Busch Gardens opened up in Williamsburg, Virginia on May 5, 1975 directly next to the Anheuser-Busch brewery. The park is so unique in its look, that it was voted the “World’s Most Beautiful Theme Park” over 17 years in a row. The theme park has over 50 different exhilarating rides and attractions, a whole section of attractions and thrill rides dedicated to children, wild life attractions for the whole family including Jack Hanna’s Wild Reserve, ten main stages of entertaining shows, several award winning cuisines to choose from, and many outstanding world-class shops to pick up some souvenirs.
Get ready to scream on the tallest, most twisted inverted roller coaster in the world – The Alpengeist. Reaching heights of up to 195 feet and speeds up to 67 miles-per-hour the Alpengeist takes riders through six astounding inversions and even a heart-wrenching 170 foot drop. Its no wonder the Alpengeist has repeatedly been voted one of the “top ten steel roller coasters”. Another one of the “top ten steel roller coasters” is Apollo’s Chariot; a hypercoaster deliberately intended to reach great heights and dramatic speeds of up to 73 mph. The first plunge of nine, takes riders down a chilling 210 feet drop. Passengers also get to look forward to several camelback humps, where periods of weightlessness will overtake them. The whole Apollo Chariot journey goes through 825 feet of steel track which is sure to keep the folks screaming and coming back for more.
One of the newest addition to Busch Gardens is the bone-chilling Griffon which opened in 2007. The Griffon scales upwards in a quick lift to 205 feet then hurtles its passengers straight down a 90 degree angle at a white-knuckling 70 mph. The Griffon is a triple world record breaker: not only is it the tallest dive-coaster in the world, it’s the first floorless dive-coaster in the world, and also the first coaster to integrate two immelmann loops within the ride. The immelman loops are named after a famous World War I, German fighter pilot because of the flight maneuver he used. This will soon become a must ride for all roller coaster enthusiasts.
Ready to eat after all the rides you’ve been on? And yes – I recommend eating after going on the rides. Take advantage of the 6 different types of cuisines spawning from different places throughout Europe. From slow-smoked baby back ribs and hand-made pastas to pizzas and a savory stew, the Busch Gardens Williamsburg culinary team prepares all cuisines to precise standards making sure the rich old-world Europe flavors are present in every bite.
After a day of chills and thrills, settle down by visiting the Jack Hanna’s Wild Reserve. This reserve is meant to be an interactive wild life area and takes you to the world of endangered and exotic animals. Take the whole family and experience what it’s like to feed lorikeets; beautiful and brightly colored arboreal parrots, pet the reserve’s reptiles, and view some amazing birds of prey in a charming old-world wooded setting. You’ll also be introduced to another very fascinating endangered species – the gray wolf. Learn about the loyalty this species has towards its pack, see their unique behavioral patterns, and most importantly you’ll get to learn why we need to protect this intriguing creature from extinction. For more information and tickets visit their website here.
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