Motion sickness at Busch Gardens Williamsburg: what's rough and how to cope

Photo: Sebastian Hirsch, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Resized and converted.

Williamsburg, Virginia, United States · United Parks & Resorts

Yes, but the setting works in your favour more than at most parks this intense. Busch Gardens Williamsburg is regularly voted one of the most beautiful parks in the world, and that matters here for a practical reason: it is built through dense forest and across real terrain, so almost everywhere you stand there are trees, buildings and hills giving your eyes a fixed reference. The coasters are still serious. Pantheon launches four times, including backward, before a 95 degree drop. Griffon holds you over a 205 ft vertical drop. The Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge swings its cars sideways through the trees, Verbolten: Forbidden Turn hides a drop track indoors, and InvadR is a wooden coaster with a 74 ft drop.

The rides most likely to set you off

• Pantheon: multi-launch coaster with four launches, including backward passes, and a 95 degree drop.

• The Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge: suspended coaster whose cars swing sideways through the trees.

• Griffon: dive coaster that holds you over a 205 ft, 90 degree drop before releasing.

• Verbolten: Forbidden Turn: indoor and outdoor multi-launch coaster with a surprise drop track.

• InvadR: wooden coaster with a 74 ft drop and a run of airtime hills.

Pantheon is the hardest ride here for a queasy stomach, because of the launches rather than the drop. Four launches means four separate accelerations in one ride, and some of them send you backward, so your body is pushed in a direction your eyes cannot confirm. Add a 95 degree drop and airtime hills that lift you out of the seat, and it asks more of your balance system in ninety seconds than most coasters do in three minutes.

Where to reset between rides

When your stomach needs a break, head for Busch Gardens Railway (scenic train), Aeronaut Skyride (cable car), Rhine River Cruise (slow boat) or Kinder Karussel (carousel). Slow visuals, a fixed horizon and a seat that is not spinning give your inner ear time to settle before the next big ride.

Feeling queasy at Busch Gardens Williamsburg right now?

Stop the nausea

Open Dizzout, plug in any headphones, tap play. Drug-free sound therapy, and most people feel better in about 90 seconds. No pills, no drowsiness, no waiting for a tablet to kick in.

Download on the App StoreGet it on Google Play

On a computer? Dizzout installs on your phone. Scan the code, or open dizzout.com/get on your phone and it'll take you straight to the right store.

Your survival plan for Busch Gardens Williamsburg

1. 1

   Ride Pantheon first. Backward launches are the most disorienting thing in the park and they are hardest on a full stomach.

2. 2

   Treat The Big Bad Wolf: The Wolf's Revenge as its own decision. Suspended cars swing sideways, which is a different motion from anything else here and catches a different set of people.

3. 3

   Griffon is easier than it looks for many sensitive riders. The hold at the top is pure nerves, and the drop itself is short, straight and forward-facing.

4. 4

   Use the Busch Gardens Railway and the Aeronaut Skyride between coasters. Both move slowly with long views through the trees, which resets your horizon properly.

5. 5

   The park is hilly and spread out, so the walking is real. Pace it, take the Skyride instead of a climb, and drink more than you think you need in Virginia humidity.

6. 6

   Keep earbuds on you and start Dizzout at the first sign of queasiness. Drug-free sound therapy on any headphones, and most people feel better in about 90 seconds.

Going with kids

The calm list here is unusually strong for a coaster park: a scenic railway, a cable car, a slow river cruise and a carousel. That makes it easy to split a group without anyone being stuck waiting by an exit.

Common questions