[2] The park also features notable roller coasters, including Griffon, Verbolten, Pantheon, Alpengeist, and Apollo's Chariot.

[1][3] The St. Louis-based brewer invested in the area following negotiations held between Gussie Busch and Winthrop Rockefeller, who was the governor of Arkansas and the chairman of Colonial Williamsburg in the 1960s and 1970s.

The new owners announced plans to sell off the portions of A-B activities that were not part of the core beverage business.

[citation needed] The Blackstone Group was selected in late 2009 to acquire and operate the 10 former A-B theme park properties, including two in the Williamsburg area.

[5] The event featured limited capacity, required advanced reservations, as well as temperature screening of guests upon arrival, and at select villages within the park.

The park is divided into "countries", each representing its own unique style of food, music and themed attractions.

The Rhine River Cruise attraction's boats are battery-powered in an effort to cut back on power generation and prevent water pollution.

Howl-O-Scream, the park's signature Halloween event, began in 1999 and offers more than a dozen attractions featuring vampires, zombies, clowns, witches, and skeletons.

Those attending Das Festhaus will be able to view various Irish stepdance performances that have been shown in the park over the years, including the award-winning Celtic Fyre.

The event offers German inspired food, alcoholic drinks, a DJ, games, raffles, and use of some select ride attractions in the Germany Hamlet of the park.

Shopping and dining are also a prominent part of Christmas Town, with many of the park's restaurants offering food and drinks catered to the season and colder weather.

[9] The park is separated into 10 different hamlets themed to traditional interpretations of European villages from England, France, Germany, Italy, Scotland and Ireland.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg features two main transportation attractions that provide convenient access to different areas of the park; The Aeronaut Skyride, a gondola lift that allows guests to travel between the Sesame Street Forest of Fun, Aquitaine, and Rhine Feld hamlets; and the Busch Gardens Railway, a replica steam train that transports guests between the Heatherdowns, Festa Italia, and New France hamlets.

For many years preceding 2014, the Globe Theatre's entertainment lineup consisted of 4-D films, including Haunts of the Old Country, Pirates 4-D and R.L.

Heatherdowns is also home to the Highland Stables featuring Scottish Blackface sheep, Border Collies and Clydesdales.

Following the addition of this country, the park's attendance was reportedly boosted by 17% after the 2001 grand opening, and was awarded a top prize by the Themed Entertainment Association.

Shows such as Kaleidoscope, Hats Off to Hollywood, Journey into Music, Stage Struck, Totally Television and Rockin the Boat are some of the names of these productions.

Outside the gateway next to Castle O'Sullivan, the walkway makes a sharp left turn and begins a long, moderately steep climb toward Aquitaine, France.

This garden features Italian statues and flowers set amid rides based on sketches by Leonardo da Vinci.

Also in the area is Ristorante Della Piazza, featuring Italian cuisine and allowing guests to watch "Mix It Up."

Festa Italia is themed around a fair celebrating Marco Polo's return to Italy from his famous visit to China.

Also, in Rhinefeld is Land of the Dragons, a large children's play area featuring a playground, five rides, and seasonal shows can be found.

Das Festhaus is a large, air-conditioned eating facility where guests can purchase German food or American classics.

On September 18, 2010, it was announced that in 2011, Oktoberfest would be renovated with new shops and sights, including a new beer garden and pretzel shop known as Beste Brezeln und Bier with a Bavarian maypole occupying the flower garden in front of Das Festhaus, and a Moser's Rides 246-foot (75 m) Roto-Drop called Mäch Tower, which was a drop tower-observation tower hybrid that closed in 2023.

On January 23, 2018, it was announced that Curse of DarKastle would not reopen for the 2018 season and would be officially closing for being a burden with maintenance costs.

On September 6, 2022, it was announced that a new Intamin Family Launch Straddle Coaster named DarKoaster: Escape The Storm would open in the space during Spring 2023.

Rides in New France include the Busch Gardens Railway departing from Caribou Station and the Le Scoot Log Flume, featuring a 50-foot (15 m) plunge through a sawmill.

Trappers Smokehouse offers grilled and smoked items such as chicken, turkey legs, ribs, and beef brisket.

Within the park itself, three steam locomotive powered trains operate on the 3 ft (914 mm) narrow gauge[21] Busch Gardens Railway, a 1.5-mile (2.4 km) loop of track, providing transportation between the Heatherdowns, Festa Italia and New France themed areas.