The Voice of Busch Gardens Williamsburg

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Shane

Shane

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So I have long wondered who the man was that voiced virtually every spiel in the park throughout the BEC era of Busch Gardens Williamsburg. You may recognize this voice from the 90s, instructing you to "keep your hands, arms, and legs inside the car and your head back against the headrest until the ride comes to a full and complete stop in the station." ... well, today I finally figured it out who this voice was and any of you are also fans of the video game turned television series Fallout may also recognize his voice from Fallout 3.

Lady's and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to the Voice of Busch Gardens Williamsburg and the voice of PBS, Gus Travers.

We unfortunately lost Mr. Tavers in 2013, but it seems that he continued sharing his voice up until the very end. Outside of commercials, PBS, and Busch Gardens, Fallout 3 is his only IMDB credit. He spent most of his career in Richmond, Virginia which explains how he voiced our local park and public broadcasting network and with Bethesda Studios being in... Bethesda it also explains how he came to voice Fallout 3 as well.

Here is his voice credits from Fallout 3:
  • Armitage
  • Butcher
  • Paladin Gunny
  • Flak (uncredited)
  • Paladin Glade (uncredited)
  • Knight Sergeant Wilks (uncredited)
  • Craterside Supply mercenary (uncredited)
  • Brotherhood of Steel initiates (male, uncredited)
  • Brotherhood of Steel knights (male, uncredited)
  • Brotherhood of Steel paladins (male, uncredited)
  • Brotherhood Outcasts (male, uncredited)
  • Rivet City security (male, uncredited)
  • Security guards (male, uncredited)
  • Slavers (male, uncredited)
  • Operations Officer Edwards (uncredited)
  • Vertibird pilot (uncredited)
  • Brotherhood of Steel initiates (male, uncredited)
  • Brotherhood of Steel knights (male, uncredited)
  • Brotherhood of Steel paladins (male, uncredited)
  • Rivet City security (male, uncredited)
He has slowly been disappearing from the park over the years, but there are still a few rides here and there that have not yet replaced him. Here's hoping he lives on within the few rides that he still voices. If anyone happens to know whom his female counterpart is for the spiels that he didn't do such as "thank you, and enjoy your voyage to the sun, on the wings of Apollo's Chariot" please let us know below.

I will now leave you with a few voice clips from Fallout 3 of our friend Gus.
View attachment Fo3_PaladinGunny_Grandmother.ogg
View attachment Fo3_Flak_BetterThanThatPeahooter.ogg
View attachment FO3_Armitage_IllSnapYourNeck.ogg
View attachment Fo3_Butcher_FasterWay.ogg
View attachment Fo3_PaladinGlade_NothingDies.ogg
View attachment Fo3_KSWilks_LastFreeRadioStation.ogg
View attachment Fo3_Mercenary_GotMyEyeOnYou.ogg
View attachment FO3_Paladin_DoesThisSound.ogg
 
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Shane said:
So I have long wondered who the man was that voiced virtually every spiel in the park throughout the BEC era of Busch Gardens Williamsburg. You recognize this voice from the 90s instructing you to keep "your hands, arms, and legs inside the car and your head back against the headrest until the ride comes to a full and complete stop in the station." ... well, today I finally figured it out who this voice was and any of you are also fans of the video game turned television series Fallout may also recognize his voice from Fallout 3.

Lady's and gentlemen, I would like to introduce you to the Voice of Busch Gardens Williamsburg and the voice of PBS-WCVE, Gus Travers.

We unfortunately lost Mr. Tavers in 2013, but it seems that he continued sharing his voice up until the very end. Outside of commercials, PBS, and Busch Gardens, Fallout 3 is his only IMDB credit. He was born in raised in Richmond Virginia which explains how he voiced our local park and public broadcasting network and with Bethesda Studios being in... Bethesda it also explains how he came to voice Fallout 3 as well.

Here is his voice credits from Fallout 3:
  • Armitage
  • Butcher
  • Paladin Gunny
  • Flak (uncredited)
  • Paladin Glade (uncredited)
  • Knight Sergeant Wilks (uncredited)
  • Craterside Supply mercenary (uncredited)
  • Brotherhood of Steel initiates (male, uncredited)
  • Brotherhood of Steel knights (male, uncredited)
  • Brotherhood of Steel paladins (male, uncredited)
  • Brotherhood Outcasts (male, uncredited)
  • Rivet City security (male, uncredited)
  • Security guards (male, uncredited)
  • Slavers (male, uncredited)
  • Operations Officer Edwards (uncredited)
  • Vertibird pilot (uncredited)
  • Brotherhood of Steel initiates (male, uncredited)
  • Brotherhood of Steel knights (male, uncredited)
  • Brotherhood of Steel paladins (male, uncredited)
  • Rivet City security (male, uncredited)
He has slowly been disappearing from the park over the years, but there are still a few rides here and there that have not yet replaced him. Here's hoping he lives on within the few rides that he still voices. If anyone happens to know whom his female counterpart is for the spiels that he didn't do such as "enjoy your voyage to the sun on the wings of Apollo's Chariot" please let us know below.

I will now leave you with a few voice clips from Fallout 3 of our friend Gus.
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New life achievement unlocked. It’s so surreal hearing raw recordings of his voice. Fun fact, he also voices Le Catapult’s interruption, restart, B2 and weather spiels. I wonder if that’s the case for other flat rides in the park that primarily use the female voice. Speaking of, the name of the female voice, according to the audio and voiceover thread, is Meredith Strange-Boston.
 
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cschnizer said:
New life achievement unlocked. It’s so surreal hearing raw recordings of his voice. Fun fact, he also voices Le Catapult’s interruption, restart, B2 and weather spiels. I wonder if that’s the case for other flat rides in the park that primarily use the female voice. Speaking of, the name of the female voice, according to the audio and voiceover thread, is Meredith Strange-Boston.
Click to expand...
I believe he’s also the voice for Battering Ram, Der Werblewind, and Turkish Delight.
 
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Gus Tavers died on Sunday, September 22, 2013. A native of Manhattan, N.Y., he had been a resident of Richmond for over 40 years. He attended public schools in Manhattan and graduated from the Cambridge School of Radio & TV Broadcasting. An Air Force veteran, he served in Kevlavik, Iceland as a radar operator and base radio station manager. Following his military service, he began working in radio and TV broadcasting in New York, Connecticut and Ohio, and also performed in local repertory theater. In the early 1970's, he relocated to Richmond to work at WRNL radio and was a popular personality and disc jockey for several years before starting his own freelance voice-over business. His career spanned many decades and he was well known for his deep, resonating voice heard in local, national and international TV and radio commercials. He was the voice of PBS, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the Richmond Forum, Pleasants Hardware, The Baltimore Ravens Report, and recorded many narrations for the Learning, History, and Travel Channels, and promos for the Discovery Digital Channel. He was also heard in film, political, and industrial narrations, and landed a special gig voicing several characters for Xbox 360's Fallout 3 video game. Gus never met a stranger and will always be remembered for his kindness and faithful friendships.
Click to expand...
 
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Coasternerd said:
I believe he’s also the voice for Battering Ram, Der Werblewind, and Turkish Delight.
Click to expand...
It’s late so pardon if I make any spelling mistakes but I believe he’s also the voice for for Griffon’s “unbuckle seatbelts” spiel on the brakes, as well as the railroad’s station spiels, in addition to Pompeii’s dispatch spiel.
 
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Amazing find. This man is such a core part of BGW for me. The smooth cadence and deep timbre of his voice have that perfect gravitas. It has a feeling of “premium” that always takes me back to the old days of Busch — that they cared so much about the little details, they even got the perfect announcer for their rides. And something about the way they used him and the woman (Meredith) throughout the park made the voiceovers especially distinctive, moreso than at any other park I’ve been too.

I think it’s really fascinating that Gus Travers has been gone for over a decade yet his voice still lives on and makes an impact (even if most people don’t realize it) on millions of guests every year.
 
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Mushroom said:
Amazing find. This man is such a core part of BGW for me. The smooth cadence and deep timbre of his voice have that perfect gravitas. It has a feeling of “premium” that always takes me back to the old days of Busch — that they cared so much about the little details, they even got the perfect announcer for their rides. And something about the way they used him and the woman (Meredith) throughout the park made the voiceovers especially distinctive, moreso than at any other park I’ve been too.

I think it’s really fascinating that Gus Travers has been gone for over a decade yet his voice still lives on and makes an impact (even if most people don’t realize it) on millions of guests every year.
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I couldn't agree with you more. The deep voice demands to be listened to, I remember the first time I ever went to BGT back in the day and was disappointed that their spiels weren't recorded by him. I also feel like his and Meredith's voiceovers perfectly complimented each other.
 
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