I was upset that it was the very first question. Started everything on a bit of a sour note
Roller Coaster Insider Tour
- Thread starter Zachary
- Start date
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.
There's a guy sticking his head up into the ceiling at Loch Ness in one of those pictures from the tour. Did anyone notice that?
They actually explained what he was doing at the time. Some kind of inspection I think? I don't entirely recall.
They were inspecting the chain dogs in that picture. The ride had down and it's part of the process they use to clear itvto resume operations.
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
)
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
)
Probably about 50 people. They split us across two groups for most everything except lunch.
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?
This is essentially a much smaller coaster tour—up until recently it was primarily for the summer camps and the school groups.
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:
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
I did the Insider tour yesterday 8/8/2026. I had to drive from Northern VA and already took this week off work for several little things so I drove down Friday morning. I got to the park about 11 on Friday and stayed until 6. Saturday was my tour, the biggest surprise was it was just me and one other guy. We had a very private tour with Jayne. She was knowledgeable and knew just about every employee in the park, she's been working there since 2019. It was very cool to see the maintenance bays because I worked on coasters at KD and we didn't even have those. Maintenance had to work on trains in the storage sheds right next to the stations. It's also cool to see all the modern day cameras and upgrades and to hear that when Loch Ness opened it had the old pull break that I think I have only seen in the movie Roller Coaster (you guys must watch that at least once a year, right?)
Riding Darkoaster with the lights on was more fun than expected. Unfortunately Griffon was down because security camera overheated, but we got fast passes that are good for a whole year to ride later in the day or come back, which I will do because it was too hot and crowded to stay in the park after being there Friday. I'm glad I finally signed up for one of these behind the scenes tours because I have been wanting to do it all season. I'd also like to try the Wolf one, but probably just won't have time this year. I left the park about 12:30, drove to Innsbrook to see Hanson (because that is what I do) and then I got back home about 11:30 last night. Great trip. Brand new 2027 Bolt was great, charged it with no issues at three stations, my favorite is the Ionna by the WAWA in Ashland.
Riding Darkoaster with the lights on was more fun than expected. Unfortunately Griffon was down because security camera overheated, but we got fast passes that are good for a whole year to ride later in the day or come back, which I will do because it was too hot and crowded to stay in the park after being there Friday. I'm glad I finally signed up for one of these behind the scenes tours because I have been wanting to do it all season. I'd also like to try the Wolf one, but probably just won't have time this year. I left the park about 12:30, drove to Innsbrook to see Hanson (because that is what I do) and then I got back home about 11:30 last night. Great trip. Brand new 2027 Bolt was great, charged it with no issues at three stations, my favorite is the Ionna by the WAWA in Ashland.