As a side note Kevin was not only asked but fairly rudely pressed by someone not connected with BGWfans about Nessie's retrack. He very polite and professionally didn't answer they first time and when rudely pressed stayed very polite and professional.
The first part wasn't to bad and I have to believe Kevin fully expected to be asked but when the guy didn't accept Kevin's response and came back at him I cringed.
I especially appreciated Kevin being as forthcoming as he was it was very insightful to hear some of the business prospective on why things have been done the way they have been.
The tour was fantastic! Our guides were really knowledgeable; the lights-on and behind the scenes access was phenomenal; and the conversations with Suzy Cheely and Kevin Lembke were really informative. My only complaint at all was the lack of water.
The unique itinerary was really compelling for @Zachary and me. We’ve done coaster tours before, but this offered new components. I really hope the park offers more of these types of tours in the future (and maybe similar animal tours, as well).
In echoing what everyone else has already mentioned: Wednesday's Insider Tour really was a lot of fun; where the lights-on portion of Verbolten and DarKoaster - especially seeing two separate DarKoaster trains complete their circuits around the track - was amazing. But for anyone who has yet to do one of the BGW coaster tours (where this was my first), something that is almost just as much fun, is getting access to what are usually restricted areas of the park.
I've been visiting the park since the late 70's, and riding Nessie since the mid-80's. And something I've always wanted to see more of is the Loch Ness station (that is more than just what the normal park pathways and queue afford).
So during Wednesday's tour, what I was pleasantly surprised by, was how after our group toured Griffon's maintenance facility, we walked down this path:
...we then came up under the railroad trestle:
...and I was able to get a view of Nessie's station from down below - where this building always brings back so much good nostalgia for me:
And then after viewing Nessie's maintenance bay, we eventually came back up through this gate:
So for any fans of the park itself, if you've often wanted to see more of the park, I would strongly recommend one of the coaster tours for this reason.
(Though to be completely honest, I would have MUCH rather walked that path between Griffon and Nessie before Finnegan's arrival )
Hey everyone, I was looking at the upgrades to look at Mardi Gras samplers, but I stumbled across what seems to be a third coaster tour. I haven't seen the "Coaster 101" tour before. Is there any difference between the regular Coaster Insider Tour and Coaster 101?
Any more clarification on the coaster 101 tour? There’s 2 booking times available during park hours tomorrow. Seems interesting if you get to see the behind the scenes stuff while the park is open. Any details would be helpful.
Any more clarification on the coaster 101 tour? There’s 2 booking times available during park hours tomorrow. Seems interesting if you get to see the behind the scenes stuff while the park is open. Any details would be helpful.
I dont know about now, but 12 years ago, much of the behind the scenes tours occurred during park hours. Only stuff you really can't do is be in ride restricted areas. Other things (maintenance bays, backstage areas, verbolten building, etc) can be occupied while rides are running. The BGT coaster tour I went on about a year ago happened at 2 in the afternoon. We even went up the Montu block brake tower, just not in any ride restricted areas.
They’re doing another ultimate tour next Saturday, the 16th for national coaster day! They did this last year- this time though there’s a look at the new Big Bad Wolf!
For those who couldn’t make it last year, I’d highly recommend! The price is steep but worth it. The itinerary looks very similar to last year:
Lights-on tour of one of our indoor coasters
Special look at our newest attraction Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge
Behind-the-scenes look at control rooms and maintenance areas of several coasters
Q&A session with Design & Engineering
Commemorative event lanyard to remember the day
Following the tour, participants will enjoy a picnic lunch with Park President, Kevin Lembke
Priority Quick Queue access to all of Busch Gardens' operating coasters
Last year, it went through Darkoaster, Loch Ness, Griffon, Alpengeist, and Verbolten.