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Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Williamsburg, Virginia, USA

“Buongiorno Tempesto, bonjour Griffon, guten Tag Verbolten, salut InvadR”

After the success of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, another Busch Gardens property was opened near colonial Williamsburg in the spring of 1975. Not many theme parks are as highly regarded as Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The park is known for its high-quality coasters, excellent theming and lush landscaping. In fact, the park likes to call itself The World’s Most Beautiful Theme Park. Although that statement might be a bit too bold, I totally agree that Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a wonderful park. Interestingly, theming at this park is very different when compared to the theming at Busch Gardens Tampa. Whereas the Florida park focuses on African cultures, this Virginia-based park is centered around European countries. In other words: welcome to Europa-Park USA!

ROLLER COASTERS

One of Busch Gardens’ most legendary rides is Loch Ness Monster. This multi-looper was manufactured by Arrow Dynamics and presented to the public in 1978. It must have been a huge innovation at the time it was built. Its height of 130 ft (40 metres) and the total track length of 3,240 ft (approximately one kilometer) are even quite impressive to today’s standards. It’s no surprise that the ride is still very popular and its interlocking loops remain a visual masterpiece. But is the actual roller coaster experience as impressive as it looks? My answer is yes. Despite the ride’s respectable age, Nessie’s vertical loops create considerable g-forces and that triple indoor helix surprises me every time.

The centrepiece of the Italian themed land is a square called Festa Italia. Here you’ll find several flatrides and three thrilling roller coasters. The oldest member of that trio is Apollo’s Chariot, B&M’s first ever hyper coaster. Apollo’s Chariot is 170 ft (52 meters) tall and the trains reach a top speed of 73 mph (120 km/h). It’s important to know that Apollo’s Chariot doesn’t deliver the fiercest airtime or strongest g-forces. I find it a very enjoyable coaster, nonetheless. The ride remains silky smooth after 26 years of operation and the sense of speed is elevated thanks to the lush foliage surrounding the layout.

The other credits in Festa Italia heavily rely on accelerations. One of these rides is Tempesto, a Sky Rocket II by Premier Rides. This is a popular coaster model that also provides thrills at SeaWorld San Diego and Busch Gardens Tampa. Here in Europe, we mainly know the Sky Rocket II as Sky Scream at Holiday Park. These are attractions with a spectacular look and they offer big thrills on a limited footprint. The launches are snappy, the hangtime feels bizarre and the ride is unbelievably smooth. That’s why it would be wrong to call Tempesto a bad roller coaster, but in my opinion this model is more suitable for medium-sized family parks than for large thrill parks like Busch Gardens.

What’s better than Tempesto’s three launches? Right… the four accelerations on Pantheon. This LSM Launch Coaster opened in 2022 and it reaffirmed Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s status as one of America’s leading roller coaster destinations. The layout includes a fast track switch, a reversed spike and a zero-g stall. If this all sounds rather abstract, I could also describe Pantheon as an American Toutatis. Still, it’s important to know that Pantheon isn’t as impressive as its French cousin. The second part of Toutatis’ layout feels more complete and Pantheon definitely underwhelms when we talk about theming. It was built on a boring plain and it seems as if there was no budget for a decorated queue or station. With a name like Pantheon, you might expect the ride to start in an impressive Roman temple, but Busch Gardens settled for an ugly steel canopy. Fine roller coaster, lackluster presentation.

The Oktoberfest area of Busch Gardens is the place to be to try a German sausage platter and to ride some family-oriented coasters. My favourite one is Verbolten. This is a semi-indoor experience and the atmosphere in that indoor part is truly amazing. After this dark section (which includes some cool lighting effects), the train reaches its signature drop towards the Rhine River, followed by some very powerful curves. Verbolten completely blew my mind and it’s hard to believe that it was actually built by kiddie coaster manufacturer Zierer. On a side note, it’s kind of hilarious to witness Busch Gardens’ depiction of the Black Forest and Germany as a whole. Europeans know the Black Forest as a cute holiday destination with friendly people, romantic mountain views, cuckoo clocks and mountain goats. Busch Gardens portrays it as a dark forest of doom, though.

This dark atmosphere can also be found around DarKoaster. This enclosed launched roller coaster is hidden behind a gloomy castle facade and the ride is filled with several spooky effects. However, DarKoaster’s most noteworthy feature is not its theme, but rather its double ride experience. Thanks to cleverly-designed track switches, riders experience the layout twice without passing through the station. This turns out to be a nice gimmick, but it doesn’t transform DarKoaster into a world-class experience. Actually, the whole ride feels like a watered-down version of Verbolten’s indoor section. Besides, it’s a real shame that DarKoaster has occupied the spot of a former dark ride. That dark ride (The Curse of DarKastle) was entertaining and it brought variety to Busch Gardens’ ride lineup. DarKoaster, however, is just one of the many roller coasters.

Amusement park attractions aren’t built for eternity. A free fall tower was recently removed from the Oktoberfest section and in 2009 we also said goodbye to the legendary Big Bad Wolf. This suspended coaster became legendary due to its intensity and photogenic drop by the water. The ride is missed by many theme park enthusiasts, but Busch Gardens is bringing the predator back for the 2025 season. The ride is making its comeback as Big Bad Wolf – The Wolf’s Revenge, a B&M family inverted coaster. The track is 2,600 ft (nearly 800 meters) long and the trains reach a top speed of 40 mph (65 km/h), so these are nice statistics for a family roller coaster. Interestingly, The Wolf’s Revenge is the world’s first B&M coaster with two lift hills, if I’m not mistaken.

Germany’s biggest thrill machine is Alpengeist. This ride is often considered as one of the planet’s best inverted coasters. There’s only one way to find out if that’s correct: a front row ride. And oh my god… it’s truly a great coaster. This runaway ski lift stands out because of its unpredictable layout, the original theming, high speeds and some brilliant near misses. Alpengeist’s craziest moment is without a doubt the cobra roll, which made me grey out during every single ride. This coaster makes me realize that I really have the best hobby in the world. Some people may find it crazy that I travel to the USA for theme parks, but these people will probably never ride a magnificent coaster like Alpengeist. I hope they enjoy their painful ride on El Condor.

More B&M goodness can be found at the French section of the park. Big, bigger, Griffon. This ride’s size is impressive, but how about the ride? Believe me… it’s at least as good. I loved every Dive Machine I’ve ridden so far, but Griffon is superior. During a back row ride, I experienced some the most intense airtime I’ve ever felt on a roller coaster. Besides, both descents are powerful and the smoothness is remarkable. Griffon is a world-class roller coaster and it’s also a visual masterpiece. The ride can be admired from many different viewpoints and the final splashdown is extremely photogenic. So dear Griffon, je t’aime.

For a full coaster bingo, you’ll also need to ride Grover’s Alpine Express and InvadR. The former is a Zierer kiddie coaster, the latter is a quite unimpressive GCI wooden coaster. InvadR features some powerful curves, but the layout is extremely short. Although I’m usually a huge fan of GCI coasters, this turns out to be one of the weaker attractions at Busch Gardens.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

Busch Gardens Williamsburg offers iconic roller coasters, but it isn’t just an ordinary thrill destination. Theming and landscaping play important roles in this park. The natural eye-catcher of the park is the Rhine River, which can be explored during a Rhine River Cruise. The boats of this attraction depart near a stunning wooden walkway, and they guarantee 15 minutes of peace and quiet. By the way… if sit-back-and-relax attractions are your thing, I would also highly recommend the Aeronaut Skyride. This cable car has stations in three lands and the views of Busch Gardens’ most famous coasters are phenomenal. The flight between Germany and England is especially cool, as it lets you soar right past Loch Ness Monster’s interlocking loops.

WORTH A VISIT?

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a theme park of mythical proportions. The roller coaster collection is impressive and the park is located in a dazzlingly beautiful area. But… Busch Gardens is far from perfect. Firstly, the attraction lineup isn’t that well-balanced. The park is filled with world-class coasters, but it’s such a shame that Busch Gardens doesn’t offer a great dark ride (anymore). Secondly, we encountered slow operations, which sometimes lead to unnecessarily long queues. Thirdly, it’s clear that United Parks & Resorts wants your money. I realize that every amusement park’s goal is to make a profit, but the money-grab just feels more obvious here at Busch Gardens. Visitors have to store their bags in paid lockers and the park really does its best to sell expensive extras like Quick Queue and VIP tours. Pricing for food and drinks is also quite steep. Our lunch was okay, but I wouldn’t state that our German sausage platter was worth 26 dollars.

Despite some flaws, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a fine theme park and it’s easy to see why it’s on the bucket list of so many roller coaster enthusiasts. I even dare say that I prefer this park to its namesake in Tampa. Do you share this opinion or do you disagree? Be sure to leave a comment at the bottom of this page.

This article reflects my personal experience at Busch Gardens Williamsburg during a visit in April 2025.