AstroDan does the East Coast USA - Park Reports 2013

[AstroDan]

So, i'm suffering jetlag. So, I overspent. So, I am sick of 50 options just to order breakfast.

Sat here in Caffe Nero, in the very English city of Lichfield, reflecting on what has been one of the best 18 days of my life.

I am now looking forward to sharing my thoughts on the parks I went to, accompanied by John, Joelio, Alex, Mattmash and the master planner, DanB.

This could be hard. What is my memory like? Good thing I have photo's and maps to jog it. Not that i will be forgetting everything. Far from it.

It'll be park by park. It could take a week. Maybe a month. But i'll get there and I hope you enjoy reading. I'll be tackling the first park very soon.

Parks:

Coney Island
Six Flags Great Adventure
Lake Compounce
Six Flags New England
Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Kings Dominion
Cedar Point
Kennywood
Hersheypark
Knoebels
Dorney Park

 

[LiamC]

I've enjoyed DanB's daily photo updates on Facebook (albeit jealously ) so look forward to an in depth review/report

 

[djtruefitt]

And the next two parks you will visit are Alton Towers and Drayton Manor That will surely bring you back down to earth!

 

[AstroDan]

Coney Island (Luna Park)

We hastily re-arranged our visit to Coney Island as the 1st park, so as not to have it as the very last. We didn't feel that such a park was deserving of the last memory of our adventure to the USA. It was easy to get to, simply a question of catching the good value New York Subway to Coney Island station, and quite literally crossing the road.

Somewhat frustratingly, the park is actually made up of several separate companies. As a result, there is not one single ticket/wristband for all rides. However, the bulk of the newer rides are part of 'Luna Park', which is owned by Zamperla as a sort of showcase for their rides (no, it's nothing like Mack-owned Europa-Park before you ask). The #1 attraction, Cyclone, is pay-per-ride at a hefty $9 (£6), so we just did it once.

Cyclone itself was better than expected. It has had some track work done recently, which has helped. It wasn't as rough as I had expected and, indeed, I rather enjoyed it. It's getting on for 90 years old, and for such an age it really does put many newer coasters to shame. With a little more track work to come, I can see Cyclone emerging as one of the best family-thrill wooden coasters on the east coast. That said, the pricetag does not allow it much chance of being re-ridden.

Luna Park, where we bought a wristband, was OK. It used to be far dirtier - Zamperla have really upped the quality. Several rides stood out. Steeplechase, an off-the-shelf launched coaster model was surprisingly punchy, the launch was really good for a family ride. Once launched, the ride went up to the high point, and gradually decended using helixes - this meant the speed gradually built up to the final brakes. Good fun. The flying coaster, Volare, was not as bad as expected, but certainly nothing worth doing again - generally it was uncomforable - especially through the inversions. The spinning coaster was basically Zamperla's take on the Reverchon spinning mouse, but with better restraints. Fairly standard. I really, really enjoyed the Air Race. Spinning upside down at family-friendly speeds in a comfortable ride vehicle - Zamperla are on to a winner here. There was also a Zamperla version of the frisbee (i.e. Maelstrom at DMP) but smaller. This was also great fun, with little pops of airtime throughout. We also rode a kids coaster, similar to Kiddie Koasta at Adventure Island. Forgettable. The log flume was also completed, but this was simply a standard, travelling affair.

Overall, if you were in NYC for a few days, Coney Island is worth 3-4 hours of your time if you're into rides and attractions. The location next to the beach gives a slight Pleasure Beach feel, although the park lacks the hardware in Blackpool and doesn't share half the classic rides you'd find here. That said, it was enjoyable and better than anticipated. However, if you're in the Big Apple for only 3-4 days, you'd probably be better with the bus to Great Adventure.

Cyclone:

Wonder Wheel (not part of Luna Park), similar to the wheel at DCA!

Spinning Wild Mouse:

Steeplechase (launched coaster):

Soarin' Eagle (Volare):

Next Park: Six Flags Great Adventure

 

[AstroDan]

Six Flags Great Adventure - 6th August 2013

We originally planned to have 2 1/2 full days at this park - one at the start (which was this day), and a 1 1/2 at the end, however we adjusted our plans for the end of the holiday after we realised that El Toro would be closed (and instead, added Dorney Park to our plans). Part of the reason we had 2 visits to the park planned at separate times, was exactly in case a major ride was closed. Relief at least that we managed to get on El Toro on the first day.

We took the bus from New York City, which was very, very easy. Departing frequently from the Port Authority Bus Station in Manhattan, we arrived at SFGA at 9.45am, well before rides opened (10.30am).

We made use of the Flash Pass at SFGA, which cost around £40pp and cut 50% off all queues using a Q Bot system. Q Bot is excellent and far better than most other Fastrack systems (except, of course, Disney's free system).

On to the rides. Well, this park has quite a reputation. It has 5 B&M coasters and 2 major Intamin coasters. This alone is possibly the most impressive immediately line up of any park in the world. So, what were they like?

Kingda Ka

I was extremely apprhe - OK, scared - before riding this. I am not the biggest fan of heights and the idea of being stuck at the top was unthinkable. The ride is quite nicely landscaped around the queue/station. What was the ride like? Well - fast. The launch goes on for some considerable time before you are launched over the top of the most monstrously high coaster construction anywhere on earth. The freefall descent over the hill brings in the brakes. It's breathless, extreme coaster riding. I felt a real, real sense of achievement having done it. As DanB will testify. Nowhere near my top 20 coasters as it rattles and is ultimately a larger Stealth, but riding Kingda Ka (or Top Thrill as we will come to see) for the first time is like no other coaster experience. Sensational.

El Toro

There are no words.

Well, there are words: Amazing, sensational, breathtaking, wild.

This coaster has flown into my #1 spot and puts many other airtime coasters to shame. Every hillis full of intense ejector air and towards the end, there's a 20 second period that can only be described as 'utterly insane' - a crazy airtime dip and intense twists. Every single person was unaninimous in describing this as an incredible rollercoaster. First class from Intamin.

The best of the rest

Bizarro, a B&M Floorless, was the best example of this type I have been on. It felt well paced, had some unique effects and was a well rounded layout made up of loads of different elements. I wasn't so struck on Nitro as I thought I may have been. I had expected something radically more intense than Silver Star, but actually it was very similar. By no means a bad ride, I guess I just expected more - as all I had heard was how Silver Star was far worse than the other B&M Hypers. It was fun, but in a terrible state. Batman was also a little worse for wear, but the ride was good. It wasn't quite along the lines of Madrid's version, with far less theming, but a fast paced and intense layout gave a quality coaster. I did not like Superman at all. The pretzel loop on the back row was just too intense for me, and the rest was boring (worse than Air). Green Lantern, the B&M Stand Up coaster was a revelation. Intense, smooth and fast. Genuinely, this was one of the surprises of the trip - definitely the best stand up coaster out there from those that I have done!

The indoor Mack wild mouse was good, although theming was a little hit and miss onride due to maintenance. Great preshow and station, though.

Rapids were OK, two crazy waves but the rest was forgettable.

Mine Train was OK, nothing special, same goes to most of the other coasters.

Quick mention for the Vekoma Mad House, not a bad effort by any means.

Overall, the park was very good in terms of rollercoasters, although several areas were terribly tatty and needed a spruce up. The upselling at Six Flags is horrendous, with ride operators constantly advertising things to buy or upgrade. The platinum flash pass is a joke - people who buy it can re-ride without getting off, thus leaving waiting guests in the bays. Poor.

This park is highly recommended for El Toro, Kingda Ka, Green Lantern and Bizarro for me.

 

[Maelstrom]

was it a gold Q-Bot you got? was it worth the money?. I am off on a west coast usa trip in a few months and will be visiting Six Flags Magic Mountain, we want to be able to ride all the coasters and a few possible re-rides, although the park is open until 1am and will be visiting on a Friday, rather than a weekend its also fright fest and the park shut mon-thur, plus I have heard plenty of bad things about magic mountain ride operations, so could still be busy.

Looking forward to hearing the rest of your trip reports as is a trip I would like to do in the next few years.

 

[Joelio]

Good TR so far of a frankly amazing holiday, thoroughly enjoyable throughout! I will be following this one closely

 

[AstroDan]

was it a gold Q-Bot you got? was it worth the money?. I am off on a west coast usa trip in a few months and will be visiting Six Flags Magic Mountain, we want to be able to ride all the coasters and a few possible re-rides, although the park is open until 1am and will be visiting on a Friday, rather than a weekend its also fright fest and the park shut mon-thur, plus I have heard plenty of bad things about magic mountain ride operations, so could still be busy.

Looking forward to hearing the rest of your trip reports as is a trip I would like to do in the next few years.

We bought gold, yes.

Ride Operations were only excellent in 1 park we visited (Cedar Point). They were 'OK' in others, but truly dire in some... Great Adventure was one of the poorer.

 

[John]

The operation of the coasters at Knoebels was pretty much spot on too, but other than that I'd agree with you.

 

[Sazzle]

Re: Coney
I'm quite shocked by the seperate costs you mentioned at Coney Island - how is it possible that Cyclone is so expensive?! I can't believe the audacity of charging nearly ten dollars for a single ride! I'm certain that there would be more revenue generated from a lower price from guests if it were, say, $6? I'm genuinely shocked by the cost, and the fact the pricing structure in general seems so fractured.

Re: Great Adventure
Daaaaammmnnn!! Definitely a park near the top of my hitlist!! I'm incredibly jealous of your visit El Toro seems to get unanimous rave reviews - when can the UK get a clone of this amazing beast?? I'm just wondering if the downtime is a regular thing?

Not sure I would survive the launch of Kingda ka... I struggle with Stealth :/!!

Looking forward to seeing your Cedar Point review!



Sent using Tapatalk

 

[Craig]

Loving your thoughts so far Dan, that on ride pic on Kingda Ka is a classic!

Knowing your fear of heights, did you go on Wonder Wheel? Very impressed if you did since that feeling when the car rolls down is pretty damn worrying at first!

Sent from my GT-I9505 using Tapatalk 2

 

[AstroDan]

Lake Compounce

We drove from New York City up to Lake Compounce, located in Connecticut. It's a truly beautiful drive, as you leave the city behind and enter lush, green forests, passing the quaintest homes - all immaculately kept in true New England style.

Lake Compounce, a park with an immense history, is a small, regional family theme park and is open till around 8 or 9pm during the summer months.

There are limited attractions, although the Vekoma Boomerang 'Zoomerang' was smooth and solid, the river rapids was soaking - great fun - and there was a traditional trolley car running alongside the lake. For those who prefer to get wet, there was a moderately sized water park, which was promoting some new slides for 2013.

The parks oldest wooden coaster, Wildcat was average. It was reasonably smooth, but to be honest it was fairly forgettable. So much so that I can't really explain it now. There was a Screamin' Swing which was especially poor. The interactive dark ride was very 2D, as many Sally Corp. dark rides seem to be. That said, the park had a lovely atmosphere and unlimited, free soft drinks for all guests - all day. This is normal for Lake Compounce.

Let us be quite clear though. The visit to this park was 99% due to the fact it is home to one of the most revered wooden coasters ever built. Boulder Dash.

We were somewhat concerned the ride wouldn't live up to the billing, but fear not! It did.

I must add, having done 2 other CCI coasters, both Megafobia and Tonnerre de Zeus, and loving both, I was fairly confident that Boulder Dash would be a great coaster. It's amazing how terrain based it is. It literally flies through the trees. Think Oakwood's Treetops coaster and multiply it by 20 and then add a bucket load of insanity. Swooping drops, quick transitions, airtime humps. The ride has it all. It's long, fast and relentlessly intense. It was woodie-rough, but by no means did this detract from the experience until I had been on 7 times, and the seat dividers began to dig into my leg.

Overall, I am happy to place Boulder Dash #3 in my wooden coasters, behind El Toro and only slightly pipped by Tonnerre de Zeus, mainly because the seat dividers do not lend themselves to the physicality of the ride experience.

Awesome. And with that, darkness fell, and we left the park.

POV of Boulder Dash for those of you less familiar with this incredible ride:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-5KYPHjp6Y#ws

Wildcat:

Zoomerang:

ORP:

Craig - I didn't do the Wonder Wheel. The motion was too slow and you spent far too long up top! Haha!

 

[Sazzle]

Purely for the Boomerang - LOVE!!

I saw some wonderful photos of Lake Compounce and I imagine it to have a wonderful atmosphere, and feel very pleasant.

Quaint with a great bit of wood!

Sent using Tapatalk

 

[josht]

Really enjoyed reading these reviews

 

[IanB]

Ditto, every time I see an update in this thread I hope it is because there is another review, good work, and keep them coming

Ian

 

[Rob]

I'm also really enjoying the reviews so far, so thanks Dan! Really looking forward to reading your BGW review!

 

[AstroDan]

Six Flags New England

Our second foray into Six Flags territory, and this time it's really quite different. New England is a small park, but very nicely kept - with major coasters well spread around the park. Of course, the big one here is Bizarro (formerly Superman: Ride of Steel), which has frequently been celebrated as the world's best rollercoaster.

So, I will get that bit over with for starters. It looks amazing. The way the ride, in the second half, sort of ducks and dives over terrain, through a tunnel filled with mist really captivated me. Honestly, I just felt the whole thing screamed 'quality'. So we went on, through the fairly typical cattlepen which was normal at these parks.

I was expecting the ride to deliver an Expedition Ge Force style experience - ejector air on every hill, basically. Firstly, the restraints are not T bar. I didn't like them. They were bulky. They didn't help the rider to experience the airtime which the coaster was evidently designed for. Secondly, it rattled. Rattled the whole way around. A little like Kingda Ka. I wasn't sure whether this was down to maintenance or not. But what of the airtime. Well, there was airtime - of course. But, I will be quite honest here, it wasn't the ejector airtime feast that I was anticipating. And I cannot quite put my finger on it. I re-rode it many times to make sure I wasn't being over critical, but I really don't think I was being. It simply was not the 'sensational, world beating experience' that I had come to expect from the ride. A couple of the hills delivered no airtime at ALL. This is somewhat mindboggling, as even B&M Hypers such as Nitro or Silver Star deliver at least some floater airtime on every hill. So yes, this was a let down - which didn't bode well for the rest of the park, as everything else seemed second tier.

Thankfully, we had a brilliant day at the park and I would highly recommend a visit.

Forgetting the Vekoma SLC, yes for a moment I thought I was in Belgium or Holland, the other coasters had their charms. B&M Floorless coaster "Batman - The Dark Knight" was a fairly intense, small coaster. Although it did have its limitations. Hydra, as you will come to see, was far worse, and I fully expect Daemonen to be worse, too - so by all accounts, for the size of it, not too bad.

There was a large Zierer Tivoli, Catwoman's Whip, for the kids - but with only one lap, riders were left feeling a little short changed given the fact there was no queue at all.

A decent enough Vekoma Boomerang was also padding things out, and a solid, large, rough and ready old wooden coaster, Cyclone, also gave some nostalgia to the mix.

A first for the group was Gerstlauer Spinning Coaster, Pandemonium. It was quite small, but a lot of fun. But the market for spinning coasters is just so saturated, that I can't see them stealing Maurer's crown just yet. It's odd how these haven't taken off in Europe at all... even Mack have sold more of their spinning models in Europe, and they're hardly well known. Maurer just seem to have it sewn up. The facing each other thing added a cool dimension.

The Rapids ride at the park was AMAZING. The whole thing was filled with mist, so you just couldn't see anything coming. Needless to say, SOAKING. I thought it was only Florida that delivered these wild rapids ride. No. It seems that regional theme parks do, too. It was also very well presented, a step up from Great Adventure.

There was also a bit of an unknown quantity in the park, Goliath, a Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerang. Sadly, on a visit to Parque Warner in Madrid last year, their version, Stunt Fall, was closed - as it often is. These things seem to suffer a lot of technical problems. So, when Goliath opened later in the morning, I was delighted. And yes, apprehensive. These things are enormous. I was worried it would hurt. Did it? No. Vekoma and good restraints! In fact, at either end of the train, this ride was IMMENSE. The sensation of speed. The heights. The sheer scale of the thing was just SO impressive. It's the best Vekoma I have ever been on, without a doubt. The whole group enjoyed it too. We even went back for more later in the day, in spite of the fact we had Flash Pass and this ride wasn't on it. Thankfully, Madrid do have one, so I can hopefully get more of this goodness in due course! Awesome ride!

There was also an old wooden coaster, Thunderbolt, which was OK. And a Mack Wild Mouse, which was fairly forgettable, with stupid operational procedures which tend to taint Six Flags parks.

Overall, though - a great day. I really enjoyed myself at New England. The food was good, too!

Next park - Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

 

[AstroDan]

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

For me, this was the most hotly anticipated theme park of the trip. For starters, it's themed. That alone made Busch something different. Plus, it is themed around European countries and it just so happens that so too, is my favourite theme park in the world, Europa-Park. So, naturally, I was keen to get exploring. I visited the sister park in Tampa in 2010 and enjoyed it, although found it lacking in some areas. However, Williamsburg looked different and sure enough, it was.

Firstly, Williamsburg is a very historical place. The town itself. It has many tourists visiting its colonial buildings and the surrounding area. Busch is perfectly placed to make the most of this.

We had almost two full days in the park. And I am glad we did, because as it turned out, I loved it.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg is pretty much everything a good theme park should be. It has some good quality themed areas, some excellent ride hardware, good food and a range of entertainment options.

As we walked to the park entrance, it was clear that BGW wasn't anything like the other parks we'd been to. Here was a park that was proud of itself. And so they should be. It just so happens that parks which advertise the fact that they're good, generally ARE. "Welcome to the world's most beautiful theme park" a sign proudly proclaimed at the entrance. A cute, low key entrance area, which was adorned with floral displays, brought us straight into England. Beautiful sights immediately set about ensnaring the senses. It wasn't brash, it wasn't in your face. It was quaint, quality and well completed. A large ornate clock was the centrepiece of an open square, timber framed buildings lined the streets. It was just a pleasure to actually be there, let alone actually find any rides. This sets the park apart from many others I have visited.

We took a left at the top of the entrance area, and had to wait while a beautiful steam engine crossed in front of us. It had flags on the front and was carrying happy passengers to their next stop.

There's a kids area, themed to Sesame Street. It doesn't really fit with the rest of the park, and was presumably forced upon them by the powers on high, but thankfully it's really quite out of the way and so in reality, most guests have little or no need to venture in there at all. Of course, we did - just to check out the kids coaster which, as we expected, was largely forgettable.

Moving straight on, we arrived into the Italian areas of the theme park, and firstly, Escape from Pompeii. This Intamin Spillwater attraction had a nicely themed queueline, although a somewhat 2D facade, which frankly could have been improved upon. That said, the ride was very enjoyable indeed. After taking in the lift hill, there's a short dark ride section which packs many effects into it. Firebals bursting through statues, a fire ceiling, collapsing pillars... all of this to a great soundtrack. Then it's off down the drop for the predictable splash. Simple, yet fun!

Further round was Apollo's Chariot, the parks B&M Mega Coaster, and the first one ever built by the Swiss company. It's quite small, around 170' if I recall correctly, but it's reasonably well operated, with 3 trains running (although stacking was usual). The theming was nothing special in this case, although the area immediately outside the ride was pleasant. Overall, you can tell that Busch have developed their ride theming since this coaster - just look at the later rides. Overall, I, and the group, were highly disappointed by this rollercoaster. In spite of fairly high praise from some others, we found it to be significantly worse than Shambhala, Silver Star and Nitro. There are uneventful straight sections, helixes which offer very little and, where there should be a floater airtime hill, this coaster has a banked corner. In short, Apollo's Chariot failed to deliver to expectations, and we re-rode many, many times in all the different seats and at different times of day and night to clarify - but sadly, it never seemed to hit the notes. However, this turned out to be the only real disappointment of Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Roman Rapids is a nicely themed and well presentend rapids, which, as we had come to expect, was soaking wet. There's a ridiculous finale where the boat travels down a straight trough, with no waves - but in the distance you can see an enormous waterfall pouring from the right hand side. At this point, the entire boat is worrying if it'll be them who passes under it. As you have seatbelts, there is simply no chance for a Jordan Hatch style manouvre to outsmart the waterfall! A great ride, although not one for a cool day.

We had lunch at a great value Pizza/Pasta/Salad/Dessert buffet nearby. There was a lot of choice and, unlike Alton Towers, there were actually a good number of toppings on the pizza, rather unlike Alton Towers' pepperoni, where you're actually lucky to get any pepperoni on the slice...

Moving round, there's the delightful Italian village area. Here, you can see a live show (music and dancing, hilarious), have a Peroni (very authentic), try some Italian wines or ride on one of the nicely themed flat rides. None of them were really any good, but they looked lovely and the kids seemed to love them. The Magical Garden was also really lovely.

The next area was into Oktoberfest. Here, having crossed the Rhine River for glorious views of Griffon and Loch Ness, we would find Verbolten and Mach Tower. Mach Tower was predictably closed for both of the days. The ride seems to be a standing joke. Verbolten, on the other hand - well. It's perfect for a family coaster. It's what Th13teen really ought to have been. The queue moves nice and quickly. the theming is great and the ride itself great. The launches are punchy, the indoor section has some surprisingly intense manouvres and the Black Forest effects work really well. The drop section is equivalent to Th13teen (although doesn't really have much theming) and the final sections, over the collapsing bridge and plunging towards the river, are great. Upon exiting Verbolten, we all questioned 'why couldn't Alton Towers have done that?'.

The Oktoberfest area was also home to the Festhaus, a huge beer arena. There was a live Oktoberfest dancing show, with live band, and great food - Bratwurst, Sauer Kraut - and real, authentic German beer. I had a Bitburger. The beer prices were hideous, but hey - it had to be done! The customer service was also really friendly, and we had a great hour in there, avoiding the rain and having a great time.

Curse of DarKastle was over the way, the parks only dark ride. It's a half way house between Huntik at Rainbow Magic Land and Spiderman at Islands of Adventure. Overall, it's a little rough around the edges with some entirely blank corridors, plus it can stack, but it's a great ride. Some nice effects, cool audio and excellent theming. The fireplace scene was a particular highlight for me. The theme idea is also great, much better than Spiderman in that department, it's just a shame they didn't have a little more budget to make the ride as good, too. But still, an excellent effort and it clearly didn't come cheap!

Into the other half of the German area, down a lovely street, and to the parks monstrous B&M - Alpengeist. The biggest Inverted coaster they have ever built, with a lift hill themed as a ski lift (they even changed the supports) and a massive, sprawling layout. It's great. The first drop is immense, the cobra roll is very intense and the dive into the tunnel is fab! Sadly, the MCBR trims it terribly and it dies by the end. But it's an awesome coaster, one which I would love to ride again. I loved the details on the trains, ski's attached to the back of every seat! I am surprised B&M allowed them too - a quick mention for the German shopping area, some great facades and some great stuff to buy - beer tankards and cuckoo clocks, amongst other things!

Moving on from the German area, and it was into New France (Canada). Here, some great eateries - including a place for delicious chicken and ribs. The log flume, Le Scoot, was a classic Arrow affair. It was surprisingly wet and surprisingly intense. I really enjoyed it! So much so, we re-rode it several times.

The French area was home to some truly delightfully themed buildings. The detail was intricate and borderline educational - "Cotes de Rhone" on one building. Here, you could taste French wines. There were plenty of places to buy French merchandise and try French foods.

Griffon, the anchor ride of the area, was awesome. It turned out to be my favourite coaster in the park. I don't even know why. SheiKra I found fairly plain, but Griffon I enjoyed much, much more. The HUGE shuttles seat 30 people, 10 abreast and no floor. The height is spectacular, and the two inversions on the outside seats are breathtaking. There are also some airtime pops, especially towards the end. I rarely stay on and re-ride several times, but on the final night at the park, it was walk on, so I sat on the back row, right hand seat and just stayed on for 15-20 minutes. Awesome, I <3 Griffon! One of the rides was serenaded entirely by fireworks in the sky. Truly, a magical experience.

Walking through the Irish area, home to Celtic Fire, a show which we watched (dancing, music - all good fun!), we noticed the closed 'Europe in the Air' attraction. Shame, but I hear it's nothing special. However, the park lacks indoor rides so it seems poor to close it. Pity that such a stunning theme park has to suffer at the hands of the corporate baffoons who've probably never even visited the place... The Irish area felt a little lacking as a result, but had some lovely theming and beautiful facades.

Busch theme parks have a key focus on animals, and BGW was no exception. There were wolves, and shows during the day where you could find out more. Birds of Prey and other animals were also on hand to occupy the guests, giving BGW a unique edge.

We strolled up into Scotland, where there was bagpipe music playing, Tweedside railway station, horses in the stables and sheep grazing. Honestly, it was just amazing. The main ride here was Loch Ness Monster, a classic Arrow looping coaster - which has interlocking loops. It was great! Not too rough at all, and really - great fun. The helix was insane, round and round in the pitch darkness. We rode LNM several times, everyone enjoyed it.

On our second morning, we had a Backstage Tour. Well recommended. We saw loads of interesting things, and found out interesting facts. From the garages of Loch Ness, Griffon and Alpengeist to the warehouse of Verbolten, we were given access to so much. The tour guide, JP, was very friendly and also very interested about our European parks! We were given 2 exit rides on LNM, Griffon, Alpengeist and Apollo's Chariot, and then the same for Verbolten. We then had a Quick Pass for use later in the day - so it was also great value and lasted 4-5 hours in total! Wow! We couldn't go up the Griffon lift due to it being a Sunday and the park not usually hosting tours, but for that reason they showed us round Verbolten for no extra cost. We managed to stand over ride operators and watch the control systems and camera's - just so, so much. It was amazing and I will recommend it to anyone. I now wish to do the same at Tampa next time I go!

Overall then, Busch was incredible. The park was immaculate, beautiful and had many great attractions. The atmosphere was great and the whole place was buzzing. The late opening, fireworks and musical specials that were on for the summer added an extra dimension, too.

It has become my 2nd favourite theme park in the world, and my favourite in the USA. For that, I thank the team at Busch Gardens for rising above the glass ceilings imposed on parks by the corporate behemoths and running a theme park that is true to itself, in every sense of the word.

Highly recommended.

 

[Joelio]

I really like Busch, such a nice park aside from the council estate pebble dashed flooring. While not my favourite park on the trip, it's certainly a highlight

 

[Ted]

So far excellent trip report Dan. You seriously make Busch Gardens Williamsburg sound amazing. It's at the top of my "Parks I want to visit list". It reminds me of a American Europa. With it being themed to Europe and all But it's not just that, it looks amazing like Europa does (I want to visit there as well!)

Overall, fantastic! Making a great read and looking forward to the next part =)