Meet Virginia: Day Three

On our third day in Williamsburg, we went to Busch Gardens for an all-day roller coaster extravaganza. We dressed carefully, put on our sunblock, and went to Ihop for breakfast so that we wouldn't be too hungry at the park. As we pulled into the parking lot, we saw this man wandering around in a white terry cloth shorts set. I guess the idea is that as you sweat from wearing something so heavy, it is immediately absorbed?

With our stomachs full of Ihop, we entered the park:

On the way in, we saw a car with a tribute to Michael Jackson on the back window (the third car from the left):

Before I get to the roller coasters, we did see and do a few other things. Busch Gardens has a lot of animals, including this gray wolf:

Continuing our streak of bad luck on water rides, Leah and I stupidly decided to go on Le Scoot Log Flume. We were hot, it didn't look too bad, so we got in line, dragging Kathy along with us. I got wet immediately when an errant wave splashed into our log and then on the way down the drop, we all got pretty wet. So, I've decided that I'm never going on a water ride again unless it is the end of the day and I am going to be able to shower and change clothes immediately.

Leah and I also went on the swings while Kathy took a break after lunch:

We also went on one of our favorite non-roller coaster rides, Da Vinci's Cradle:

Now, for the most important part: the roller coasters. I have been to this park three times. Once in the early 90s with my family of roller coaster fanatics, once with Leah two years ago, and again this summer with Leah and Kathy. Busch Gardens in Williamsburg has awesome roller coasters. In fact, Brother of Ken was terrified of coasters until we went to Busch Gardens. He rode the coasters in Williamsburg and never looked back. They have changed a little over the years, but all five are still great.

We began with the Loch Ness Monster, which is a classic coaster and a nice way to start before you move on to bigger and better ones.

Our next coaster was Alpengeist, which is awesome. We rode this one twice, I think, and it has some really great loops.

The third coaster of the day was a newer one, Griffon, which was Kathy's favorite.

This one holds three rows of ten people and it takes you way up into the air and then hangs you for what feels like a full minute before it drops you at a 90 degree angle toward the ground.

It also has a couple of cool corkscrews.

My favorite is the classic suspended roller coaster, The Big Bad Wolf. This year is its 25th birthday and this is the one that changed Brother of Ken's mind about roller coasters. It was one of the first suspended coasters in the world and it takes you through a Bavarian village like you are being chased by a wolf. This one is even better when it is dark outside.

Finally, Leah's favorite: Apollo's Chariot. This one is ten years old this year and it is as great as ever. It is smooth (as roller coasters go) and has several really great rolling hills that take you up and down quickly.

We rode all of the roller coasters at least once, and we rode our favorites three times each. The day began at 11:00 in the morning and we left right around 9:00, so we had a long day, but a lot of fun. As we were leaving, Leah wanted to know when we were planning to go back--soon, I hope!