- Busch Gardens
Busch Gardens is the name of two
amusement park s in theUnited States , and a planned amusement park inDubai , owned and operated byBusch Entertainment Corporation , a division ofAnheuser-Busch . One of the parks is inWilliamsburg, Virginia , and the other is inTampa, Florida . Both parks were renamed at the start of the 2006 season to reflect the themes used throughout the parks. There was also previously a Busch Gardens park inPasadena, California (1905-1937) and Van Nuys,Los Angeles ,California from (1964-1979) [ [http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-busch13-2008jun13,0,1918793.story Anheuser-Busch has deep ties to Southern California] ] .Locations
Busch Gardens Africa
Busch Gardens Africa, formerly known as Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, opened on
March 31 ,1959 , and has anAfrica n theme. The park was originally tagged "The Dark Continent". The theme park is one of America's largestzoo logical institutions, with more than 2,700 animals. Attractions include: "Rhino Rally", "Montu", "Kumba", "Scorpion", "Gwazi ", "Edge of Africa", 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 at the east of Orlando.Busch Gardens Europe
Busch Gardens Europe, formerly known as Busch Gardens Williamsburg, opened on
May 5 ,1975 , and has aEurope an theme. The park was originally tagged "The Old Country". Attractions at this park include "Curse of DarKastle",Alpengeist , "Escape from Pompeii", "Apollo's Chariot", "Loch Ness Monster", "Big Bad Wolf", and, new for 2007, Griffon. The new coaster has bragging rights in that it is the tallest dive coaster in the world. The park is divided into seven sections, each themed to a different European country.Busch Gardens in California
Long before the Busch Gardens in Van Nuys,
Adolphus Busch , co-founder ofAnheuser-Busch , brewer of Budweiser beer had his winter home inPasadena, California (1904). It was here that this wealthy easterner took full advantage of the area’s mild climate and established the first of a series of Busch Gardens (1906). When Busch died (1913) at his Pasadena estate his wife generously offered the property to the City of Pasadena as a park, an offer the city inexplicably refused.In the 1930s, the 36 acre 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 brought back a more modern version of Busch Gardens at its Van Nuys brewery in 1966, which included boat rides for visitors, a monorail and free beer. The 17 acre amusement park was renamed Busch Bird Sanctuary in 1977, but two years later, it was closed.
ee also
"
Incidents at Busch parks "Anheuser-Busch owns several other parks:
*TheSeaWorld parks inSan Diego, California ,San Antonio, Texas andOrlando, Florida
**SeaWorld Orlando
**SeaWorld San Diego
**SeaWorld San Antonio
**A fourth SeaWorld formerly operated inOhio
*Discovery Cove , an exclusive, reservation-only park in Orlando
*Sesame Place , a children's play park themed after the long-running public broadcasting showSesame Street
**A second Sesame Place formerly operated inTexas .
*Water Parks:Adventure Island (waterpark) ,Water Country USA , and Aquatica.
*Grant's Farm , ananimal reserve park inSt. Louis, Missouri , on land formerly owned byUlysses S. Grant . Home to some of theBudweiser Clydesdales .References
External links
* [http://www.buschgardens.com/ Official website]
* [http://www.4adventure.com/ Official website] of the Busch Entertainment Corporation
* [http://www.anheuser-busch.com/timeline/default.html History timeline] from the Anheuser-Busch website
* Fan websites:
** Roller coaster database entries for [http://www.rcdb.com/pd15.htm Tampa] and [http://www.rcdb.com/pd20.htm Williamsburg]
** [http://www.bgescape.com/ Busch Gardens Escape (unofficial fansite)]
** [http://www.bgtguide.com/ Busch Gardens Tampa Guide (unofficial fansite)]
** [http://www.placesearth.com/USA/California/LA/code/buschg1.htm Busch Gardens Van Nuys Site photos]
* [http://www.pasadenahistory.org/thingstosee/buschgardens.html An Enchanted Park: Celebrating the Centennial of Busch Gardens] , aPasadena Museum of History exhibit on the original Busch Gardens inPasadena, California
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