Ever wondered what the Roller Coaster Insider Tour is like? Russel, a Thrill Chasers blogger, recently took the tour and shares his experiences in this guest blog post. Read on to find out what a Thrill Chaser thought of this ultimate tour for coaster fanatics.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg has quite possibly developed the ultimate experience for any roller coaster aficionado. The Coaster Insider Tour at the Virginia park gives coaster fanatics the chance to see the park’s signature steel coasters from a unique vantage point that most people can only dream about. For an $80 add-on to a standard park admission (with season pass holders getting a small discount), tour participants go into backstage, maintenance, and cast member control areas along with a vertigo-inducing trip to the top of Griffon’s lift hill that will satisfy virtually any adrenaline junkie. As a contributor to Theme Park Insider and Busch Gardens Ambassador Blogger, I was given the opportunity to enjoy this amazing experience for no cost, but the opinions offered here are my own.
The Coaster Insiders Tour currently is offered on Wednesdays and Saturdays, and starts at 8:00 AM, so non-morning people might need a few extra cups of coffee to make it on time. Tour guests meet up just outside the park, and once through the turnstiles, it’s on to the park’s oldest coaster, Loch Ness Monster. Since the park is not yet open when the tour starts, guests get a close up view of maintenance getting the famed ACE Coaster Landmark ready for the day. Anyone who has taken a peek at some other parks’ coaster maintenance bays will be instantly struck by the cleanliness and organization of the facility. Even at 37 years old, the Loch Ness Monster's maintenance bay is cleaner than some coasters less than a year old. The knowledgeable tour guide walks guests through the rigors of coaster maintenance, and throughout the tour, provide ample time to ask questions.
After a quick walk through of Nessie’s workshop, it’s on to the real highlight of the tour. With a quick shortcut through the center of the park (under the railroad trestle), guests are soon at the base of Griffon’s massive, 210-foot lift hill. Tour guests are then loaded onto the dive coaster’s evacuation carriage, and lifted to the top for a walk around.
Guests are limited as to where they are permitted to walk, but it’s more than sufficient to enjoy the amazing view and impressive technology at the top of the massive coaster.
After enjoying the view, a quick ride back down brings us onto a tour of Griffon’s maintenance facility, including a close up view of the massive trains and wheels.
Our tour guide, JP, was full of interesting stories and was obviously as excited to be giving the tour as the guests were to be taking it. One interesting story that he told regarded the origins of the floorless trains on Griffon. Contrary to public belief, the coaster is not floorless because the park wanted to differentiate the coaster from SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa, but instead because the park had approached Bolliger and Mabillard to develop a dive machine that was 10 seats across to increase capacity. B&M determined that the only way such a coaster could work would be to take out the train’s floor to decrease the weight. What resulted was the first floorless dive machine, and Busch Gardens liked it so much that they eventually chose to make SheiKra floorless as well. Shortly after getting a close-up look underneath Griffon’s trains, the tour then lets guests get the first official ride of the day on Griffon. Read more at ThemeParkInsider.com....