GriffonFanatic
01-22-2008, 03:10 AM
I went for my birthday trip, and let me just say that this is BY FAR the most beautiful amusement park I have ever visited. Busch Gardens Europe is not just some run-of-the-mill park with rides plopped in a huge vacant lot. Rather, it is an experience; a park that wraps each different country around you. The settings are simply breathtaking, not to mention some of the best roller coasters on the planet.
GRIFFON: Hands down, my absolute favorite roller coaster (though the best ride I've ridden is GOLIATH at SF Over Georgia). This ride TOWERS over the landscape at BGE. You can easily spot this ride from across the park, even through the tall trees. However beautiful and scenic it may look, this ride is NOT for the faint of heart. The 205 ft. vertical plunge was the most intense drop I have ever experienced on a roller coaster (you literally float alllll the way down due to the negative G's), and the positive and negative G's I felt being pulled through the immelmans were incredible. There were even two moments of surprise pops of airtime during the ride. Yes, this ride may be short, but it fulfills what it was meant to be: tall, fast, daunting, and intense. 10/10
ALPENGEIST: One word: disappointment. After allllll the good things I had heard about this ride, I was expecting so much more than I got. There were three glaring problems with this ride:
1-There is a brake just before you plummet down the 1st drop. Just as I thought we would be speeding down towards the earth, here come's a freakin' brake!!
2-The midcourse brakes are applied HARD. This results in a relatively weak finale, as the zero-g roll, corkscrew, and helix which followed were very lackluster.
3-The only intense part of the ride in my opinion, was the cobra roll, which actually produced headbanging.
What saved this ride from getting a low score was the ride in the back. FINALLY, I felt the forces I had missed while riding in the front of the train. A solid ride you shouldn't pass up, but definitely not the best invert out there (that honor, in my opinion, goes to Top Gun at Carowinds). 8/10
APOLLO'S CHARIOT: This was the one I was a little afraid to ride. This was the one I had also anticipated the most. After riding, I knew I had fallen in love with it! AIRTIME, AIRTIME, AIRTIME! Flying through and soaring over the trees was an experience I will never forget. This ride just never lets me down. Yes, there are two trims on the ride, which felt like they actually gave even more airtime. To this day, I can still find nothing wrong with this ride. 10/10
BIG BAD WOLF: Ok, so it may be a little rough; and yes, the giant drop of the ride may be heavily braked. SO WHAT. This ride was still amazing fun. The themeing was very elaborate, and the drop of the river was fantastic, along with the incredible lateral G's experienced throughout the ride. 8/10
LOCH NESS MONSTER: Classic Arrow Looper with interlocking loops. Rough. Nothing too special. Simply ok. A good warm-up coasters for those just starting to build up their nerves. 7/10
GRIFFON: Hands down, my absolute favorite roller coaster (though the best ride I've ridden is GOLIATH at SF Over Georgia). This ride TOWERS over the landscape at BGE. You can easily spot this ride from across the park, even through the tall trees. However beautiful and scenic it may look, this ride is NOT for the faint of heart. The 205 ft. vertical plunge was the most intense drop I have ever experienced on a roller coaster (you literally float alllll the way down due to the negative G's), and the positive and negative G's I felt being pulled through the immelmans were incredible. There were even two moments of surprise pops of airtime during the ride. Yes, this ride may be short, but it fulfills what it was meant to be: tall, fast, daunting, and intense. 10/10
ALPENGEIST: One word: disappointment. After allllll the good things I had heard about this ride, I was expecting so much more than I got. There were three glaring problems with this ride:
1-There is a brake just before you plummet down the 1st drop. Just as I thought we would be speeding down towards the earth, here come's a freakin' brake!!
2-The midcourse brakes are applied HARD. This results in a relatively weak finale, as the zero-g roll, corkscrew, and helix which followed were very lackluster.
3-The only intense part of the ride in my opinion, was the cobra roll, which actually produced headbanging.
What saved this ride from getting a low score was the ride in the back. FINALLY, I felt the forces I had missed while riding in the front of the train. A solid ride you shouldn't pass up, but definitely not the best invert out there (that honor, in my opinion, goes to Top Gun at Carowinds). 8/10
APOLLO'S CHARIOT: This was the one I was a little afraid to ride. This was the one I had also anticipated the most. After riding, I knew I had fallen in love with it! AIRTIME, AIRTIME, AIRTIME! Flying through and soaring over the trees was an experience I will never forget. This ride just never lets me down. Yes, there are two trims on the ride, which felt like they actually gave even more airtime. To this day, I can still find nothing wrong with this ride. 10/10
BIG BAD WOLF: Ok, so it may be a little rough; and yes, the giant drop of the ride may be heavily braked. SO WHAT. This ride was still amazing fun. The themeing was very elaborate, and the drop of the river was fantastic, along with the incredible lateral G's experienced throughout the ride. 8/10
LOCH NESS MONSTER: Classic Arrow Looper with interlocking loops. Rough. Nothing too special. Simply ok. A good warm-up coasters for those just starting to build up their nerves. 7/10