Pantheon Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Credit: Busch GardensIt is unusual for any business actually to listen to its customers. It is even more remarkable to take feedback from guests and dramatically alter one of its promotions to make them feel they were heard.
Last week, Busch Gardens Williamsburg tweeted that its roller coaster, Pantheon, was the fastest multi-launch coaster in the world. They were so confident in the claim that they followed it up with, “Don’t even think of debating us on this.”
Reminder that literally EVERYONE should be debating @BuschGardensVA on this because it has been blatantly false advertising from the start. Pantheon is GREAT—making it all the more sad that BGW chooses to rely on lies rather than highlighting its actual merits.
Real 🤡 behavior. https://t.co/dq8b6GUmH6
— BGWFans (@BGWFans) June 14, 2024
Related: Fans Want Busch Gardens to Apologize After ‘Blatantly False Advertising’
Coaster enthusiasts have decided to debate Busch Gardens Williamsburg on this claim, saying that the company has “blatantly lied” about the speed of their coaster and that there are other faster multi-launch coasters.
While thrill ride fans took no issue with Busch Gardens’ comments about Pantheon’s speed and record-breaking status, they did point out that Soaring with Dragon at Hefei Suna Land in China has a top speed of 77.7 mph, making it faster than Pantheon.
So, this week, to appease its most hardcore guests, Busch Gardens Williamsburg changed the description of its coaster to be more factually accurate.
Last week, the description on the amusement park’s website read:
Pantheon, the world’s fastest multi-launch roller coaster, harnesses the speed and strength of five of the greatest Roman Gods. This record-breaking coaster stands 180 feet tall with a top speed of 73 mph and features a 95° drop, 4 launches, 5 air-time hills, and 2 inversions.
We criticize @BuschGardensVA when they misstep, so it's essential that we do our best to highlight when they change course and correct their mistakes as well.
Huge props to BGW for removing their claim that Pantheon is the world's fastest multi-launch coaster! 👏 Big 👍 from us! pic.twitter.com/N1vibZQcmw
— BGWFans (@BGWFans) June 17, 2024
This week, Busch Gardens changed the description to read:
Pantheon, harnesses the speed and strength of five of the greatest Roman Gods. This record-breaking coaster stands 180 feet tall with a top speed of 73 mph, and features a 95° drop, 4 launches, 5 air-time hills and 2 inversions.
Voted one of the world’s most anticipated coasters of 2022 by USA Today 10Best Awards, this coaster located in the park’s Festa Italia Village further elevates Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s portfolio to nine world-class coasters that are sure to delight even the most daring-thrill seekers.
After roasting the park for what they called “blatantly lying,” theme park fans quickly gave Busch Gardens Williamsburg props for realizing and correcting their mistake. The amusement park has one of the best coasters in America; there is no reason to stretch the truth.
The theme park also received praise from guests for listening to their criticism and making changes to appease them, something very few other parks do.
Busch Gardens Williamsburg has since taken down the tweet claiming that Pantheon is the fastest multi-launch coaster in the world.
So, well done, Busch Gardens. At least guests know that someone is listening.
What are your experiences at Busch Gardens Williamsburg?