's Happy Harbor is the kid's area at SeaWorld.

I liked the jellyfish plants.

As with the kid's area at SeaWorld San Antonio, Shamu's Happy Harbor mostly featured water play and climbing structures, which I thought was a great idea.

There are rides though, such as the other credit at the park, Shamu Express.

Wild Arctic was an indoor pavilion we didn't know too much about...

It started out with a motion simulator ride.

It was cheesy fun!

The animal exhibits were amazing, featuring Beluga whales...

Napping polar bears...

And this huge Pacific walrus!

The store.

Onwards to Shamu Stadium.

One Ocean was similarly impressive to the show we saw in San Antonio.

They're amazing beasts...

I honestly didn't feel this was exploitative at all. The animals seemed very well treated.

I'd do this for a good meal any day!

Looking across the lake to some modern B&M goodness.

Stadium for outdoor shows.

A bridge connects you back to the rest of the theme park.

Despite being a landlocked marine park, you really felt as if you were by the ocean here.

The Waterfront area of the park is themed to resemble a seaside Mediterranean village.

We ate at the Seafire Inn Restaurant, which provided us with one of the healthier meals we had in the US!

But we balanced that out a wee bit...

Thank you SeaWorld Orlando for a great day! You have a beautiful park and we appreciated your passion for the animals in your care.

[The Great Zo]

Nice report! That park is high on my list to visit (I went there when I was maybe 10 years old, and remember very little). JtA sure looks like a winner compared to the Texas version.

 

I think I'm most amused by your recurring obsession with squirrels, though. They're everywhere here!

[Mrlittle]

Glad you enjoyed your visit to Seaworld Orlando. I liked the park as well on my first visit. Yall really did hit up like all the big parks on this trip.