Trip itinerary - looking for ride order suggestions and dinner recommendations!

[jalk11]

Hey everyone,

I'm going to Busch Gardens with some friends and we're really excited! We're only going to be at the park from 4:30 pm to closing on Friday, April 21st, so we want to make the most of our time there.

Since we're arriving so late, which rides should we hit first? is it worth going on Pantheon, or should we try to go on as many other rides as possible?

Additionally, we have a meal plan for dinner and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for where to eat. We're looking for a place with good food that's included in the meal plan.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions! Can't wait to hear what you guys recommend.

 

[Aidansn07]

Hey everyone,

I'm going to Busch Gardens with some friends and we're really excited! We're only going to be at the park from 4:30 pm to closing on Friday, April 21st, so we want to make the most of our time there.

Since we're arriving so late, which rides should we hit first? is it worth going on Pantheon, or should we try to go on as many other rides as possible?

Additionally, we have a meal plan for dinner and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for where to eat. We're looking for a place with good food that's included in the meal plan.

Thanks in advance for your suggestions! Can't wait to hear what you guys recommend.

Pantheon is definitely worth riding, Les Frites, Marco Polos, Squires Grill, and German Pretzel place is amazing. (Only some stuff there is part of it)

 

[Jonesta6]

For food, Pierce's BBQ in lightfoot (same road as Great Wolf Lodge if that helps).

 

[Coasternerd]

Yeah, outside of Squires Grille, Les Frites, and Pretzel World… nothing else is all that good in my opinion. And as stated above, Pretzel World only has some items on the dining plan.

 

[Nicole]

What to prioritize is a difficult question to answer without any indication of your goals. Are you interested in coasters, thrill rides, shows, etc? Also, how much do you know about BGW's lineup? Have you been there before?

If you are there for coasters and/or thrill rides, in my opinion, Pantheon and Apollo's Chariots shouldn't be missed (night rides are especially fun). Alpengeist and Griffon are great, as well. Honestly, the best ride to skip is Tempesto. InvadR has more forces than you expect; Verbolten still has some fun elements; and Nessie is a classic with a great first drop. Finnegan's Flyer is a flat with good airtime. Lines and staffing have been a problem recently, so it is worth considering QuickQueues once you see what crowds are like. The good news it that the park is open until 9pm that day.

The problem with dining is predicting in advance which restaurants will be open on any given day.

People like Das Festhaus, because it is indoors and often has a show. Both Trappers and Marco Polo's can be good options, if you are looking a real meal. Les Frites and Pretzel World are really better as snack locations than dinner. Squires Grille is hit or miss and the service is incredibly slow. Depending on crowd levels, you might just want to pick whichever place has the shortest lines, since you have so little time in the park.

 

[bill s]

With Pantheon the questions are, is it running and do you want to risk waiting until lines are shorter later, plus how much time you're willing to wait. I would plan to ride it until they chase me off, and maybe go by earlier too and decide. Bolt also gets a line, and FF. InvadR and Pesto usually drop way off later but can get bad, low capacity. The B&Ms are usually solid.

You should be able to ride most everything, some multiple, in that time on that day if it's Go Time, but eating etc. will soak it up.

 

[ChiefGorilla]

If you're looking for non-ride options, I can't recommend Celtic Fyre enough--it's a Riverdance-type show with Irish dance and is far and away (in my opinion) the best non-ride thing in the park. The show runs about 20–30 minutes or so and is incredibly well-produced with some very talented dancers and excellent choreography.

They'll be running shows at 5:30 and 7:30 on the day you're there and I'd recommend giving that a shot if you have time in between the rides you're looking to get on (might work well pre- or post-Finnegan's Flyer or Loch Ness Monster).