Coaster madness....

So I was on Facebook this morning checking the home page and I came across a video post from Busch Gardens Williamsburg.  It was about their new roller coaster opening up late this spring called the Verbolten.  The Verbolten is the coaster replacing the classic suspended coaster they used to have there called the Big Bad Wolf.  I must say that I was sad to see them tear the Big Bad Wolf down and I miss hearing them tell me "Thank you for travelling at the speed of fright" as the coaster drifted out of the station.   (If you are interesting in seeing what the Big Bad Wolf ride was like, here is a link:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3F6LiJA3a44&feature=fvwrel.)

Anyway, I have to say that I am very excited about the new ride, Verbolten.  I can't wait to see what it looks like when they are finished with it.  I just hope they have it up and running before our season passes run out in July.  Last year it took them all summer to get their new drop tower ride, called  Mach Tower, up and running and I'm hoping that is not going to be the case with the Verbolten. 

As if you haven't guessed it, I LOVE roller coasters.  I have loved them since I was a little girl and that love has just grown over the years.  I wish I could be one of those roller coaster enthusiast people who travel to different amusement parks just to ride the coasters!  I had someone ask me once if I'd seen the Final Destination movie scene with the rollercoaster, which I hadn't at the time.  They said that once I saw that, I'd probably be afraid to ride them.  Well, I finally saw that scene the other day and all it did was make me want to ride a coaster!  LOL! 

I've been to many theme parks in past years:  Cedar Point, Kings Dominion, Magic Kingdom at WDW, Animal Kingdom at WDW, Universal Studios, Univeral Studios Islands of Adventure, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Lakeside (which no longer exists), Dollywood, Opryland USA (which no longer exists), and SeaWorld Orlando. Out of all of them, my favorite one is Busch Gardens located in Williamsburg, VA.  The place is just beautiful.  Each section of the park is based on a different European country.  There is England, Scotland, Ireland, New France, France, Germany and Oktoberfest, and Italy.  My favorite roller coaster there is Apollo's Chariot.  It is such an awesome hypercoaster and the best seat is in the back of this coaster.  In fact, I was engaged on that roller coaster!!!   It is a funny story.  It was April 15, 2007, which is my birthday, and Recie, my brother, his fiance at the time (they are married now), and I had planned to go the BG that day.  It was overcast and they were calling for rain.  I was hoping the rain would stay away, but it wasn't looking good and when we arrived it was just barely trying to sprinkle.  We decided to ride Apollo's Chariot first, because it is the best ride in the park.  As we were going up the big incline for the first drop, Recie pulls out a ring box and opens it!  I was in total shock because I was not expecting it at all!!!  Of course I said yes and put the ring on as soon as I could because we were almost at the top of the hill and I didn't want to lose the ring.  LOL!  As we went down the 210ft drop, it started to rain....and rain hard!!!   It was raining so hard that the drops of water hurt smacking us in the face.  We couldn't do anything but just laugh.  It was awesome.  By the time we got off of the ride, we were soaked!  We stayed at the park anyway, regardless of the rain and rode the other roller coasters, too.  I think it is one of my most memorable experiences there at the park. 

Here is a photo of us on on the ride when he proposed.  See how wet we were?  Of course we were all laughing and having a great time.   From left to right:  me, Recie, William, and Stephanie.

Somehow my brother talked our mom into riding Apollo's Chariot later that year in October for Howloscream.  The look of terror on her face is just priceless!  She hadn't rode a roller coaster in years, and definitely not a steel hypercoaster like this one is.  From left to right:  Stephanie, William, Mom, and me.  Notice we are all wearing some orange for Halloween.                                                

Here is a youtube video of Apollo's Chariot.  (How these people film while on the ride and not get caught is beyond me because they don't allow you to film while riding the coasters....)

Anyway, Busch Gardens is a great park.  Every year (for the past 21 years) it wins the title of  "World's Most Beautiful Theme Park".   They have a lot of fun and intersting rides.  The second best coaster there is the Griffon.  The new drop tower they opened last year, called Mach Tower, is extremely fun also!   Needless to say, if you are looking for culture, good food, and really fun rides, I highly recommend Busch Gardens Williamsburg.  Their website is http://seaworldparks.com/en/buschgardens-williamsburg  and it is fun checking out the different ride videos people have posted on youtube.  I can't wait to visit again this spring.  Our season passes for both Busch Gardens and the water park they own called Water Country USA runs out on July 2nd.  I do hope they have the new Verbolten open before then!!!! 

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