K-Pop Credit Hunters in Virginia://Part 2~ I'll huff, I'll puff, and I'll blow Sicilian Wine all over your tasting!

                Date:8/15/2025-8/18/2025

Destination: Virginia

Goal: Busch Gardens; Kings Dominion

Distance: 444 Miles

Means of Travel: Driving

Potential Credits: 3

Returning to the theme of my early days being into coasters having been kindled in the Old Dominion State, I have another story!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A short, wide yellow and red coaster train skims across a pool of water on blue track, kicking up a large blue splash.

Flashback to 2007, the family vacation where we went to Busch Gardens Europe and rode the all new Griffon and my folks loved the aluminum Budweiser bottles and just an all around amazing day where all four of us, even my chicken of a mother, enjoyed the park. We let Griffon drop us down, let Alpengeist flip us around, took on Nessie's twin loops, Mom played paparazzi with Dad's DSLR while we waited for Apollo's Chariot, seeing Pet Shenanigans, Corkscrew Hill, I got picked as the audience volunteer at Castle O'Sullivan, and of course, Curse of DarKastle which became an instant four-four family favorite.

It's getting late, we have dinner reservation with the Kinetix Cirque de Soleil show in a bit, and we keep walking past that Big Bad Wolf coaster in my American Roller Coaster book. As we approach Germany again, Dad suggests another spin on DarKastle, despite a massive line snaking around the garden. "But Dad, we haven't ridden Big Bad Wolf yet," I bring up. "Let's do nice things for other people, we'll ride it next time," my father reassures me, as we got in the massive line to deal with King Ludwig and his buddies.

There was never a next time. We never went back as a family, and by the time I did get back there, both Big Bad Wolf, and Curse of DarKastle, had joined Drachen Fire in the park's history. I never got to ride Big Bad Wolf, that picture in my book was now like every other black and white photo it bore of dated rides before my time.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A roller coaster train themed as a wolf turns out of a station below red track.

But a funny thing happened on the way to animal control: Busch Gardens brough back Big Bad Wolf! In the most insane twist of fate you could not have paid me to believe back in 2007, they would tear this coaster down, replace it with a rebuilt version of almost the same layout, and the replacement in its OG plot was already one of my favorite coasters ever despite not even hitting top twenty for me. I'd gotten to experience Big Bad Wolf's drop on Verbolten, now I get to check out the rest on Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A green entrance plaza says "Busch Gardens" in script font over a ticket counter, another sign reads "FUN begins here."

With this in mind, Ben and I got up and drove the short twenty minutes to Busch Gardens Williamsburg to get the day started at one of our favorite parks!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A wooden clocktower at the center of a plaza hangs Union Jacks and English flags out to Tudor-styled buildings on a cobblestone street.

Good morning, Busch Gardens!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Two yellow loops of interlocking steel track

We wanted to get back to Big Bad Wolf ASAP, but as many wonderful things as this park is, navigable is not one of them! So we elected to be smart and hit things on the way, and with Loch Ness Monster right by the train station, that was our first ride of the day!

And color me impressed, I'm a fan. They didn't soften it up, it's still plenty aggressive, it still feels like an old Arrow should feel, but it also feels well-engineered and taken care of. The AI generated screens in the tunnel were stupid, but all the extra audio, theming, and statue by the loops were great additions. A great job keeping around a historic coaster worthy of preserving!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A golden spike of track rises skyward as a yellow and teal coaster train rises backwards up the length.

We took the train over to Festa next, where Ben and I snagged a ride on Pantheon.

When I first rode this during its opening year in 2022, this was kind of the new hotness along with Iron Gwazi, and one of several COVID-era coasters to have had their openings delayed multiple years by SeaWorld due to the global pandemic. And this was one of the most anticipated rides of that season, several years in the making, and it definitely met my expectations as some of Intamin's usual best. And it's stood the test of time! Glass smooth, even moreso than Velocicoaster, and still rocking plenty of killer airtime. So glad my GoPro didn't crap out this time! Though the coaster did try to take it...

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A path in front of a Tuscan-styled building has a large white fan in a green Busch Gardens box.

It was HOT today! And Busch's solution? Those big industrial fans you see in factories and the like, not a bad idea! Believe it or not, climate change is making summers hotter, and it's had an effect on the amusement industry. Beating the heat is a must to make a buck in 2025!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A colorful Italian renaissance plaza with banners stretched between buildings.

Ah, Italy. BGW kind of has Lost Island's situation going on now in that Italy and Germany are absolutely stacked while France and England are underwhelming in comparison. Every village in this park is beautiful, Ireland being one of the nicest, but we didn't even make it back there because there simply isn't anything to do. France has a themeless gimmick coaster and some weird Canadian area with a Viking coaster (just paint this red and turn it into Sweden ffs), meanwhile Germany has four coasters, one of which is a big B&M and the other had borderline Universal budget.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: From a riverside hill, a length of gray coaster track on green supports dives down to the water from an elevated covered bridge prop with a red train themed as a German sports car.

Speaking of! Germany was our next stop, we were getting warmer to Big Bad Wolf's iconic drop...in more ways than one! JEREMY CLARKSON VOICE: It's not Hagrid's, but it is Hagrid's German Cousin. Some say it sold merchandise telling everyone you fahrted in the Black Forest. Some say it should've been torn down earlier this year but it's still alive and kicking. All we know is, it's called Verbolten!

***STROBE WARNING ON THE FOLLOWING VIDEO***

I've always loved this coaster. Like, even before it was built and just existed as some concept art on a screen, I always thought this whole idea was cool as hell. And I'm so glad Ben and I got to ride it just now! This thing just gets better and better each time I ride it, the restraints are nice and 'lax and that lets it really toss you around as you're zipping through those tight maneuvers in the dark. The drop still scares me to this day, we got storm this time but you can get other storylines, and that dive to the river from the covered bridge is so epic for such a short drop (relatively speaking to other coasters). My father always loved German sports cars having owned multiple Porsches of different kinds so this ride always reminded me of growing up chilling in the garage with my dad and his cars.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: An ornate wooden sign decorated with a wolf and a cloudy moon reads "The full moon brings the Wolf at night; keep your doors locked up tight. Ding! Dong! His bite captures the souls of men; Until the morning brings peace again. Ding! Dong! Set aside your solace, there is cause for concern; for the moon will rise and the wolf will return. Ding! Dong!"

Alright, with this out of the way, we were finally back to where the two new to me credits were, we decided to start with Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: From a wooden Bavarian-styled station adorned with accents of wolves and a painting, a small length of red coaster track does a turn and climbs a short lift hill, with some Bavarian fences and barrels in the foreground.

First thing I notice? Despite this kind of being on hallowed grounds where Drachen Fire used to be, nobody comes back here. With this part of the park recently redeveloped, and as hard as the ride is to see from the rest of Oktoberfest, I seriously wonder if the casual parkgoer even knows it's back here. On a beautiful weekend day in August, the wait was only half an hour, compared to two hours for DarKoaster.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Jarrett smiles in front of a red sign for The Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge under a German-styled wooden roof structure, with a ride op standing at the entrance to a queue.

Let's go ride! This is 18 years in the making, more even if you count me seeing the OG in that book!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A wolf-themed inverted coaster train turns right out of a station.

Something else worth noting: These restraints are tight AF. Ben and I both fit this ride, but it was snug for me and he was flat out painfully stapled to fit. This is the new tightest fit in the park.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: An ornate wooden station with chandeliers, beer barrels, and accents resembling wolves clutching barrels.

Busch Gardens on the beautiful station game again!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A red inverted coaster flies over a hill with some trees in the background.

So, after walking past this thing in 2007, getting denied a ride by my family, seeing it was torn down years later on the internet, getting to ride its replacement that performed the same drop, and now getting to ride its rebirthed version eighteen years later, was it worth it? I was at peace to have ridden this. It didn't take my new number one, it was never about coaster quality, it was about wanting to have an experience and I got that experience. And I was satisfied with it and got so much closure from this one ride.

It's a family ride, ironically a family ride like one of the ones all of us would do with my scaredy cat mom. It plays with the terrain nicely, there's lots of nice theming on the ride, and hearing the onboard audio full of tolling bells and music just ties it all together so well. It's a good, unique experience that rides like an inverted mine train.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A beautiful German dining hall with ribbons hanging over the ceiling and a mural of the Bavarian countryside painted on the wall.

Feeling hungry, Ben and I then headed to Festhaus for food. Not gonna lie, this is one of the most extra in-park restaurants I think I've been to, I always make sure to eat here.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A tray holds a plate of sausages, red cabbage, sauerkraut, and scalloped potatoes with a cup of beer.

The sausage sampler is my ushe here, and consists of a bratwurst, a knackwurst, and a smoked sausage with sauerkraut, red cabbage, and German potatoes. And while the kraut is the Vlassic shit from the jar (Kings Island used to have great sauerkraut but they've started using this too sadly), the red cabbage is always amazing here and the potatoes were better than the odd mustardy shit they served us last time. But like a Cedar Point new hire, I was here for the sausage! And they were all great, especially the knackwurst which even tasted like it was cooked in beer. And speaking of: the Big Bad Wolf beer is amazing as well!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A desk full of ghost hunting equipment and a computer showing radar with a storm approaching.

Continuing with the theme of family nostalgia, we headed towards King Ludwig's castle. Last time I was in this building, it was Curse of DarKastle, I was with my family, I was in middle school, and most significantly of all, my father was with us. But what they did with this hallowed ground for Jarrett's family was amazing! I loved the theming here, it told the story with props alone, you see a storm is coming in, and my girlfriend just recently got me into ghost hunting so I was all over this vibe!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A roller coaster train is themed as a snowmobile, with a black, purple, and gold front car reading "WILD WOLF 9684."

These Intamin straddle coasters recently had a manufacturer-mandated shutdown, which outright delayed Quantum Accelerator and seriously jeopardized my chances of getting this credit. Let's see how glad I am that they got it working again!

***STROBE WARNING ON THE FOLLOWING VIDEO***

Having only ridden Wave Breaker of this ride system, I really like Wave Breaker, but I'm used to them being milder coasters, kind of like a scaled down Cheetah Hunt. This thing kicks a lot of ass, much more than I expected! Ben had me prepared for sixty seconds of farting around in the dark with all the effects broken, and I love the dude like my own family but he was wrong as hell. Everything worked, both laps, and the concept of sending you around twice with two sets of special effects that trigger on different laps is so brilliant and creative. Got lots of force and whip here and there too, much more than I expected!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A white inverted coaster with teal supports sends an empty train through a loop.

Alpengeist was next in the rotation, which was coming back up from a breakdown hence the empty train photos. This invert is so underrated! It's twisty as all hell, plays with the terrain beautifully, I love the theme on it, and what little roughness is there feels more like a sign of the times it's from rather than a painful design flaw. Cool coaster, no pun intended!

 

Continuing around the loop, we found our way to everyone's favorite cold European nation invaded by Vikings: Canada! As a French-A merican descendant, I always felt absolutely robbed by France's representation in this park when Germany and Italy get what they get, seeing so little value in the culture that they had to shoehorn Canada and Scandinavia (???) in with things, but whatever. We hit InvadR, which is honestly a solid coaster that gets better with age, like wine.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Through a blue sky, a blue coaster track carries wide red and yellow cars in front of an elegant pink spire flying a French flag.

And speaking of vin, we were off to France next where we snagged a front seat ride on the park's juggernaut Griffon! One of the better dive coasters, honestly, IDK if it's because I have a soft spot for my first one or the memory of riding it with my father and brother or if it genuinely has a better layout, but for a coaster type that's gimmicky and vanilla, I like it.

Only gripe is, again, there's barely anything French about it.  And the worst part of this? They could have very easily leaned into the whole gargoyle vibe.

Germany gets the autobahn, fairy tales, the Alps; Italy gets freaking Roman mythology and vintage daredevils. But we get a generic parking lot coaster and Canadian Vikings for some reason. And when I was able to fill a whole Planet Coaster park with France-themed rides, that's piss poor multicultural competency.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A man in a white t-shirt and teal button-down with a GoPro strapped around his body holds a Busch Gardens wine glass holding red wine.

Okay, now THIS is French culture represented right! I can barely set foot in my grandma's home past 4 pm without her shoving a glass of wine in my hand, it's hot, you bet your ass I'm doing the French wine tasting! Ben had to sit out, as he left his ID in the car, but I fully enjoyed the French wine tasting! Chardonnay, champagne, cabernet, and something else red that escapes me were amazing on a hot day.

French wines are meant to be savored, enjoyed over time, and swished around on your tongue. Remember this...

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Against a hill, yellow coaster track dives below a white and teal inverted cobra roll.

We took the Skyride to Scotland next, planning to head back to the car and get Ben's ID as we wanted to do the Italy wine tasting as well.

In Italy, we also elected to hit everything else on the way to the wine tasting after grabbing Ben's license. Apollo's Chariot was a must-do, especially after I did other early B&M hyper Raging Bull back in July. And honestly? That's the better layout, but I love the location here. The shaping feels so much like janky old school NoLimits 1 handbuilt projects, and I really enjoy it.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A circular rapids boat splashes down a turbulent channel of water past some ruined columns in the woods.

Ben had some super secret important flight attendant business to attend to, so I left him to charge my phone as I went full rapids enthusiast on Roman Rapids, one of the coolest themes I've seen on one of these rides that I know is kind of a problematic redheaded stepchild for the park.

Good god, I was a single rider and Busch stuck me with the most fun family ever for this. These guys were a total riot! Never ridden this before and they added so much to the fun. The ride itself was a bit of a letdown, so sometimes you need a hilarious family to entertain you.

And the walls kept tumbling down in this theme park that we love! While I was changed into my water ride shit, I decided to film Escape From Pompeii, something I rode once with my sibling in childhood and hadn't set foot on since. And I honestly wish he was here because I remember his reaction when he found out how sexually depraved the ancient Roman city was and how the people here were so horny that archeologists almost just buried it again. And the lesson learned here? Keep it in your pants! The kids aboard this boat were so annoying, wrap it before you tap it! If Six Flags buys this, Escape from Pompeii is gonna be sponsored by Trojans like Halloweekends is sponsored by Snickers! Sure they were good kids when they weren't excited, but I'm too ace to deal with pointless top-of-lungs screaming while I'm just trying to enjoy a ride.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A coaster station has a yellow and teal train with lightning bolts parked on the platform.

We also snagged a Pantheon back row ride on the way to said wine tasting.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Five bottles of wine, three white and two red, sit on a counter.

Okay, wine tasting time! The pretty lady behind the counter told us we'd get to pick four of these five wines and take them for a spin!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Two men sip red wine from Busch Gardens wine glasses.

Remember how earlier I mentioned that French wines are best sipped, swirled around, and slowly enjoyed? Despite Ben, John (Netherlands/Belgium/Lux guy) and my own partner Keely all being Italian-American, I did not know that Italian wines, specifically spicy Sicilian wines, are meant to be chugged and this rule is a total 180 from how we drink wine at family dinners!

I'm sipping the Sicilian wine on the far right of the photo, swirling it around on my tongue, really trying to take in and dissect the flavor of this wine, when suddenly...I feel something tickle my throat. Before I realize just how much spice went into this wine, I only had time to swish it around for a few seconds before coughing a crimson mist all over this classy wine tasting like a damn moron!

The lady was at least super nice and super social. Ben told her of his family's Italian heritage, which she found fascinating. I tell her my partner and her family are New York Italian. "She's Italian?" she asked. "I bet she's pretty." To which Ben replies, "she is."

I show her a photo and all she can notice is the fact that we're at an ax murder house.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Jarrett smiles in front of Verbolten's bridge and river dive element.

Okay, we're wined and dined, let's ride Verbolten!

***STROBE WARNING ON THE FOLLOWING VIDEO***

Pantheon is Temu Velocicoaster and it will always be king in this park until they get an RMC or something equally epic, but this is a very special second fiddle. And in a park named after a brewery that serves alcohol? This is one of the best coasters to ride if you've had a few. Never drink and drive, unless it's in the Black Forest!

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Jarrett stands in front of a small red inverted coaster at dusk.

Ben was not in the mood to get his thighs guillotined on one of those Chinese Tiger Benches, so I closed the night out with one more on Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge in the twilight.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A cardboard tray holds a corn dog, some chicken strips, and a quesadilla.

Ben and I elected to get food next, so we found another Cook Out and did the whole shitty junk food thing again.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: A set of buttons on a pop machine at counter level dispenses Hi-C, Powerade, Fuze and water.

The next morning, we drove home to Ohio, where Ben got on a flight home from CMH and I drove home. Because he put up with my dumb ass for another day driving, I treated him to Hardee's breakfast...and as awful as the service was they had this really cool accessible pop fountain which I fucking loved.

IMAGE DESCRIPTION: Across a valley, one can see a yellow roller coaster with interlocking loops as cable cars pass it.

Ben: Thank you so much for tolerating my ass all the way to and from Virginia. This was a great time, I love both of these parks so much, and I'm glad I finally got to share with you one of my favorite regions of the industry. We laughed, we drank, we were a couple of idiots as always and I wouldn't want it any other way. You get your ass to New York next fall for more chaos!