London Rocks Busch Gardens

                                          Cast of London Rocks outside the Globe Theater

When you visit Busch Garden’s Williamsburg (a.k.a The Old Country) part of the fun is having a pseudo-European vacation at a much more reasonable price, and the travel time is much shorter (in most cases). The first village you encounter upon entering the park is England. This year England's Globe Theater was revamped for its new show London Rocks. London Rocks was four years in the making and is a 25-minute musical adventure that  is a true feast for the eyes and senses. 

                                      The Beatles Octopus's Garden with puppets and bubbles

London Rocks tells the story of Lucy a young girl growing up through teens, marriage and children and is artfully "told" through British rock-n-roll music and culture.  Visually London Rocks is amazing and should be seen. The combination of lighting and video technology delights the senses. There are 5 projectors that make the stage seem to come alive, sometimes it blends in so well it is hard to tell what is live action and what is video-mapped imagery. This is a family friendly show so you can bring the kids. During one part of the show the creators make a nod to the original 4-D elements showcased previously in the Globe by launching a large amount of bubbles into the audience. This is during a fun sequence with puppets to the Beatles Octopus's Garden that had my son mesmerized.

                                         Lucy rides the "tube", but is just an amazing video image.

The show uses a sometimes confusing medley of too many songs to list. They cover songs from the Beatles, The Who, and The Rolling Stones to same a few. The orchestration is genius even if it seems overdone; to put this much into one short show was no easy task. And lets face it, covering all of the music from the 50's through the 80's is a heck of a lot of music for a 25-minute show.

With the 2000 speakers (2 in each seat and 79 around the perimeter) it is a bit loud for the hearing sensitive. (which Noah and I both are, we sat in the middle, we were ok).  I am not a big theater or movie lover, I don't care for having to sit still for long. I avoid concerts like its my job, but I have to say this was an enjoyable show.  If live theater or music isn't your thing (but it is for the people with you) you should still give it a view. The air conditioning of The Globe is most welcome on a very hot and humid day in the park.

England got a little bit of a makeover too with some new flare and redesigned kiosks. Plus there are new soda machines right outside the theater. (Coca-Cola Freestyle) You can refill your park cup (or get one) with a huge variety of fizzy treats. Here you can find numerous flavors of Dr. Pepper, Mellow Yellow, and Fanta for starters. You can also add syrups like chocolate, vanilla or cherry to most sodas, and an even larger variety of flavored waters or iced teas. So even if you want something like a Vanilla Soda, you can get one, select the Segram's Sparkling Seltzer Water, then select Vanilla. Same process for Coca-Cola and Root beer lovers who may want to add a bit of chocolate or fruit flavoring. Even though soda is rotten for most people's bodies, a little treat now and then is fun, and hey you are on vacation.

London Rocks replaced Pirates 4D this May 2014 and is the first Live entertainment show in the Globe in 20 years. (Previously to Pirates 4D was Lights, Camera Action a Sesame Street themed 4D). It took over 500 craftsman and artists to create this show and lay the 76 miles of electrical, audio and video cables (which is further than Virginia Beach). A true labor of love for this Broadway-style show.

                                Swanky new seating inside Union Jax (store closest to entrance/exit)