Welcome to the 2017 Busch Gardens Williamsburg crowd calendar
Click here for park operating hours
Direct link to the calendar.
Click here for park operating hours
Direct link to the calendar.
A common question on here is "how are crowds gonna be on my next visit?" or "when is the best time to visit the park?" This calendar is basically designed to answer that question. Last year's worked out well so I decided to continue into this year.
As usual...
This calendar is based off of park operating hours, crowd levels for year round parks around the same time, and past crowd levels. It's not completely accurate, but a good guideline.
Minor special events (NASA Day, Wild Days) will not be included unless the park announces it in advance. This includes concert dates. Those will be added when the dates come up.
Check the weather before you go. Typically cruddy weather = you get the whole park to yourself. Great weather = you'll be rubbing pits with 35,000 of your closest friends.
If anybody who visits Kings Dominion enough times can give me good crowd estimates, I'll be more than happy to give you guys a KD crowd calendar as well. I don't need specific numbers, just give me updates on crowd levels.
New for 2017
- The park opens its newest coaster, Invadr. No opening day has been set yet but as of now I'm assuming the ride will open with the park. Expect it to be pretty crowded for that.
- Park hours for Passmember Appreciation Weekends in September have been changed so the park opens and closes later. 12-8 instead of 9-6.
- Park will open at noon on Fridays in fall instead of the standard opening time. Hours have been extended on peak nights in fall to midnight closings.
- Park is now open on Thursday nights during peak HOS to help with crowds.
Color guide
Green - 0-8,000 people in the park - Crowds are light. Walk on to 5 min waits for most rides. 10 mins tops. First few weeks of June and last few weeks of August, most rainy days, and Fridays in fall before 4PM get crowds like this. Perfect time to visit, but park hours may be cut if its slow enough.
Yellow - 8,000-12,000 people in the park - Crowds are manageable. Unpopular rides will still be walk on. 5-10 mins wait average. 15 mins tops. Not too many days like this, but weather is typically reasonable enough and crowds are great.
Orange - 12,000-18,000 people in the park. Pretty much a typical summer day. Crowds are still largely manageable but popular rides will have lines. Unpopular rides/medium rides 5-10 minute wait. Popular rides 10-15 min wait. 20 mins tops.
Red - 18,000-24,000 people in the park. A typical Saturday during the regular season. You may have to park across the street. Expect lines for most rides. Try to avoid days like this if possible. 15-20 min wait for unpopular rides. 30-40 min for popular rides. 45 mins tops. Quick Queue highly recommended.
Purple - 24,000-28,000 people in the park. A typical fair weather weekend. Expect at least half the overflow lot across the street to be full. Band trip season, concert weekends, and Saturdays in August can hit crowds like these. 20-25 min for medium rides/unpopular rides. 45 min-60 min waits for popular rides. Quick Queue highly recommended.
Black - 28,000-35,000+ people in the park. Expect the entire overflow lot to be almost full to completely full. On especially bad days, traffic will be backed up on I64 and Rt 60 just to get into the park. Avoid these weekends at all costs unless you're willing to vouch for Quick Queue passes (which may run out). HOS Saturdays, Labor Weekend, and July 4th weekend typically hit crowds like these. Also thanks to the discount days, you'll probably be seeing these kinds of crowds on weekends during CT. 25-30+ min for medium rides/unpopular rides. 60-90+ mins for popular rides. Not uncommon for lines to reach 2 hours for some rides/attractions. Park hours may be extended based on crowd levels.
Click here for the 2017 Calendar
2016 calendar
2015 calendar.
2014 calendar
Hope this proves useful for everyone. See you guys at the park7