Williamsburg, VA
Today we slept in a half an hour later (look out, it’s 8:00!), ate some breakfast, and headed down the road (in a car this time, not on foot) to Busch Gardens. After paying $10 to park in Italy section, row 1 (you wanted to know, right?) we gripped our e-tickets in hand and headed for the turnstiles.
The place was packed, but somehow the lines we chose were rarely longer than half an hour. Rob and I rode all 4 of the roller coasters (Apollo’s Chariot twice) and test-rode DarKastle for Andy, who has… motion sensitivities. After deeming it Andy-safe, we text messaged him and he met us at the entrance so we could all ride together. DarKastle was an extremely cool ride: a haunted gothic castle (modeled after the Storybook Castle in Bavaria) in the moving-car 4-D style like the Spiderman ride in Universal Orlando. I highly recommend.
The Loch Ness Monster was the first coaster with interlocking loops (a la chain-link) and I have to admit, it’s getting pretty fogey-ish. Bri’s afraid they’ll tear it down before he gets a chance to ride it. It was the one ride that scared Rob and I to death – they slowed us to a crawl before we took the first loop (the sky cars were flying past us, and those go .5 miles an hour) and we were afraid there wouldn’t be any G-force to keep the train on the track or us in the seats. We did make it to the end alive, although we didn’t go back to tempt fate a second time.
As for other 4-D adventures besides DarKastle, we also did Corkscrew Hill in the Ireland section, as well as the Pirate adventure in England, starring Leslie Nielsen and Eric Idle. (If you recognize either of those names, then you know how chock-full of silly fun that one was.)
Rob and I got soaked on a water ride called Escape From Pompeii, and the three of us checked out the animals… namely, Busch Garden’s famous Clydesdale horses, a donkey named Zipper, several bald eagles, and some wolves.
We rounded out the evening at the night show called Kinetix, featuring rock music and acrobatics, like the balancing-upside-down-on-a-small-pole thing (common with Chinese Acrobats, if you don’t know what I’m talking about but have seen that) and the flipping-through-the-air-on-long-ribbon-ish-curtain-thingies (as seen in Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba) and the super fun-looking flying-around-barely-missing-each-other-on-extra-bouncy-trampoline thing, which is one of my all-time favorites.
Last but not least, let me share with you a sampler of the heat-induced conversations we were having… (It was 90+ in the shade).
Erica, waiting in line for 4-D ride: So, Andy. What are the top 3 best things about being Andy?
Andy, without even blinking: Sim City 4 Rush Hour Expansion Pack, learning about history, and… driving.
[cut to next scene]
Erica, waiting in line for coaster: Know what? You’re pretty fun, Rob.
Rob, nodding in agreement: I know.
Erica, stifling laughter: Yeah? What’s so fun about being Rob?
Rob, after thinking a moment: Riding roller coasters. And chocolate-flavored laxatives. They both give me a rush.
And with that thought…
