My second road trip begins with my return to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Since my last visit in 2018, they've added the new Intamin multi-launch Pantheon roller coaster, and the new-for-2023 DarKoaster, an enclosed Intamin family attraction. Of course I was excited to ride old favorites like Griffon, Apollo's Chariot, Alpengeist, etc. Join me for an in-depth look at this beautiful theme park and its outstanding roller coaster collection.
If you enjoyed this episode, please help me out by rating, sharing, and subscribing. You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @coasterredux.
My second road trip begins with my return to Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Since my last visit in 2018, they've added the new Intamin multi-launch Pantheon roller coaster, and the new-for-2023 DarKoaster, an enclosed Intamin family attraction. Of course I was excited to ride old favorites like Griffon, Apollo's Chariot, Alpengeist, etc. Join me for an in-depth look at this beautiful theme park and its outstanding roller coaster collection.
If you enjoyed this episode, please help me out by rating, sharing, and subscribing. You can also follow me on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @coasterredux.
Welcome to Episode 13 of Coaster Redux. My name is Erik and I am a life-long roller coaster enthusiast, but up until lately, I’ve been kind of a lazy one. For years, I’d all but forgotten my roller coaster obsession from high school and college. Then during the pandemic, I started following the coaster world again, and after last year’s road trip, I’m now on a mission to ride as many new coasters as I can.
This is the story of my revived roller coaster fandom, and I’m heading out on my second road trip, this time for two full weeks. I’ll be driving from Florida to Massachusetts to spend time with family and friends where I grew up, while visiting six parks on the way up and back. My first stop on the way north is Busch Gardens Williamsburg. I was last here in 2018 with my brother, and I loved this beautiful Europe-themed park set in wooded hills. They’ve since added two new roller coasters that I wanted to check out, Pantheon, the new Intamin multi-launch coaster, and DarKoaster, an enclosed launched family attraction. Being an Intamin fan with VelociCoaster at Islands of Adventure holding my number one spot, I couldn’t wait to experience another similar attraction.
I know as a roller coaster fan that one of my favorite parts of the hobby is getting the reaction of somebody coming off of a ride they’ve never ridden before. That’s what I want to share with you.
And with that, join me for my return to Olde Country as we launch into Busch Gardens Williamsburg on Coaster Redux.
I finished work on Friday afternoon, and the anticipation was overwhelming. I haven’t taken two consecutive weeks off in my entire adult life, and I’d practically started planning my next road trip the second I finished my last one. I’ve since kept pretty busy riding new coasters, flying into San Antonio in January, going to Atlanta in April, and central Florida in May. Then in June, I started a new job, and while I would have loved to do this trip that month, I needed to take some time to get my feet wet in my new position.
Now here I was, the night before my departure, and I settled into my pre-road trip routine. Detail my car since I’ll be spending a lot of time in it over the next two weeks, make sure my house is clean so I don’t return to a disaster area, and try my hardest to pack everything I need without forgetting any essentials, which I almost always do. Tomorrow would be a travel day, and I needed an early start, so with those missions accomplished, I turned in for the night.
Saturday morning in South Florida brought overcast skies and drizzle. Good thing I washed the car. I stopped at Dunkin, and then settled in for a 967-mile slog that would take me 13.5 hours to get to Williamsburg, Virginia, the first stop on what I am calling the Intamin trip.
If you’ve listened to this podcast from the beginning, you know I’m an Intamin fanboy, and that all started with Superman: Ride of Steel at Six Flags New England. I rode it shortly after it opened in 2000, and its otherworldly airtime cemented the Swiss manufacturer as my go-to. I last rode Superman in 2005, when it still operated its original trains with Intamin’s minimalist T-bar restraint that can still be found on Millennium Force and the two other Supermen in the US today.
A series of unfortunate events caused the New England Superman to receive multiple modifications over the last several years, including a new lap bar design that seems to have removed this roller coaster from the conversation on elite rides among enthusiasts. Were these changes really that bad? I really wanted to get back to New England to find out for myself.
Then, after returning to Cedar Point last summer, my next must visit park in the US is Hersheypark, primarily because of their three Intamin roller coasters, Storm Runner, Fahrenheit, and Skyrush. Of course the new Wildcat’s Revenge from RMC is the icing on this stacked wedding cake. As I started mapping out the rest of the trip, I focused on other Intamins along the way that I wanted to try for the first time, or re-ride because they were so good.
After riding Pantheon and DarKoaster at Busch Gardens, I’ll continue north and make a quick stop at Six Flags America. While not regarded as one of the best parks in the chain, it is home to another Superman: Ride of Steel which still operates its original Intamin mega coaster trains with the T-bar restraint. While a prototype layout, it opened the same year as New England’s example, and I wanted to ride the original trains for comparison.
Next, I’ll continue to Jackson, NJ to return to Six Flags Great Adventure for the first time since 2014. That year, I rode El Toro, the only Intamin pre-fab wood coaster in the US, and it surpassed Superman to become my number one roller coaster because of its abundance of ejector airtime and an incredibly smooth ride. It’s since faced a number of challenges and reopened this spring after being closed for much of last season. This was another Intamin I really wanted to ride again.
Then there’s Kingda Ka, the world’s tallest roller coaster, and the only remaining Intamin hydraulic launched stratacoaster. Only two of these 400+ foot tall behemoths were built, the other being Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point. Both were closed during my prior visits to these parks, and Cedar Point is modifying Dragster with an LSM swing launch for 2024. With these hydraulic launches said be so intense, I really want to ride the last of these finicky roller coasters while I still can.
After Great Adventure, I’ll spend a few days in my home town south of Boston visiting family and friends before hitting the road for the return trip. I’ll be heading back to Six Flags New England with my father, my friend Eric (yup, same name, but he spells it with a c) and his daughters who have become coaster enthusiasts themselves. I’ve got my first rides on the Wicked Cyclone RMC to look forward to, as well as finally riding Superman to see how it’s running today.
Then I’ll head to southeastern Pennsylvania to spend two full days at Hersheypark, joined by my brother and his husband, but I couldn’t visit the region without stopping at one of the most beloved traditional amusement parks in the world, Knoebel’s. They’ve got some awesome looking wood coasters in Phoenix, Twister, and Flying Turns, as well as a wacky-looking collection of antique flat rides.
Two full weeks off and six parks were on the horizon, and it was finally time to get started. Leaving on Saturday morning meant I could escape South Florida without traffic, and I cruised northbound leaving the Sunshine State in my rearview without so much as tapping the brakes.
I needed gas as I crossed into Georgia, and made a brief pit stop at Taco Bell for some sustenance before continuing up I-95. This part of the drive is pretty uninteresting, but having some good podcasts playing with the cruise control set makes the time pass quickly.
I needed gas again near the North Carolina border at 4:00 pm, and pulled into Buc-Ee’s. No road trip is complete without a stop at one of these infamous emporiums. When I was packing for the trip, I couldn’t find my sunglass straps which most parks require in order to ride with shades on, and I figured if any place along my route would have them this would be it. I was pleased to find that they had a Costa sunglass display in the store complete with straps made specifically for my go-to glasses, so with that item in hand, I made my way towards the exit.
The fresh BBQ pit was right in the middle of the store, and while I wasn’t hungry at that moment, I grabbed a pulled pork sandwich since I didn’t intend to make another stop, and I figured I’d be hungry before I reached Williamsburg. I’m glad I did.
As I crossed into Virginia, the sun started to sink low, and I had about 45 minutes left until arrival. Google routed me off the highway and onto some very narrow and winding back roads. I normally would have loved this, but as I entered my thirteenth hour of driving for the day, I was cursing the navigation app for making me work for the last few miles of the drive. I did have the pleasure of crossing the James River via a small bridge as I approached my destination. I pulled into the parking lot for the Marriott Fairfield in downtown Williamsburg at about 8:30 pm. Turns out this was the same hotel my brother and I stayed in back in 2018 when we visited Busch Gardens and Kings Dominion.
The place was packed on this Saturday night, and I hoped this wouldn’t signal similar crowds at the park the next day. I checked in and worked on editing the Everland episode of the podcast which my brother and I hastily finished recording right before my departure. I really wanted to get that released since it had been well over a month since the prior episode, and I wanted to have my head in the game for the rest of the trip. I quickly hit a brick wall and needed to sleep, so I retired for the evening looking forward to the first two of nine Intamins on this trip in the morning.
I awoke to a spectacularly clear morning and prepared for my first park day of the trip. On the elevator ride to the lobby, a gentleman asked me if I had been outside yet. I said I hadn’t but that it looked beautiful out. As we exited the hotel, I got a whiff of fresh air with a crisp breeze and low humidity. He said it’s gonna be a hot one, and I smiled, replying, this is nothing compared to Florida. To me, it felt perfect.
I was about fifteen minutes from Busch Gardens, and as I neared the park, the lift hill and first drop of Griffon was the first thing I could spot. I entered the parking lot and there was already a long line of cars waiting to pay for parking. This doesn’t look good. Apollo’s Chariot and Tempesto dominate the view set atop a hill with the parking booths below. The attendant scanned my Platinum pass from my phone, handed me my preferred parking tag, and I proceeded in and to the right to park near the entrance.
I was greeted by another long line to get through security, but it moved swiftly, and I stepped into the England-themed entry area and was serenaded by music from the Beatles. My plan was to head all the way to the back of the park to ride DarKoaster first. It’s a relatively low capacity ride, and being a family coaster with a 48” height requirement, and the newest ride in the park, it’s known for the longest lines here. I went left, passing Festa Italia, which had yet to open, but sported a healthy crowd of guests waiting to enter Pantheon’s domain. I crossed the pedestrian bridge over the Rhine River and into Germany. I passed the location of the old Mach Tower drop ride which was recently removed, and saw that Verbolten, the Zierer multi-launch coaster was closed in preparation for Halloween. Bummer, I really wanted to ride that again this trip.
Anyway, I continued all the way back to Oktoberfest and stepped in line for DarKoaster as beads of sweat rolled down my face. So much for that cool breeze.
The first part of DarKoaster’s queue is still outside and we weaved through the switchbacks for a few minutes before reaching a shaded section before entering the castle. I was wearing an ArieForce One T-shirt, and a couple of guys waiting in front of me commented on it. We got to chatting, and they were two brothers visiting Kings Dominion and Busch Gardens for the first time from San Diego.
As we approached the entrance to the castle, there was a plaque on the wall giving the history of the now abandoned palace. DarKoaster occupies King Ludwig’s castle, the former home of the Curse of DarKastle dark ride. Ludwig was a wicked ruler of a corrupt kingdom, whose advisors tried to overthrow him. He held a gala event in their honor during a mysterious winter storm after which the castle remained deserted and frozen in time. DarKoaster riders board a set of snowmobiles and attempt to escape that same ferocious blizzard.
You enter the castle through a room with ski equipment and tools, and there’s a desk with a computer showing a radar image of the storm. Ludwig became king in 1864, so while the castle was supposedly frozen in time, apparently somebody upgraded the technology inside. Then you enter the station and board a ten row train of snowmobiles. While everything in the building looks good, the theme is definitely very loose, and honestly kinda confusing.
You board your snowmobile, leave the station, turn left, and enter the first tire launch. It’s got more punch than I would have expected, and then you’re twisting through a series of banked turns and gentle hills in not-quite-complete darkness. There are some cloud and lightning effects along the way, but again, it’s loose. You then enter a second launch, after which is a surprising lateral as the ride turns hard to the right.
This short roller coaster has the brilliant feature of a fast switch track that actually allows the train to run the layout twice. It’s a cool way to create a longer ride experience within the confines of the castle, and I suspect most of the GP would never catch onto this trick. Overall, it’s a decent family coaster. I wish the theme was a bit more cohesive and drove the story home because I heard the original ride was very well done. With this first ride costing me 45 minutes, this would be my only time riding this day. The app revealed wait times over 100 minutes later in the day, so I was glad to get on early.
Next it was time to ride my real reason for coming here, Pantheon. I reversed course back to Festa Italia. This section of the park has games and flat rides with a bit of a fairground vibe. It’s also home to the Apollo’s Chariot hyper coaster, and Tempesto, a Premier SkyRocket II swing launch coaster just like Tigris in Tampa.
I turned right as I entered the land and ascended the stairs that provided a stunning overlook at Pantheon’s twisting golden trackwork. While the rest of Busch Gardens roller coasters maximize the park’s terrain and wooded location, Pantheon is built in an open grassy field. Its queue is also bare bones compared with the rest of the park. A pantheon is a group of gods, and this coaster is themed to five Roman gods, each inspiring a specific part of the ride. SeaWorld parks’ recent additions have been similarly lacking in theming, but this one seems especially bland given how great the rest of the park looks.
The sign above the entrance showed a 45 minute wait, yet as I made my way through the queue, the line only started where the massive vertical spike rises next to the stairs leading into the station. A train traverses the launch track with that unmistakable LSM fart sound before backing high up that spire. Watching the reactions of riders on the train from up close gets me fired up to ride.
With the queue passing the spike, guests easily figure out that the back row goes the highest up that element, therefore, unlike the vast majority of roller coasters, the line for the back row is longest on Pantheon. I too want that longer drop off the spike, and before long, I’m in the station waiting for the back row with only a few more cycles to go before boarding.
While two trains were running on Pantheon, the ride crews were among the slowest I’ve seen recently. Of course there’s always the issue of guests not following instructions, trying to bring their bags on the ride, or regrettably being too large for the restraints, but you can tell when the boarding team is hustling, and on this day, well, they were not. Dispatches were running 3-5 minutes with the second train stacked on the brakes baking in the sun.
With only two parties in front of me, the train in the station was sent around empty so the other train could be brought into the station to unload. Then a pre-recorded announcement played notifying us that there was a temporary delay in the ride’s operations. I’d been in line for about 25 minutes, and was so close to getting on, so I figured I’d wait it out, at least for a little while.
Then a maintenance worker arrived and switched the transfer track at the back of the station to move the train backwards onto the storage track. OK, maybe they’re going to go to one train ops for a while as they sort out the problem. Then the operator came over the PA and said it was going to be a while, and the station promptly emptied out.
I headed next door to ride Apollo’s Chariot, B&M’s first hyper coaster. I was onboard in the back row after only waiting 10 minutes, and as we climbed the lift hill, I saw Pantheon cycling with guests onboard again. Oh well. I careened down the Chariot’s 210 foot first drop and enjoyed a smooth ride through the woods with B&M’s trademark floater airtime. While their more recent rides do the airtime thing better than this one, it’s still a fun coaster with plenty of outta your seat moments and excellent visuals.
I returned to Pantheon and had to wait through about the same length line as before. With hindsight being 20-20, I shoulda just waited it out. The line for the back moves slower than most because when they board riders with Quick Queue, they too opt for the back, meaning that every 3-4 cycles nobody from the standby line gets on.
Now with 30 minutes invested on my second attempt to ride, I finally slip into the back row right, and lower the best restraint in the business, Intamin’s new style overhead lap bar. Just like VelociCoaster, you sit high up and the restraint is about as unobtrusive as you can get. I start to get excited for some real Intamin magic as the train glides out of the station.
You turn left and do a quick zigzag before the first launch gets you moving. The first element is a corkscrew taken pretty slow and there’s some great hangtime before a right hand turn leading into two opposing outer banks. There’s a wacky lateral kink mixed with some light airtime in these before entering the swing launch.
There are two sets of LSM’s here with a bunny hop in the middle, so you feel two distinct yet brief pops of acceleration as the front of the train makes it most of the way up the top hat. You then roll back, and as your gut hits the lap bar from the backwards boost, you simultaneously rocket over the bunny hop and get a ridiculous dose of backwards accelerating airtime. It’s a wildly unnatural sensation and I love it!
You’re then careening to the top of the spike, face looking straight down at the queue below. The back row gets a sustained zero-G moment as the train slows, stops, and begins to fall back to Earth. The train then hits the two LSM’s for a third time and this____________is___________awesome! You rocket skyward, and the train seems to almost stall out at 178 feet.
Then the back row gets absolutely yanked downward 5 degrees beyond vertical, and it’s glorious! Next up is a massive outer bank turn a la ArieForce One providing sustained ejector airtime, and phenomenal whip during the exit. You then bank right into the zero-G stall, and it’s a great moment. Not quite as long as VelociCoaster’s, but I love this element. Pantheon concludes with a banked turn to the left, a rapid zigzag, and final wave turn/hill banked 90 degrees to the right that gives a short pop of sideways airtime before entering the brakes.
So Pantheon is easily the best ride in the park. I like how they combine so many sensations in the launch sequence, the ejector airtime moments, and of course, those perfect trains. I’ll still need more rides on this in different seats to get a better sense of the nuances.
I headed out of Festa Italia, crossed the bridge into Germany again, this time looking for a place to eat lunch. My first choice was das Feathaus because it’s air conditioned and shaded, but there was a show going on and the food line might have been longer than Pantheon’s. I then made my way into New France, and opted for barbeque from Trapper’s Smokehouse. I grabbed a sampler platter remembering how good the same item from Voyager’s was at SeaWorld Orlando. I think this one spent too much time under the heat lamp as it wasn’t nearly as juicy or fresh.
After lunch, I made my way over to Invadr, New France’s GCI family wood coaster. Its line stretched all the way around the station, so I promptly left and entered the France section to ride Griffon.
This B&M Dive Coaster opened in 2007, two years after SheiKra became the first of the type in the United States. A griffon is a mythical creature that’s a combination of a lion and an eagle. The ride stands ten feet taller than its Tampa sibling, and features a second Immelman inversion, as well as 10-across trains versus SheiKra’s 8. The sign warned of a 35 minute wait, but I was down for the ride, sitting in the back row right wing seat in 10.
You leave the station and turn right before climbing to the highest point in the park. The James River is to the left and the Anhuiser Busch brewery is directly ahead. You pause at the precipice, just like every dive coaster, and plummet down that vertical drop. The original B&M shoulder harnesses give you plenty of room to float off your seat versus their newer vest restraints, and that drop is sweet! There’s great whip through the first Immelman in that outer seat, then some more as the train rises up and to the left into the mid course brake.
A second vertical drop follows before the second Inversion and you rise up and into a bunny hop that actually provides airtime leading into the splashdown. You then make a sharp left turn into the final brakes.
The last several times I’ve gotten off SheiKra, I’ve remembered just how darn good it is, and I got off Griffon wowed by the whip and extra airtime moment. That sublime view adds to the ride, and I think this is now my favorite dive coaster. I took a second ride on Griffon since the line was so short to confirm this opinion, and yup, as far as these one trick ponies go, this one does it best. It’s also got an outstanding presence in the park with paths allowing guests to walk all around the area, and the blue track and white supports look great against the crystal clear sky. My hot take for the day, this is my second favorite roller coaster in the park, though that might have been different if Verbolten was open.
I went back to Germany to ride Alpengeist. Walking across the park’s many bridges, I love the way this massive B&M inverted coaster shares the Rhine River ravine with Griffon and Loch Ness Monster. Alpengeist is well themed to be a runaway skilift, and it’s also the tallest inverted coaster in the world. During my last visit, I remember being slightly underwhelmed by this ride, but opinions can change, so I walked straight onboard and selected the back row.
Alpengeist has a great swooping first drop leading into an Immelman as its first inversion, followed by a vertical loop, cobra roll, then the mid course brake. You then dive down and into the zero-G roll before the ride traverses turns through snow covered trenches, and a final corkscrew before hitting the brakes. So while Alpengeist is taller than Montu, it’s actually a bit shorter in track length, and it doesn’t have any stand out elements. It doesn’t have Montu’s spectacular whip, and it’s got some pretty rough moments, particularly the cobra roll and corkscrew, while Montu remains almost perfectly smooth. I’d still like to know how this 1996 roller coaster that runs year round remains one of the smoothest inverting steel coasters out there. That said, one ride on Alpengeist was enough for me.
I returned to Pantheon with the goal of riding in the front this time. On my last visit to Islands of Adventure, I rode VelociCoaster in the front and back rows and the front was WAY more intense. Pantheon would be different since the spike will be less intense in the front, but maybe the roll back off the tophat would provide a better sensation? After my second ride, I think the front is better for every moment on the ride, except the spike. The ejector over the first part of the tophat is unbelievable, and then stalling over the edge is a fun sensation. Given the choice between the two, I would pick the back for the thrill of the spike since I don’t think the added intensity over the other elements combine to best those seconds of weightlessness on the spike, but both seats are great.
I continued around to the Scotland area to ride Loch Ness Monster. It’s a good thing most of the park is well shaded because the terrain is hilly and the park was hot! Nessy is located in a secluded corner of Scotland down a hill from the main pathway. This classic steel coaster opened in 1978 as the first roller coaster to feature interlocking vertical loops, and remains the only ride in the world with this element.
I walked into a pretty full station and waited about 15 minutes with two train operation. The public still seems to enjoy this coaster which is great news, as many of these older Arrow coasters are facing the chopping block. In fact, rumors are circulating that the park may be doing a major refurbishment to the ride for 2024.
I climbed aboard a middle row and lowered the simple horse collar restraint with its classic loud ratcheting action. You sit low in the train and views ahead are restricted by headrests. It’s still cool because it’s now a classic, and when I ride something like this, I try to put myself in the shoes of somebody riding a looping coaster for the first time when they were state-of-the art.
The train engages the lift with that classic Arrow sound, turns right, then drops over the Rhine River. This is a true terrain coaster that interacts beautifully with the park’s landscape. You race up the opposite riverbank, turn around again, then drop back across the water and enter the first teardrop loop. The ride has the expected Arrow shuffle due to its trackwork not being computer designed, but it’s in no way uncomfortable.
You rise up again and enter an enclosed helix built into the hillside that seems to go on forever. You exit the darkness and ascend a second short chain lift that sets up a shallow drop into that second vertical loop. The train then climbs a short hill into the brakes. The pacing on this ride is strange, but the setting is outstanding. It really was all about making those interlocking loops work, and it was a milestone for its day. When I left the ride, I walked down the stairs to the river for that famous photo-op of the loops sunk low in the valley.
I walked across the bridge to Ireland in hopes of riding Finnegan’s Flyer. This is another S&S Screamin’ Swing, though it’s a smaller version than the ones at SeaWorld San Antonio and Busch Gardens Tampa. It does have a killer placement swinging well out over the river, but it was down as I passed.
I continued back to New France to catch a ride on Invadr. The line was much shorter this time, and I remembered that GCI coasters are often better up front, so I decided to wait for row 1. This milder twisting wood coaster opened in 2017, and re-uses the Millennium Flyer trains from the old Gwazi in Tampa. I’ve always been a big fan of these trains for their aesthetics and function.
I didn’t remember any airtime on Invadr when I rode in 2018, but I think we rode in the back, so let’s see what happens this time. The ride starts with a straight 78 foot first drop with a roof built over it, presumably to minimize noise. You then set out for a delightful journey filled with high-speed twists and turns where GCI does what GCI does. It’s a fluid series of rapid direction changes where the train lifts up and throws you laterally from one side to the next. There were a few floater pops here and there up front, but this was intended to be a milder coaster than the likes of Texas Stingray and Mystic Timbers. It’s still a fun, smooth ride, and a great starter coaster for budding enthusiasts.
Now having ridden all the major coasters at least once, I returned to Festa Italia to ride Pantheon a few more times. I paused to grab an ice cream cone, then hopped in line. Brian, who I’d met that morning on DarKoaster was in front of me. His brother had gone off to ride the water rides, which he doesn’t care for. We rode in the front row first. By this time, the line had died down a bit and was about 20 minutes. Then we went over the Apollo’s Chariot and walked right onto the back row, and returned to Pantheon for a back seat ride.
After four rides on Pantheon, I can confidently say that I really like what Intamin did with this coaster. While it’s the same basic ride type as VelociCoaster, Intamin succeeded in creating a completely different ride experience. Pantheon has its own unique feel. Its elements are nothing like those on VelociCoaster. In a lot of ways, it almost has more of an RMC feel to it with the zig zags and focus on outer banked turns. It’s even got some of RMC’s trademark choppy ejector pops. When you’ve ridden one B&M, you kinda have an idea of what all the rest will feel like. Sure, they throw in some different elements here and there, but every B&M feels exactly like a B&M. You know what you’re getting. Pantheon mixes things up with several unique sensations strung together in a thrilling package with my favorite train design out there. I love that there are moments of strong laterals on this ride, which is not super common on steel coasters.
That said, color me a Pantheon fan. Intamin is known for continually pushing the envelope and bringing innovative new ride designs to the market. Sure, many have their sets of challenges, but I’ll take that over doing the same thing over and over. As long as Intamin keeps surprising me, I’ll be happy to jump in line for their next creation.
With the sun hanging low, I grabbed one last ride on Apollo’s Chariot before making my way to the park exit. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is the crown jewel of the Seas chain. Sure, the two Florida parks are excellent, but this one uses the natural beauty of its location to set it apart. The European villages are all immersive, and the way they interact with the water and the hillside makes this park special.
There are rumors that SeaWorld will again be working with Rocky Mountain Construction following the success of Iron Gwazi to bring a similar large scale IBOX coaster to the old Drachen Fire plot of land in 2025. If that happens, Busch Gardens Williamsburg will have one of the best coaster line-ups out there, and you can bet I’ll be back.
I wasn’t sure I’d need the full nine hours the park was open, but I took it at a medium pace and left only 30 minutes before park close. For a busy summer Sunday, I felt I’d gotten to do everything I wanted to, which is a testament to how well the park handles crowds. Sure I would love to have ridden Verbolten again but what can you do? My trip was off to an amazing start, and I was just getting warned up.
I returned to my hotel and picked up a pizza from the shop right next door, and finished editing the Everland episode. I figured I’d give the podcast a final listen during the 347 miles between Williamsburg, VA and Jackson, NJ. Of course, Six Flags America sat just about halfway in between, and I headed to bed looking forward to a first time park visit in the morning. Join me for the next episode as I continue my quest to ride more east coast Intamins at Six Flags America. That’s next time on Coaster Redux.