A Comparison of Disney and Busch Gardens

[Figment571]

Hello Everyone, I just got back from a trip from Williamsburg, VA. We didn't go see Colonial Williamsburg (it's a replica of a Revolutionary town with actors and stuff, just so you know). We went to Busch Gardens Europe. I just want to offer a comparison that truly shows the Disney difference and how Disney can improve.

Busch Gardens: Lots of roller coasters, carnival type attractions, kids rides are like carnival rides, some well themed and others not as much, they do have a IOA Spider Man type ride.
Don't get me wrong coasters are great it's just that Disney themes them and creates a rich experience. The theming at Busch Gardens was minimalistic with the attractions. The Spiderman type ride was very well done but the exterior was only made to look like a haunted castle on one side and the rest just of the show building was just plain.

Theming for rest of the park: amazing. It is a really nice park to visit and it is spotless in terms of cleanliness! It is really something Disney could improve on. There was nothing ever on the ground. It's plant life was incredible too. Everything neatly trimmed and not a thing out of place. It did have a lot of games like Dinoramma though but that's about it.

Arrangement of the park. It was okay, but Disney has the hub plan completely nailed down as the best kind of layout. The layout was hard to get used to, almost like the layout of MGM more spread out and with more hills.

All in all Busch Gardens is defiantly worth a visit. It has spectacular theming and is beautiful. It has Disney beat, as most parks do, on big roller coasters but Disney more than makes up for that. I hope you all enjoyed.

 

[Patsc85]

Yeah Busch Gardens was immaculate when I last went, in terms of cleanliness. But the layout, I was not a huge fan of. I just remember to get across to one land you had to walk down all these stairs and across this reallllly long bridge (near the loch ness monster if I remember correctly). There may have been another way to the other side, but it wasn't very apparent on the map. Yes they had more roller coasters, (one of which Alpengeist, awesome). But so does Six Flags Great Adventure.
But I think they do a really good job overall there, they put on a "good show" heh.

 

[drdoom1001]

I don't like comparing parks as to me they're all different in what they offer,but aside from the Disney parks Busch Gardens in Virginia is like one of my all time favorite parks.To me the European theming along with the park's location in a woody,hilly environment and awesome coasters puts this one right up there.The one in Tampa is nice too with beautiful landscaping as well as their coasters but I prefer the Williamsburg park.

To me Disney is Disney nothing can really compare much to it,all of the Busch and Sea World parks are great at what they offer and then you have the Six Flags parks which are mostly just coasters,some over parking lots with the spaces still there and very minimal theming.The Cedar Fair parks are a couple notches higher than Six Flags since they have better service and employees who appear to care.I pretty much enjoy myself at any park since I know what to expect when I visit them and avoid comparing them to others.

Why didn't you go to Colonial Williamsburg,every time I've been to Williamsburg I always go in for at least 2 hours or so.It's really cool and they have some cool shops at the end of the Main street(forgot what it's called)!!!

 

[Figment571]

We just didn't have time. I'm a history buff so I was dissapointed.

 

[primetime52]

I've never been to Busch Gardens "Europe" but I have heard that it was voted America's prettiest amusement park in some recent travel survey.

I have been to Busch Gardens "Africa" down here in FL several times, and I must say that park needs alot of work. The park theming is terribly weak and outdated, and there's very little left to do after you've ridden their 4 roller coasters. I'll admit that Sheikra is alot of fun, but it only takes about 4 hours to do everything at that park 3 times. Also, the food there is bad, fyi.

 

[celticdog]

Hello Everyone, I just got back from a trip from Williamsburg, VA. We didn't go see Colonial Williamsburg (it's a replica of a Revolutionary town with actors and stuff, just so you know).

Just for clarification, it's not a replica. It was the actual colonial capital prior to being moved to Philadelphia. The actors are replicas, but those homes and buildings along Govenors Street are historical landmarks that date back to prior to the revolutionary war.

The entire Williamsburg area is hugely steeped in history. Jamestown (which is a 10 minute ride away) just celebrated 400 years. The battlefields at Yorktown just celebrated a siginificant anniversary earlier this year.

The tourism board advertises the whole area as "The Historic Triangle".

On a side note: Busch Gardens Williamsburg has been going through some serious renovations over the past several years. It really has become a beautiful park. There is a lot of walking as it is spread out. The hills do add a level difficulty, especially to those in wheelchairs, but there is a significant amount of tree cover which provides a lot of shade. I am a little biased since it is so close. It's only a 30 minute drive away.

 

[paul436]

I visited Busch Gardens in VA a few years ago and have to agree that it was great. I don't think that anything can compare to WDW (yes, I'm biased) but Busch Gardens was very close. I had a great time there and the staff was very attentive to everything.

The biggest difference that I noticed, that has been mentioned, is the terrain. It was very hilly especially compared to Florida. It's beautiful country but the treks up and down the hills was grueling for the kids (and me too sometimes ). Getting around WDW was nothing compared to climbing the steep hills at Busch Gardens. But I would highly recommend everybody to visit there if they get a chance.

 

[utrythinkinof1]

It has been voted Most Beautiful Park 16 years in a row! The place really is amazing. Alpengeist is awesome!

 

[Lucky]

We went to BGE Memorial Day weekend. As other posts mentioned, it's first rate for roller coaster fans, and it's very pretty and clean. The theming does not compare to WDW. The food was also disappointing - it was more expensive but not better than CS at WDW, and there isn't any real TS. BGE is far better than Six Flags, but for me is not a good substitute for WDW.

 

[lilmizpixie3]

I dont know how you could compare the two? Maybe you could do a better comparison of Animal Kingdom and Bush Gardens..that would work better.

 

[Lucky]

I dont know how you could compare the two? Maybe you could do a better comparison of Animal Kingdom and Bush Gardens..that would work better.

Another thread compares AK to BG-Africa in Tampa. BG-Europe in Williamsburg is more similar in theming to Epcot. But still the parks are verrrry different. BGE has many more rides than Epcot, so most kids would find a day there more entertaining than a day at Epcot. The country theming and info in BGE is much lighter, to put it charitably, than at Epcot. The food is not at all comparable. There is nothing like the Epcot TS restaurants at BGE. But Epcot's main advantage over BGE is that MK is a short monorail trip away.

 

[brainpile3000]

. The actors are replicas...

:ROFLOL:

 

[drdoom1001]

I've never been to Busch Gardens "Europe" but I have heard that it was voted America's prettiest amusement park in some recent travel survey.

I have been to Busch Gardens "Africa" down here in FL several times, and I must say that park needs alot of work. The park theming is terribly weak and outdated, and there's very little left to do after you've ridden their 4 roller coasters. I'll admit that Sheikra is alot of fun, but it only takes about 4 hours to do everything at that park 3 times. Also, the food there is bad, fyi.

I have to seriously disagree about the food,unless you're comparing the food to TS restaurants at Epcot or something,the Busch parks counter service restaurants have some of the best food of any theme park.I mean over at BGT you have the BBQ place over by Sheikra and the Desert grill which always has excellent options and desserts,just those two restaurants alone are better than any counter service at Disney or Universal,maybe the Enchanted Oak at Universal is pretty close!!!

As far as BGT's theming,I don't think that it's bad I just think the whole zoo and Africa thing isn't as interesting as the European countries over at BGW.But nobody can argue that they have super beautiful gardens,the park in Virginia has more of a natural beauty rather than beautiful landscaping!!!I also don't agree that you can do everything at the park 3 times in 4 hours.I mean yeah when I go I do the coasters 2-4 times each, but you also have Rhino Rally, Katonga,the 3-D movie,which I agree is weak!!!,the train the animal walking trails,the 3 water rides,several stops at the hospitality house for free beer,the beer school.Since I have the platinum pass I obviously don't do all of these when I go but a new visitor can spend the entire day there with no problem!!

 

[Sleeping*Beauty]

It's funny hearing people talk about Busch Gardens Williamsburg. I've grown up a little less than an hour away from it my whole life. Everybody around here associates it with summer. Almost all my friends have season passes. I just don't put it on the same shelf as Disney.

But Busch Gardens does have the Clysdales(sp?). Which I love!

Did you go to Water Country? That's alot more fun, for me at least.

 

[celticdog]

The food was also disappointing - it was more expensive but not better than CS at WDW, and there isn't any real TS.

It depends on where you eat. The food in Ireland and New France is really good. The food in Italy and Germany is horrible.

We typically will eat at the Smokehouse in New France. It is expensive, but the combination platter is big enough for two to share.