Lakemont Park - June 22nd, 2023

 On our way back from Virginia, my mom and I stopped by at one final park, the historic Lakemont Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania!

Lakemont Park originally opened in 1894 and is home to the World's oldest roller coaster, Leap-The-Dips which opened in 1902. Unfortunately on the day of our visit (June 22nd), Leap-The-Dips was closed for maintenance, so I wasn't able to ride it. But at least I was able to see it!

While at Lakemont Park, I got three rides on their other wooden roller coaster the Skyliner, a 1960 PTC wooden coaster that had originally operated at the former Roseland Park in Canandaigua, New York from 1960 through 1985. It reopened at Lakemont Park in 1987. It was a fun ride with some interesting airtime! Also while at Lakemont, I did a ride on the Lake Monster Paddle Boats and the Antique Car ride.

While no longer a full fledged amusement park, Lakemont Park is quite a gem with some nice park space and some good rides. It is definitely worth checking out if you're in the area!

We arrived at Lakemont Park around 2:30pm. Since 2019, Lakemont Park has been a free admission park where visitors pay-per-ride/attraction.

Here is a map of what is at Lakemont Park as of June 2023.

Lakemont is home to two mini golf courses. If the weather was nicer, my mom and I would have done them as we love a good round of mini golf.

Just past the go-kart track is the Skyliner, the largest coaster at Lakemont.

Skyliner has many airtime moments within its double-out-and-back layout!

The Tin Lizzy antique car ride is gas powered and operates quite fast along its guided track!

The roller coaster I really wanted to see was Leap-The-Dips, the world's oldest roller coaster that opened in 1902.

When we approached Leap-the-Dips, we were told it had a chance of opening, so walked over to the Lake Monster paddle boats while we waited to see if Leap-The-Dips would open. The Lake Monster paddle boats is a relaxing paddle boat ride next to Lakemont's closed water park.

Leap-The-Dips is not only the World's oldest roller coaster, but the last remaining side friction roller coaster of the figure-eight variety.

Here is a look into the Leap-The-Dips' station.

While waiting to see if Leap-The-Dips would open, a ride operator was hanging out in the car while maintenance workers were working on the track of this historic coaster.

Here are some of the other Leap-The-Dips cars in storage. It looks like they might cycle them out or only operate with one car (?), number 8 which was on the track during our visit.

Since it didn't look like Leap-The-Dips was going to operate during our short visit, I headed over to Skyliner.

Skyliner has to be one of the more interesting wooden coasters that I have been on to date! While I have been fortunate to have been on a few wooden roller coaster with buzz bar restraints before, the Skyliner has the most bizarre airtime that I have experienced! Instead of getting launched upwards, I kept getting launched forward off my seat! lol Luckily there was a seatbelt, otherwise I may have been in the next seat! haha

There is one of the hills before the turn around that I was awkwardly launched forward off of my seat! lol

I luckily managed to get three rides on Skyliner before the park closed due to inclement weather.

Skyliner was a really fun and quirky wooden roller coaster! Also the ride operators were very friendly and great!

Here is another shot of Leap-The-Dips.

It is good to see they are continuously maintaining this historic roller coaster.

Here is a close-up look at one of Leap-The-Dips' cars.

They have a fully-restored car in a glass display case.

Leap-The-Dips was designated an ACE roller coaster landmark in 2002.

From 1986 through early 1999, Leap-The-Dips was closed, undergoing a complete restoration process starting in 1997, reopening to the public in May of 1999. Prior to the restoration process, Leap-The-Dips was designated a National Historic Landmark in 1996.

Despite Leap-the-Dips being closed for maintenance during my visit to Lakemont, it was great to be able to see this historic roller coaster in person.

Here's one final look at Leap-The-Dips before we had headed out for the day.

Lakemont Park was a great pitstop on our long drive home from a fun time in Virginia!

Just as we were heading back to the car, I noticed these beautiful fountains located outside the entrance to Lakemont. Thanks for checking out my photos of the historic Lakemont Park! :-)

Busch Gardens Williamsburg - July 20th and 21st, 2023

 On Tuesday, June 20th and Wednesday, June 21st, my mom and I had visited the beautifully landscaped and themed Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the second park of our trip, with the first being Kings Dominion. During our two-day visit we had encountered some rain, but we had a great time regardless as there is quite a bit to see and do. I did manage to ride all the major roller coasters and rides at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, except for Tempesto, which was closed.

If you haven't been to Busch Gardens Williamsburg before, I would definitely recommend visiting as it is quite beautiful with sections themed to various European countries! Be sure to enjoy the photos of our two days at the park!

After a one-hour drive down from our first hotel near Kings Dominion, we arrived at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Here is a view of the toll booths on an overcast Tuesday morning.

While waiting to park the car, we had a nice view of Apollo's Chariot, Busch Gardens Williamsburg's hyper coaster.

The park did not open until 10am, so we walked towards the park entrance once we found a spot to park in the France parking lot.

Along the way to the entrance are some beautiful flowerbeds placed along the hillside.

The entrance gates had a castle-type theme.

Once inside Busch Gardens Williamsburg, you enter into England.

The buildings were quite charming.

The paths even had cobblestone.

On our way over to my first ride of the day, we saw one of the steam trains on the Busch Gardens Railway in action.

While heading to my first ride of the day, I came across the beautiful Italian Gardens.

Darkoaster is the new-for-2023 roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. It is a multi-launch straddle coaster manufactured by Intamin. It was a really fun coaster featuring many turns and launches all while in the dark! With the park not being busy, I was able to ride it a few times during our two-day visit.

After a ride on Darkoaster, it was time to ride another launched coaster at the park, Verbolten! Verbolten is a fun double-launched roller coaster reaching speeds up to 53 mph (85 km/h) as you travel through the Black Forest in the Oktoberfest section in a high speed car. It was really fun and thrilling, especially the enclosed section of the ride with the drop track! 

Verbolten was manufactured by Zierer and opened at the park in 2012.

Here is a map of Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Here is a fountain in the Germany section of the park.

The next roller coaster I rode during our first day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg was Alpengeist! This monstrous B&M Inverted roller coaster opened in 1997 and is themed after a runaway ski lift as it speeds through the deepest ravines at the park, while the trains hurdle through the coaster's six inversions at speeds up to 67 mph (108 km/h).

Alpengeist is quite intense and is now one of my favourite inverted roller coasters!

Here is a cloudy view of one of Alpengeist's trains going through one of six inversions!

Here is a look at Alpengeist as a train heads into the zero-g roll.

After a ride on Alpengeist, we headed into New France. New France is home to an Acadia themed area. It has the Invadr wooden roller coaster Le Catapult (scrambler), Le Scoot (Log flume), and one of the three train stations for the Busch Gardens Railway.

The entrance to Invadr is quite impressive! Invadr is a fun wooden coaster manufactured by Great Coasters International featuring many high speed banked turns! It was my second coaster from GCI.

Le Catapult is a fun Scrambler ride!

After I rode the rides in New France, we headed over to France, home to Griffon, Busch Gardens Williamsburg's Dive Coaster!

The 30-passenger train is held 205 feet above the ground before being released down the 90° drop, which then leads into the Immelmann inversion as seen here. The train then maneuvers a banked upward turn which then leads to the mid-course brake run. From there the train dives into another Immelmann inversion, followed by a small airtime filled hill which then leads to a splashdown before the final brake run.
Griffon is a fun B&M Dive Coaster for what it is!

France is also beautifully themed and landscaped.

After France it was on to Ireland!

In Ireland there is Finnegan's Flyer, an S&S Screamin' Swing which opened in 2019.

The drawbridge entrance to Ireland with vines was very nice!

Along the bridge to Ireland you can see three roller coasters, the white one being Alpengeist, the blue one being Griffon, and the yellow one being the legendary Loch Ness Monster.

Finnegan's Flyer swings 100 feet into the air either over trees or the ravine below depending on which side/row of seats you sit in! I obviously chose the side that faced the ravine!

Finnegan's Flyer is a really fun and thrilling ride!

I really love the stone wall theming painted on the supports of Finnegan's Flyer!

After catching a thrilling ride on Finnegan's Flyer, we headed to Scotland, home to the Loch Ness Monster.

The Loch Ness Monster opened in 1978 as the World's first coaster to feature double inter-locking loops!

Loch Ness Monster is a fun Arrow Looping Coaster and remains to be the only remaining roller coaster with interlocking loops. In addition to its unique interlocking loops, the Loch Ness Monster features a near pitch-black tunnel!

Loch Ness Monster's interlocking loops are very photogenic and the signature feature of this iconic roller coaster!

After a ride on the Loch Ness Monster, a ventured down the ravine to take a spin on the Rhine River Cruise Boats. Along the Rhine River at Busch Gardens, you can get a great view of the final drop of Verbolten. The land Verbolten is on was home to The Big Bad Wolf, an Arrow Suspended Coaster that operated from 1984 to 2009.

You also pass under the Busch Gardens Railway bridge that spans over the Rhine River.

The Rhine River Cruise is quite relaxing.

It is quite scenic too!

You also get to see some angles of Apollo's Chariot you wouldn't see from the rest of the park.

Also while riding the Rhine River Cruise, you get up close to Pantheon too!

Pantheon is the new-for-2022 multi-launch shuttle looping coaster manufactured by Intamin!

Here is a look at the zero-g stall inversion, one of two inversions found on Pantheon!

After a relaxing ride on the Rhine River Cruise, I captured another photo of Loch Ness Monster in action!

At the bottom of the ravine, you get a nice view of Alpengeist and Griffon.

Scotland is also home to a few Clydesdales, Border collies, and some rams.

You can also catch a ride on the Busch Gardens Railway at the station in Scotland.

After catching the train in Scotland, we got off in Festa Italia. Here you can see Tempesto, which was closed during our visit.

My next roller coaster ride of the day was on Apollo's Chariot, a B&M Hyper Coaster which opened at Busch Gardens in 1999!

Apollo's Chariot was one of the first Hyper coasters built by Bolliger and Mabillard. With earlier Hyper coasters by B&M, they feature a pre-drop after the 200 foot tall lift hill. Apollo's Chariot features a few airtime hills and banked curves throughout its layout!

Here is Pantheon and the vertical spike used for its multi-launch sequence after the train leaves the station and is launched into a Zero-G Winder inversion!

Pantheon reaches a maximum speed of 73 mph (117 km/h)!

Once the train reaches its maximum speed after a few shuttle launches, it crests the top hat which provides a pop of airtime!

After the top hat, the train then dives into an outward banked curve!

Then the 20-passenger train enters the final inversion, the zero-g stall. Pantheon is quite exhilarating!

On the path in Italy near The Escape from Pompeii, were these beautifully illuminated trees.

Italy featured some Italian styled buildings and structures.

Marco Polo's Marketplace was a great place to eat.

Oktoberfest section was home to some rather impressive theming too!

The Festhaus dining hall was quite detailed from the outside.

But once inside it was quite impressive!

It even had a stained glass window which listed all the hamlets of Busch Gardens Williamsburg!

At the Festhaus, I had the German sampler. It was a very tasty meal that consists of chicken, sauerkraut, Blaukraut, and scalloped potatoes. It was well worth buying the dining plan for our visit!

Here are some Rhine River Cruise Boats taking park visitors on a sight-seeing tour.

Earlier I had mentioned that Italy is home to some nice Italian inspired structures. It is also home to three rides, one of which is The flying Machine. This Tivoli manufactured Orbiter ride has been at Busch Gardens Williamsburg since 1980. It operates on a somewhat tame ride cycle, but is still quite fun.

The second of three rides is the Escape from Pompeii, a Shoot the Chute water ride manufactured by Intamin that opened in 1995. I was quite impressed with the the theming of this water ride!

Escape from Pompeii is based on the ancient city of Pompeii when it was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. It features many fire effects and animatronics within its building as the 20-passenger boats pass by before splashing down the 49-foot drop!

Back in Scotland is a Blackface Sheep ram resting.

The Ireland section is very nicely themed and even has its own pub!

This fountain in Ireland was quite nice!

The photos I had captured of the American Bald Eagles didn't turn out too great.

This caravan was a nice touch to the theming!

Here is a train-load of passengers zipping over a hill on Invadr!

Invadr features a drop of 74 feet, allowing the trains to reach a maximum speed of 48 mph (77 km/h)!

Here is one of the three steam locomotives stored at the station in New France on the Busch Gardens Railway. The locomotive in this photo is known as the Alpen Express. The blue locomotive is Balmoral Castle, while the orange locomotive is known as Der Hochbeinige.

The Scottish Highland Cattle as seen from the Busch Gardens Railway sure have big horns!

Here's an up-close look at Pantheon!

Pantheon is quite a ride!

The Busch Gardens Railway weaves through Invadr's layout.

Invadr also features an underground tunnel.

Alpengeist feels taller than it actually is thanks to the ravine it sits in!

The trains navigate the zero-g roll on Alpengeist positioned above Le Scoot (log flume) very quickly!

Here you can see Alpengeist's winding first drop and a straight-on view of the coaster's second inversion, a 106 foot tall vertical loop!

Le Scoot is a fun log fume that is situated in the ravine between new France and Germany.

I love the detail put into Alpengeist! The coating on the concrete to make it look like snow was an excellent touch!

The entrance to Germany was quite impressive too!

Here is my Mom and I enjoying a cruise on the Rhine River!

Earlier in the day I had gone on a cruise. But once my mom found out how nice it was, she took the climb down the huge staircase to get to it.

Here is Der Hochbeinige locomotive chugging along the bridge that crosses over the Rhine River.

From the Busch Gardens Railway, you can get some nice views of the Rhine River when it goes across the crossing.

The Rhine River is home to some turtles and fish.

I know I've said this before, but Loch Ness Monster's interlocking loops are very photogenic!

The cobra roll inversion on Alpengeist is quite forceful!

Here's a Clydesdale out for an afternoon walk.

Der Wirbelwind is a Zierer Wave Swinger located in the Oktoberfest section of the park. It has been at the park since 1976.

One of my final rides of my first day at Busch Gardens was on the Autobahn, the park's bumper car ride.

Rain or shine, the Italian gardens are quite appealing!

The Battering Ram is the third ride in Italy. It is an Intamin Bounty swinging ship ride that opened in 1980.

Here is one last look at England before heading out for the day!

This beautiful rock fountain was located just outside the entrance to Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

Day Two - June 21st, 2023:

Our second day at Busch Gardens was quite wet and rainy!

At times it felt that the rain would not let up!

Once Busch Gardens Williamsburg opened for the day, I started out with two rides on Darkoaster. I then headed over to the Turkish Delight in Festa Italia. It is a fun spinning tea cups ride by Mack Rides.

Afterwards, my mom and I took another ride on the Busch Gardens Railway from Festa Italia.

The rain had let up a bit, so I was able to take another ride on Griffon.

There's nothing like being pelted in the face by rain on a high speed roller coaster!

Pictured is a car from the former Le Mans Raceway, an antique car ride manufactured by Arrow Development that operated until 2006.

Due to high winds and inclement weather during both of our days at Busch Gardens, the Aeronaut Skyride did not open.

The Aeronaut Skyride provides an aerial view of Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Hopefully I'll be able to experience it on a future visit!

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is home to quite a few animals including some grey wolves.

The two grey wolves on display during our second day are over 11 years old!

They didn't overly enjoy the rainy weather.

Der Hochbeinige was chugging along all day in the rain.

For lunch we ate at Marco Polo's Marketplace. I had the Chicken parmesan with spaghetti.

Above the pathway between England and Scotland was decorated with colourful flags.

Here's my mom and I waiting for the train at the Scotland station.

Due to inclement weather, the park closed at 4pm. To end our second day at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, we caught the American Jukebox Summer Remix show at the Globe Theater in the England section of the park at 3:30pm. It was a great 30 minute show with many classic songs and high energy dancing! It is an amazing show you don't want to miss if you are visiting Busch Gardens Williamsburg this summer! :-)