Landscaping
Busch Gardens Williamsburg
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, bring us into touch with something tender or profound. But can a theme park really be such a place? Absolutely! In fact, the combination of serene scenery with the kinetic thrill of an amusement ride can really set the spirit alight
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Trees to please A
Riding a
rollercoaster next to trees is very different from riding one across asphalt. The trees give you a frame of reference and increase your sense of speed
Jeff Havlik, PGAV Destinations
s a species, we are sensitive to place; and we are powerfully drawn to certain archetypal landforms. Deserts, mountains, oceans and plains seize our
imagination and, without us realising it, shape our aesthetic preferences, our way of thinking, our world view. Harvard biologist EO Wilson believes that like all other animals, humans are drawn to wildlands with certain characteristics – 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, took hold when human beings moved from forest to grassland. To this day, we like open spaces and long vistas. Orians writes that “ghosts” of environments and habitats
past survive in our minds. As a result, when we approach new places, we first scan for safety. Then we canvas, choosing the best path, and 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
Why rides and nature can be a heady mix
Neuroscientist Irving Biederman says our aesthetic
preferences are influenced by: • Landscape’s Coherence – how easily and quickly we can take it all in. • Legibility – how easily we can orient ourselves and navigate the space. • Mystery – a promise of discovery when we explore. • Vista – the views. • Refuge – places where we can see without being seen. Developed in the 1970s for brewer Anheuser Busch, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a family entertainment park of of over 360 acres themed around the “Old Country” of Europe. The overall concept complements the historic character of nearby colonial Williamsburg by focusing on the original European settlers to the New World. Nestled in the woods are themed 17th Century villages representing England, Ireland, Germany, France and Italy, all offering immersive rides, shows, dining, retail and more. PGAV Destinations served as the original designer and planner of the park, and provides ongoing services to update the masterplan and develop new attraction experiences. Every year since 1990, the park has been pronounced
the “world’s most beautiful theme park” by the (US) National Amusement Park Historical Association. And just as Grammy Award winners thank their piano teachers, Busch Gardens thanks its trees. The park grew out of the Virginia countryside and is nestled in lush forest, its European villages tucked between stands of 80-feet (24m) 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. Throughout the park an estuary flows toward the James River. “The site’s very hilly," says Jeff Havlik, PGAV vice-president, “so we built on top of the hills and dammed one end of the ravine to create a lake in the centre of the park.” That lake is serenely lovely – unless you’re riding the
Apollo’s Chariot hyper coaster and plummeting to skim across the water. The Loch Ness Monster, Verbolten and Alpengeist rides also run down the hills and across or near the lake, Alpengeist with a big manoeuvre right past the water. “When you’re at the top of a drop, and you look down and see water with the track plunging toward it, the water adds a bit of fear,” says Havlik. “But for the guests who aren’t on the ride, when the coaster emerges from the trees – especially when lit at night, it’s beautiful.” The park’s trees also enhance the experience of the rides. “Riding a coaster next to trees is very different from riding one across asphalt,” he notes. “The trees give you a frame of reference and increase your sense of speed.” Plus, when
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