Sunday, November 3, 2024

New documents filed show footprint of new Busch Gardens ride, Madrid

A Google Maps image shows the open area where Busch Gardens Williamsburg plans to put a new ride. (WYDaily/Courtesy Google Maps)
A Google Maps image shows the open area where Busch Gardens Williamsburg plans to put a new ride. (WYDaily/Courtesy Google Maps)

Busch Gardens has not publicly released information on what type of ride the 315-foot Madrid will be, but new documents show it’s going to be pretty… big.

A footprint shown by new documents filed Feb. 5 with the James City County Planning Department show the ride taking up a large expanse in the Italy section of the park. The ride will require construction, erosion controls and new vegetation from the Italian Village, to the park’s railroad tracks, then along the edge of the Rhine River.

The ride will be across the Rhine from Verbolten and between the footbridge and railroad tracks that stretch across the river. That area of the park does not currently have any public attractions.

The plans also show several buildings along the path of the concrete footers, and gravel, concrete and asphalt areas and sidewalks nearby.

A site plan shows the area Madrid will be built in at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. (WYDaily/Sarah Fearing, JCC Planning Department)
A site plan shows the area Madrid will be built in at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The proposed footers can be seen marked as small squares in the project area (WYDaily/Sarah Fearing, JCC Planning Department)

The ride was given a 315-foot height waiver in August 2017, making it the tallest attraction in the park. The park has other attractions for which height waivers have been issued, including the roller coasters Verbolten, Tempesto, Apollo’s Chariot and Griffon.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Fans have speculated the ride could be a “massive” roller coaster based on the pattern of the ride’s footers shown in the plans and its proposed height.

A Busch gardens representative did not immediately respond to a request for comment and information Tuesday.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is also working on a 115-foot-tall attraction called Finnegan’s Flyer in the Irish-themed Killarney Village.

The ride has been described as a “screaming swing” with speeds up to 45 mph.

Sarah Fearing
Sarah Fearing
Sarah Fearing is the Assistant Editor at WYDaily. Sarah was born in the state of Maine, grew up along the coast, and attended college at the University of Maine at Orono. Sarah left Maine in October 2015 when she was offered a job at a newspaper in West Point, Va. Courts, crime, public safety and civil rights are among Sarah’s favorite topics to cover. She currently covers those topics in Williamsburg, James City County and York County. Sarah has been recognized by other news organizations, state agencies and civic groups for her coverage of a failing fire-rescue system, an aging agriculture industry and lack of oversight in horse rescue groups. In her free time, Sarah enjoys lazing around with her two cats, Salazar and Ruth, drinking copious amounts of coffee and driving places in her white truck.

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