Busch Gardens Williamsburg in the spotlight

Opening in 1975, Busch Gardens Williamgburg in Virginia was the last of the Busch beer company's forray into the world of theme parks. With an overaching European theme, the park is home to an impressive array of roller coasters set amongst beautiful landscapes and dense forests. In this spotlight take a look at Busch Gardens Williamsburg thanks to photos contributed by Parkz member Gazza.

Image: Gazza. These dense forests are the setting for some of the world's best thrill machines.

Editorial By Richard Wilson
31 May 2015

The iconic Loch Ness Monster from Arrow Dynamics built in 1978, features interlocking vertical loops. Though dwarfed by several giant coasters that now surround it, at the time of its opening it was the world's tallest roller coaster.

The interlocking loops were quite a feat for 1978, considering inversions were introduced to roller coasters only a few short years earlier.

Fast forward to 1997 when Busch Gardens Williamsburg commissioned its first Bolliger & Mabilliard coaster. The Swiss ride manufacturer cemented their reputation for building the world's finest thrill rides with Alpengeist, a truly epic inverted roller coaster. It remains the tallest inverted coaster in the world with a first drop of 52m and a total height of 59m.

With size and a whole lot of twisted steel, Alpengeist remains one of the world's best examples of an inverted coaster.

Two years later the park returned to B&M for the 1.5km long hypercoaster Apollo's Chariot. With a first drop of 64m and eight air-time hills, Apollo's Chariot has consistently ranked among the top roller coasters in the world. It's also famous for a bizarre incident on its opening day when celebrity Fabio was hit in the face by a goose on its inaugural ride.

Not much can be seen of Apollo's Chariot from around the park; most of the ride's journey takes place hidden in the park's forests.

2007's Griffon is the park's third and most recent B&M coaster, this time a dive coaster. With 10-across floorless cars, Griffon uses sheer magnitude for psychological torture; it's easy to feel like helpless when you're amongst a row of 10 and facing a 60m vertical drop. The ride features two inversions, both immelmanns.

Alpengeist and Griffon almost blend into one with their complementing shades of blue.

Verbolten from 2012 was a deliberate effort to bring something more family friendly to the lineup of steel coasters at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. That's not to say it's tame; the Zierer launched coaster boasts a top speed of 85km/hr and some impressive drops and turns along its 864m course.

Not bad for a family ride

In addition to its beautiful and intimidating roller coasters, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is home to some amazing theming and stunning gardens. Be sure to check out Gazza's complete collection of Busch Gardens Williamsburg photos -- featuring over 190 photos of the park.