When should I visit for shortest queue times overall?

[andyb]

We're planning our first trip to BGW this spring. Since we live in NC I'm sure it won't be our last, but probably our only this year. I'm very aware that the levels of park traffic can really be the determining factor in how fun a theme park visit can be (especially your first): On a day with average wait times of 10 minutes, you can do 6 times as much as one with an average wait time of an hour. So as we face the opening of Pantheon, the decision boils down to whether it's better to visit after March 25 so we can ride it, or whether Pantheon will attract so much extra traffic that it will be better to go before.

We'll probably combine some visits to Colonial Williamsburg etc., maybe do a bounce ticket that allows "weekend visits" to BGW, or maybe not, not sure.

I'm thinking about:

• Weekend of March 4-6. Queue-times.com says that the Friday capacity is 12%, Sat 39%, Sun 17%. Park is open 5 hours Fri, 7 hrs Sat. I'm a little concerned, for this one: Right now, a lot of coasters are closed "for the season." Will they be running this early?
• Weekend of March 11-13. Crowds: Fri 12%, Sat 39%, Sun 42%. Hours go from 5 hrs on Fri to 10 hrs on Sat.
• March 31-April 1, a Thursday and Friday. Crowds are supposed to be 12% both days (but it said that before Pantheon was announced and hasn't revised since). Open 8 or 10 hours.
• May 30—Monday, Memorial Day—or one of the following weekdays. Queue-time.com claims crowd levels of Mon 26%, Tue 5%. Open 10 hrs and 8 hours.

So... How accurate are these times? Can Memorial day really be that low? Will Pantheon blow all these low estimates, even on weekdays?

A critical question: if we go after March 25, is there even a reasonable way for us to ride Pantheon? We're not members and probably not going to be, at least this year. Can we buy single-use QQ for it? Will even QQ run into insane, deal-breaking wait times? I know it could sound crazy to avoid riding Pantheon, and the early reports are certainly mouth-watering... but we live 3 hrs away, and we'll definitely be back.

 

[Zachary]

March 31-April 1, a Thursday and Friday. Crowds are supposed to be 12% both days (but it said that before Pantheon was announced and hasn't revised since). Open 8 or 10 hours.

This option would be my pick I believe. We really don't know when everything will begin to open up again, but I would imagine most things should be operating by the end of March. Plus, crowds should be pretty low, park hours are relatively long, and Pantheon will be open.

And on that note, riding Pantheon soon after opening will just be about going straight to the ride in the morning or waiting until the end of the night. On basically all but the worst days, BGW lines are almost always manageable in the mornings and evenings.