Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW BGE) Discussion Thread

This fiasco was short

Does seem to be a bit much for what amounted to a one-day closure--but we'll see.

It's reopened.

 

UPDATE - Busch Gardens' Mach Tower returned to service Thursday afternoon.

 

Park spokesman Kevin Crossett said the popular drop tower ride re-opened about 2:30 p.m. Another ride, Escape from Pompeii, that was closed Tuesday evening due to a "minor mechanical issue" was reopened Wednesday evening, he said.

 

On Wednesday, Crossett said Mach Tower was out of service since July 12 while park officials reviewed manufacturer recommended changes to the ride.

 

"We worked with the manufacturer and looked at some issues. That's all I have to say," Crossett said Thursday, after the ride reopened. "Everything checked out fine and we're back in operation."

http://mobile.dailypress.com/p.p?m=b&a=rp&id=2434236&postId=2434236&postUserId=49&sessionToken=&catId=6110&curAbsIndex=0&resultsUrl=DID%3D6%26DFCL%3D1000%26DSB%3Drank%2523desc%26DBFQ%3DuserId%253A49%26DL.w%3D%26DL.d%3D10%26DQ%3DsectionId%253A6110%26DPS%3D0%26DPL%3D10

Never underestimate Busch's matinence crews. When I visited, it was posted out front that Verbolten would be closed all day. Yet, they were able to open it within an hour and a half of park opening. Applause deserved to whoever did what needed to be done. (I believe the problem had to do with storms in the area).

When I read the first article, I ligitametly thought the ride of seemingly simple technology (although drop towers are never actually simple) was going to be closed for an extended period of time, maybe months, or even a full season. I grossly misunderstood the story. Even if that were true, however, that would still be not nearly as large a failure as many other projects in the amusment industry. I guess I owe an admittance of stupidity, or even an apology for that last post I made.

That will be devastating for the park. And a real shame right in the middle of the summer season. All the great buzz from Boltz will be overridden by the drop town fiasco.

 

My, my--aren't we dramatic?

 

I hardly think this will be "devastating" for the park, or overshadow the "buzz" for Verbolten.

 

Speak for yourself, I'm going to cancel my entire East Coast Trip, this was the only thing I was wanting to ride!!!!

 

True, but Intamin has proven themselves in the drop tower ride type.

 

Yep, they've definitely proven themselves.

 

In 1984, three passengers riding The Edge at Six Flags Great America were injured and hospitalized. The boys were soon after released. The ride had experienced a software malfunction that caused the ride to fall backwards down the wrong shaft.

 

n August 1999, a 12-year-old boy who was mentally disabled fell from the Drop Tower: Scream Zone ride at Paramount's Great America and died. The victim's family claimed the harness was not locked properly. An investigation was inconclusive and no charges were filed.

 

In June 2007, a 13-year-old girl had both of her feet severed at the ankles on Superman: Tower of Power at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. A ride malfunction caused a cable to snap and a cord to wrap around the girl's feet, amputating both of them. She was brought to the hospital in critical condition [8] and the park was later fined $1,000 for not properly maintaining the ride.

 

On February 24, 2012, a 14-year-old girl died in an accident at Hopi Hari, Vinhedo, São Paulo State, Brazil. She fell from the drop tower ride "La Tour Eiffel" suffering cranial trauma and died on the way to the hospital. Local police are investigating the accident, initial investigations suggest the possibility of mechanical failure in the restraint latch

 

Sure not all these incidents are reflective of the company...but when was the last time Intamin opened a major drop tower? Incidents like these, no matter whether they are caused by the company or not, don't exactly have people clamoring to buy them.

 

You are talking about 4 incidents in the span of 28 years. One of them is on a 1st generation ride. The most damning one is the SFKK incident obviously.

4 incidents in 28 years, not bad at all.

It's reopened.

 

UPDATE - Busch Gardens' Mach Tower returned to service Thursday afternoon.

 

Park spokesman Kevin Crossett said the popular drop tower ride re-opened about 2:30 p.m. Another ride, Escape from Pompeii, that was closed Tuesday evening due to a "minor mechanical issue" was reopened Wednesday evening, he said.

 

On Wednesday, Crossett said Mach Tower was out of service since July 12 while park officials reviewed manufacturer recommended changes to the ride.

 

"We worked with the manufacturer and looked at some issues. That's all I have to say," Crossett said Thursday, after the ride reopened. "Everything checked out fine and we're back in operation."

"That's all I have to say"... hmm....

^ They probably put it like that so people would stop freaking out...

Another site contacted Moser about this. They explained that 2 alarm sensors were tripped and while the ride could still safely operate with those faulty sensors, Busch Gardens decided it would be best to keep it closed and have Moser come look at it.

It's probably just some oversensitive sensors.

^I'd say that if you want to talk about "fails" at BGW, I think the Drachen Fire mess was a much bigger one (whether you liked the coaster or not).

 

Snf... snf... WAAAAHHH!!! I liked DF! I never had to wait in a line, and it had a great numbing effect on me during college...

I honestly thought that the biggest reason why Drachen Fire was a flop was because of its location. I understand the neck-snapping corkscrew was also a big deal as well though.

^I've never bought the "location" argument. If the ride hadn't developed such a bad reputation for being rough and painful, people would've found it.

Yeah, it's really just from my own personal experience. The first time I went to Busch Gardens Williamsburg was in 1997. My family spent a good portion of the day in Germany and Oktoberfest because I liked the Land of Dragons area so much. I watched Loch Ness Monster a lot from there, and I watched the Big Bad Wolf river drop over and over from the big bridge.

In the afternoon we decided to go around the park. My mom did Alpengeist and subsequently lost a few pounds (she hasn't been on a major roller coaster since), and I was interested in that coaster too.

But it wasn't until we rode a lap on the train ride that I saw Drachen Fire. I had no idea where it was, and I had no idea what kind of coaster it was either. All I knew was that it was "the awesome blue coaster". It wasn't until I started going on the RCDB that I knew about Drachen Fire. (Hat tip to Duane!)

That's just my own experience, but that's why I think location was a big part in its failure. We spent at least five hours throughout the day in Germany/Oktoberfest and had no idea the coaster even existed!

That will be devastating for the park. And a real shame right in the middle of the summer season. All the great buzz from Boltz will be overridden by the drop town fiasco.

 

My, my--aren't we dramatic?

 

I hardly think this will be "devastating" for the park, or overshadow the "buzz" for Verbolten.

 

Speak for yourself, I'm going to cancel my entire East Coast Trip, this was the only thing I was wanting to ride!!!!

Exactly. This is the thing you see. Of course it is only the Mach tower. But it's about the image it projects.

Busch has had the problems with Boltz but thankfully the yellow car is back in action and it also seems boltz is working well. But it did have a few of these "image" problems a few weeks back. Always down, rough ride etc.

But now as a back to back probelm the mach is having all these issues and downtime.

Again, it's the "image" it creates. Say you are planning a jaunt down the east coast and you have been keeping up with BGW ride closures, this kind of extended closure is the kind of thing that would give you pause, to stop and think and maybe reconsider having a Busch stop over.

But it's good to see they seem to have fixed it.

Say you are planning a jaunt down the east coast and you have been keeping up with BGW ride closures, this kind of extended closure is the kind of thing that would give you pause, to stop and think and maybe reconsider having a Busch stop over.

The closure of Mach Tower would have absolutely no effect on my planning a trip to BGE.

Does seem to be a bit much for what amounted to a one-day closure--but we'll see.

The only reason I posted the story was because it sounded like there was trouble with Mach Tower. Here we are 24 hours later and the ride is almost back open. I did not run on a rumor, it was in the Daily Times.

The closure of Mach Tower would have absolutely no effect on my planning a trip to BGE.

Exactly.

Does seem to be a bit much for what amounted to a one-day closure--but we'll see.

 

The only reason I posted the story was because it sounded like there was trouble with Mach Tower. Here we are 24 hours later and the ride is almost back open. I did not run on a rumor, it was in the Daily Times.

 

The closure of Mach Tower would have absolutely no effect on my planning a trip to BGE.

 

Exactly.

Two things.

1. I was not referring to you, but to the park for making what seemed to be a rather "important" announcement, only to retract it the next day. Sorry if this wasn't clear.

2. The paper is the Daily Press, not the "Daily Times."

Say you are planning a jaunt down the east coast and you have been keeping up with BGW ride closures, this kind of extended closure is the kind of thing that would give you pause, to stop and think and maybe reconsider having a Busch stop over.

 

The closure of Mach Tower would have absolutely no effect on my planning a trip to BGE.

Oh I totally agree. But all I'm saying is that the image is what's important. Ask any PR team and they will throw you the same info.

The closure of Mach Tower would have absolutely no effect on my planning a trip to BGE.

While I agree with you, this thought-process does beg the question: was the tower a worthwhile investment in the first place?

Us enthusiasts will say that Mach Tower isn't a worthwhile investment simply because of all the downtime. However, the park can't really decide whether it was a worthwhile advancement or not for a few more years. If they don't get enough riders on it to justify its cost in, say, five or six years, then we can say that building it was a bad idea.

Now, however, even with the downtime, it's too early to write off whether or not Mach Tower was a bad investment.

Slight departure from the Mach Tower:

I will be visiting the park on a Sunday in early August, probs from like 2 'till close. Will the crowds be bad enough to make the fast pass worth it? How about the Verbolten option? We will probably end up shelling out for the basic one but unless it is going to be mobbed I don't see the reason to pay $10 more for Verbolten if the wait won't be too bad.

Thanks!

^If the Verbolten queue is full, the wait is about 40 minutes with four-train operations.

^^ And lately they have been running all 5 trains with little to no problems.

I'm going to being Virginia beach for work training for the next couple of weeks and was planning on making a day trip to BGW on Saturday the 28th. What do you thing the lines would be like on a Saturday late in July? Any info is greatly appreciated

^Summer Saturdays are usually very busy--you might want to spring for Quick Queue.

I'm curious - how has the yellow train been affecting Verbolten's line speed? It was already moving very quickly with four (a full queue is only 40 minutes, which for the amount of people that line fits is nothing short of amazing), so I'm wondering if there's a noticeable difference with five? Seems like it would make a slight one, though nothing crazy.

Seriously can't wait for ERT on it at East Coast Bash, hopefully at night! I really love this ride for some reason. Well, a lot of reasons.

^I was at the park for a few hours early this evening, but I didn't time the wait for Verbolten with five trains. It broke down long enough for me to grab a pretzel dog and a beer (about 15 minutes). Mach Tower was down again, and Alpengeist was out of action, as well, with a train stuck on the lifthill.

Oh my geez, I tried my first pretzel dog at Disneyland last month and it will now be a must-do at "destination" parks. Heavenly.

Are they hard style pretzel or soft style? Going down to BGW in August hoping to hit the park on a everything is running day....

^Soft-style pretzel. Both rides may be back up by today, for all I know.