Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Williamsburg, Virginia

The Busch Gardens amusement park in Virginia opened as Busch Gardens: The Old Country in May 1975. It was owned by Anheuser-Busch for over 30 years. The park's name changed to Busch Gardens Williamsburg in 1992 and to Busch Gardens Europe in 2006. The name reverted back to Busch Gardens Williamsburg in 2008. After Anheuser-Busch was purchased by InBev, all 10 of their amusement parks, including the SeaWorld and Busch Gardens theme parks, were sold. Busch Gardens is presently owned by SeaWorld Entertainment, a division of the Blackstone Group.

The park is currently divided into 10 lands representing countries of 17th-century Europe. It is often voted as the "Most Beautiful Theme Park" thanks to its lovely design, wonderful theming, and gorgeous landscaping. In addition to the fantastic coasters, the park has entertaining shows and plenty of great places to eat.

Some of the park's previous coasters include:

Glissade was a Schwarzkopf Jet Star that opened in 1979. In 1993, it became Tornado at La Feria Chapultepec Magico in Mexico City.
The Drachen Fire (see below) was built by Arrow Dynamics in 1992. The ride closed in 1998 and was demolished in February 2002. No official reason for the closure was given, but some people speculate roughness, maintenance problems, noise, or poor park location were to blame.
Wild Maus (see below) was relocated to Busch Gardens Tampa in 2004. It was called Cheetah Chase but presently operates as Sand Serpent.
Big Bad Wolf (see below) was removed from the park at the end of 2009.
Die Wildkatze was a Schwarzkopf Wildcat model that ran from here from 1976 to 1983. After that it ran as Wildcat at Playland Park in Rye, New York, Steel Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey, and Williams Grove in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania. The ride has been running at Adventure Park USA in New Market, Maryland since March 2007.