Roller coasters come in many different shapes and sizes and also offer different types of thrills. Some coasters are bigger than others, and some are made out of wood. Busch Gardens Williamsburg takes their line up of coasters and showcases them in a way that is fun and informative for their guests. The park currently features two different types of tours, and will be adding another later this year that will feature their brand new coaster, Verbolten.
The tour offers a a mix of thrills, a peek at what goes on behind the scenes, and offers a ton of information about the rides in the park. The first stop is the Lochness Monster.
During the tour, you are taken down underneath the station of the Lochness Monster. Below the station is where the maintenance building is located. In the photo above, you will notice there is black track sitting inside the maintenance shop. Have you ever noticed there are two sections of track in the transfer area that dip down? That’s where that track leads to. During the winter months of the year when the park is closed, the trains are brought downstairs where they can work on them and get them ready for a brand new season.
Fun fact:
- Did you know that one of the pieces of track for the Lochness Monster came in pointing the wrong direction? The piece of track was heated up and corrected to point the right direction. Riders today will feel a slight jolt just as they are entering the transfer track because of it.
Next up is Griffon!
Griffon is the only part of the tour that is different. The park offers a “participant” and an “observer” tour. The only notable difference besides price in the tours is that observers made the choice before they paid for their tour not to take the trolley up Griffon’s lift. Participants get to ride the trolley up Griffon’s lift where they can get their photo with one of the trains and see the park from 205 feet.
You also get to head into the maintenance area where you will learn about Griffon and it’s wheel assemblies. The wheel assemblies on Griffon are very much different from the those on Lochness, as they hug the track much tighter than Lochness does.
Next up is Alpengeist!
They also take you behind the scenes of Alpengeist into the maintenance area where you learn about the ride. Although it was manufactured by the same company as Griffon, it is a very different ride because riders hang under neath the track.
More pictures from the tour:
The tour is a lot of fun and great for all types of coaster enthusiasts. The tour for participants costs $64.99 and the observer costs $39.99. Both the participant and observer tour include:
- Free preferred parking upgrade on the day of your tour
- A behind the scenes look at Griffon, Alpengeist, and Lochness Monster
- Exclusive Ride Time on Alpengeist and Griffon
- A front of the line boarding card to ride Apollo’s Chariot, Griffon, Lochness, and Alpengeist later after the tour
- Photo CD of your experience
The participant tour also includes everything above plus a ride up to the top of Griffon’s lift. Verbolten is not included on the roller coaster insider tour. A separate tour will be available later this year for Verbolten. To purchase your coaster tour today, click here.
For more information about Busch Gardens Williamsburg, visit http://buschgardenswilliamsburg.com/. Click the banner below to purchase tickets.
