Virginia: BGW vs. PKD

[Three]

I'm going to Virginia in May. Definitely going to Busch Gardens Williamsburg, possibly going to Paramount Kings Dominion. I figured I might start a thread debating the merits of each.

 

PKD has an ass-ton of coasters, yes. But is it the better park? Are its twelve coasters better than BGW's four?

 

From what I'm speculating, BGW seems to be a better all-around park. Theme-wise, anyway. As for the coasters, I'm having difficulty wading through the quantity vs. quality argument.

 

Any input?

[CoasterFanatic]

If it means anything, I have gone down there without visiting PKD, but I have never left without a visit to BGW.

[GAcoaster]

In the heirarchy of VA parks, for me it's always:

#1 BGW

#2 PKD

 

BGW is consistently a "can't miss" (I go 2-3 times a year), while PKD is a "once a year" or "once every two years" park (even though I drive right past PKD to get to BGW). They have a couple of great coasters, and it's a really nice park, but it's not in the same league as BGW, IMO.

[SharkTums]

This is kind of like the Disneyland or Knotts Debate...

 

BGW is a really beautiful park, and you could wander around for days...key word being wander...not ride. The coasters are all 'okay' but nothing special. (Heck they've lost 2!) In my opinion, you'll maybe need 1 reride on some of them and that's it! The new ride should be cool, but again, nothing amazingly special and Pompeii is cool but there's not much else.

 

PKD is very much like a Six Flags park, but at least they have some really decent coasters! I like Hypersonic a lot, Volcano is awesome, the bobsled is fun, Woodies are usually pretty good, they've got a great drop ride, the new painful top spin, etc.

 

It really depends on what you're into!

 

Elissa "god, I can't believe I compared PKD to Knotts!!! I'm sorry Paramount!" Alvey

[kenshinmac]

Congrats Elissa on stopping at 666 posts...

 

I still don't understand how some parks can keep getting rid of coasters and call it progress... Yeah talking about BGW.

[CoasterFanatic]

^ I know we are coasterfans and all, but I see the replacement of a Mouse coaster with a one-of-a-kind dark ride (at about 10x the cost) progress.

 

It might not be a coaster, but I am sure it will be cool.

 

// Since I rode the mouse in both locations, can I count it twice (Man ... I got a lot of credit whore scenarios popping up this week)

[Three]

From what my girlfriend and I generally enjoy in parks, I think we're going to enjoy Busch Gardens Williamsburg more. And the B&M fan in me is simply looking forward to those coasters more than PKD's

 

However, I am a bit pissed that BGW tore down Drachen Fire. Wild Mause, whatever; it's not like that ride is permenantly gone or anything -- I can ride it anytime I want here in Florida. But Drachen Fire looked really unique, and it seems like such a waste to tear something down like that.

 

It's discouraging to see BGW's rcdb entry with more past coasters than existing coasters. But from what I've seen of the park, the atmosphere may just make up for it.

[SharkTums]

// Since I rode the mouse in both locations, can I count it twice (Man ... I got a lot of credit whore scenarios popping up this week)

 

NO!

 

And I didn't mean to imply that a badly breaked mouse is better than a 'spiderman type' dark ride, sorry about that!

 

Elissa "although Drachen Fire might have been!" Alvey

[Meteornotes]

I think that BGW is among the most overrated parks ever. Sure, it's a nice clean park and all, but there is not a lot to do there, and the coasterse are all "ok" at best. Alpenbrake is one of the worst inverteds ever, and Apollo's isn't exactly exciting either. And the food is VASTLY overrated! It is only SLIGHTLY better than anything you'd get at your average park. I will never understand the fuss over it. Anyway, if you like to walk around and look at scenic views and flowers and such, it's a nice park, but for riding, I find it lacking. I haven't been there since 1999, and am in no hurry to go back.

 

PKD, while it's not the park it used to be, is still a pretty good park. Lots of fun rides, the operations are pretty good, and they have a decent water park (stay away from the enclosed slide of death!). They are currently re-tracking Grizzly and that will be closed until sometime in May, but everything else is supposed to be up and running. I've found that the wood coasters at PKD run much better earlier in the year, so now is a good time to visit.

 

For riding, I'd really recommend PKD over BGW...

 

dt

[What Now]

^ I have to agree with you regarding the food at BGW.

 

I love BGW. It's just a nice place to be at. I really liked the two B&Ms there.

 

The last time I was in VA; I didn't even go to PKD (didn't go to PKD either time I was in VA). Given that choice again, I'd still pick BGW over PKD. Even with Hypersonic and Volcano, PKD just doesn't appeal to me.

[ahecht]

Although I haven't been to BGW, I was quite impressed with PKD. I would certantly recommend it over SFA.

[Sir Clinksalot]

When we went to PKD, we were awestruck. Our local Paramount park is Carowinds, and the variety of attractions, theming, and overall atmosphere at PKD blew PC outta the water. When we left that park, our opinion was essentially "Wow. BGW is gonna have to be pretty good to beat this place!"

 

24 hours later, we forgot PKD existed.

 

As Robb said a while ago in a Cedar Pointe thread, it's better to be in a park with more quality coasters than a park with a higher total of coasters (okay, that was a horrible paraphrasing, but you get the point).

 

There was nothing at PKD I got off of wanting to go back on again (okay, except maybe that cool bobsled thing). I lost count of how many times I rode Alpengeist while I was at BGW. I had dreams weeks later about Apollos Chariot. I'd drive there right now to ride Apollo's Chariot again. And the other two coasters, while not EXTREME COASTERS, are still well maintained, highly enjoyable, quality rides. Visually, Loch Ness Monster is one beautiful hunk of steel.

 

That's not to say that PKD is bad - quite the contrary, I'll be returning again this year. But that's not the part of the trip I'm looking forward to (kinda like how I look forward to IOA, not another trip to Sea World).

[X]

I would say PKD even though I haven't been to either one.

The problem woth BGW is that they have only 4 OK coasters. Next year on our Washington DC Trip in our stop at Williamsberg, I plan to spend 1 hour there, get 4 credits and leave.

Kevin "If it wern't for crowds, I could conquer BGW in 5 min!" Bujold

[CoasterFanatic]

^ It is a little difficult to give good advice without first having the experience.

 

BTW. You couldn't walk a quarter of the way around the park in 5 minutes.

[Three]

Fortunately, I realize there's a lot more to theme parks than just roller coasters. BGW sounds like a damn cool place to walk around for a day, and overall I'm looking more forward to its coasters anyway.

 

Regarding PKD's coasters, I was wondering if anyone would mind shedding some light on each of the wooden ones. Four seems like an awful lot for a single park (even if one is a family coaster). What are the high points/low points of each? Are any of them amazingly good or amazingly bad?

[GAcoaster]

They are both great parks, but I think PKD gets overlooked because it's always in BGW's shadow. I always tell peopel to go to both parks, but to go to PKD first, then BGW. If you go from BGW to PKD, it tends to make PKD look like a second class park in comparison.

[Three]

I shall indeed be doing PKD first, for those reasons.

 

Another question: During the time of year I'm going (second-to-last weekend of May), PKD is only open on weekends. I would normally avoid going to a park on a weekend like that, but it's the only option in this case. Are the crowds going to be *that* bad if the season hasn't fully blown up yet? And would Saturday or Sunday be best?

[coasterdude5]

I think BGW is the park I'd go to. With Darkastle and the beautifullness of the scenery, its my pick.

[JamminJ]

Regarding PKD's coasters, I was wondering if anyone would mind shedding some light on each of the wooden ones. Four seems like an awful lot for a single park (even if one is a family coaster). What are the high points/low points of each? Are any of them amazingly good or amazingly bad?

 

Heh the world would be a lot better if more parks had 4 wooden coasters...

 

Grizzly - Amazingly good, must be experienced at night, watch out for the tunnel! Perhaps one of the most underrated woodies in America.

 

Hurler - often runs slow with shuffling through the turns, no match for Carowinds' version of the same thing.

 

Rebel Yell - A very very tempremental pair of woodies. Through my numerous visits to the park since 2001 I don't think I've ever had similar rides, even consecutively, on either one. Very hit or miss.

 

Scooby Doo - An excellent Junior woodie, very smooth with some surprise airtime. Don't discount it because of it's size, usually the 2nd best woodie at the park...

 

As for the whole "PKD v. BGW" debate, they both have their own nitche among parkgoers. Go to PKD if you want rides, go to BGW if you want the 'total experience.' I still much prefer BGW as it's operations are exceptional, the food is fantastic, and every one of it's 4 coasters is top notch... well maybe not Alpie.. overrated POS.. :? Apollo, LNM, and BBW are at the top of their class though! Not to mention their theming and scenery is rivaled only by Islands of Adventure, everywhere you turn you are finding little details that the park adds in that you never noticed before. It's so great to know a park actually cares about it's guests...

[Three]

Awesome -- thanks for the tips!

 

Now all I've gotta do is convince my girlfriend that not all wooden coasters are like Gwazi.

[BiCoastal Kid]

^Just tell her that the rest are like sitting on dryers.

[CoasterFanatic]

^ LMAO. Never thought of it like that.

[alpengeistdude321]

BGW. Has a better atmosphere and lanscaping.

[pianojohn]

For me, it's BGW all the way. Of course, I am prejudiced since I worked there for 4 years as a supervisor. The attention to detail, theming, everything is just something you don't see at many parks including Disney.

 

I also love the lush setting with all of the trees. In the summer, it is a sea of green, but in the fall, the leaves just pop out at you. It really is the most beautiful park in the world.

 

I also love the coasters. I could ride Apollo's Chariot and Alpengeist all day, and BBWolf and Loch Ness are still fun. At PKD, I could do each coaster maybe once or twice, but that's about it. They beat you up too much, and the ride ops have never been that friendly.

 

Food: hands down BGW has some of the best park food anywhere.

 

But if you still cannot decide, do them both. They are about 1 1/2 hours apart.

[palmerleeberry]

Hiya, hiya, and hiya. It's me again with another long-lost post I've decided to pick up, blow all the dust off, and present it again with some freshness.

 

"Okay, let's go; I'm getting stir-crazy here!

 

This post was introduced five years ago, asking the question on which park was the better park: KINGS DOMNINION or BUSCH GARDENS EUROPE. There has been some interesting answers, but now that five years has pass, both parks had some name changes as well as new ownerships; both parks have added rides, but taken out some old ones (HYPERSONIC XLC & THE BIG BAD WOLF I'll miss you both terribly), and other things that has happened within this five year period.

 

Now because these parks are in my home state of Virginia (The state with ocean in the east, mountains in the west, and a whole lotta history in the middle), I have decided to update this page and see how all you riders and amusement park flyers feel about both parks, five years later.

 

"And what about you, palmerleeberry? Which park do you prefer?

 

Well, because I have a Cedar Fair Platinum Pass, I can go to KINGS DOMINION as many times as I want. BUSCH GARDENS EUROPE is fine, but because the park is farther away from me than good ole KD is, and not to mention that it has only four major coasters (compared to good ole KD that has thirteen), it may be a few years between visits.

 

So my answer is KINGS DOMINION!!!

 

(singing) "I'll have it made like a mountain range/ with a snow-white pillow for my big fat head"

(from Big Time by Peter Gabriel)