In Round 1 of the Park Showdown series, I looked at two very similar southern amusement parks to see which one reigned supreme, Carowinds and Six Flags Over Georgia. Flagship parks in the region for Cedar Fair and Six Flags respectively, the two parks compared favorably in terms of their coaster and ride selections, as well as food, landscaping (or lack thereof), and many other aspects. In the end, SFOG took the cake, having by far a better collection of coasters, with the rest of the parks matching up pretty evenly. For Round 2, it’s time to compare the two sister Busch parks, namely those in Williamsburg, VA (BGE/BGW) and Tampa, FL (BGA/BGT). So let’s start off with the obvious comparison:

COASTERS (BGE/BGA):

Alpengeist/Montu: Both are big, massive, B&M inverts with magnificent speed, pacing, and inversions. “Alpie” is set in the Alps, twisting through inversions that all intersect in the same valley, and that cobra roll is BIG. Montu, on the other hand, is set in Egypt, twisting through its inversions as it dives in and out of countless trenches, which blind you to what is left coming ahead, and it has a rare batwing! Alpie is more scenic because of its setting, but Montu really utilizes trenches to an amazing effect.
EDGE: Montu, if only by the slightest amount, as it just seems to have slightly better pacing, and again, those trenches really keep you guessing and “blind.”

Griffon/SheiKra: The sister Dive Machines, also brought to you by B&M. Both feature two vertical drops, at least one immelman inversion, and a splash-down. They start off equal, both with amazing first drops, and where SheiKra gives you a massive sense of open height, Griffon has a head-chopping bridge. Following the immelman, SheiKra takes you through a massive helix before the MCBR that is nice and intense, Griffon just banks you to the MCBR. To finish, SheiKra drops into a vertical tunnel and underground, before swooping through a giant fan curve into its splash down; Griffon takes its second vertical drop into a bonus immelman, before splashing down, curving around, and giving a nice pop of quick airtime.
EDGE: SheiKra, for its more creative layout and better utilization of its themeing (i.e. dropping into a themed tunnel and actually interacting, whereas Griffon is just place in a themed village), plus it has a more naturally interactive splash-down area.

Grover’s Alpine Express/Air Grover: The park’s kiddie coasters, clones of one another, so it’s pretty easy.
EDGE: Push/Draw—they’re identical coasters, clones, and kiddie rides, both decently themed. I’ve also never been on either, so tough to judge.

Loch Ness Monster/Scorpion: The classic Arrow vs. the classic Schwarzkopf. There’s no doubt, Schwarzkopf was a master at creating fun little loopers, and Scorpion is no exception. Bonus for lap-bars on a looper instead of OTSRs. Arrow on the other hand is known for its looper’s being somewhat rough with OTSRs, and for their awkward transitions. LNM is not one of those…it’s pretty smooth, and gets massive bonus points for its interlocking loops and insanely long, tunneled helix.
EDGE: Nessie, it’s just hard to beat…if only it had lap bars instead of OTSRs, it’d be a top 10 coaster! (ok, maybe not quite…)

“Verbolten”/Cheetah Hunt: Here’s an interesting comparison, especially since “Verbolten” (the expected name of BGW’s 2012 coaster) is not open yet, or even really had any details announced, and since I’ve never been on Cheetah Hunt. Both look to bridge the gap between somewhat more family-friendly and cutting-edge thrill ride, both utilizing launch technology to do so…Cheetah Hunt’s proven successful and I have no doubt “Verbolten” will as well.
EDGE: Draw. That may change once Verbolten has opened and I’ve ridden Cheetah Hunt as well, but I can only expect both to have their own unique qualities with their launched experiences.

Other (BGE: Apollo’s Chariot; BGA: Gwazi, Kumba, Sand Serpent): With the remaining coasters, BGE has a massive winner on their hands in Apollo’s Chariot, an airtime machine that is this author’s personal favorite B&M hyper. BGA on the other hand has a larger remaining arsenal with Gwazi (dueling woodies), Kumba (B&M looper), and Sand Serpent (mouse coaster). Kumba is an early B&M masterpiece, and perhaps their most intense looper even still, with great flow and inversions, its AC’s force-opposite (huge pos-Gs vs neg-Gs). Gwazi was never a winner when I went, as it was rough, uncomfortable, and never dueled. Now it’s got Millennium Flyers though, which have likely drastically improved the ride experience, and if it does duel, it’s a guaranteed winner. Sand Serpent is a standard wild mouse, but hey, those little mice coasters are still zippy and fun!
EDGE: Landslide to BGA, since they have 3 additional coasters to BGEs 1, and since Kumba/AC may be a tie, Gwazi + SS give BGA the win.

OVERALL COASTER EDGE: Busch Gardens Africa. Perhaps if BGE still had the Big Bad Wolf, it would have fared better, or if they still had the wild mouse instead of sending it to BGA, or if they still had (a smoother version of) Drachen Fire. But they don’t have those anymore, so the decision is made a bit easier…

THRILL RIDES:

Busch Gardens Europe:
Curse of DarKastle—Utilizing the same experience as the world-class Spiderman attraction at Universal’s IOA, DarKastle takes you on a journey with werewolves and medieval evil, but just falls short in its story (perhaps because it’s not as familiar as Spiderman) and its overall effects…still a good/great ride though.
Mach Tower—Finally just recently opened after months of delays! I haven’t been on it, but given my experiences on other drop towers, and with as beautiful as BGE made this one look, you can tell it’s a great, thrilling experience.

Busch Gardens Africa:
None

THRILL RIDES EDGE: Busch Gardens Europe, because it actually has a few.

WATER RIDES:

Escape from Pompeii/ Tanganyika Tidal Wave: These are essentially the parks “splash boat” attractions. Escape from Pompeii takes you up into Pompeii just as Mt. Vesuvius is erupting, falling statues, and creating an explosive fire before the final steep splashdown…quite exciting for a standard layout splash-boat. TTW, on the other hand, offers a beautifully scenic excursion through the jungle, through caves, and an abandon village at the water’s edge, before a double-down, soaking splashdown.
EDGE: TTW…it’s a longer ride with a more scenic journey, and a double-down splash vs. a straight drop.

Le Scoot/Stanley Falls: Here we have each of the parks more classical log flume rides. Both offer a pretty standard log flume experience, and while Stanley Falls has an extra “speed drop” mid-ride, Le Scoot is much more scenic, with a bigger final plunge.
EDGE: Le Scoot by a hair.

Roman Rapids/Congo River Rapids: The two parks share another type of water ride in common, the classic river rapids ride! Both rides will get you plenty wet, via their many rapids or…other surprises...and they’re both better than your average rapids. The rafts for CRR are bigger, but that also prevents some rapids from being as soaking as RRs.
EDGE: Draw…they both have their positives and negatives, but in the end they’re both about equally enjoyable, especially if you aren’t on the receiving end of a “surprise soaker.”

OVERALL WATER RIDE EDGE: Draw. Both win one, lose one, and draw, and there are no landslides here, so they are comparably even.

FLAT RIDES/OTHER:
Busch Gardens Europe: BGE has a great selection of flat rides and other rides, including: Da Vinci’s Cradle (magic carpet ride), Der Autobahn (bumper cars), Der Wirbelwind (Wave Swinger), Europe in the Air (high-tech simulator), Kinder Karussel (carousel), Le Catapult (scrambler), the Battering Ram (swinging pirate ship, non-inverting), the Flying Machine (octopus/monster), the Trade Wind (himalaya/musik express), and Turkish Delight (spinning teacups). That’s quite a selection of rides, and quite a variety of experiences as well!

Busch Gardens Africa: BGA has Ubanga Banga Bumper Cars (bumper cars), Wild Surge (family launch tower ride), Pirates 4-D (4D film), Sandstorm (orbiter ride), and the Caravan Carousel (carousel).

FLAT RIDE/OTHER RIDE EDGE: BGE, by a landslide, not even close…just compare the number and variety of attractions and it’s an easy decision to make.

TRANSPORTATION RIDES/ATTRACTIONS:
Busch Gardens Europe: There are three transportation rides/attractions at BGE, including the Rhine River Cruise, the Sky Ride, and the train. All three are great for a break from the big attractions, and offer relaxing and scenic rides, but don’t really have anything that makes them differ from those at other parks (other than the fact that they are far more scenic than most).

Busch Gardens Africa: BGA, similarly, has a sky ride and a train (Serengeti Railway), but they have a lot more to offer than their Williamsburg counterparts. The Sky Ride and train at BGA take you above and through not only the scenic landscapes, but also through and past countless animal exhibits. You better have a camera ready for all you’re going to see (and a fresh roll of film…wait, film? Ok, an empty SD card). Not only that, but BGA has Rhino Rally, the combine scenic safari and ride…though perhaps the most thrilling part of the “ride” portion has been removed for Cheetah Hunt, it’s still a great attraction.

TRANSPORTATION EDGE: Landslide this time goes to BGA…I’m sorry BGE, but beautiful woods and setting just can’t beat the breath-taking animals of the African plains.

ATMOSPHERE/THEMEING:
Here’s a toughy to distinguish…themeing. Both parks do a fantastic job of this, since after all both are Busch Parks. One is set in (mostly) a more medieval European setting, the other throughout various parts of Africa. One has lush, tall forests, the other jungles and open plains. It’s a very close race, but in the end, the edge goes to…
EDGE: Busch Gardens Africa. BGA sneaks it out for me because, it just feels more encompassing overall…perhaps a bit bolder compared to the European theme of BGE. Very, very, painfully close, but I just have to give BGA the win by a hair.

ANIMAL EXHIBITS:
This is obviously another tough category, as both parks offer a plethora of animal shows and exhibits, and both have completely unique sets of animals from the other. The thing is, BGE’s species seem much more “native,” such as their eagles and wolves (don’t get me wrong, they are wonderful animals and great exhibits), but BGA’s are much more exotic…hard to beat elephants, rhinos, and “gators.” That and BGA’s exhibits themselves are much more expansive and engrossing than BGE’s…at least that’s my opinion.
EDGE: BGA for it’s more “exotic” collection of animals, safari experience, and more numerous exhibits.

FOOD/STAFF/SHOWS/OTHER:
For everything else I didn’t really talk about, such as the food selection, cleanliness of the park, staffing and staff friendliness, shows, etc, the reason is because they are both magnificent at all of these things, but because they are run by the same company with very high standards, they both match equally. They both offer completely different selections of food, fitting with their themed locations in the park, but neither does a better job than the other because they are both at the top amongst amusement parks. Same goes for shows, cleanliness, friendliness, etc. So it’s a draw, obviously.

OVERALL WINNER: Busch Gardens Europe…by just a nose…and one much smaller than mine. Both parks have a great collection of coasters, and while BGE’s has lost a bit with the loss of BBW, it still holds its own in quality against any other park. And what it lacks in coasters, it more than makes up for in its thrill ride and flat ride selection, of which BGA has very little. There are a lot more rides at BGE as a result. Though BGA’s exhibits are more numerous and a bit better, more exotic (animal species), and give a variety of Serengeti safari experiences (Rhino Rally, railway, sky ride), BGE is certainly no slouch. It’s just working with a more familiar set of animals, and does better than most parks, or even zoos, could dream of doing in that situation. Everything else about the parks is so evenly comparable that neither gains any edge. Though I appreciate all aspects of amusement/theme parks, great animal exhibits + a fantastic selection of rides and coasters will beat out excellent animal exhibits + a fantastic selection of coasters (and not many other rides).