Disney World VS. Busch Gardens Williamsburg

[WondersOfLife]

I just got back from Busch Gardens today, and don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Disney junky. Heck, this saturday i'm in Spain to start the 2 week trans-atlantic Disney cruise on the Magic. Then after that, I head down to Disney World! But, back on topic. Busch Gardens, in Virginia. It was so incredibly beautiful, and shady! All of the trees were great for the hot weather, the coasters are unbelievable, even that "Revenge of Darkastle" that reminds me of Spider Man at Universal was good. The Sesame Street area looked cool for the little kids, but the main thing that got me.. it was just soo beautiful, the atmosphere. The flowers, trees.. tho one thing that I didn't enjoy was that all the countries they represent are the same.

Disney I still love a bit more, truly because of all of their indoor/A.C. attractions. Dark rides and AA shows I love. They do a good job with the scenery themselves, but if you've ever been to a Busch Gardens, would you prefer it over Disney? Or Disney over Busch Gardens?


-WondersOfLife


The last original pavilion. :king:

 

[invader]

Had APs for BGF last year. I love everything about BG but they just doesn't do it like Disney does.

 

[ChrisFL]

Had APs for BGF last year. I love everything about BG but they just doesn't do it like Disney does.

You mean Tampa? It's an entirely different experience than Williamsburg.

Williamburg is consistently rated the most beautiful theme park, because they built it within the natural surroundings and besides the rollercoaster tracks, everything else is well themed. No it isn't Disney quality, but outside of Disney and Universal, they're the next best thing IMO.

 

[pluto77]

I don't think I would every replace Disney as my favorite part, but you make me want to visit Busch Gardens in Virginia! Lol

 

[fractal]

We did a quick trip to BGW last year and I was really impressed. The themeing is very good. Apollo's chariot became my favorite rollercoaster - tremendous fun. The Griffin dive coaster is no slouch either. Their version of Soarin' though (Air over Europe ) is a joke. It's a beautiful park and hope to visit it again someday.

Compared to WDW - it doesn't have the grand scale and majesty. As a fan of theme parks, however, I'm glad BG exists.

 

[WDW_Princess24]

I use to go to Virginia every year when I was younger to compete at BG and I LOVE it there. The landscaping of the park is beautiful! I haven't been there in a few years and would love to get back, I know they are really working on the quality of the park (rides, shows, etc.)

 

[Spike-in-Berlin]

Bush Gardens Tampa was nice, really nice. But it comes nowhere even close to the experience of a Disney park, Stanley Falls no match for Jungle Cruise or Splash Mountain, Congo River Rapids MUCH longer than Kali River Rapids (about as long as KRR was originally planned) but with nearly no recognizable theming. The rollercoasters were nice too but they were rollercoasters, nothing more, NO theming at all, just naked contructions. I have not been to VA however so I didn't see that Bush Gardens but Tampa is no match for even the weakest Disney park.

 

[BigRedDad]

It is very nice, beautiful, and well themed. They actually have thrill rides. It cannot replace WDW, but it sure can supplement it.

 

[surfsupdon]

I do believe it is more breautiful than a Disney Park. The natural terrain does that....but their landscaping is much better at BGW than at WDW. They have blossoming flowers everywhere you look, and awesome shady trees that they allow to grow!

 

[jlandis44]

I had APs for BG-Va this year. I've been there every year for the past 5 yrs too. I like it. It's not WDW, though. BG-Va is a scenic park for sure, but it doesn't have near the theming, nor the things to do, of WDW. If you compare it to the individual WDW parks, it might be comparable to AK in the scenery, and the limited "things to do". BG-Va does have Apollo's Chariot, though...what a great coaster! Overall, we found that BG-Va has a whole lot of walking around, and not a whole lot of "doing". It looks good, but especially for the younger kids, the "doing" options are limited. But, it doesn't compare to WDW as a whole.

 

[Susan Savia]

I don't think Busch Gardens-Williamsburg begins to compare to the Disney Parks. Been there a number of times over the years. We won free tickets from a radio station and went to Kings Dominion for the day yesterday. Hadn't been there in 10 years and we were impressed by the cleanliness of the park overall and friendly CM's. Food seemed high, higher then Disney's in many places. (Bottle of coke in machine was $4. I liked that they have rules stating if you are in a que line and leave it, like to go to the bathroom and you come back you can NOT rejoin your party, but must go back to the end of the line. You cannot take pictures on any ride or attraction. I do think Disney Parks have beautiful landscaping throughout.

 

[MissingDisney]

The first time we visited BGW we had just returned from DW the month prior. I though "I might be crazy but I think this place is landscaped way nicer than Disney" however, there is nothing like the 'magic' of Disney and the overall resort experience. Since then, we have visited BGW yearly and I really look forward to it. It is a beautiful place, great coasters, the kid area is amazing, and has a nice atmosphere. It's different from Kings Island, Dominion, Cedar Pointe, etc. Very laid back, relaxed, serene. Since it was bought by a new company a few years back, there have been many changes, and from what I see, for the good. If you're in the area, I would recommend a visit!

 

[Walt Disney1955]

Have only been to Busch Gardens Tampa. I have heard wonderful things before about the Williamsburg park and how it trumps other things at Tampa. But all I have seen is Tampa and while it is a great park it is probably only slightly better than your average Six Flags park.

Lots of good coasters though, the Kumba, Montu, Skeikra, Gwazi......etc. Congo Rapids will leave you soaked and Tanganyika Tidal Wave is just that, a huge splash at the bottom of the drop. The train ride around the park is a must do and Rhino Rally is a humorous and interesting drive but BG just isn't Disney. It does still have the sky buckets up there which is a rarity for any park.

One of the funniest memories we have there is on the train ride and the train had to stop for some unexpected reason. All of the sudden we look ahead and if there isn't a mother Rhino crossing the tracks and her little baby chugging away as fast as he could to cross them. It almost reminded me of a row of ducks crossing the street.

 

[splashmtnfan]

We went to BGW last summer. We had a good time but I could not help thinking Disney does it so much better. As someone else mentioned...their attempt at a Soarin' type ride is not very good. I had to keep closing my eyes so I didn't feel ill....the way they change scenes is awful. It is a beautiful park with all of the trees. It was nice to find a lot of shady areas since it was so hot in VA last summer. Having younger children who were not tall enough for the big coasters but still love thrill rides, we regretted taking them on Curse of DarKastle. I did not think it was such a good ride. It could have been less violent. I know people love it but it sure is not family friendly. I don't have to worry about that at Disney. I also agree with the other person who mentioned that the food prices seem higher. Lunch was close to $50 for the 4 o us. We bought the kids a chicken tender and mac and cheese meal to split because it was so big and my husband and I each had a sandwich and then 4 drinks. Wow. We were not impressed. Dinner was even more! Our daughters really enjoyed Escape from Pompeii and Roman Rapids. We will go again, it was fun, but it is no Disney!!

 

[GOT2SAMMIES]

You really can;t compare apples to oranges.. I live 30 minutes away from BG Williamsburg..We always get passes and go quite often.. The rides and atmosphere is very relax... The settings is what is should be.. laid back, lots of trees/flowers BUT lots of hills to walk (my only complaint).They try to change things up for the seasons.. The roller coaster are great GRIFFON rules, and with Elmo there are some things whole families can do (noticed I said some) and there really is no focal point in the park .. Heck this year I dont think we waited more than 20 minutes for anything. No parades, some fireworks (4th and during illuminights)... Disney is more spreadout, different themes and more busier than BG will ever be (which is to be expected). Disney has more for families with smaller children, is less landscaped, and everything is a little faster pace. The castle is the focal point and you can not beat the parades and fireworks!
I LOVE both parks for everything different they have to offer!

 

[trr1]

I just got back from Busch Gardens today, and don't get me wrong, I'm a huge Disney junky. Heck, this saturday i'm in Spain to start the 2 week trans-atlantic Disney cruise on the Magic. Then after that, I head down to Disney World! But, back on topic. Busch Gardens, in Virginia. It was so incredibly beautiful, and shady! All of the trees were great for the hot weather, the coasters are unbelievable, even that "Revenge of Darkastle" that reminds me of Spider Man at Universal was good. The Sesame Street area looked cool for the little kids, but the main thing that got me.. it was just soo beautiful, the atmosphere. The flowers, trees.. tho one thing that I didn't enjoy was that all the countries they represent are the same.

Disney I still love a bit more, truly because of all of their indoor/A.C. attractions. Dark rides and AA shows I love. They do a good job with the scenery themselves, but if you've ever been to a Busch Gardens, would you prefer it over Disney? Or Disney over Busch Gardens?


-WondersOfLife


The last original pavilion. :king:

didnt school start yet? if not whe does it start in your county. our kids started 8/30

 

[TaoBoxer]

It's apples & oranges. Both are excellent in their own way. Btw, The "U" kick off their season tonight ! 8:00 pm on ESPN.

 

[BrerMouse]

BGW is a completely different park as many have stated. If you are interested in some amazing coasters Alpingiest and Apollos Chariot can not be neat. The mix of thrill with some smaller dark/water rides is quite entertaining without being overwhelming on either end. There is not the crowds nor bottlenecks that tend to occur at Disney, because of the vast differentiation in capacity and popularity, but for what it is worth BGW is certainly worth a look whenever you are near. It is clean and the CM's are very friendly and helpful but it is no Disney.

 

[timeman]

BGW is my home park and like a lot of people say it is a beautiful park. It can't compare to Disney in some respects, but in some ways it is a little better. If you like Christmas time in the parks I would highly recommend checking out BGW.

Two years ago due to guest requests they started opening up during Christmas time. They decorate a majority of the park for Christmas and are open every weekend from Thanksgiving weekend until the end of the year. The last two weeks of December they are open everyday but Christmas Day. They call it Christmastown and are only open in the evening. The only coaster that is open is the Griffin, unless the temperature is below 40, and they have a bunch of the flat rides open along with Curse of DarKastle. In Ireland they have a show called Rejoice, in Germany you have Deck the Halls in the Das Festhaus and a giant Christmas tree that they have dance to the music once every hour and in Italy last year they had a show called Miracles. They also have a marketplace in Germany where you can find local merchants selling a variety of goods.

Here is a link to more info about Christmastown.

 

[lbrad]

I have been to BGW and BGT ... both are nice parks. We prefer BGW as it is closer to us and there is more nearby to do. We enjoy Water country USA & Colonial Williamsburg. Beautiful around the holidays!!!

Disney has my <3