NOTE: This trip report was originally posted on a site called coasterbuzz.com. I realize most everyone reading this is a BGW regular, so keep in mind this trip report is coming from a family from Ohio who has not visited your park since 2013. 
Part 1/2
That is where it all began,
We all go back to where we belong – Michael Stipe
In 2004, a couple of crazy kids got married. OK, they were in their late 20’s, but at this point in life that sure feels like (late) childhood. With no budget for a honeymoon in Paris, they decided to take a road-trip to the east coast, and at one point found themselves at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. For two Cedar Point lifers, this experience was an awakening; there was more to a park than world records and 420-foot launches! As it turns out, there was a balance between Disney and Cedar Fair, and this park was it. Long story short, they fell in love with Busch Gardens Williamsburg. They would visit again in 2013 with two tiny people they created that were too young to have established long-term memory.
(you can't tell from the pic, but as cute as they are, the brains of each kid in this pic is clearly under-developed. The brains of the adults in the picture have their own issues)
With early-childhood in the rearview mirror, this June they decided to revisit this gem of a park as part of a larger getaway to the ocean in an almost-post-pandemic-reality. Those kids were now 9 and 13, so it was the perfect time to go back to where it all began.
The Bigger Picture: Wednesday, June 9th, 2021
The day-trip to BGW was just one day in a week-long adventure to the east coast that has become a tradition for our family. Typically platinum pass holders, this trip has included a day (or two) at Kings Dominion as we make our way back up to Ohio, but having taken advantage of the too-good-to-pass-up deal of $99 Gold Passes back in 2020, we had our sights set on taking the girls to BGW.
Covid-19
Just to get this out of the way, the park 1) required reservations, 2) masks were optional, and 3) there was no social distancing to speak of in queue lines. Myself, my wife, and my 13-year-old daughter are all vaccinated, and our nine-year old is a nine-year old, so she is fine. Plenty of shops and rides were closed, but this was all layed out on the park’s website, so the only surprises (keep reading in part 2) were positive ones. Specifically, Finnegan's Flyer, all water rides (Le Scoot, Roman Rapids, and Escape from Pompeii), and Battle for Eire were not to be open due to staffing issues.
It’s all new to us
For our two girls, every coaster was a new experience, at least in terms of what they will remember. We started the day by hitting the park in a clockwise-manner at Apollo’s Chariot, and worked our way around the park from there. If you don't know your way around BGW, it's Italy (Apollo's Chariot and Tempesto), followed by Germany (Verbolten), followed by France/New France (Alpengeist, Ivadr, and Griffon), then Ireland and back to Scotland and England (where you started). The girls clearly loved Apollo's Chariot from the beginning (this will come full circle in part 2), but what a great way to start riding coasters again since last July at Cedar Point. It was a complete walk-on, as was it's newish neighbor, Tempesto (below).
Tempesto
Tempesto was fun. I was probably the biggest fan of the ride, but overall the whole family liked this ride. We all agreed that the ride would be improved by taking the roll at the peak of the ride just a tad faster, as it literally crawls through the inversion at an almost uncomfortable pace, but it was a new ride experience for all four of us, which made it fun in its own right. I can imagine capacity being a bit of a problem on busy days, but this was not one of them. A fun, nicely-themed addition to the park.
(see? Time really does fly. They can both stand without our help!)
Alpengeist
You all know the details, I just wanted to show off another cute pic here of one of the kids. The ride was as fun/smooth as ever. Complete walk-on for the first row.
Invadr
The New France area at BGW is beautiful. Even the bathrooms are inviting. Little surprise, then, that the Invadr queue is equally inviting. That said, this ride was the low point of the entire trip. I should have known better when I saw many people leaving what looked to be a partially filled queue, but having never been on the ride we were willing to wait it out. The park was running only one train on this ride, and if you don’t know for some reason this ride only has 8 2-person cars per train (for a wopping 16 riders per train). To make matters worse, there were times when the dispatch times between trains was 7 minutes. Seven minutes. Just take a moment to reflect on that; a ride that lasts about 60 seconds with a train that has no restraints aside from a lap-bar coming down dispatching a train every 6-7 minutes. Now, if the ride was spectacular this would be no problem, as the experience would erase all the bad emotions that encompass your brain after waiting over an hour to ride a 60-second ride, but no.
Nice theming, and I get why they added a wooden coaster to the lineup, but for us this was a strikeout of a ride. I was expecting a Mystic Timbers type of ride, or at least something in the ballpark, but was mistaken. Even the kids were not happy after waiting over an hour. Won't waste any time on this ride again on this trip, and now I understand why so many people were leaving the queue while we waited. And waited. But hey, credit earned.
Griffon
Thankfully Griffon awaited and was a walk-on, offering us two quick rides to wash away the bad taste (and headaches) that Invadr induced. We all agreed that this B & M drop machine is superior to Valravn (sorry, Cedar Point). The pacing is much better, and I realized I spent much more time flying out my seat than on Cedar Point's taller/longer version. Not to mention the splash-down, which adds to the already overall better experience. Better air time and better theming = a better overall experience.
Then, it started raining.
But have no fear, there is more to come after the skies (and what remained of a crowd) cleared in Part 2....
Part 1/2
That is where it all began,
We all go back to where we belong – Michael Stipe
In 2004, a couple of crazy kids got married. OK, they were in their late 20’s, but at this point in life that sure feels like (late) childhood. With no budget for a honeymoon in Paris, they decided to take a road-trip to the east coast, and at one point found themselves at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. For two Cedar Point lifers, this experience was an awakening; there was more to a park than world records and 420-foot launches! As it turns out, there was a balance between Disney and Cedar Fair, and this park was it. Long story short, they fell in love with Busch Gardens Williamsburg. They would visit again in 2013 with two tiny people they created that were too young to have established long-term memory.
(you can't tell from the pic, but as cute as they are, the brains of each kid in this pic is clearly under-developed. The brains of the adults in the picture have their own issues)
With early-childhood in the rearview mirror, this June they decided to revisit this gem of a park as part of a larger getaway to the ocean in an almost-post-pandemic-reality. Those kids were now 9 and 13, so it was the perfect time to go back to where it all began.
The Bigger Picture: Wednesday, June 9th, 2021
The day-trip to BGW was just one day in a week-long adventure to the east coast that has become a tradition for our family. Typically platinum pass holders, this trip has included a day (or two) at Kings Dominion as we make our way back up to Ohio, but having taken advantage of the too-good-to-pass-up deal of $99 Gold Passes back in 2020, we had our sights set on taking the girls to BGW.
Covid-19
Just to get this out of the way, the park 1) required reservations, 2) masks were optional, and 3) there was no social distancing to speak of in queue lines. Myself, my wife, and my 13-year-old daughter are all vaccinated, and our nine-year old is a nine-year old, so she is fine. Plenty of shops and rides were closed, but this was all layed out on the park’s website, so the only surprises (keep reading in part 2) were positive ones. Specifically, Finnegan's Flyer, all water rides (Le Scoot, Roman Rapids, and Escape from Pompeii), and Battle for Eire were not to be open due to staffing issues.
It’s all new to us
For our two girls, every coaster was a new experience, at least in terms of what they will remember. We started the day by hitting the park in a clockwise-manner at Apollo’s Chariot, and worked our way around the park from there. If you don't know your way around BGW, it's Italy (Apollo's Chariot and Tempesto), followed by Germany (Verbolten), followed by France/New France (Alpengeist, Ivadr, and Griffon), then Ireland and back to Scotland and England (where you started). The girls clearly loved Apollo's Chariot from the beginning (this will come full circle in part 2), but what a great way to start riding coasters again since last July at Cedar Point. It was a complete walk-on, as was it's newish neighbor, Tempesto (below).
Tempesto
Tempesto was fun. I was probably the biggest fan of the ride, but overall the whole family liked this ride. We all agreed that the ride would be improved by taking the roll at the peak of the ride just a tad faster, as it literally crawls through the inversion at an almost uncomfortable pace, but it was a new ride experience for all four of us, which made it fun in its own right. I can imagine capacity being a bit of a problem on busy days, but this was not one of them. A fun, nicely-themed addition to the park.
(see? Time really does fly. They can both stand without our help!)
Alpengeist
You all know the details, I just wanted to show off another cute pic here of one of the kids. The ride was as fun/smooth as ever. Complete walk-on for the first row.
Invadr
The New France area at BGW is beautiful. Even the bathrooms are inviting. Little surprise, then, that the Invadr queue is equally inviting. That said, this ride was the low point of the entire trip. I should have known better when I saw many people leaving what looked to be a partially filled queue, but having never been on the ride we were willing to wait it out. The park was running only one train on this ride, and if you don’t know for some reason this ride only has 8 2-person cars per train (for a wopping 16 riders per train). To make matters worse, there were times when the dispatch times between trains was 7 minutes. Seven minutes. Just take a moment to reflect on that; a ride that lasts about 60 seconds with a train that has no restraints aside from a lap-bar coming down dispatching a train every 6-7 minutes. Now, if the ride was spectacular this would be no problem, as the experience would erase all the bad emotions that encompass your brain after waiting over an hour to ride a 60-second ride, but no.
Nice theming, and I get why they added a wooden coaster to the lineup, but for us this was a strikeout of a ride. I was expecting a Mystic Timbers type of ride, or at least something in the ballpark, but was mistaken. Even the kids were not happy after waiting over an hour. Won't waste any time on this ride again on this trip, and now I understand why so many people were leaving the queue while we waited. And waited. But hey, credit earned.
Griffon
Thankfully Griffon awaited and was a walk-on, offering us two quick rides to wash away the bad taste (and headaches) that Invadr induced. We all agreed that this B & M drop machine is superior to Valravn (sorry, Cedar Point). The pacing is much better, and I realized I spent much more time flying out my seat than on Cedar Point's taller/longer version. Not to mention the splash-down, which adds to the already overall better experience. Better air time and better theming = a better overall experience.
Then, it started raining.
But have no fear, there is more to come after the skies (and what remained of a crowd) cleared in Part 2....
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