Busch Gardens Germany Review

One Busch Gardens Blvd.,
Williamsburg, VA 23185
(800) 343-7946
Fresh pretzels, delicious sausages, sauerkraut and apple strudel

 

Mindy’s Review…

As most people know, Busch Gardens is known for its beautiful theme park, and its Germany area is no exception. The main “hub” right now seems to be Das Festhaus, which is a 2,000 seat dining hall that really does transport you to another place. The incredibly tall ceilings and walls are decorated in 3D and make you feel like you are in the middle of a German town. There was even a little gingerbread house for the kids to look at.

Our first food stop in Germany was their pretzel shop. We ordered their Jumbo Pretzel and The Pretzel Sandwich. I have seriously never seen a jumbo pretzel that looked that good in my entire life. The pretzel was perfectly crispy, buttery, soft and salty. I don’t like a ton of salt on my pretzels, so these were just right. The Pretzel Sandwich was really good, too. It was piled high with a generous portion of deli meat that tasted fresh out of the deli. You wouldn’t expect this meat quality and generosity from a theme park. We also tried one of their pretzel dipping sauces called Beer Mustard. I used it for both items and it was a great addition. Later in the day we went back for another snack because we just couldn’t resist the Pretzel Nuggets. These were mini versions of the Jumbo Pretzel. It had all the same qualities that I liked about the jumbo one. We gobbled those right up.

For dinner, we visited Das Festaus and chose two dishes. One was the Mile High Corned Beef Sandwich and the other was the German Sampler. I already told Eddie that I would eat the corned beef sandwich, but I wasn’t sure if I would like it since that is not my first choice when it comes to sandwich meat. I was quite surprised though that I actually enjoyed it. They definitely do not skimp on the meat in that sandwich! “Mile High” is a fitting description. The German Sampler had smoked sausage, ribs and roasted chicken alongside a couple of sides. We ended the meal with two of their desserts. One was their strawberry shortcake, which tasted like something mom would make, and the other was their Torte Cake. The pictures do not do the Torte Cake justice. It is absolutely huge! We even had people comment on it as they walked by because it was layered so high. This was the most impressive-looking dessert that I saw. While we ate our dinner, we were able to enjoy the new show called “Entwined”, which is a combination of different storybook characters put into one show. Our kids liked it and were clapping along to the music. For the full experience of Das Festaus, make sure to go when the show is going on.

My Favorite Thing: By far this has to be one of the pretzel items that we tried, but specifically I would say The Pretzel Nuggets. They were so good! I would have to say that Busch Gardens makes the best pretzel I have ever tasted.

What I would like to try next time: Since I am in love with their pretzels, I think I would have to say their pretzel wrapped hot dog. I think I could eat almost anything made with Busch Gardens pretzels.

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Eddie’s Review…

 

Ich Mag Brezeln ! That’s German for “I like Pretzels!”. I really do. They are probably one of my favorite foods. Baked bread and salt is heaven to me. And when I knew that we would be trying various items at Busch Gardens Beste Brezeln und Bier (Best Pretzels and Beer) that just opened last year, I was very happy. This is a different type of review for us. This is more of an Eat AND Play review. We all know about Busch Gardens and what they offer “Play” wise – thrilling rides, entertaining shows and beautiful landscaping makes Busch Gardens one of the top theme park destinations in the country. Don’t forget about the food though. If you don’t know, Busch Gardens Williamsburg is comprised of seven European countries – England, Scotland, Ireland, Italy, France, New France (Canada) and Germany which is broken up into two areas (Oktoberfest and “regular” Germany). With all of these countries represented here, you have a number of cuisines to choose from all in one place. That amount of flavor variety adds to the adventure of Busch Gardens. We’d love to try them all, but that would just be too much for one review. So we narrowed it down to one country – Germany.

Busch Gardens Germany offers a variety of attractions and places to eat for both young and old. As I stated above, it’s comprised of two sections – “regular” Germany and Oktoberfest. In Oktoberfest, you’ll find rides like Der Autobahn (Bumper Cars), Mäch Tower (240 foot Drop Tower), Der Wirbelwind (Swings), Curse of DarKastle (4D Motion Based Dark Ride) and coming soon, Verbolten (Roller Coaster). There’s also the Oktoberfest Games area with carnival type games where you can play to win different sized stuffed animals for your children, your sweetheart or I guess, even yourself. In “regular” Germany, you’ll find rides like Alpengeist (Roller Coaster), Kinder Karussel (Merry-Go-Round), Skyride and the Rhine River Cruise (Boat Ride along Busch Gardens river). There’s also the German Gifts area and Land of the Dragons (Children Area with Tree Houses and Children’s Rides).

For eating in Germany, the two main options are Das Festhaus and Beste Brezeln und Bier (Best Pretzels and Beer). Both of these are located in Oktoberfest. We started our eating adventure at Beste Brezeln und Bier. We ordered the Turkey and Cheese Pretzel Sandwich Platter with Homemade Chips and a Jumbo Pretzel with Sünner Kölsch Beer Infused Mustard as a dipping sauce. The sandwich was very good. It had a nice amount of carved turkey and cheese surrounded by a big and chewy pretzel. It turned out better than I expected it to. The Jumbo Pretzel was awesome. It was a humungous, puffy, soft pretzel with great flavor. We came back a few hours later after walking around the park and then tried their Pretzel Nuggets. These were good as well. Big airy puffs of pretzel dough sprinkled with salt that could be devoured in seconds. After exploring the park again, we went on to Das Festhaus for our dinner. Das Festhaus is BIG. You have tons of options food-wise. Plus, they offer a show to entertain you while you eat, which is always nice. Out of all the food options, we chose to go with the Mile High Corned Beef Sandwich, German Sampler, Strawberry Shortcake and Torte Cake. The Corned Beef Sandwich was good. They give you a generous portion of Corned Beef to fit their name “Mile High”. The German Sampler allows you to try three of their meats on one plate. They give you their ribs, sausage and baked chicken. Not bad for theme park food. The Strawberry Shortcake consisted of layers of sponge cake and whipped cream smothered in a strawberry sauce and real strawberries. I liked this. Then came the skyscraper of a dessert known as the Torte Cake. This is one big dessert. It towers above all the other desserts in the dessert case. It consisted of three fat layers of chocolate cake and whipped frosting, appropriately topped with a red cherry to finish it off. We left the park happy and full, enjoying the fun times and good eats we had with our two little daughters. Mia, the oldest (3 yrs), just told me a few hours ago while I was writing this review how she wanted to go to Busch Gardens again. Maybe Italy???

My Favorite Thing: The Jumbo Pretzel. This is one of the best soft pretzels I’ve ever had.
 
What I would like to try next time: Cinnamon Sugar Pretzel Nuggets. A sweet version of the Pretzel Nuggets.

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