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BUSCH GARDENS WILLIAMSBURG     757-253-3350
Fax: 757-253-3399              www.buschgardens.com/va
One Busch Gardens Boulevard, P. O. Box 8785, Williamsburg, VA 23187
Three miles East of Historic Williamsburg on U. S. Rte 60.

GENERAL DESCRIPTION:  Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a European-themed park with 17th century flair, featuring stage productions, rides and attractions, variety of authentic foods and shops and a children’s adventure area. 

Take a journey to the unexpected at Busch Gardens Europe, where 17th-century charm combines with 21st-century technology to create the ultimate family experience. Voted the "World's Most Beautiful Theme Park”, Busch Gardens boasts more than 50 thrilling rides and attractions, ten main stage shows, a wide variety of award-winning cuisine and world-class shops.

Want to visit England, Scotland, Ireland, France, Germany & Italy without the hassle of passports, customs and language barriers? Every country at Busch Gardens showcases the popular foods, landmarks, gardens, shops and entertainment that put you in the middle of a particular European village! See England's Big Ben, tame Scotland's Loch Ness Monster, enjoy "Emerald Beat" stepdancers, watch France's street artists, enjoy Germany's Oktoberfest, and tour the ruins of Italy's Mt. Versuvius on Escape From Pompeii.

Link to Park map.

PARKING:  60 wheelchair accessible parking spaces with 96 inch wide accessible aisles, located in France parking lot.  Use the main entrance to the park.  Follow the signs.  Parking lot attendant will direct you to the special parking area.  RV parking. 

TYPES OF PATHS:  Aggregate, smooth, pebbled pathways some with steep grades requiring assistance for persons in wheelchairs

PUBLIC REST ROOMS:  Located in Banbury Cross, Aquitaine, Rhinefeld, Ireland, Oktoberfest, San Marco (Italy), Festa Italia and the first aid station.  Doors are 36 in. wide, and open in.  Turns to enter.  Accessible stalls have wide doors opening out.  Handrails. Sink pipes are wrapped.  Accessible stall checked regularly for obstructions.  If needed, special assistance can be obtained by asking area host or hostess for help.  Companion restroom facilities are situated at the Main Entrance/Exit, Sesame Street Forest of Fun, First Aid, Germany, Scotland and France.

FIRST AID:  Located between Jack Hanna’s Animal Preserve and the Royal Palace Theatre.  Staffed by registered nurses and emergency medical technicians.

FOOD AND BEVERAGE FACILITIES:  Dining facilities most accessible to guests in wheelchairs:  Das Festhaus, Oktoberfest and Ristoriante Della Piazza.  Lines accommodating guests in wheelchairs are marked with the international wheelchair symbol.  Food locations with railings for crowd control:  Italy, Three Rivers Smokehouse in New France, La Coq d’Or in Aquitaine and The Squires Gallery in Banbury Cross. Personnel have been trained to serve guests with mobility and visual disabilities.

While dining at our restaurants, please be aware that most venues offer cafeteria-style service. Special assistance is available upon request. For guests with special dietary needs, we offer a variety of allergy friendly options throughout our park. You may stop by Guest Services, or any of our meal facilities, to receive an Allergen Card with more detail on our Allergy Friendly program and offerings. When dining, please go straight to the cashier upon arrival and ask to speak with a supervisor to discuss the severity of your allergens and determine a meal that will be safe for you. We also suggest you visit meal facilities during non-peak hours or ahead of meal time so that you can be efficiently assisted and served.

GIFT SHOPS: All gift shops are wheelchair accessible. Please ask any team member for assistance. ‘Package Pick-up’, available at all gift shops, provides guests the opportunity to shop throughout Busch Gardens and have their purchases sent to Package Pickup, located at stroller rental at the main gate next to the restrooms, for pick-up later in the day.

STAFF TRAINING:  Personnel have been trained to serve guests in wheelchairs, guests having mobility, visual or hearing disabilities.  Specific training in sensitivity and in solving guests’ problems with mobility, visual or hearing restrictions.  Training time is 1-2 hours.

GENERAL INFORMATION FOR GUESTS WITH DISABILITIES:

At Busch Gardens, safety is the only consideration that takes precedence over fun! Thrill rides, by their very nature, create forces and speeds that may not be acceptable or tolerable to some guests and may cause injury to some riders with known or unknown pre-existing conditions.  You should not ride if you have any impairment or condition that would prevent the intended use of seating and safety restraints as provided or inability to follow any safety requirement.

Link to Park Guide in PDF format.

In order to ride, guests must be able to maintain the proper riding position throughout the ride and brace themselves upright in their seat, keeping their head upright and their back against the seatback. Guests must be able to use the restraint device properly and be able to hold on tight and keep their hands, arms, legs, and feet down and inside the ride at all times. Guests must be able to demonstrate a willingness and ability to comply with verbal and written rider requirements. The rider requirements and health restrictions are listed at the entrance of each ride.

Guests with casts or braces will be restricted from riding certain rides where the cast or brace may present a hazard to the guest or others. Guests with hard casts, braces, and walking boots will not be permitted to ride Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot, Griffon and Verbolten. Guests with a full arm cast, full leg cast, or braced arm cast may be restricted from riding certain rides and should refer to the Ride Information section for more information. Please consult with our Guest Services & Reservation Center staff for more information or if in doubt about your ability to safely experience a ride.

SPECIAL SERVICES:
Brochure for guests with disabilities available upon entry, at guest relations, Banbury Cross, In-park ticket sales office in New France and at first aid.

Guest Services: The Guest Services & Reservation Center is situated just past the turnstiles on the right hand-side. Guests with disabilities are welcome to stop by for any assistance they require. Guest Relations Guest Relations is located past the ticket booths prior to the turnstiles on the right hand-side.

For guests with hearing disabilities, Assistive Listening System and written scripts also available.  American Sign Language interpretation can be provided at live shows with a minimum of one week’s notice. Call (757) 253-3201 for reservations. Every effort will be made to provide interpreting services with less than one week’s notice, depending on the availability of the interpreter. Guests requesting this free service will be contacted prior to their visit.

For guests with visual disabilities, signs are printed on non-glossy surface.

For guests with mobility disabilities: wheelchairs and Electric Convenience Vehicles (ECV’s) may be rented at Stroller Rental at the Main Gate. This shop is located to the right-hand side of the restrooms at the Main Gate ticket booths. Wheelchairs and ECV’s are rented on a “first-come, first served” basis. Reservations for wheelchairs are available and must be made at least 3 days in advance of the planned visit. Guests may also use their own wheelchairs or ECV’s. Guests using wheelchairs may join any admissions line to enter the park. Link to order on line.

PROCEDURES FOR GUESTS IN WHEELCHAIRS: 
General procedures:  For most rides in the park, guests in wheelchairs and up to 3 companions should enter the ride through the exit and contact an area host or hostess for further instructions.  Additional members should go through the regular entrance.  Guests in wheelchairs have special seating areas in the Globe and Abbey Store Theatre as well as in the Secrets of Castle O’Sullivan.  Please see host or hostess for assistance.

Because of different pathway configuration and terrain as well as large crowds that include small children and strollers, we regret that we cannot permit the use of two-wheeled, self-balancing electric vehicles such as Segways. We are pleased to offer other forms of personal transportation, including electric convenience vehicles and standard wheelchairs and we encourage you to contact Guest Services with any questions you may have.

Procedure for transferring from wheelchair to ride attraction: Guests must be capable of lifting themselves from their wheelchairs onto and off of the ride or must be aided by an adult companion capable of lifting them from the wheelchair.  Ride will be stopped to assure a safe transfer.

Note:  Busch Gardens team members can offer assistance steadying a guest transferring to or from a wheelchair. They may not lift or assist in lifting anyone using a wheelchair. All guests must be able to board a ride themselves or with help from a member of their party.

Attractions not considered safe for guests in wheelchairs or with mobility disabilities:  Due to the awkwardness of evacuation procedures in the event of a ride stoppage, guests should not ride the Le Scoot Log Flume, the Loch Ness Monster, The Big Bad Wolf, Da Vinci’s Cradle, Roman Rapids, Apollo’s Chariot, Alpengeist, and Escape from Pompeii.  Rhine River Cruise can be accessed only by steps.

Link to: McGuire Woods: Opening Doors for Virginians with Disabilities

PROCEDURES FOR GUESTS WITH MOBILITY DISABILITIES:
Special areas of problem elevations:  The Rhine River Cruise is located at the base of a steep set of steps leading from Heatherdowns, an extremely steep hill, and steps from Germany.  These are not easily managed by guests with restricted mobility.

Performances and procedures for guests:  The Skyride requires that guests be able to lift themselves, or be lifted by a companion into the Skyride cabin.

Ride escorts may be required due to mechanical problems, weather conditions, or power interruption. If a ride escort is required, guests may need to negotiate stairs from the highest point of the ride and down steeply inclined catwalks or steps. Guests requiring assistance during the ride escort may be escorted last in order to expedite the ride escort process. Please inquire about specific procedures prior to boarding a particular attraction.

PROCEDURES FOR GUESTS HAVING PROSTHETIC DEVICES AND AMPUTATIONS:

Guests with any type of prosthesis should ensure it is properly secured before riding any ride. Leg prostheses are not permitted on Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot, Griffon and Verbolten.

Guests with an amputation below the knee may ride Alpengeist and Griffon but must remove the leg prosthesis prior to riding.

Guests with a single amputation above the knee may ride, with the use of a separate three-point harness, provided the guest has at least one functioning hand, one functioning leg, and enough leg remnant to be secured by the separate three-point harness.

Guests with an amputation below the ankle may ride Apollo’s Chariot but must remove the leg prosthesis prior to riding.

Guests with an arm prosthesis must have one fully functioning hand and two natural functioning legs to ride Apollo's Chariot. One natural functioning hand with original fingers (not prosthesis) is necessary to hand-grasp the lap bar.

Guests should refer to the Guest Information & Reservation Center to determine their specific ability to ride Alpengeist, Apollo's Chariot and Griffon.

PROCEDURES FOR GUESTS WITH HEARING DISABILITIES:
General procedures:  Text Telephone Devices (TTD) are situated at Guest Services. Please see a team member for assistance. Public telephones, accessible to guests using wheelchairs, are provided in Oktoberfest and at the main entrance/exit to the park. Some public telephones are equipped with volume control at the main entrance, Aquitaine, Rhinefeld, Oktoberfest, Italy and first aid.

Performances and procedures for guests:  Assistive listening devices are available at all theatres, as well as Curse of DarKastle. Please see team members at theatre or ride locations for assistance.

PROCEDURES FOR GUESTS WITH VISUAL DISABILITIES:
General procedures:  Preferred seating at shows to accommodate visual requirements.

Special areas with problems:  Park areas are themed and many areas are in natural settings with “earth tone” colors.

Performances and procedures for guests:  Employees are trained to assist guests on a limited basis at each location.

Guests with visual disabilities must have someone (a companion or park team member) read the ride restrictions to them prior to boarding.

Link to Norfolk Airport

PROCEDURES FOR GUESTS USING OXYGEN:                             Due to the dynamics and certain characteristics of the rides, oxygen tanks are not permitted on any ride except the Carousel (Bench Only), Busch Gardens Railroad, Rhine River Cruise, and Skyride. Oxygen tanks are permitted in theatres, exhibits, and other enclosed facilities.

PROCEDURES FOR GUESTS OF EXCEPTIONAL SIZE: In order to ride, all seatbelts, lap bars, and shoulder harnesses must be positioned and fastened properly. Due to rider restraint system requirements, guests of exceptional size may not be accommodated on some of our rides. Larger guests may experience difficulty on Alpengeist, Apollo’s Chariot, Griffon and Verbolten. Test seats are located at the ride entrance and we recommend utilizing these before entering the ride queue. Our team members may assist you by asking you to try out the seat.

PROCEDURES FOR GUESTS WITH ASSISTANCE DOGS:
General procedures:  Assistance animals are welcome at Busch Gardens. All assistance animals must remain on a leash or in a harness at all times. Where permitted, guests with assistance animals should follow the same attraction entrance procedures as described for guests using wheelchairs.

The following suggestions will maximize your visit with your assistance animal: Although assistance animals are discouraged from riding any ride, your assistance animal will be permitted on:

• Bert and Ernie’s Loch Adventure
• Bumper Cars
• Busch Gardens Railroad
• Carousel Bench
• Land of the Dragons Rides
• Little Balloons
• Oscar’s Whirly Worms
• Red Baron
• Rhine River Cruise
• Skyride

Note:  When guests are riding or viewing attractions, someone in the party must stay with the assistance dog. 

The guest attending the animal may then board the ride without waiting in line once the first guest assumes responsibility of the animal.

Busch Gardens team members are not permitted to care for assistance animals.

Assistance animals are the responsibility of the owner and cannot be left unattended. Guests are responsible for the clean-up of service animal waste and for controlling their service animal’s behavior. If at any time your service animal’s behavior becomes a threat to the safety and well-being of other park guests or animals, you will be asked to board the animal at our kennel or leave the premises. “Break” Area for Service Animals For your convenience, a Service Animal “Relief Area” is located to the left-hand side of the Pompeii Gift Shop.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:  Special Access Brochures available. Accepted credit cards:  MC, V, JCB and DS.  Parking fee.  Children age 2 and under free.  Open late Mar-late Oct.  Operating schedule and hours vary.  Please call 757-253-3350 for more information.

 

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