There will be a few nice surprises of past and relocated attractions so be sure to check back daily for new posts!
Busch Gardens Williamsburg, formerly Busch Gardens: The Old Country until 1993 and then briefly Busch Gardens Europe from 2006-2008, opened on May 16, 1975. The park is located right next door to Busch's Williamsburg brewery in Williamsburg, Virginia.
The park was developed, owned, and operated by Anheuser-Busch (AB) from opening day until the Fall of 2009 when AB, fresh off of a buyout by Brazilian-Belgian alcoholic beverage giant InBev, sold off its "non-core assets" that made up Busch Entertainment. Busch Gardens Williamsburg was one of several parks, including the SeaWorld parks and Sesame Place, that also comprised Busch Entertainment.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg, affectionately referred to on theme park enthusiast sites as BGW, has won the National Amusement Park Historical Association's Most Beautiful Park in the World award for 22 straight years, from 1990 to 2012, and Amusement Today's 2012 Golden Ticket Award for Best Landscaping. The park is gorgeous!
So, how is BGW arranged? The park is laid out in the shape of a giant circle with different European countries (and one random North American one...) scattered around the circle. Think Epcot's World Showcase on a grander scale and with full size rides, restaurants, shows, and attractions throughout.
The park map for 2012 can be found here and from that map we can see that the sections of the park today:
-Oktoberfest (Germany)
-Germany (formerly Rhinefeld)
-France (formerly Aquitaine)
-Ireland (formerly Killarney and before that the awesome Hastings extension of England)
-Italy (formerly San Marco)
-Festa Italia
-Scotland
-England (formerly Banbury Cross)
-Jack Hannah's Wild Preserve
-Sesame Street Forest of Fun
-Land of the Dragons (formerly Grimm's Hollow)
Today's two pictures come from the San Marco, Italy section of the park.
First, a grape stomping photo opportunity!
No real grapes were injured in the marking of this picture.
NOTE: The old Busch Gardens logo in use on the barrel! Here is a link to the new logo for comparison. Not a big difference, more of a nice evolution over time for the 21st century. Today the barrels still exist but the barrels have been updated with the park's current logo.
And up above, our sendoff picture for the day, is a picture of The Little Balloons ride. This attraction has been at the park since the 1980 addition of Italy to the park
and is still thrilling the little ones to this day.
One set down, nine more to go from the World's Most Beautiful Theme Park so be sure to stop back by the blog tomorrow! Thanks for stopping by!
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