As we watch the roller coaster ride of parks being bought and sold, drama with owners and management, and wild swings in the economy, actually seeing how that impacts the parks has its own series of ups and downs.
Jon and I spent a few days last summer at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Kings Dominion, and Hersheypark. These are three great theme parks, but recent trends
In Parts 1, 2 and 3 of the Busch parks we saw how the rousing success of Tampa was followed by disappointment in Los Angeles and dismal failure in Houston. In the middle of all that drama, Busch was quietly working on a far grander plan along the mid-Atlantic coast. In a move similar to that of Disney in Florida, the company negotiated a massive
In Parts 1 and 2 of the Busch parks we saw how amazingly successful the Tampa brewery tour and gardens was…and how unsuccessful the Los Angeles version turned out. But before the California property started giving the company fits, they had decided to keep the momentum going. Three years after the Los Angeles gardens
Inspired by Grandfather Adolphus Busch’s lush gardens at his Pasadena home, the idea came up to develop a beautiful garden spot for visitors to enjoy along with a free tour of the company’s new brewery in Tampa, FL. It was instantly wildly popular, leading to the expansion of the idea at other locations such as Los Angeles, Houston, and Wiliamsburg. Some, of course
Hello park fans, this isn’t about history, but if you’re a coaster enthusiast this is right up your alley. A few years back my son and I took the Busch Gardens Williamsburg roller coaster tour, where you get an inside look at maintenance buildings, get up close with the trains and parts, and…check this out…go up to the very top of Griffin.
Two of the four Busch Gardens properties live on to this day. The first, in Tampa, started out in 1959 as a free, fun thing to do while touring the brewery; it was intended to promote the brand. But it became so popular the company decided it was worth more as a gated park, and so the park expanded, the brewery went away. The opposite happened in Los Angeles and Houston, which didn’t survive as gated, ticketed parks. As in Florida, the LA property started out as merely a promotional
