It's always relaxing to take a stroll through your average amusement park. You ride the rides when you want, and get to enjoy the park as an average, every day guest. But what happens when that's not enough? What happens when you (dare I say it!) get bored?
And that is why what Busch Gardens Williamsburg has done is absolute genius. Whether you're a first time visitor or a passholder, guests can come out to this Virginia theme park and take one of the many VIP tours they offer. The one I'm discussing today is the Roller Coaster Insider Tour- a 4.5 hour long guided tour that allows you to see the rides like never before. Your journey will begin before the park opens, and take you through backstage areas, and eventually even get you on your favorite coasters without having to wait in line. Sounds pretty good, right?
So what's the catch?
The catch my friends, is a price of $80. Which combined with your admission ticket and food, can get expensive. So this tour may not be for everyone, and is something you'll probably only do once, but hear me out. Not only is it one of the greatest tours you can take at any theme park, but despite its high price, is an excellent value for your money.
So what's included? After arriving at the park bright and early, you'll be taken through the park by your tour guide. Your first stop will be in the Loch Ness Monster maintenance bay, where the trains are stored and repairs are made for the parks oldest operating roller coaster.
Next comes the highlight of the tour. A ride up to the top of the Griffon dive coaster, and getting 15 minutes to walk around at the top!
This will be one of the coolest things you'll ever get to do at any amusement park, anywhere. Whether you're a coaster nerd, or just your casual guest, there's no denying what an awesome experience this is. While up at the top, you can take pictures, learn how Griffon works, and ask any questions you may have. And when it's all over, you get the first rides of the day!
By now, the park has opened up, but by no means is the tour over! Next you'll get walked onto the parks inverted coaster, Alpengeist. After a couple rides, much like with Loch Ness Monster, you'll be able to see inside the maintenance building and learn how Alpengeist operates. From there you get to once again skip the lines- this time on Verbolten, an indoor/outdoor multi-launch coaster. And if that wasn't good enough, you get to go backstage one more time- this time into Verbolten's show building!
Unfortunately no pictures or videos are allowed inside the building, so the best I can do is show you what it looks like on the outside. However, I will say that seeing what goes on inside Verbolten was another great highlight of the Roller Coaster Insider Tour.
At this point, the "tour" may be over, but this is why this is such a good value for your money. Busch Gardens wants to make sure you enjoy the rest of your day, so before you leave, you'll be given a quick queue to skip the lines on every major coaster once. A single time quick queue card costs $20 alone, but here it's absolutely free. So if you didn't think the tour worth it before, it absolutely is now.
If you haven't figured it out by now, yes I absolutely recommend the Roller Coaster Insider Tour! It's something I think everyone who's a fan of Busch Gardens should do at least once in their life. It really allows you to see the park from a different perspective, and succeeds in making you feel like a true VIP.
I've attached below Busch Gardens Williamsburg's website, where you can learn more about the Roller Coaster Insider Tour, should you be interested in taking it. And if you don't think this particular tour is right for you, Busch Gardens also offers family fun tours, animal tours, and an Elite VIP Tour.
Now I need to emphasize that In no way did Busch Gardens ask me to advertise this for them. I post this because I had an absolute wonderful experience, and want everyone to know more about it so they can decide if they want to take it too. But just in case you're still a little hesitant, I've put together a video full of the highlights from the tour, so you can know exactly what you'll be getting yourself into.
-Taylor
Check out more roller coaster videos by subscribing to Coaster Studios: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheCoasterguy14