Tempesto: Tempointless

Busch Gardens Williamsburg.... and stuff

Pretty much wanted it to be a credit-run. Get in, get my +1, get out... But since I love the park... And since they have odd opening procedures, I ended up spending a little more time here than planned. But not overly much, since I had two (technically three, although I didn't ride anything at the third... and drove past a fourth I've already visited too!) parks to visit that day, in a different state.... And some non-park things I wanted to do along the way... I couldn't have stuck around long anyways.

Busch Gardens was the first real stop for what would be my 20 park, 15 state, 2 country, +4,000 mile road trip! <3
I had left my house late in the afternoon and driven though the night making it to the park slightly before opening, Wawa sub in hand.

Uh

(* just as a warning... this trip might come off somewhat... negative. Odd for a park that's one of my favorites in the US.... But you gotta remember I'd been up almost 24 hours at this point and had just driven some 800 miles from Orlando.... and was also suffering from what was probably the worst sunburn I'd ever had. *)

Even when not really feeling up to it... Its hard not to get excited when all of this comes into view!
Four of the parks coasters somewhat tower over the landscape while approaching the park.

Including the new-for-me, new for 2015, Tempesto.
But more on that later....

And to think... I wasn't even the first car here!
Maybe third?
Not bad for making it to the park almost 2 hours before opening.

Fake-London?
The last time I was at this park... I had been in real London within the same 24 hour period. haha.

Moo?! Wait no. Uh, baahhh? There we go.
I was hoping I could pretty much just run in and ride Tempesto and get on my way but since the park still sticks to its staggered openings within the park, Italy doesn't open until later in the day... Making those who wish to ride Tempesto or the superior Apollos Chariot wait over an hour after park open before getting that chance.

So I made my way with the masses to Loch Ness Monster. The first coaster you come upon after entering the park.
Its now also the third oldest coaster in Virginia, oldest steel. hm

I was on the first loaded train of the day, in the back car. While I was somewhat hesitant to ride due to the extreme sunburn I had, uh, acquired a few days prior... I knew the ride was relatively smooth so hoped for the best (and braced) and it was manageable.

Uh, the "iconic" Busch Gardens Williamsburg photo

I then ventured down the hill into Ireland

I had been putting this off for a while.. but with rumors of its demise, I gave in and gave Europe In The Air... a chance.
(get it, its a PUN! YOU'RE UP // EUROPE!!!, how clever)

Basically, its the most hated theme park simulator of all time... a feat hard to do... Considering it replaced Corkscrew Hill! Another massively unpopular (by both average guest and enthusiasts alike!) motion based simulator ride.
One and Done... But at least now I can say I wasted my time with it!
Thankfully it was almost time for Italy to open and I could head over and get my +1 on Tempesto.

And... here I am with.... Tempesto.
I had mixed feelings about the ride, even before riding it. This was my first encounter with the Premier Sky Rocket II model and would be the first of two on the same trip! At the time of my visit there were five of these across the world, 3 in the US (now up to 7, with 4 state side) its also (for now) the only one running a 3 car train... and with Shoulder Restraints! The others manage just fine with a simple lap bar only design.
When Busch Gardens first announced the ride it was met with serious backlash (outrage?) among the enthusiast community... not that parks really care what we think. It was still rather surprising, in a negative way.
I did try and ride it with an open mind, the ride model itself looks kinda fun and are fun to watch.. but its for sure out of place at this park. That being said.. I was excited to at least try a SRII.

While enthusiasts love to bitch and moan about the stupidest crap (myself included) this ride even seems unpopular with the locals and average vacationers.

I could have walked on to pretty much any row I wanted... But I opted for a single train wait for the first row.

After not killing myself trying to get into the very cramped seats.. and around what the park has dubbed "comfort collars" I was ready for my ride.
(But for real, I'm surprised someone hasn't fallen onto the tracks trying to get in or out of the train here... It seemed almost dangerous to me!)
The ride is basically three back to back launches to get you to the highest point.. where you then do a inline twist into a twisting vertical drop into a non-inverting loop that ends in the station.

Uh, the inline twist.

The non-inverting loop.

  The train twists around the loop in a way to keep you from being upside down at the top, in fact, the train itself sits on the top of the loop.
(Hollywood Rip, Ride, Rockit...basically across the street from my house.... was the first coaster to feature such an element.)

The train in the inline, again.

One of the biggest issues enthusiasts had with the ride was how poorly placed it was, within the park or even at this park at all! It clashes color-wise with everything around it.. And its theme is off putting to the area. It comes very much across as if the parks management felt the need to add something, and just picked whatever.. and put it down half-assed and that's pretty much the feeling you get when seeing it. Sad for a park that prides itself on beauty and wins/has won countless awards for landscaping and being a beautiful park. A blemish perhaps?
(among my friends, I had always self-speculated the ride was meant for another park within the Busch/SeaWorld chain and that something had come up and upper management just kinda.. plopped it here since they had the room and whatnot.... Boy was I shocked when the park I had assumed it was originally destined for... announced a Sky Rocket II of their own, earlier this year!)

The entrance and viewing area for the ride. With its purposely tacky theming.

And one last photo... The train diving out of the non-inverting loop.

So... My thoughts on it?
It literally ripped the skin off my shoulders.
Yup.
And to make matters worse, I gave it a second, courtesy ride, this time in the back row.
The ride is OK... Its not bad but its not good either. Its for sure not a good fit for this park! The first launch was surprisingly weak... the third launch was good. The little pop of the air at the top was fine, as was the roll. The twisting drop was.. meh (odd. because I enjoyed it on the clone I rode a few days later) The non-inverting loop is probably the best part of the ride... if a part had to be better than the rest. Tempesto also left me in so, so much pain.. Not entirely the rides fault. Mostly my own, for letting myself get so GD sunburned... but one could argue that if the ride had come with its standard lap-bar only design, I wouldn't have ripped my skin off.... So for that, I do blame the ride/park. Uh, yeah. The ride had so much going against it from the start, it really had no chance to impress me. Although at a smaller park or a park not known for its world class attractions, it would be a fine fit. But not at a park contending among the greatest in the world.
(I also swore off any ride or coaster with OTSR's on them for the rest of this trip, unless it was new-for-me...ugh)
Good thing a true star coaster sits right next door....

<3 <3 <3
This now makes twwooo visits here where I was feeling rather ʎʇʇᴉɥs (for different reasons) and still rode my beloved Apollos Chariot.

Back in the day, when I only had maybe 100 coasters under my belt... This was my favorite. I'm now creeping up on 900 and its still a ride that puts a smile on my face.
(and while I don't necessarily keep a top 10 anymore... it would probably still be up in there)

Verbolten, Verskipped.

I don't know. The ride has its fans... and has its haters. To me its just a shame the park removed its fun, yet highly overrated Arrow Suspended coaster... for this.
While I don't hate it... I don't really care for it either.. Its just kinda there.

Mach Tower?
Helllllll NO!
The view might be amazing from the top.. but since the overall ride is sub-par, there was no way I was gonna torture myself with those ultra tight restraints today.

The Curse of DarKastle.
More like.. The Curse of Not Taking Kare of Your Ride.
SKIPPED!
Although the last two times I've visited here I have rode it, to see it being more and more neglected, sadly.

Alpengeist, I'd have ridden it... if not for Tempesto ripping my skin off. ugh

While an extremely Hit-or-Miss ride... On its good days, it runs pretty spectator. I can't really think of any other B&M that's so iffy... Maybe Nitro?

:3

InvadR
IdontcaRe?

Shortly before my visit the park had broken ground on their new for 2017 GCI family wood coaster, Battle Clash, uh, make that....InvadR.
While the ride looks... fine... it just isn't something that's making me wanna rush back to Virginia to ride it... Although odds are I'll get to it this year or next. Also, I gotta hate on it a bit since it uses parts of the Coaster-Tragedy that was awful, awful Gwazi. (The trains, lift chain, chain motor, and I think even station gates... if not more, came from Gwazi)
(Also, I took so long getting this post up, the ride is now complete and open to the public!)

Ah, France.
À l'origine, j'avais prévu de visiter la France à l'automne 2016, il a été annulé ... Alors j'ai fini par faire ce voyage plus de deux fois plus longtemps. Un jour

Griffon, I skipped it this time around since I had places to be...
(Uh, 4 more stops that day?... and having been up since the day before?)

But in hindsight, if I had ridden it.... I would have ridden all 3 B&M Dive Coasters in the US in the same summer... Without even trying. ha
(I do like the ride... but with a better version less than an hour from my house... ehhh)
((also, as previously stated, I had called-off anymore OTSR coaster riding for the day))

And.... Because Sloths are cool.

Ok, back to the tram... back to my car... and back on the road!
After leavening Busch Gardens I made my way up to Ocean City, Maryland to pick up a few other new-for-me coasters and to also cross an item off my personal bucket list, driving the Chesapeake Bay Bridge–Tunnel system.... And eventually, finding my way to Yatpay's new place... in Maryland, just outside of Washington DC.
Maybe... if I stop being lazy, I'll make a long-winded, rambling post about all that stuff too!
Yup.