LANDSCAPE


Trading asphalt for forests, Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s roller coasters soar through old growth trees, increasing rider’s perception of speed through a beautiful canopy.


Sacred places exist all over the world - caves and mountains, groves and glens, stones and springs - that have taken on symbolic significance. Some feel almost magical, supercharged with some kind of special, mysterious energy. Others are places that open our awareness, alter our consciousness, or bring us into touch with something tender or profound. As a species, we are sensitive to place.


We are powerfully drawn to certain archetypal landforms. Deserts, mountains, oceans, and plains seize our imagination and, without us realizing it, shape our aesthetic preferences, our way of thinking, our world view. Harvard biologist E.O. Wilson believes that like all other animals, we’re drawn to wildlands with certain characteristics - most especially the African savannah where our species took form. Wilson recently commented to the Washington Post that people say, “I go there and in a short while, I feel somehow completely at home.”


Gordon Orians, an evolutionary biologist, put forth his now-famous savannah hypothesis to explain how our attraction to certain landscapes - even trees of certain shapes, like the gracefully spreading, shade-giving acacia tree - took hold when human beings moved from forest to grassland. To this day, we like open spaces and long vistas. And even preschoolers consistently choose acacia-like trees as the most inviting, offering the greatest sense of security.


Orians writes that “ghosts” of environments past - ghosts of predators, rivals, volcanic eruptions, and habitats - survive in our minds. As a result, when we approach new places, we first scan for safety. Ten we canvas, choosing the best path - and we feel distinctly less comfortable in landscapes that block our view or force confusing detours. Only when our path feels safe and navigable - and interesting enough to explore - do we settle into the experience and engage with what we’re seeing and hearing.


Busch Gardens Williamsburg grew out of the Virginia countryside and is nestled in lush forest, its European villages tucked between stands of 80-foot oak trees or set against a backdrop of evergreens. Framed, they make visual sense, and it’s easy to orient yourself and navigate among them. Te park’s trees greatly enhance the experience of the rides.


“Riding a coaster next to trees is very different from riding one across asphalt,” says Jeff Havlik, PGAV VP. “Te trees give you a frame of reference, increase your sense of speed, and send you through an exciting, gorgeous foliage-filled adventure.”


photo courtesy of SeaWorld Entertainment Parks


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