What can I ride in March?

[andyb]

I'm planning a first trip to BGW, and looking at some potential dates across February, March, and April. I'm aware that Pantheon opens "in March," though I can't find any mention of a particular day. I also see that the Winter Weekends event doesn't have all rides open, as Loch Ness, Finnegan's, Alpengeist, Griffon, and Tempesto are "Closed for the season." I'd really like to visit when we can ride all of those (and ideally, Pantheon too). So I guess there are two questions:

• When do the major rides come back online?
• Might a trip in the first few days of March be too early for Pantheon? I know there are some promotions giving members advance access to Pantheon, but it's unclear to me whether that means they can ride it, e.g., in February, or whether Pantheon will open only to members in March, and the rest of us will have to either buy a 1-time Quick Queue to ride it at all, or wait until summer?

 

[horsesboy]

I'm planning a first trip to BGW, and looking at some potential dates across February, March, and April. I'm aware that Pantheon opens "in March," though I can't find any mention of a particular day. I also see that the Winter Weekends event doesn't have all rides open, as Loch Ness, Finnegan's, Alpengeist, Griffon, and Tempesto are "Closed for the season." I'd really like to visit when we can ride all of those (and ideally, Pantheon too). So I guess there are two questions:

• When do the major rides come back online?
• Might a trip in the first few days of March be too early for Pantheon? I know there are some promotions giving members advance access to Pantheon, but it's unclear to me whether that means they can ride it, e.g., in February, or whether Pantheon will open only to members in March, and the rest of us will have to either buy a 1-time Quick Queue to ride it at all, or wait until summer?

Hopefully most of the rides will be open by mid March however that has not been confirmed yet and is subject to changed based on staffing and other factors

 

[Zachary]

If you're not a pass holder and want to ride Pantheon, I wouldn't advise planning a trip before the start of April. Pantheon's official opening is likely to be mid-to-late March and being there opening weekend (or even its second weekend) will likely not be a great experience.

 

[andyb]

... Pantheon's official opening is likely to be mid-to-late March and being there opening weekend (or even its second weekend) will likely not be a great experience.

That's another good question: what Pantheon will do to crowd levels. Part of the point is that we're looking for a nice, low-traffic experience right now (a consolation prize for realizing that we need to delay an Orlando trip until way later). I got excited by the crowd calendar predictions at queue-times.com , showing near empty levels on many weekdays in March. Maybe that's way off, though?

 

[horsesboy]

That's another good question: what Pantheon will do to crowd levels. Part of the point is that we're looking for a nice, low-traffic experience right now (a consolation prize for realizing that we need to delay an Orlando trip until way later). I got excited by the crowd calendar predictions at queue-times.com , showing near empty levels on many weekdays in March. Maybe that's way off, though?

March is normally on the slower side which is why if there are still staffing issues the park may elect to keep stuff shuttered. That said it can get busy if the weather is nicer then normal. Pantheon is also highly anticipated by many groups and it will likely bring in a decent crowd even with just members when it opens.

 

[andyb]

Bumping this question since we have trip dates locked in now. We're visiting BGW next week on Wed, Thur, and Fri—March 30 and 31 and April 1. I'm hoping most of the major coasters will be running. I do see that Griffon, on the website's page of rides, says "Opens April 2" (though I guess I can cross my fingers for an early appearance)? But meanwhile, the park map doesn't show Loch Ness, Alpengeist, or Tempesto. Mind you, I think that map is customized for the St. Patrick's Day event, which hasn't wrapped up yet. But does anybody have any informed idea whether those three are likely to be running next week?

 

[Zachary]

Bumping this question since we have trip dates locked in now. We're visiting BGW next week on Wed, Thur, and Fri—March 30 and 31 and April 1. I'm hoping most of the major coasters will be running. I do see that Griffon, on the website's page of rides, says "Opens April 2" (though I guess I can cross my fingers for an early appearance)? But meanwhile, the park map doesn't show Loch Ness, Alpengeist, or Tempesto. Mind you, I think that map is customized for the St. Patrick's Day event, which hasn't wrapped up yet. But does anybody have any informed idea whether those three are likely to be running next week?

The park has actually been doing a good job keeping the online attractions list updated—I'd recommend setting your expectations based on that.

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Hopefully you get lucky on Griffon!

 

[horsesboy]

Bumping this question since we have trip dates locked in now. We're visiting BGW next week on Wed, Thur, and Fri—March 30 and 31 and April 1. I'm hoping most of the major coasters will be running. I do see that Griffon, on the website's page of rides, says "Opens April 2" (though I guess I can cross my fingers for an early appearance)? But meanwhile, the park map doesn't show Loch Ness, Alpengeist, or Tempesto. Mind you, I think that map is customized for the St. Patrick's Day event, which hasn't wrapped up yet. But does anybody have any informed idea whether those three are likely to be running next week?

Just about every main rode was open today with only DaVinci's cradle and Griffon and the water rides as a hold out for adults.

Griffon has at least two trains in the station right now and wear lines from wheels were visible on the fresh paint today so it looks to have been testing. Those are all good signs for it possibly being open but I also heard that as of earlier this week maintenance had not turned it over to parks ops for training. So the ods look to me to be 50/50 right now in it being running by middle of the week.