Jump to content

Busch Gardens

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by 79.97.231.154 (talk) at 19:51, 28 November 2010 (summer of what year?). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

This Busch Gardens logo has been in use since July 13, 2003.

Busch Gardens is the name of two amusement parks in the United States, and a planned amusement park in Dubai, owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, a division of Blackstone Group. One of the parks is in Williamsburg, Virginia, and the other is in Tampa, Florida. There was also previously a Busch Gardens park in Pasadena, California (1905–1937), Van Nuys, Los Angeles, California from (1964–1979)[1] and Houston, Texas (1971–1973) [2]. Busch Gardens parks were initially developed as marketing vehicles for Anheuser-Busch and featured hospitality houses with samples of Anheuser-Busch products. They also included stables that housed many of the company's Clydesdale horses, which have been associated with Anheuser-Busch since 1933. Eventually, rides and attractions were added to the parks and over time were developed into full theme parks while still promoting Anheuser-Busch. Busch Entertainment Corporation, now called SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, was created as a subsidiary of Anheuser-Busch Companies to run the various parks in 1959.

Acquisition by Blackstone Group

On October 7, 2009 it was announced that InBev had sold all Busch Properties to The Blackstone Group for $2.7 billion. This sale includes all Busch Entertainment properties. One of the deals in the contract was that the Clydesdales at the parks be removed, as the breed of horse is associated with the Anheuser-Busch brand. In addition, the Busch Entertainment Company division that owned all of the Worlds of Discovery parks (including Busch Gardens) was renamed SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment, officially marking the finalized purchase had succeeded on December 3, 2009.

Locations

Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay

Main article: Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay
SheiKra was the first "dive machine" roller coaster in the United States

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay opened on March 31, 1959, and has an African theme. The park was originally tagged "The Dark Continent."[3] The theme park is one of America's largest zoological institutions, with more than 2,700 animals. Attractions include: Rhino Rally, Montu, Kumba, Scorpion, Gwazi, Edge of Africa, cheetah chase, congo river rapids, Tanganyika Tidal Wave, Stanley Falls, Serengeti Railway, Phoenix, also a new Sesame Street, and SheiKra, a vertical dive coaster which opened in 2005. The theme park is some distance away from downtown, in central Tampa, near the limits of the City of Temple Terrace to the east of Tampa.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Main article: Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Busch Gardens Williamsburg opened May 5, 1975. With its European theme, the park was originally tagged "The Old Country." Attractions at this park include The Curse of DarKastle, Alpengeist, Escape from Pompeii, Apollo's Chariot, Loch Ness Monster, and Griffon. Added in 2007, the Griffon coaster has bragging rights as the tallest dive coaster in the world. The park is divided into seven sections, each themed to a different European country. On July 25, 2009, Busch Gardens announced that the Big Bad Wolf roller coaster would be retired September 7, 2009, after 25 years of operation due to its "meeting the end of its service life." Newly added in 2009 was "Christmas Town," a winter attraction with many themed attractions and shows. Also in 2010, the 3-D ride Corkscrew Hill was replaced by Europe in the Air.

Busch Gardens Dubai

Busch Entertainment Corporation was to open a new park in Dubai, United Arab Emirates in 2012.[4] It was to be placed on a man-made island shaped like Shamu in Dubai with SeaWorld, Discovery Cove, and Aquatica also being built on that island. The Dubai park would have added on a 3rd park to the Busch Gardens brand. The plans are now shelved because of financial issues.[5]

Former Properties

Busch Gardens in California

Long before the Busch Gardens in Van Nuys, Adolphus Busch, cofounder of Anheuser-Busch, brewer of Budweiser beer, had his winter home in Pasadena, California (1904). The wealthy easterner took advantage of the area’s mild climate and established the first of a series of Busch Gardens in 1906. When Busch died (1913)in his native Germany, his wife offered the property to the city of Pasadena as a park, which the city refused.

In the 1930s, the 36-acre (150,000 m2) land was subdivided. A number of films were made at the park, including Frankenstein, The Adventures of Robin Hood, and Gone With the Wind.

In 1954, a new brewery was opened in Van Nuys. The company opened a more modern version of Busch Gardens at this site in 1966 that included boat rides, a monorail and free beer. The 17-acre (69,000 m2) amusement park was renamed Busch Bird Sanctuary in 1977 and closed two years later.

Houston

Houston’s Busch Gardens opened in May 1971 and was closed within two years. It was located adjacent to the Anheuser-Busch brewery, which opened in 1966. The 40-acre (160,000 m2) park had an Asian theme except for an ice cave with a temperature controlled environment for several varieties of penguins, polar bears and sea lions.[2]

Free beer

SeaWorld and Busch Gardens owner Anheuser-Busch InBev announced that the long tradition of offering free beer samples in their Hospitality Centers and Brewmaster Clubs would come to an end in the parks.[6] Beer will continue to be sold in the parks. The change was made so a buyer would not have to pay Anheuser Busch large fees and costs to run a program that is sponsored and run by another company. In doing this it made it easier for parent company Anheuser Busch InBev to sell the division. [7] Also announced was that workers will not get two cases of beer a month for free, which they would receive under old parent; Anheuser-Busch.[8]

See also

Anheuser-Busch owns several other parks:

References

  1. ^ Anheuser-Busch has deep ties to Southern California
  2. ^ a b http://houstorian.wordpress.com/2008/04/07/busch-gardens-1971-1973/
  3. ^ . The Milwaukee Sentinel. January 23, 1984 http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=GHwWAAAAIBAJ&sjid=PxIEAAAAIBAJ&pg=2642,4272132&dq=busch+gardens+africa. Retrieved 2009-06-06. {{cite news}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  4. ^ Albright, Mark (February 28, 2008). "Busch plans four parks in Dubai, located around Saudia Arabia". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved 2009-06-04. [dead link]
  5. ^ Kassab, Beth (February 4, 2009). "No Busch Gardens, SeaWorld for Dubai". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2009-06-04.
  6. ^ Garcia, Jason (January 6, 2009). "Last call for free beer tasting at SeaWorld, Busch Gardens". Orlando Sentinel. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  7. ^ Volkmann, Kelsey (January 5, 2009). "No more free beer at Busch theme parks". St. Louis Business Journal. Retrieved 2009-06-03.
  8. ^ http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/stories/2009/01/05/daily16.html

Gallery - Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida, 1967

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Busch_Gardens&oldid=399375477"