Busch Gardens Williamsburg

I have had the privilage to visit Busch Gardens twice over the years, specifically, June 2022, and most recently June 24th, 2025, during my Old Dominion trip . Busch Gardens was the second park I visited on my 4 day trip to Virginia/Maryland.

The last time I visited Busch Gardens Williamsburg was in June 2022 with my mom and brother, and it was a very last minute trip. We had extra time from our Kings Dominion trip, so we spent the extra day at the Busch Gardens then. We had a good time, and I was looking forward to revisiting a park that I had been thinking about for 3 years. This visit, would wind up being a good sequal visit to the park.

When Taylor, Graham and I woke up the morning of June 25th, 2025, and found it to be nearly 80f outside already, we groaned, knowing how the heat drained us yesterday would only follow again today. We stopped at the gas station, to fuel and to get breakfast, before heading to BGW. We knew our meal plans would not work at the park, so our plan was to eat a big breakfast, have a small snack, and eat a big dinner after the park at a restaraunt called Cookout. We got to the park around 10:30am, and we went right to Lochness Monster. Since the last time I rode Lochness, It recieved a major retrack from Premier Rides, and I was curious as to how it affected the ride experience. I didn't notice much of a change, but the ride is easily one of the better Arrow loopers out there.

We rode the train over to Pantheon, BGW's Intamin multi-launch terra coaster. Last time I rode it was in 2022, when it first opened. I remember fondly enjoying the ride, especially the swing launch element midway throughout the ride. Taylor was excited, as they had heard good things about the ride. After waiting about 5 minutes, we got front row, and I was left dissappointed. Since I first rode Pantheon in 2022, Cedar Point would open Top Thrill 2, a 420ft 120mph version of Pantheon's launch. Pantheon is only 178ft tall, and 73mph, so nowhere near as crazy. Taylor also felt that way, and we decided to leave and ride something else because we wanted to get the credits. We took a lap on Tempesto, a Premier Skyrocket II, and I left that ride liking it more than I did in 2022. After Tempesto we rode Apollo's Charriot twice, as there was no line and they let us ride again.

We took a lap on Verbolten, and Taylor fell in love with the ride, and I got off liking it way more. Taylor named it Big Bad Fof, and we would wind up riding it 4 times total when we were there. Following we rode The Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge, the New-For-2025 B&M family invert. It was very fun, and I liked it more than Rapterra at Kings Dominion, which we rode the day prior. We would take a lunch break and followed lunch with a second lap on The Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge. We followed our rides with InvadR, which was a solid wooden coaster if it wasn't so rough. It would have ranked much higher if it had a retrack recently. After we took a lap on Griffon, but Taylor was not a fan of the old-gen B&M Dive Machine. I rode it a second time in the front row, and the old gen restraints add a lot to the ride.

One thing that helped us keep going through the day, and helped us keep going for as long as we did, was purchasing the all day drink bottle, as we got refills frequiently. However, given the heat reaching 100f again, Taylor and I opted to take a break for a little while to help cool off. After the break, we would go on to get rerides throughout the park, and a few additional rides such as Trade Winds and Turkish Delight. In total, we rode Lochness Monster x4, Train x2, Pantheon x7, Tempesto, Apollo’s Chariot x2, Verboten x4, The Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf’s Revenge x2, InvadR, Griffon x2, Grover’s Alpine Express, Trade Winds, and Turkish Delight. This was a solid ride lineup, especially since the park was super empty.