Virginia is for Coaster Lovers Pt 1

[DaveStroem]

This is the first part of our recent 3 day/3 park trip. We left Columbus at 4:30 PM on Friday after picking up the rental car and started to head east. After a quick stop at the in-laws in Wheeling, WV to drop off the dogs we were ready for trek to Ashland, Va. We checked in to the hotel just after Midnight and got right to bed.

Saturday morning came early as we still had about 1 hour to get to Williamsburg and Busch Gardens. We entered the park close to 9:30 am and headed to Loch Ness Monster which to my surprise was already running. The official park opening is at 10:00 but they start letting people ride LNM at 9:30.

This is a classic Arrow Looper that is smoother then Vortex but has interlocking loops. I did notice quite a jolt at the bottom of the first loop though. Score 7/10

Next up was something new for all of us, Griffon which is a B&M dive coaster. The seats are 3 rows of 10 seats so 1/3 of each train has a front row view. Griffon takes you up to the top of the first lift hill then hangs you over the side for 3-4 seconds before dropping you 90 degrees down. After this you have several inversions and a splash down before returning to the station. Score 9/10

After Griffon we meet up with Ken another enthusiast that I meet on CoasterBuzz. He lives 10 minutes from BGW and is in the park several times a week. We all headed over to Alpengeist to compare this B&M inverted to Raptor at CP. While Alpie is a great ride it is much less intense the Raptor. We did learn something interesting about BGW, they have a quick que system where they leave the 2nd row at the station of several coasters empty for guests that pay for this upgrade. According to Ken it is rarely used so they load the 2nd row of seats from the 3 rd row. This means that this line moves twice as quick as any other. Score 8/10

From here we hooked up with my wife to ride DarKastle. This is a 4D ride that I would have to say that this is by far the best dark ride I have ever been on.

We then walked over to Big Bad Wolf which at the time was not running but the station was still full.

Instead of waiting on this we crossed the bridge to Italy for a lap on Apollo's Chariot. I was really looking forward to AC as I had read so much about it. While the ride was great, I was expecting more. I guess after riding Diamondback it seemed tame. Unfortunately where this ride is located makes it difficult to get good photos of it. Score 8.5/10

As we were on AC, Ken noticed that BBW was running so we headed there for a lap on this Arrow Suspended. I did not expect much considering Flight Deck and Iron Dragon are also of this breed. I was pleasantly surprised that BBW has more claws then either of those 2. The ride takes you though a German town before coming to a 2nd lift hill that plunges you down to the river. If you want to give this one a try, do it this season because there are strong rumors going around that BBW will not see it's 26 birthday. Score 7/10

Next we headed to Grover's Express to get all of the Coaster Credits that we could at BGW. This was a great little kiddie ride but my wife was else where with the camera so no photos. At this point Ken left us as he had a honey do list waiting for him at home.

It was now just after Noon and we decided to head toward the piazza for some lunch after a quick 2 train wait for a front row trip on AC. (did I mention that all the adult coasters were station wait at worst). We arrived at the Ristorante Della Piazza for lunch. Most of the restaurants at BGW are cafe line style with set offerings. We had the Chicken Parmesan/Beef Cannelloni/Eggplant Parmesan and white chocolate raspberry cheese cake. The meal for the 4 of us would have been close to $70 but I had pre purchased their meal deal that included 2 meals including drink and dessert or side + 2 extra drinks for $20 per person.

While we were eating lunch there was a fun little show in the center of the dining area.

By this time the crowds had started to pick up so we did some flats before seeing the Irish step dancing & Pet Shenanigans shows.

The rest of the day was more re-rides till it was dinner time at the Festhaus. After this we got a night ride on both BBW & AC.

To finish of the day we took in the Kinetix show which was a Cirque type show.

Final coaster ride count:

Loch Ness Monster: 3

Griffon: 2

Alpengeist: 2

Big Bad Wolf: 2

Apollo's Chariot: 3

Grover's Express: 1

[Monroe]

Thanks for posting, sounds like you had a great time. Love the pics, can't wait for part 2.

[goofywdw]

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is such an amazing park. I had the best time there and would love to go back. Great pictures! Glad you had fun.

[TOPGUN1993]

Excellent Photos, all of there coasters look top notch.

[HTCO]

GREAT photos! Thanks for sharing! I have always wanted to go to BGW.

[TTD-120-420]

My favorite park. I'm going there in August and will be the first time I'v been there since they added Griffon.

[KYCavsFan]

Griffon is amazing. My favorite coaster at the moment.

[violakat03]

Great report and great pictures. I had a wonderful time when I went in May and I'm glad your family did too. Can't wait to see more of your coaster trip!

Posted from my BlackBerry mobile device.

[DaveStroem]

Thanks,

The best part of this day is that my 10 year old went on all of the coasters. She started out working herself into a frenzy and was in full blown tears when we got to Loch Ness Monster. So my 12 year old and I rode it and then jumped back in the same train for another lap. During this time my wife convinced her to try it. So when we came out she was ready to give it a try. She was nearly shaking as we went up the first hill but then had a big smile by the time we came out of the first loop.

We rode in the back row of Griffon the first time because she didn't want to do front row. After she gets over her fear of the unknown she is fine and wants re-rides.

[auge.dog]

Just goes to show you, that people's opinions of rides differ greatly, so enthusiasts should really try all the rides, and not just those people recommend. We went to BGE last year, and I thought Alpengeist was the best ride there by far. I thought it was very intense and really enjoyed it. Of course, I have not been on Raptor. After Alpengeist, I liked Appolo's Chariot, which for me, at the time was my first B&M hyper. I thougth Griffon and LNM were about equal. Griffon had that great first drop where you were suspended, but after that, it just went by too quickly for me. LNM had some good twists and hills in addition to the loops. While BBW was my least favorite coaster there, I still thought it was a very good ride. Much better than Flight Deck.

I agree with your comments on Dark Castle. They also had some decent water rides.

[violakat03]

^ Yet more evidence of that, Big Bad Wolf was my favorite there! Both BBW and Griffon made my top ten steel list.

[Avatar]

Thanks Dave for the report and pictures. We are thinking about adding BGW to the front end of our fall trip and after seeing Kat's and your report I am hoping that plan holds out,I even called the wife in to show her your pictures. I am looking forward to the rest of your trip.

[DaveStroem]

Sorry for the delay on posting the rest of this trip. I have been busy planning this weekends trip. I hope to get to then next section tonight.