One thing that sucks from being located in the Baltimore/D.C. region is that parks never used to open until late spring. In recent years it seems like parks have been opening a little earlier, which has been great for enthusiasts. Here in 2022, however, one regional park went with a year-round calendar. That park is Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW). Luckily for us it meant that some of the flight crew were able to get down and finally ride Pantheon! That leads us into March’s recap, which kicks off with none other than one of the most anticipated coaster openings, at least in this region.
Pantheon Preview Events
By the end of March, six of us were able to experience Pantheon for the first time. Along with Chris, Carrie, and Kaylee, I visited BGW for their Platinum Member Preview event on Friday, March 4. We expected to get just one ride, but were instead treated to re-rides. I managed five rides in total while Chris rode three times, with Carrie and Kaylee each getting two rides.
A week later, Sam was down in Virginia visiting the park with Elaina. The two of them were able to experience Pantheon thankfully as the weather that weekend was pretty poor.
Chris and Carrie would return to the park for the VIP and media preview events. Both included giveaways and festivities. Sadly, the two would not have the same luck attending Kings Dominion’s media event for Tumbili when weather allowed only 16 riders to experience the coaster before it was closed by management.
For an in depth look at the experiences I had with Pantheon, check out the video above or by reading Pantheon Preview Day Thoughts here on the site blog. I can’t wait to get back down to BGW again, hopefully on a warmer day.
Interviews ft/ Steveo Supremo of Thrill Maxx
Months ago I mentioned how I wanted to feature more interviews with fellow enthusiasts and content producers here on We Were Inverted. Two names I mentioned were Steveo Surpremo from Thrill Maxx and Cris from Cris the Girl. Both had agreed at the time and my plan was to get those added to the site in the coming months.
Things got a little busy, but I was finally able to conduct the interview for Steveo and both parts of his two-part interview made it onto the site during March. If you haven’t read his interviews, check out the links below:
- (03.15.2022) – Q&A: Thrill Maxx, Pt. 1 – The Enthusiast
- (03.22.2022) – Q&A: Thrill Maxx, Pt. 2 – The Creator
Finishing March at 711 (not 7-Eleven)
March saw the addition of 12 new pins to my collection. Two-thirds of those pins come from BGW and the remaining third, Dollywood. The four Dollywood pins were a surprise to see on eBay and I’m glad I was able to acquire them. I’m actively trying to see if the park offers ones for their remaining coaster line up as well.
As for the BGW additions, all but one, the old Loch Ness Monster button, came from my visit to the park on Platinum Member Preview Day. I landed five of the six license plate pins from the mystery boxes. Naturally, Alpengeist was the lone one I was missing and it was the one I was most looking to acquire. It looks like I have someone willing to trade theirs for one of my extra Le Scoot pins so I can complete the series.
As for the other two pins from that day, one is the Pantheon dog tag and then there is my first Presidential Pin I obtained personally. I do have others, but those are thanks to Chris.
More pins will be making their way to my collection, hopefully soon, when I touch base with Kaylee and Chris next. Kaylee went on a massive road trip and was able to pick up some Ice Breaker and Iron Gwazi pins I wanted. And while at the media and VIP events for Pantheon, Chris grabbed several newly released Pantheon pins, including the one that was a limited edition giveaway.
A Random Early Outing
On a Thursday, a couple weeks ago, Sam and I planned to go to an Amish market about 20 minutes away. That was changed to going to a farmer’s market about an hour away in Delaware. When we arrived to find most of the market closed, we looked for things to do instead. Eventually we made our way to iPlay America in New Jersey. There Sam landed a brand new SBF Visa credit. Check out this unplanned stop in iPlay America – Sam’s Most Heavily-Themed Credit of 2022.
For those of you who have been following We Were Inverted, you might recall that this wasn’t my first stop at iPlay. Their coaster, Freedom Rider, was one of the credits I landed in Part 2 of the Quest for 399 series in September of last year.
April Interview & More
I mentioned Cris from Cris the Girl up above, promising more information about her and her interview. Well, that information is that you won’t be waiting long to read more about her and her passions because her interview will be hitting the site here in April. She’s been someone I’ve longed to featured on the site and feel that her story will be a bit different than our normal coaster enthusiast-based interviews. While she does enjoy some coasters she’s experienced over the years, she’s more of an amusement park enthusiast. There are some factors at play to why that is, but I’ll let you read about it here in a couple of weeks. It’s shaping up to be a great interview.
I’m not 100 percent sure what the rest of the month will hold for We Were Inverted. I’d like to get out to some amusement parks here, but I am in the middle of a job search that need to take priority. I will still be visiting some of the regular parks and hopefully getting out to earn some new credits, but perhaps just not as regularly as I did over 2021. I will of course, keep you all posted.
