Does anyone remember?
Busch Gardens Williamsburg: Does anyone recall when The Katapult was located in the Castle O'Sullivan attraction?
After visiting the park last weekend, my daughter and I finally decided to see the Castle O'Sullivan Auction/Magic show. Both my daughter and I were unimpressed with the show, however, it did bring up the topic of what used to be in the same location. I tried to explain to her how the Katapult was once an inside ride in the the same building as Castle O'Sullivan. Since it was an indoor and air conditioned ride, the Katapult was great on a hot summer day. I do recall long lines, but even as teenagers, we always felt it was worth the wait.
The Catapult was in the building that is now Castle O'Sullivan back when the village was Hastings. The ride was themed after the Battle of Hastings and it was simply a scrambler in a very nicely airconditioned building with a lot of lighting and sound special effects. While it was a scrambler ride, whoever thought of the idea of putting indoors with those effects was pretty ingenious. I still think that was the best place that ride ever was in the park. Also back then, there was walk through fun house where Grogan's is now with the typical walk through sliding floors, tilting rooms, mirror maze and barrel at the end. Eventually the Fun House was taken out and replaced with an Arcade and the Catapult was moved to Germany and replaced with the Enchanted Laboratory (which I still think was much better than O'Sullivans)
Ahhh, yes, the fun house...that was such a great "ride". I remember when the Park put up tape in the mirror maze to prevent people from banging into the maze itself. I too, think the Katapult was a great indoor ride and wish it was still there so my children could experience it.
It's hard to believe I've been visiting BGE since it first opened. Tickets were a mere $9.95 and a Season Pass was only $27.00!
A funhouse in Hastings?? That's pretty neat! Unfortunately, I missed the catapult in the Castle since we started going to the park around '95. Still, I miss Hastings. If you look at some of the old pictures of the area, there was an awful lot of color with the 'tents' in Hastings. We also liked the old "Enchanted Labratory" MUCH better than O'Sullivans. If I remember correctly, there was a dragon head that rose up during one part of that show. It was a neat effect. We also miss Questor, although Corkscrew Hill is pretty neat. Ireland is pretty, but the colors are pastel and pretty bland. Sometimes when we're in the Festhaus, we'll look up at the big stained glass window above the entrance, see the word 'Hastings', and give a little sigh :) Guess I should go dig out some old pictures now... It's a shame more people don't post some of their pictures of Busch's earlier years. I'd love to see some historical pictures of the park. I'd especially like to see a full picture of the Glissade.
robert olson
I will dig in some old photographs and see what pics I have of BGW. I agree, Hastings was more colorful and was better themed than Ireland. Hastings with the indoor Katapult and Fun House was always on the top of our list.
I used to like the O'Sullivan show, but they've really slacked on it lately. Some of the effects were missing when I went to see it on Saturday....it was a mess.
I have never seen HASTINGS, or whatever was before it. I'd love to see some old pictures of the park as it used to be.
As for colors, the whole park needs a facelift. Everything has gotten very sunwashed and bland. You guys are making a killing over there. Use that money for soemthing good.
Fran: let us know if you find any pictures! I still have to go through mine. I know I have a picture of the monorail used for the brewery tour in it's loading station. I found an old map of the park from 1975 that someone posted online. It's fascinating to look at. I also acquired a pack of postcards from the park from 1976. Really neat stuff. It appears that they used to use a big red double-decker bus to take people from the parking lot to the front of the park...am I correct?
Also, I acquired a cookbook that BGW released in 1979 (four years after the park opened) titled "Busch Gardens Festhaus Cookbook". It has recipes from the Festhaus Chef. It also has some interesting historical pictures in it (picture of the Festhaus on the front, of course). A neat find for someone interested in Busch memorabilia. You can usually find the cookbook on Ebay selling for under $3.
robert olson
Is there anyway you could scan the images in, and post them on imageshack or some other host site?
I'd love to see that.
From Sean Rust
Posted August 14, 2006 at 3:05 PM
I don't know why Busch Gardens didn't try to put ireland somewhere else. Hastings was the quintessential Busch Gardens Hamlet. It seemed the oldest of all of them. I think Ireland actually ended up costing more than they bargained for after the gutted almost everything from Hastings to build it. It would have cost alot less to just build it from scratch.
Scott, after a bit of digging, my old pics must still be at my parents house in VA. When I get up there, I will look. In the mean time, I will hit the attic and see if my old scrapbooks are there. I'm sure I have SOMETHING left!
The Double Decker buses use to take guests to and from the parking lots, but were not very efficient...but charming. I heard someone say that the Castle O'Sullivan show has been having a lot of technical problems recently.
Yes, as mentioned, there were double decker buses and you're right, they weren't very efficent. I also remember them being very hot and stuffy. I believe though, that the double decker buses were part of the "Historic Triangle" in the late seventies. The buses also ran in both Yorktown and Colonial Williamsburg. Once the parking lots across the highway from BGE were built, the buses were traded in for the Trams. Off to search for pics of Hastings!
Jason, do you remember the huge orange and green mushrooms in the Fun House?
From Sean Rust
Posted August 14, 2006 at 7:27 PM
Anyone remember that AMAZING maze they had the first year of Howl-O-Scream called the dark tower in the 3D simularot queue line?
I vaguely remember the mushrooms I think. I still miss Hastings. It was one of the neat areas of the park. Plus the theatre in Hastings started out with a Syd and Marty Kroff Production and went through the various stage shows (Kaleidescope through Rockin the Boat). Also does anyone remember the original Globe Show - Ghosts of the Globe! That was a good show!
Give me the first couple of years of Totally Television over anything (other than Monster Stomp) that the park has produced since.
From Sean Rust
Posted August 16, 2006 at 11:42 AM
I loved Rockin' the Boat. That was my favorite show. I neve saw totally television but know someone with a tape. I should ask him if i could watch it...
My family went to BGE in 1993 and 1994, and I was only about 6 or 7. The next time we were there was 2003, so unfortunately, I have very few memories of Hastings. I do vaguwly remember the Enchanted Laboratory show though. That was pretty cool. And what happened to Castle O' Sullivan? It seems like in the past year or 2, less special effects have been used.
I am still searching for any old pics of Hastings. I have not been able to find any, but I am sure there are some at my parents house. When I get to VA again, I will keep looking.
I do remember the productions in Hastings, and they were awesome! The Kalediscope show was always one of my favorites.
Thanks for the update, Fran. Looking forward to seeing those when you get them.
robert olson
i wish there was a way to go back to BGW when it first open and ride all those rides.
i have to say after reading all these posts. it seems like BGW has made alot of ride mistakes.
No BGE post titled 'Does anyone remember' would be complete without remembering Drachen Fire. It still remains my all-time favorite coaster. It was one-of-a-kind. You got on the coaster KNOWING that it was rough. That was a given. It allowed you to get off the ride and say to yourself 'I survived Drachen Fire'!! I remember getting slightly bruised a few times. I also remember my wife having to remove her earrings before getting on the ride. The red lights down the sides of the cars were amazing to watch after the park got dark. There was a secluded circular section of walkway under the ride that you could stand in and the cars would spiral around and around above you! I found several old ride-throughs online that brought back lots of memories...one was obviously filmed by Busch. I had last visited the park in 1995 (I think). Then we had kids and we didn't return until around 2003. We were shocked and devastated that it was gone. Drachen Fire remains the best. May it rest in peace.
robert olson
From Sean Rust
Posted August 28, 2006 at 7:52 PM
I think the coaster would have been truly rideable if it was a B&M. They are all amazing.
No, I don't
Fran, any luck with finding those pictures??
Fran said: "I am still searching for any old pics of Hastings. I have not been able to find any, but I am sure there are some at my parents house. When I get to VA again, I will keep looking."
David: I don't think I could've said it any better...
robert olson
From Fran Emory
Posted October 27, 2006 at 3:09 PM
Sorry, but I haven't been able to locate any old pics of Hastings. My mom seems to think that she had to throw out some waterlogged boxes after a storm/hurricane rolled through Gloucester. I am thinking my old photo albums were in one of those boxes. I am pretty disappointed.
That is disapppointing! Sorry to hear they're gone. I usually keep all my negatives in a safety-deposit box...just in case ;) On a different note, I recently sent away for a VHS (remember those?) of a tour of BGE from Jack Hannah's website that I think is dated in the '80's. I'll let you know how it looks and what's on it.
robert olson
yea gloucester usually can get pretty bad during a hurricane i know cuz im from deltaville and my parents used to own a business on 17
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