Busch Gardens is the name of two amusement parks in the United States, owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts. The original park is in Tampa, Florida, and the second park is in Williamsburg, Virginia. There were also previously Busch Gardens parks in Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California (1964–1979) and Houston, Texas (1971–1973). The "Busch Gardens" name was earlier used to refer to the gardens developed by Adolphus Busch near his home in Pasadena, California, which were open to the public from 1906 to 1937.
Apollo's Chariot is a steel roller coaster at the Busch Gardens Williamsburg amusement park in James City County, Virginia, United States. The ride was the first Hyper Coaster designed by Swiss firm Bolliger & Mabillard. It officially opened to the public on March 27, 1999. This coaster is themed to the Greek and Roman god Apollo, who is the god of the sun, music, and healing. Apollo used his chariot to control the directions of the sun.
Drachen Fire was a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia. Manufactured by Arrow Dynamics, the ride opened to the public in 1992. Drachen Fire featured a 150-foot tall (46 m) lift hill, six inversions, and a zero-gravity camelback element. One of the inversions was removed after the 1994 season to improve ride comfort. The track was light blue with silver supports, and it was located in the Oktoberfest portion of the park behind Verbolten and Das Festhaus. It was originally configured with three trains, each consisting of red cars with grey seats, and featured red trim lights that illuminated the trains at night. Drachen Fire was closed in the middle of the 1998 season following a history of low ridership and complaints of roughness. It remained standing until its demolition in 2002.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a 422-acre (1.71 km2) amusement park in James City County near Williamsburg, Virginia, United States, located approximately 60 miles (100 km) northwest of Virginia Beach. The park was developed by Anheuser-Busch (A-B) and is owned by United Parks & Resorts. The park opened on May 16, 1975, adjacent to Anheuser-Busch's brewery and near its other developments, including the Kingsmill Resort complex.
Montu is an inverted roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. Designed by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, it is the park's second roller coaster designed by that company following the success of Kumba, which opened 3 years prior. When the ride opened on May 16, 1996, it was the world's tallest and fastest inverted roller coaster, a title it has since conceded to Alpengeist at sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The ride stands 150 feet (46 m) tall and reaches speeds of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).
The Bat was a suspended roller coaster located at Kings Island amusement park in Mason, Ohio. Designed by Arrow Development, it was billed as the "first of its kind" in the world when it opened to the public on April 26, 1981. The suspended coaster concept was a radical departure from traditional roller coaster design, where guests ride below the track instead of above. Previous attempts to build coasters that hang from the track were unsuccessful and date as far back as the early 20th century. Arrow solved issues by utilizing modern technology in the design, including its tubular steel track developed in 1959 for Disneyland's Matterhorn Bobsleds.
Escape from Pompeii is a shoot-the-chutes water attraction designed by Intamin located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Loch Ness Monster is a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia. Manufactured by Arrow Development and designed by Ron Toomer, it was the first roller coaster in the world to feature interlocking loops. The roller coaster was opened within the park's Scottish hamlet, Heatherdowns, on June 2, 1978, and relates to the legend of the Loch Ness Monster. The roller coaster reaches a maximum height of 130 ft (40 m), with a maximum speed of 60 mph (97 km/h), and a total track length of 3,240 ft (990 m).
Python was a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay theme park in Tampa, Florida. Built by Arrow Development and opened on July 1, 1976, it was the first roller coaster at Busch Gardens since the park opened in 1959. The roller coaster was located in the Congo section of the park near Stanley Falls Flume and later the Congo River Rapids. After 30 years of operation, Python closed on October 31, 2006, and was eventually replaced by Jungala, a now-defunct family section of the park.
Howl-O-Scream is an annual Halloween seasonal event owned and operated by United Parks & Resorts, that occurs during the month of October at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, SeaWorld San Antonio, and as of recently began at SeaWorld Orlando and SeaWorld San Diego. The parks remain operational during the day and transition to Howl-O-Scream at night. The event features haunted houses, "scare zones", and live entertainment.
Phantom Theater was a dark ride located at Kings Island in Mason, Ohio, United States. Manufactured by Morgan Manufacturing, the ride opened to the public on April 11, 1992. Its design incorporated a continuously moving chain of vehicles similar to Disney's Omnimover ride system. The attraction was furnished with sets and characters created by R&R Creative Amusement Designs, Inc., and it was themed as a haunted, abandoned theater.
Houdini's Great Escape, also known as Boo-dini during Fright Fest and Houdini - The Great Escape at Six Flags New England, is a dark indoor Vekoma Madhouse attraction located at Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags New England. This ride is located in Great Adventure's Fantasy Forest section and New England's Crack Axle Canyon area. The attraction opened at both parks in 1999, and was standing but not operating at Great Adventure from 2008 to 2009. but was opened again due to popular demand.
Curse of DarKastle was a dark ride located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia. It was a hybrid dark ride which combined roving motion-simulating vehicles, 3D projection animation, physical sets, in-vehicle audio, and special effects. Curse of DarKastle carried a rider height requirement of 42 inches, but with a sign warning that scenes within the attraction may be too intense for young audiences. The ride took place in an abandoned Bavarian castle, haunted by evil ghosts and a demonic werewolf.
Sesame Street 4-D Movie Magic was a 4D film theme park attraction formerly located at Universal Studios Japan, SeaWorld San Diego, SeaWorld San Antonio, Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. The attraction, which was made to run at Universal Studios Japan, was later acquired by SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment to run at their Busch Gardens and SeaWorld theme parks. In addition, Busch Gardens parks also include multiple other Sesame Street themed attractions, as part of their Sesame Street Forest of Fun/Sesame Street Safari of Fun park areas. The attraction contained 4-D effects to go along with the film which included spraying water, bursts of air, leg ticklers and fans.
Simulator rides are a type of amusement park or fairground ride, where the audience is shown a movie while their seats move to correspond to the action on screen.
Wild Arctic is an animal exhibit featuring beluga whales, walruses, and harbor seals at SeaWorld Orlando and SeaWorld San Diego. It previously featured a motion simulation at both parks. This attraction replaced Mission: Bermuda Triangle at both locations.
Batman Adventure: The Ride is the name for a series of Batman-themed motion simulator rides installed at various Warner Bros.-branded parks around the world. The ride was first installed at Warner Bros. Movie World on the Gold Coast, Australia in 1992, before being installed at Warner Bros. Movie World in Bottrop, Germany and Parque Warner Madrid in Madrid, Spain in 1996 and 2002, respectively. The installations in Australia and Spain later closed in 2011 and 2014, respectively. The ride is still operating today at the German park, but has been rethemed to Time Riders after the park lost its Warner Bros. licenses in 2004.
Verbolten is a Zierer multi-launched partially-enclosed steel roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia. The concept was jointly designed by the park's creative design team and by Zierer of Germany. "Verbolten" is a play on words of the German word verboten, which translates to "forbidden" in English.
Falcon's Fury is a free-standing Sky Jump drop tower attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay amusement park in Tampa, Florida, United States. Manufactured by Intamin subsidiary Intaride, the ride reaches a maximum height of 335 feet (102 m), making it North America's tallest free-standing drop tower. Riders experience about five seconds of free fall, reaching a speed of 60 miles per hour (100 km/h). The ride's name was chosen to invoke a falcon's ability to dive steeply at high speed to capture prey.
Ghost Train is a dark ride at Thorpe Park in Surrey, England. The attraction incorporates motion simulation, illusion, multisensory effects and live actors to help execute the storyline. It is set in a haunted mid-1980s railway station and mainly focuses on passengers taking the last train to an abandoned crypt. It first opened in July 2016 as Derren Brown's Ghost Train, then reopened as Derren Brown's Ghost Train: Rise Of The Demon in March 2017. The reimagined Ghost Train opened in May 2023.
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