A-Z Blogging - Adventure Parks - B is for Busch Gardens Pipe Dreams

One of my favorite amusement parks in the world is Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia.  To me, this park has one of the coolest themes of any park in the world and embodies the very epitome of the term "theme park."  The place, dubbed The Old Country, is designed to resemble a medieval/Renaissance era Europe, with sections of the beautifully landscaped park representing the major countries of the era, including France, England, Scotland, Germany and Italy.

The clock tower outside the Festhaus in The Old Country

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A walk around The Old Country gives visitors the feel of being in medieval Europe, with attractions and shops seemingly authentic to the time and place.  Adding to the greatness of The Old Country were the coasters, all uniquely suited to their particular area of the park in which they were located.  Busch Gardens Williamsburg doesn't have many roller coasters, but the ones they do (and did) have are world-class, from the now-defunct Big Bad Wolf to the new Verbolten, Loch Ness Monster, Alpengeist, Griffon and Apollo's Chariot.  Now that's my kind of amusement park! Check out the awesome Big Bad Wolf...

I remember during my first to Busch Gardens, sometime in the 80's, thinking that it would be so cool to have other parks around the country that would represent all of the other continents in such a uniquely fantastic way.  There already was another Busch Gardens in Tampa that was themed after the continent of Africa, and I got to visit that one, too, in the early 90's.  Even though it wasn't as cool or expansive as the Virginia property, it was unique nonetheless.  Imagine the rides and attractions they could create on the themes of Asia, Australia, North and South America and even Antarctica!

Well, I wasn't the only one who thought that because way back in 1971 there was another Busch Gardens located in Houston with an Asian theme.  Unfortunately the park only lasted for two years before closing its doors for good (maybe it was the cheap $2.25 admission!).  Check out a press release and an old photo I found on the place...

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Two other Busch Gardens parks also existed in California, one in Pasadena that operated from 1905-1937 and one in Van Nuys, which served the public from 1964-1979.  With the exception of the Pasadena property, the other parks in the company first opened as companions to nearby Busch breweries, and cheap, and even free, beer was part of the original attraction.  Both of the California parks, predated the current ones and neither had the continental theme of Williamsburg, Tampa and Houston.

A boat ride at the old Busch Garden in Van Nuys, California

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Two other Busch Gardens theme parks were proposed, one in Barcelona, Spain during the 80's and one in Dubai in 2008, but both parks never got past the planning stage.  

These days, it seems as if a Busch Gardens Asia will never be resurrected, nor a Busch Gardens The New World or Busch Gardens Down Under will ever be erected.  The Dubai project was scrapped due to the global recession and it doesn't appear that Blackstone, the current owners of the parks, is looking to develop anything new in the near future, so it is all just a pipe dream.  But just imagine...    

"B" Coaster of the Day - Banshee, King's Island, Mason, OH

During the A-Z Blogger's Challenge, we will also be featuring point of view videos of roller coasters from around the world to match the letter of the day.  Today's "B" coaster is one that has yet to open, the new Banshee at King's Island in Mason, Ohio.  When it does open later on this month, Banshee will be the longest inverted roller coaster in the world and I will be checking it out myself come July.  I can;t wait!!!

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Check out my first entry in the A-Z Challenge:

A is for Alton Towers

Roller Coaster Trip, Part II: Flight of Fear and Griffon

Jeez, it's already been awhile since I blogged about my coaster trip to Virginia, and I've posted two articles on Examiner since then.  Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion are two world-class parks and it was fun to ride all the rides there, except of course for Intimidator at the latter, which has been closed for maintenance most of the summer.

Aliens invade Flight of Fear

The two pieces I penned on my Adventure Parks page are about Flight of Fear in Kings Dominion and Griffon in Busch Gardens.  The first one we had ridden in Kings Island in Cincinnati a couple of years ago and I had forgotten how good it was.  Flight of Fear is an indoor coaster, many of which I do not like.  All the ones I've ridden before, except Space Mountain in Disney, were disappointing at best, but this one is freaking awesome!

You would never know from entering the building what's inside, but soon after the darkness of the place and the sound of screams up ahead are excitingly intimidating.  Throw in a fun ride operator, who took pleasure in enhancing the experience for the most scared of riders by teasing them before releasing the linear induction coaster into the darkness, and a whole new element of fun is added to the experience.

The other ride, in Williamsburg, was one my pal Dita could not wait for me to ride and for good reason.  Griffon is one of the best rides I've ever ridden!  What makes this one so good is the makeup of the train itself (10 seats across, 3 rows deep) and the terrifying element of pausing at the crest of the first hill which gives you a feeling of fright like no other.  In addition, the ride is as smooth as anything and nothing but fun the whole way through!  Check out a video I shot of it below:

This ride was no doubt inspired by a coaster in Alton Towers, England, which I've been dying to visit ever since I first heard of it.  The ride there is called Oblivion, and here's a ride on that one:

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Verbolten: Busch Gardens, Williamsburg's newest coaster

I was in the middle of penning a piece on the newest thrill rides for 2012 when I came across Verbolten, Busch Gardens, Williamsburg's newest masterpiece. Busch Gardens is one of my favorite theme parks, modeled after European countries in a most spectacular way and interlaced among the countrysides of Germany, Scotland, Italy and England are some mighty fine roller coasters.

This one was built on the site of the old Big Bad Wolf and it looks to be really fun. It's not the biggest, nor the fastest, coaster in the park, but the folks at BG have always proved in the past that bigger and faster is not necessarily best anyway. Take a ride on Verbolten with commentary from a representative of Theme Park Review.

 

Check out Busch Gardens website here for more.

For rides on other new roller coasters for the 2012 season, check these out:

X-Flight, Six Flags Great America, Chicago, IL

Mr. Freeze, Six Flags Arlington, TX and St. Louis, MO

Swarm, Thorpe Amusement Park, Surrey, England

Wild Eagle, Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, TN

Leviathan, Canada's Wonderland, Vaughn, Ontario, Canada

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