Busch Gardens Williamsburg (formerly Busch Gardens Europe and Busch Gardens: The Old Country) is a

amusement park An amusement park is a park that features various attractions, such as rides and games, and events for entertainment purposes. A theme park is a type of amusement park that bases its structures and attractions around a central theme, often fea ...

in James City County near

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an Independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It had a population of 15,425 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern par ...

, United States, located approximately northwest of

Virginia Beach Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the List of cities in Virginia, most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeaster ...

. The park was developed by Anheuser-Busch (A-B) and is owned by United Parks & Resorts as one of the two currently operating Busch Gardens parks. The park opened on May 16, 1975, adjacent to Anheuser-Busch's brewery and near its other developments, including the

Kingsmill Resort Kingsmill Resort is a vacation, conference, and golf resort in the Eastern United States, eastern United States, located in James City County, Virginia, southeast of Williamsburg, Virginia, Williamsburg. It is located on a portion of the Kingsmi ...

complex. The park, originally named 'Busch Gardens: The Old Country', is themed to various European countries. In 1993, the park was renamed to Busch Gardens Williamsburg and briefly named Busch Gardens Europe from 2006 to 2008. In 2015, an estimated 2.78 million people attended the park, ranking 20th in overall attendance among amusement parks in North America. The park also features notable

roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...

s, including Griffon, Verbolten, Pantheon, Alpengeist, and Apollo's Chariot.

History

From the early 1970s, the Busch Gardens theme park was developed by Anheuser-Busch (A-B) as a portion of the company's development investment in the Williamsburg area, which grew to include a brewery, the

, and residential and office properties. The park opened in 1975 as Busch Gardens: The Old Country. The St. Louis-based brewer invested in the area following negotiations held between

Gussie Busch August Anheuser "Gussie" Busch Jr. (March 28, 1899 – September 29, 1989) was an American brewing magnate who built the Anheuser-Busch into the largest brewery in the world by 1957; he acted as company chairman from 1946 to 1975.Holian, T ...

and Winthrop Rockefeller, who was the governor of Arkansas and the chairman of

Colonial Williamsburg Colonial Williamsburg is a living-history museum and private foundation presenting a part of the historic district in Williamsburg, Virginia. Its historic area includes several hundred restored or recreated buildings from the 18th century, wh ...

in the 1960s and 1970s. ( Water Country USA, a local

water park A water park (also waterpark, water world, or aquapark) is an amusement park that features water play areas such as swimming pools, water slides, splash pads, water playgrounds, and lazy rivers, as well as areas for floating, bathing, swimming ...

, was acquired by A-B in the 1990s, and added to the company's theme park activities, which also include a number of

SeaWorld SeaWorld is an American theme park chain with headquarters in Orlando, Florida. It is a proprietor of marine mammal parks, oceanariums, animal theme parks, and rehabilitation centers owned by United Parks & Resorts. The parks host shows st ...

properties in other states.) In 2008, Anheuser-Busch was acquired by

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

-based

InBev InBev () was a brewing company that resulted from the merger between Belgium-based company Interbrew and Brazilian brewer AmBev which took place in 2004. It existed independently until the acquisition of Anheuser-Busch in 2008, which formed Anheu ...

. The new owners announced plans to sell off the portions of A-B activities that were not part of the core beverage business. The

Blackstone Group Blackstone Inc. is an American alternative investment management company based in New York City. It was founded in 1985 as a mergers and acquisitions firm by Peter Peterson and Stephen Schwarzman, who had previously worked together at Lehman ...

was selected in late 2009 to acquire and operate the 10 former A-B theme park properties, including two in the Williamsburg area. In July 2010, the adjacent

was scheduled to be acquired by

Xanterra Parks and Resorts Xanterra Travel Collection (formerly Xanterra Parks & Resorts, Amfac Resorts and Amfac Parks & Resorts) is a privately owned American park and resort management company based in Greenwood Village, Colorado. The company is controlled by Denver ...

, owned by Denver-based Phillip Anschutz. By mid-March 2020, the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

delayed the opening of the park for the 2020 season. The park remained closed until August 6, 2020, when they reopened with ''Coasters and Craft Brews''. The event featured limited capacity, required advanced reservations, as well as temperature screening of guests upon arrival, and at select villages within the park. The park also hosted ''Taste of Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Halloween Harvest'' (in place of Howl-O-Scream), ''Christmas Celebration'' (in place of Christmas Town), ''Winter Weekends'', and ''Mardi Gras'' events throughout the year. Beginning in January 2021, the park began its year-round operation. The previous operating season of Busch Gardens Williamsburg was late March through early January. The Winter Weekends and Mardi Gras limited-capacity events marked the first time that the park had ever been open during the winter months.

Overview

The park features a combination of roller coasters and Broadway-style shows. The park is divided into "countries", each representing its own unique style of food, music and themed attractions.

Conservation

Jack Hanna Jack Bushnell Hanna (born January 2, 1947) is an American retired zookeeper and director emeritus of the Columbus Zoo and Aquarium. Commonly nicknamed "Jungle Jack", he was director of the zoo from 1978 to 1992, and is viewed as largely respons ...

's Wild Reserve houses a variety of wild species including gray wolves and

bald eagle The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche ...

s. Busch Gardens is partnered with SeaWorld (also owned by United Parks & Resorts) in the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund, to offer guests the opportunity to contribute to wildlife conservation. The

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

River Cruise attraction's boats are battery-powered in an effort to cut back on power generation and prevent water pollution. In addition, Busch Gardens and Water Country USA both use insects rather than pesticides in the parks' commitment to

organic gardening Organic horticulture is the science and art of growing fruits, vegetables, flowers, or ornamental plants by following the essential principles of organic agriculture in soil building and conservation, pest management, and heirloom variety pres ...

. All brochures, maps, show guides and paper products are made from recycled material. File:Grey Wolf Interacting with Trainer.JPG, Gray Wolf Interacting with Trainer File:Barn Owl at Busch Gardens.JPG, Barn Owl at Busch Gardens File:Green Bird at Busch Gardens.JPG, Eclectus Parrot at midday. File:Bald Eagle Busch Gardens.JPG, One of three bald eagles on display at Eagle Ridge.

Howl-O-Scream

Howl-O-Scream, the park's signature Halloween event, began in 1999 and offers more than a dozen attractions featuring vampires, zombies, clowns, witches, and skeletons.

St. Patrick's Day

In 2021, Busch Gardens Williamsburg celebrated their first

St. Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick (), is a religious and cultural holiday held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patron saint of Ireland. Saint Patrick's Day was made an official Chri ...

celebration. This event celebrates Irish culture in all ten hamlets (or lands) throughout the month of March, featuring Irish-themed cuisine,

music Music is the arrangement of sound to create some combination of Musical form, form, harmony, melody, rhythm, or otherwise Musical expression, expressive content. Music is generally agreed to be a cultural universal that is present in all hum ...

, live entertainment, and special events, as well as having the park's various rides in operation. Those attending Das Festhaus will be able to view various Irish stepdance performances that have been shown in the park over the years, including the award-winning ''Celtic Fyre''. Appearances from Virginia's Irish Dance Schools can also be seen in the San Marco Theatre. For younger children, a scavenger hunt is hosted by a leprechaun, Clancy, who is also available throughout the day for photos. For adults, there is a variety of alcoholic beverages available throughout the park, various Guinness products, and green beer.

Night of Oktoberfest

Night of

Oktoberfest Oktoberfest (; ) is the world's largest , featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival, and is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, from mid- or late-September to the first Sunday in October. The annual event attracts more than seven milli ...

is an annual 21-and-up event hosted in the Oktoberfest part of the Germany Hamlet, started in 1976. The event offers German inspired food, alcoholic drinks, a DJ, games, raffles, and use of some select ride attractions in the Germany Hamlet of the park.

Christmas Town

Christmas Town is the park's Christmas event which began during the 2009 season. Several Christmas and winter holiday-themed attractions and shows are exclusive to the season, including a Christmas tree called "O Tannenbaum" that lights up in sync to Christmas music in the Oktoberfest hamlet of the park. Each show venue from the park offers a holiday-themed performance during Christmas Town, ranging from reinterpretations of classic Christmas stories (Scrooge No More) to ice skating (Twas That Night on Ice), and a-cappella performances (Gift of Harmony). Many of the flat rides are in operation as well as the park's train, skyride, and roller coasters (traditionally, Verbolten, InvadR and Pantheon since their opening, and recently Apollo's Chariot, though previous Christmas town seasons saw Tempesto, Griffon, and Alpengeist also operate.) During the celebration, the park is decorated with millions of lights and dozens of real Christmas trees. Shopping and dining are also a prominent part of Christmas Town, with many of the park's restaurants offering food and drinks catered to the season and colder weather. The event typically begins from the weekend before Thanksgiving, and continues every weekend until the week before Christmas, where it stays open for the rest of December until a few days after New Year's Day. File:Banbury Cross, England in Christmas Livery..JPG, Banbury Cross, England in Christmas Livery. File:Aquitaine, France at Dusk..jpg, Aquitaine, France at Dusk. File:Nighttime View of New France..JPG, Nighttime View of New France. File:The Streets of the North Pole (formerly Rhinefeld, Germany) Adorned with Lights..JPG, The Streets of the North Pole (formerly Rhinefeld, Germany) Adorned with Lights. File:Town Center of the North Pole..JPG, Town Center of the North Pole File:50-Foot Tall Christmas Tree with Das Festhaus in the Background..JPG, 50-Foot Tall Christmas Tree with Das Festhaus in the Background. File:Italy's "Escape From Pompeii" Transformed into the Polar Pathway..JPG, Italy's "Escape From Pompeii" Transformed into the Polar Pathway. File:A View of Santa Claus with the Polar Pathway in the Background..JPG, A View of Santa Claus with the Polar Pathway in the Background

Hamlets

The park is separated into 10 different hamlets themed to traditional interpretations of European villages from

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

. Busch Gardens Williamsburg features two main transportation attractions that provide convenient access to different areas of the park; The Aeronaut Skyride, a

gondola lift A gondola lift is a means of cable transport and type of aerial lift which is supported and propelled by cables from above. It consists of a loop of steel wire rope that is strung between two stations, sometimes over intermediate suppo ...

that allows guests to travel between the Sesame Street Forest of Fun, Aquitaine, and Rhine Feld hamlets; and the Busch Gardens Railway, a replica

steam Steam is water vapor, often mixed with air or an aerosol of liquid water droplets. This may occur due to evaporation or due to boiling, where heat is applied until water reaches the enthalpy of vaporization. Saturated or superheated steam is inv ...

train that transports guests between the Heatherdowns, Festa Italia, and New France hamlets. The train is not only a practical mode of transportation but also serves as a thematic element of the park's "Old Country" atmosphere. Families with young children can especially benefit from using the train as a means of traveling together and enjoying the park's various hamlets.

Banbury Cross (England)

Banbury Cross is fashioned after old England, with phone booths and classic Tudor English architecture. Guest Services windows are located next to the

turnstile A turnstile (also called a gateline, baffle gate, automated gate, turn gate in some regions) is a form of gate which allows one person to pass at a time. A turnstile can be configured to enforce One-way traffic#One-way traffic of people, one-way ...

s of the main entrance gate. A

simulacrum A simulacrum (: simulacra or simulacrums, from Latin ''wikt:simulacrum#Latin, simulacrum'', meaning "likeness, semblance") is a representation or imitation of a person or thing. The word was first recorded in the English language in the late 16 ...

of the famous

Elizabeth Tower Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, and, Pars pro toto, by extension, for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Originally named the Cl ...

(known colloquially as

Big Ben Big Ben is the nickname for the Great Bell of the Great Clock of Westminster, and, by extension, for the clock tower itself, which stands at the north end of the Palace of Westminster in London, England. Originally named the Clock Tower, it ...

) is the central element of this area. Banbury Cross also includes The Squire's Grill, serving breakfast and lunch, as well as a funnel cake shop, ice cream shop and candy store. The Globe Theatre, a double-sized replica of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

Globe Theatre The Globe Theatre was a Theater (structure), theatre in London associated with William Shakespeare. It was built in 1599 at Southwark, close to the south bank of the Thames, by Shakespeare's playing company, the Lord Chamberlain's Men. It was ...

, is the most prominent attraction in the hamlet. In 2014, the theatre was renovated to once again hold live performances. For many years preceding 2014, the Globe Theatre's entertainment lineup consisted of 4-D films, including ''Haunts of the Old Country'', ''Pirates 4-D'' and ''R.L. Stine's Haunted Lighthouse''. Prior to the 4-D films, the theater hosted a variety of live shows including Mark Wilson's World's Greatest Illusions, America on Ice, Hot Ice, Celebrate America and the People's Choice. It currently features an American music show, “American Jukebox: Summer Remix”, showcasing American hits through the decades.

Heatherdowns (Scotland)

Heatherdowns is a Scottish hamlet situated at the top of the hill on the path leading from Banbury Cross (the park's English hamlet). Tweedside Train Station offers a 20-minute ride through the park with additional stops in Festa Italia and at Caribou Station, in New France. Tweedside Gifts is located adjacent to the train station. Heatherdowns is also home to the Highland Stables featuring

Scottish Blackface The Blackface or Scottish Blackface is a British breed of sheep. It is the most common sheep breed of the United Kingdom. Despite the name, it did not originate in Scotland, but south of the border. History The origins of the breed are u ...

sheep, Border Collies and Clydesdales. Guests can interact with the animals and see them in action as they showcase their herding skills in daily demonstrations. Guests can also have pictures with the Clydesdales. Prior to 2010, the stables were home to several of the Anheuser-Busch Clydesdales until the theme park unit of Anheuser-Busch was sold in 2009. Other points of interest include seasonal kiosks for the park's Food and Wine Festival (in late spring) and the Summer Nights festival. * Loch Ness Monster – A looping

Arrow Development Arrow Development was an amusement park ride and roller coaster design and manufacturing company, incorporated in California on November 16, 1945, and based in Mountain View, California, Mountain View. It was founded by Angus "Andy" Anderson, Ka ...

roller coaster. It was the first and the only remaining roller coaster in the world to feature interlocking loops. It closed in 2023 to receive a makeover from Premier Rides.

Sesame Street Forest of Fun

Opened on April 3, 2009, Sesame Street Forest of Fun features four new children and family rides and attractions themed to Sesame Street, including a Zierer Force roller coaster named Grover's Alpine Express, Bert and Ernie's Loch Adventure flume ride, Oscar's Whirly Worms rock-n-tug-type ride, Prince Elmo's Spire, a

Zamperla Antonio Zamperla S.p.A. is an Italian design and manufacturing company founded in 1966. It is best known for creating family rides, thrill rides and roller coasters worldwide. The company also makes smaller coin-operated rides commonly found in ...

shot-n-drop ride a small drop tower and wet and dry play areas. The area also features a stage for the main show "Sunny Days Celebration" and a gift shop. The hamlet also contains the Skyride station nearest to the Main Gate. The Aeronaut (first leg) of the Skyride departs to Aquitaine, France, while the Zeppelin (third leg) Skyride arrives from Rhinefeld, Germany. * Bert and Ernie's Loch Adventure – A flat flume ride with water effects * Oscar's Whirly Worms – A rocking, spinning Rockin' Tug ride * Prince Elmo's Spire – A family-friendly shot-n-drop

drop tower A drop tower is a type of amusement park ride incorporating a central tower structure with one or more gondolas attached. In a typical modern configuration, each gondola carrying riders is lifted to the top of the tower and then released t ...

ride from

* Grover's Alpine Express – A Zierer family-friendly roller coaster standing 24 feet tall

Killarney (Ireland)

Formerly known as Hastings, England, this section of the park was re-themed in 2001 as Ireland, the first new country in over 20 years. Following the addition of this country, the park's attendance was reportedly boosted by 17% after the 2001 grand opening, and was awarded a top prize by the

Themed Entertainment Association The Themed Entertainment Association (TEA) is an international non-profit association that represents creators, developers, designers and producers of themed entertainment. It is also noted for its Thea Awards, which were founded in 1995 and a ...

. This area features ''Celtic Fyre,'' at the Abbey Stone Theatre, a celebration of Irish dance. In 2021, ''Celtic Fyre'' was named the number one Best Amusement Park Entertainment by

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

, adding to the collection of awards and praise already collected by Busch Gardens Williamsburg over the years. Previously, the theatre housing Celtic Fyre was named the Magic Lantern Theatre and housed some of the best theme park musical revue in the United States. Shows such as Kaleidoscope, Hats Off to Hollywood, Journey into Music, Stage Struck, Totally Television and Rockin the Boat are some of the names of these productions. Grogan's Grill offers Irish cuisine in this area. Outside the gateway next to Castle O'Sullivan, the walkway makes a sharp left turn and begins a long, moderately steep climb toward Aquitaine, France. Several animal sanctuaries and two animal performance theaters are situated along this path. Originally named Jack Hanna's Wild Reserve when it opened in 2000, the animal sanctuary was considered its own section of the park, but in 2017 the Wild Reserve was merged with Killarney and renamed the Jack Hanna Trail. * Finnegan's Flyer – S&S Sansei Screamin' Swing opened in the spring of 2019. The ride swings guests at 100 feet at 45 mph. * Eagle Ridge & Wolf Valley – Animal exhibits located just outside the village. * Pet Shenanigans Theater – An outdoor venue that previously hosted the ''More Pet Shenanigans'' show. * Lorikeet Glen – A covered bird sanctuary for Lorikeets and other brightly colored birds. Guests can enter and the birds will approach and land on them.

San Marco (Italy)

When Italy/San Marco was opened, it completed the outer circle walkway around Busch Gardens. Part of the park's expansion included a high pedestrian bridge across the Rhine River into Oktoberfest, Germany. San Marco is based upon

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

era Italy. A prominent feature within San Marco is Da Vinci's Garden of Inventions. This garden features Italian statues and flowers set amid rides based on sketches by

Leonardo da Vinci Leonardo di ser Piero da Vinci (15 April 1452 - 2 May 1519) was an Italian polymath of the High Renaissance who was active as a painter, draughtsman, engineer, scientist, theorist, sculptor, and architect. While his fame initially rested o ...

. Also in the area is Ristorante Della Piazza, featuring Italian cuisine and allowing guests to watch "Mix It Up." During the summer until 2008, sounds of the Starlight Orchestra could be heard while dining. * Escape from Pompeii – A shoot-the-chutes boat ride featuring an extensive indoor portion within the city of

Pompeii Pompeii ( ; ) was a city in what is now the municipality of Pompei, near Naples, in the Campania region of Italy. Along with Herculaneum, Stabiae, and Villa Boscoreale, many surrounding villas, the city was buried under of volcanic ash and p ...

, featuring fire and water effects as well as falling statues to simulate the destruction of the city. * Little Gliders & Little Balloons – Kiddie-sized carnival rides themed to Da Vinci's inventions. * The Battering Ram – A high-capacity, high-thrill swinging ship. This does not go upside down.

Festa Italia (Italy)

Festa Italia is themed around a fair celebrating

Marco Polo Marco Polo (; ; ; 8 January 1324) was a Republic of Venice, Venetian merchant, explorer and writer who travelled through Asia along the Silk Road between 1271 and 1295. His travels are recorded in ''The Travels of Marco Polo'' (also known a ...

's return to Italy from his famous visit to China. It contains many of the park's midway games, all with a festival theme. Its attractions are themed around Roman mythology. * Apollo's Chariot – The very first

Bolliger & Mabillard Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Cl ...

Hyper Coaster featuring dives towards and around ponds and hills. Apollo's Chariot also features a deep purple and gold color scheme which is easily visible from the park entrance and surrounding parking lots. * Roman Rapids – An

Intamin Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing Amusement ride, thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other e ...

River Rapids ride among Roman ruins, which is deliberately designed to drench guests. * Tradewinds – A permanent-placement music express ride. * Elephant Run – Another child-friendly music express ride. * Turkish Delight – A variation of a teacups ride. * Tempesto – A Premier Rides

Sky Rocket II Sky Rocket II is a steel roller coaster model made by American manufacturer Premier Rides. The first Sky Rocket II was Superman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, which opened on June 30, 2012, and the latest is Sky Loop at Riyadh ...

, featuring three launches, an inline twist, and a non-inverting loop. It goes about 60 mph backward and forwards. * Pantheon – An

multi-launch coaster. Festa Italia also includes the Festa Train Station of the Busch Gardens Railway.

Rhinefeld (Rhineland Germany)

This section is based on the country of Germany. It is largely themed to a runaway ski resort in the German Alps. The third leg of Busch Gardens' Skyride arrives and departs from this section. Also in Rhinefeld is Land of the Dragons, a large children's play area featuring a playground, five rides, and seasonal shows can be found. * Alpengeist – A

inverted roller coaster. It is themed to a ski-lift taken over by a local legend, the Alpengeist (German for "Ghost of the Alps"). In addition to its cyan and white Alpine color scheme, the station of Alpengeist features ski gear and other decorations to simulate a ski lodge in the Alps. This ride inverts riders six times. * Kinder Karussel – The park's antique Herschell Carousel. * Land of the Dragons – Interactive children's play area featuring a treehouse, children's rides and previously a

Ferris wheel A Ferris wheel (also called a big wheel, giant wheel or an observation wheel) is an amusement ride consisting of a rotating upright wheel with multiple passenger-carrying components (commonly referred to as passenger cars, cabins, tubs, gondola ...

Land of the Dragons

When it opened in 1994 (replacing the former Grimms Hollow children's area), Land of the Dragons was the main kiddie area at Busch Gardens. It is home to Dumpherey the Dragon, the area's mascot. Other major notes taken to Land of the Dragons includes its dragon-themed 3-story tree house, a wet play area with waterfalls, squirting geysers, and a serpent that inhabits the area. There are also smaller play zones, smaller wet play areas and (formerly) a gift shop called Dragon Digs. * Flutter Splutter – A flying dragon ride. * Chug-A-Tug – A boat ride. * Bug-A-Dug – A music express-like ride with ladybug cars that are red and yellow. * Dragon-themed Treehouse * Brook – A wet play area As of the 2012 season, the Lost Children building has been relocated from its former building, dubbed Wild Moose Lodge, in New France, to what was formerly the Dragon Digs gift shop.

Oktoberfest (Bavaria, Germany)

Like Rhinefeld, this section is based on Germany during the annual celebration of

. Oktoberfest features many of the park's flat rides. It is also home to a large assortment of carnival-style games. Das Festhaus is a large, air-conditioned eating facility where guests can purchase German food or American classics. While eating in Das Festhaus, guests can experience shows that rotate throughout the year. This section of the park formerly hosted The Big Bad Wolf, a suspended roller coaster. The Big Bad Wolf was closed on September 7, 2009. On September 18, 2010, it was announced that in 2011, Oktoberfest would be renovated with new shops and sights, including a new beer garden and pretzel shop known as Beste Brezeln und Bier with a Bavarian maypole occupying the flower garden in front of Das Festhaus, and a Moser's Rides Roto-Drop called Mäch Tower, which was a drop tower-observation tower hybrid that closed in 2023. Also announced was a new Zierer ESC roller coaster that opened in the spring of 2012 on the former site of the

Arrow Dynamics Arrow Dynamics was an American manufacturing and engineering company that specialized in designing and building amusement park rides, especially roller coasters. Based in Clearfield, Utah, the company was the successor to Arrow Development (19 ...

Suspended Coaster, The Big Bad Wolf. In September 2011 it was announced that the new coaster would be called Verbolten. On May 18, 2012, Verbolten officially opened to the general public. The area also hosts a large part of the annual BierFest festival, which features a large number of beers from around the world, with at least 22 different beers on tap throughout the whole area. German-themed food and non-alcoholic beverages are also sold during the festival. The area also contained the trackless dark ride '' Curse of DarKastle''. The attraction opened on May 1, 2005, and closed on September 4, 2017, to make way for a temporary Howl-O-Scream maze, ''Frostbite''. On January 23, 2018, it was announced that Curse of DarKastle would not reopen for the 2018 season and would be officially closing for being a burden with maintenance costs. The building that harbored the dark ride was used as event space, such as Santa's workshop for Christmas Town and a walkthrough maze for the 2021 Halloween event Howl-O-Scream. On September 6, 2022, it was announced that a new

Family Launch Straddle Coaster named DarKoaster: Escape The Storm would open in the space during Spring 2023. DarKoaster opened to the public on May 19, 2023, as North America’s first all-indoor straddle coaster. * Der Autobahn – (Bumper Cars) * Der Autobahn Jr. – (Kiddie Bumper Cars) * Der Roto Baron – (Red Baron) * Der Wirbelwind (Waveswinger) – classic yo-yo swings ride * DarKoaster: Escape The Storm — (Indoor Straddle Coaster) * Verbolten – Brave The Black Forest – A family-style, Black Forest themed launched roller coaster with a top speed of 53 mph. It also has a free fall when the track drops vertically while staying on a horizontal plane. * Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge – a

steel roller coaster A steel roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its steel Railway track, track, which consists of long steel tubes that are run in pairs, supported by larger steel columns or beams. Trains running along the track typically rely ...

with a top speed of 40 mph. It is the spiritual successor to the original

Big Bad Wolf The Big Bad Wolf is a fictional wolf appearing in several cautionary tales, including some of ''Grimms' Fairy Tales''. Versions of this character have appeared in numerous works, and it has become a generic archetype of a menacing predatory ant ...

Aquitaine (France)

This section, centered on the village of Aquitaine, is based on

Belle Époque The Belle Époque () or La Belle Époque () was a period of French and European history that began after the end of the Franco-Prussian War in 1871 and continued until the outbreak of World War I in 1914. Occurring during the era of the Fr ...

France. It is home to many boutiques and one of the park's Skyride stations, where the first leg of the Skyride arrives from England and the second leg departs for Rhinefeld, Germany. The Royal Palace Theatre in France hosts numerous shows throughout the season. * Griffon – A

dive roller coaster, named after the legendary creature, the

griffin The griffin, griffon, or gryphon (; Classical Latin: ''gryps'' or ''grypus''; Late and Medieval Latin: ''gryphes'', ''grypho'' etc.; Old French: ''griffon'') is a -4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk ...

; contains a ninety-degree drop from 205 feet, 2 Immelmann loops, and a "splashdown" finale; the brother ride of

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a animal theme park located in Tampa, Florida, United States, with the entire park landscaped and designed around themes of Africa. Owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts, the park opened on June 1, 1959. The pa ...

's SheiKra. Year Opened: 2007

New France (French Colonial)

New France presents a unique shopping experience that showcases the French colonial influence in Canada, featuring a range of stores with merchandise that complements the overall colonial theme. Rides in New France include the Busch Gardens Railway departing from Caribou Station and the Le Scoot Log Flume, featuring a plunge through a sawmill. A predominant feature in this area is the Trappers Smokehouse, which has an outdoor grill centrally located. Trappers Smokehouse offers grilled and smoked items such as chicken, turkey legs, ribs, and beef brisket. * Le Scoot Log Flume – A traditional high-in-the-sky theme park

log flume A log flume or lumber flume is a watertight flume constructed to transport lumber and logs down mountainous terrain using flowing water. Flumes replaced horse- or oxen-drawn carriages on dangerous mountain trails in the late 19th century. Loggi ...

* Le Catapult – a basic carnival scrambler * InvadR – a

Great Coasters International Great Coasters International, Inc. (GCI or GCII) is a Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based roller coaster manufacturer which has created several award-winning rides since its formation in 1994. Starting in 2006 with Thunderbird (PowerPark), Thunderbird at ...

wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also be ...

opened in 2017. InvadR is themed around the Viking invasion of New France. It has 9 airtime hills, a 74-foot drop and goes up to 48 mph.

Roller coasters

Existing (listed by first year)

Defunct

Entertainment

Defunct rides and attractions

Rides and Roller Coasters

Entertainment (incomplete)

Animal attractions

Jack Hanna's Wild Reserve

's Wild Reserve includes

bald eagles The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a Species complex, species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies ...

and

wolves The wolf (''Canis lupus''; : wolves), also known as the grey wolf or gray wolf, is a canine native to Eurasia and North America. More than thirty subspecies of ''Canis lupus'' have been recognized, including the dog and dingo, though gr ...

. ''Eagle Ridge'' is a 3,000+ foot area set aside for housing and rehabilitating bald eagles and providing education to visitors. ''Wolf Haven'' is a viewing area where guests may observe one of Busch Garden's pairs of wolves. One pair is on exhibition at a time. Busch Gardens also provides ''Wolf Valley'' for those wolves not on display. Over of natural habitat is intended to ensure the animals' health and well-being. It also contains an aviary named ''Lorikeet Glen'', which displays

Rainbow lorikeet The rainbow lorikeet (''Trichoglossus moluccanus'') is a species of parrot found in Australia. It is common along the eastern seaboard, from northern Queensland to South Australia. Its habitat is rainforest, coastal bush and woodland areas. Six ...

s, and other birds. The wild reserve is located in the Ireland section of the park. In recent years, animal attractions at the park have been extensively removed, though the staple attractions remain.

Highland Stables

Busch Gardens' Highland Stables features Scottish Blackface sheep,

Border Collie The Border Collie is a British list of dog breeds, breed of herding dog of the collie type of medium size. It originates in the region of the Anglo-Scottish border, and descends from the traditional Sheep dog, sheepdogs once found all over the ...

s, black Clydesdales and Highland cattle. Guests can interact with the animals during daily demonstrations. It is located between the England and Scotland sections.

Parking and transportation

At the park, special parking areas are provided for persons with disabilities,

recreational vehicle A recreational vehicle, often abbreviated as RV, is a motor vehicle or trailer that includes living quarters designed for accommodation. Types of RVs include motorhomes, campervans, coaches, caravans (also known as travel trailers and ca ...

s and groups arriving by buses and motorcoaches. Trams provide shuttle service to and from entrance gates from outlying parking areas. Within the park itself, three

steam locomotive A steam locomotive is a locomotive that provides the force to move itself and other vehicles by means of the expansion of steam. It is fuelled by burning combustible material (usually coal, Fuel oil, oil or, rarely, Wood fuel, wood) to heat ...

powered trains operate on the

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge (distance between the rails) narrower than . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with Minimum railw ...

Busch Gardens Railway, a loop of track, providing transportation between the Heatherdowns, Festa Italia and New France themed areas. Additionally, a skyride provides transportation between the Banbury Cross, Aquitaine and Rhinefeld themed areas.

Awards and recognition

In 2021, the park was also nominated by USA Today to be the fourth best amusement park in the country.

Attendance (rounded)

Gallery

File:Daytime Street View of Banbury Cross, England with Christmas Decoration Visible.JPG, Daytime Street View of Banbury Cross, England with Christmas Decoration Visible File:Seating in the Royal Palace Theatre.JPG, Seating in the Royal Palace Theatre File:Front View of Das Festhaus at Christmas Town.JPG, Front View of Das Festhaus at Christmas Town File:Another View of the North Pole (Rhinefeld).JPG, Another View of the North Pole (Rhinefeld) File:Night View of San Marco, Italy.JPG, Night View of San Marco, Italy File:The "Peppermint Twist" in Christmas Livery.JPG, The "Peppermint Twist" in Christmas Livery

References

Sources

Busch Gardens Williamsburg expansion announcement page

Busch Gardens Williamsburg official website

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Christmas Town official website
*

External links

* {{Navigation Applause Award 1975 establishments in Virginia Amusement parks in Virginia Buildings and structures in James City County, Virginia Landmarks in Virginia United Parks & Resorts Tourist attractions in James City County, Virginia Amusement parks opened in 1975