Theme Park experiences

#28
#28
That's strange to hear. Might have just been bad timing during slow seasons?

I was at BGW and BGT last year (Aug, May) and enjoyed both parks. BGW was excellent in my opinion. But, I do tent to focus on rides. In August there were several restaurants open and things seemed to be running well.

Tampa can have it's days. It's not the greatest park in slower periods. The did get Falcon's Fury open again last week. First time in roughly a year. Still a great park most days. And it's home to Iron Gwazi, one of the finest coasters on the planet.
 
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#29
#29
DrRosenRosen said:
That's strange to hear. Might have just been bad timing during slow seasons?

I was at BGW and BGT last year (Aug, May) and enjoyed both parks. BGW was excellent in my opinion. But, I do tent to focus on rides. In August there were several restaurants open and things seemed to be running well.

Tampa can have it's days. It's not the greatest park in slower periods. The did get Falcon's Fury open again last week. First time in roughly a year. Still a great park most days. And it's home to Iron Gwazi, one of the finest coasters on the planet.
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Unfortunately, Iron Gwazi was one of the closed roller coasters last week. Cobra's Curse was really fun, though.
 
#30
#30
KoachKrab127 said:
I want to rant about Busch Gardens real quick. What has happened to that place? It is so awful now. Back in October, we went to Busch in Williamsburg for their “Hallowscream” event. Ten years ago, I remember it being amazing. The detail of the scenery, atmosphere, makeup, and staff were like none other. In October of 2022 though, there were less haunted houses, and they were all obviously just plywood sets with terrible actors. They also rush you through the rooms with people pushing. They used to have multiple outdoor haunted areas too, but not this time. And the worst part - they had a grand total of TWO restaurants opened. We waited 2 hours in line to get cafeteria style pork. Remember how great the Smokehouse used to be? Now’s it’s dry, cold, slow, twice as expensive, and they give you a piece of white bread to go with it. We also stopped at an ice cream parlor, waited an hour in line to get it, and the soft serve ice cream was out of sugar. It tasted like sour cream. In the Festhaus, there was ONE restaurant area opened…ONE. We went out for dinner after we left instead, because that line was just too long, and no one wanted elementary school pizza.

So yeah, back in October in Williamsburg, it was a huge disappointment. Well, last week, we went to Busch Gardens in Tampa, and it was just as bad. About five of the rides were closed, and one ride said the wait was 40 minutes, but we actually waited for 1 hour and 50 minutes. I’m not exaggerating. We timed it. The food was better than in Williamsburg, though. The very short line at the restaurant, however, took a long time because they didn’t have enough workers, with only one cashier. Ridiculous. The park was supposed to close at 7pm, but restaurants and food stands were closing before 6pm. Seriously, do they NOT want to make money? What’s the deal? What has happened to the amusement park that used to be the best? I’ve been to Universal, King’s Island, Disney World, Dollywood, and a few others that I’m forgetting, and Busch was always my favorite. Now though, it’s just pathetic. Can’t blame Covid or inflation. That didn’t slow down Universal or Disney World. They are still just as good as they always were. Seriously, Busch needs to get their act together. We are not renewing our season passes this year.
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Hate to hear that. Williamsburg was always one of our go to parks as a kid. I haven't been in like 20 years though.
 
#31
#31
JCHateSteve said:
Hate to hear that. Williamsburg was always one of our go to parks as a kid. I haven't been in like 20 years though.
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Williamsburg is still a great park. Hate to see they had a bad day, but overall it's still top tier. Pantheon, last years addition, is a great coaster with a fairly unique airtime going backwards. New indoor kids coaster opening next month looks great. Rumors suggest their 350+ foot coaster may actually happen after it was shelved. Their permits the last year are pointing to something big.

But, like all parks, they slowly losing theming and live entertainment. It's just not needed any more. The parks are generally packed, so why waste the money? It's a shame in that regard.

Also, if anyone is around or passing through Atlanta and you like coasters...one of the world's best just opened at Fun Spot in south Atlanta. It's an amazing RMC that is aggressive. (RMC made Lightning Rod, Steel Vengeance, Iron Gwazi, etc.) One of the world's best coasters sitting at a tiny park in Atlanta is just crazy.
 
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#32
#32
DrRosenRosen said:
Williamsburg is still a great park. Hate to see they had a bad day, but overall it's still top tier. Pantheon, last years addition, is a great coaster with a fairly unique airtime going backwards. New indoor kids coaster opening next month looks great. Rumors suggest their 350+ foot coaster may actually happen after it was shelved. Their permits the last year are pointing to something big.

But, like all parks, they slowly losing theming and live entertainment. It's just not needed any more. The parks are generally packed, so why waste the money? It's a shame in that regard.

Also, if anyone is around or passing through Atlanta and you like coasters...one of the world's best just opened at Fun Spot in south Atlanta. It's an amazing RMC that is aggressive. (RMC made Lightning Rod, Steel Vengeance, Iron Gwazi, etc.) One of the world's best coasters sitting at a tiny park in Atlanta is just crazy.
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Historic Williamsburg and and Busch Gardens was a trip we had talked about doing soon. So hopefully we have better luck. I feel like all the theme parks have been kind of nuts since people started going out after covid again. Dollywood and Disney were both bonkers when we went.
 
#33
#33
KoachKrab127 said:
I want to rant about Busch Gardens real quick. What has happened to that place? It is so awful now. Back in October, we went to Busch in Williamsburg for their “Hallowscream” event. Ten years ago, I remember it being amazing. The detail of the scenery, atmosphere, makeup, and staff were like none other. In October of 2022 though, there were less haunted houses, and they were all obviously just plywood sets with terrible actors. They also rush you through the rooms with people pushing. They used to have multiple outdoor haunted areas too, but not this time. And the worst part - they had a grand total of TWO restaurants opened. We waited 2 hours in line to get cafeteria style pork. Remember how great the Smokehouse used to be? Now’s it’s dry, cold, slow, twice as expensive, and they give you a piece of white bread to go with it. We also stopped at an ice cream parlor, waited an hour in line to get it, and the soft serve ice cream was out of sugar. It tasted like sour cream. In the Festhaus, there was ONE restaurant area opened…ONE. We went out for dinner after we left instead, because that line was just too long, and no one wanted elementary school pizza.

So yeah, back in October in Williamsburg, it was a huge disappointment. Well, last week, we went to Busch Gardens in Tampa, and it was just as bad. About five of the rides were closed, and one ride said the wait was 40 minutes, but we actually waited for 1 hour and 50 minutes. I’m not exaggerating. We timed it. The food was better than in Williamsburg, though. The very short line at the restaurant, however, took a long time because they didn’t have enough workers, with only one cashier. Ridiculous. The park was supposed to close at 7pm, but restaurants and food stands were closing before 6pm. Seriously, do they NOT want to make money? What’s the deal? What has happened to the amusement park that used to be the best? I’ve been to Universal, King’s Island, Disney World, Dollywood, and a few others that I’m forgetting, and Busch was always my favorite. Now though, it’s just pathetic. Can’t blame Covid or inflation. That didn’t slow down Universal or Disney World. They are still just as good as they always were. Seriously, Busch needs to get their act together. We are not renewing our season passes this year.
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Maybe your tastes have changed from 10 years ago?
 
#34
#34
mad4vols said:
Maybe your tastes have changed from 10 years ago?
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Oh, I know my tastes have definitely changed from 10 years ago, but my family all agreed with me that the trips were a big disappointment, especially the Hallowscream in Williamsburg.

Also, we went to the Halloween event in Universal studios a week before we went to Hallowscream in Williamsburg, and the event at Universal was very similar to the way Hallowscream used to be, 10 years ago. We enjoyed Universal’s Halloween festivities a whole lot. Their haunted houses in 2022 were far superior to Busch. They also had quite a few awesome food trucks with spooky themed food. My wife grew up in the Williamsburg area and went to Busch all the time when she was younger. We’ve been several times over the last 15 years, and she agrees that Busch has gotten worse the last few times we’ve been, especially when it comes to the food.
 
#35
#35
KoachKrab127 said:
I want to rant about Busch Gardens real quick. What has happened to that place? It is so awful now. Back in October, we went to Busch in Williamsburg for their “Hallowscream” event. Ten years ago, I remember it being amazing. The detail of the scenery, atmosphere, makeup, and staff were like none other. In October of 2022 though, there were less haunted houses, and they were all obviously just plywood sets with terrible actors. They also rush you through the rooms with people pushing. They used to have multiple outdoor haunted areas too, but not this time. And the worst part - they had a grand total of TWO restaurants opened. We waited 2 hours in line to get cafeteria style pork. Remember how great the Smokehouse used to be? Now’s it’s dry, cold, slow, twice as expensive, and they give you a piece of white bread to go with it. We also stopped at an ice cream parlor, waited an hour in line to get it, and the soft serve ice cream was out of sugar. It tasted like sour cream. In the Festhaus, there was ONE restaurant area opened…ONE. We went out for dinner after we left instead, because that line was just too long, and no one wanted elementary school pizza.

So yeah, back in October in Williamsburg, it was a huge disappointment. Well, last week, we went to Busch Gardens in Tampa, and it was just as bad. About five of the rides were closed, and one ride said the wait was 40 minutes, but we actually waited for 1 hour and 50 minutes. I’m not exaggerating. We timed it. The food was better than in Williamsburg, though. The very short line at the restaurant, however, took a long time because they didn’t have enough workers, with only one cashier. Ridiculous. The park was supposed to close at 7pm, but restaurants and food stands were closing before 6pm. Seriously, do they NOT want to make money? What’s the deal? What has happened to the amusement park that used to be the best? I’ve been to Universal, King’s Island, Disney World, Dollywood, and a few others that I’m forgetting, and Busch was always my favorite. Now though, it’s just pathetic. Can’t blame Covid or inflation. That didn’t slow down Universal or Disney World. They are still just as good as they always were. Seriously, Busch needs to get their act together. We are not renewing our season passes this year.
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Who TF doesn’t like elementary school pizza?? Yall boujee
 
#38
#38
Busch Gardens Tampa is Awesome!! I want to go back to ride Iron Gwazi!!! I like the combination of rides and animals. The giraffe feeding is a blast. It's my 2nd favorite park behind Cedar Point.

I'm taking my son back to Disney for Christmas.
 
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#39
#39
PandamoniumReigns said:
Anyone been to Carowinds in NC? Worth the trip?
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The top 4 coasters are great. Rest of the coasters drop off from there. Worth the trip for Fury 325 alone. Afterburn, Copperhead Strike and Intimidator are all good as well. Check their ride closures list. I think it's another few weeks before all the rides will be running. Usually fairly dead during the week during the summer once end of year field trips end. If you want all the coasters, ride Nighthawk first. That is always the slowest line in the park and gets to an hour or two because it takes so long to load riders.
 
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#40
#40
When to SeaWorld Orlando last fall. It was fun and a nice change of pace from Disney which was the main reason we were in Orlando. I am not much of a coaster rider myself, but the rest of the family had a good time on them. I will try a few of the bigger ones next time around. The shows were interesting for the kids and a nice break to sit for a few minutes. We will go back if/when we return to Orlando which will be soon as a family member just moved there permanently.
 
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#41
#41
Me and my family are taking a short break from Orlando, but will be back for the opening of universals new park epic universe. Super excited for that one, looks amazing.
 
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#42
#42
af1.jpg af1_2.jpg

I finally got down to Atlanta and rode AF1 this weekend. America's newest coaster is also one of the most aggressive and intense. This thing is wild. Stop by if you like coasters. It's one of the best.
 
#46
#46
I went to Sea World in Orlando this weekend. Pipeline was a really fun roller coaster. You are in a standing position, and your seat actually bobs up and down a bit during the ride, making it feel like you’re surfing.

The dolphin show is must-see. They are so entertaining. The seal feeding is hilarious, because they get so excited, and be careful. Birds will almost attack you, trying to steal the food. I never knew belugas were so huge! I always thought they were about the size of dolphins.

We ate at Waterway Grill, where I got the pulled pork, rice, and beans. It was pretty good and reasonably priced. My wife got the corn salad, and she said it wasn’t very good. The lettuce was quite wilted.
 
#47
#47
I'm pretty old so my first experience was Disneyland in 1957. I had an uncle that produced the Jack Lalanne show and we got these special passes to Disneyland that allowed us to go to the front of the line at all the rides. We had a red band on our wrist and a ID card. We spent a week there and arrived at the opening and stayed till 5 PM. Can't imagine a more wonderful time, I was 10 at the time.
 
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#48
#48
Pipeline seems like a great revival of the stand up coaster. Looking forward to riding it at some point this year. Love SeaWorld Orlando. One of America's best parks with all the shows, animals and festivals. And Mako is a ton fun. (probably closed due to painting last week; hopefully you've been on it before)
 
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#49
#49
DrRosenRosen said:
Pipeline seems like a great revival of the stand up coaster. Looking forward to riding it at some point this year. Love SeaWorld Orlando. One of America's best parks with all the shows, animals and festivals. And Mako is a ton fun. (probably closed due to painting last week; hopefully you've been on it before)
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I don’t know if Mako was opened or not. We did not ride many rides because we were only there a half day. We mainly wanted to ride pipeline and see shows.
 
#50
#50
No experience as we don’t frequent them really. I’m planning on taking my son to Universal Studios Orlando whenever they open Super Nintendo World. I thought it was gonna open next year.
 
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