Busch Gardens' New Ride Passes Planning Commission

Friday, January 07, 2011

James City County Planning Commissioners approved an application for a new ride in the Germany section of Busch Gardens, though a few neighbors had concerns about the ride’s noise level.

 

Busch Gardens will be constructing a new electromagnetic roller coaster which will stay low to the ground and will mainly stay within the proposed 26,000-square-foot building, according to Ronnie Osborne, who represented the theme park before the commissioners Wednesday.

Busch Gardens hired an outside consultant, NavCom, to conduct a sound study to analyze how loud the ride would be. The study found that to the nearest neighbors the sound would be a maximum of 52 decibels (quieter than normal conversation, which hits about 60 decibels).

Two Kingsmill residents told commissioners they were concerned about how loud the ride would be; one mentioned that the Big Bad Wolf, the roller coaster which had previously been in the same location, had been very noisy.

Commissioners asked Osborne to describe the sound test further, and he said the consultant firm used sound modeling technology, which estimated the loudness of the sound of a loud human scream after it had traveled the terrain of the park and reached the nearest home. He said 52 decibels was the maximum sound level the company estimated from that ride, and he also pointed out that the Big Bad Wolf was significantly louder.

Commissioners were satisfied with the answer and approved the two applications, one for a height waiver and one for a special use permit. The two applications will go to the Board of Supervisors in February.