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Oh man that was YOU I met before the rope drop! I was the chick who commented on your Club TPR shirt and showed off my Club TPR lanyard. Actually there are 14 or 15 cheetahs total in the habitat, but they're rotated out and kept in distinct social groups. I guess the ones you saw were the seven sisters. There's at least one male at Cheetah Run. His name is Steelman. He's the largest male there... Cheetah Gifts has a section of artwork for sale done by Steelman (paw prints of course). The info thing by the art display says he loves to interact with guests and his trainers.

Great TR! I've been curious about this park since I first heard about it last year. It looks like a really nice park and I bet it'll be even better once all the rides are going and all the shops are open. But I agree with others that it needs more shade.

Ok I want to clarify something for people going off about the "booing" thing. That was actually something I personally did not do. People around me did, so I just said "we", but in hindsight I should have just said "people around me". Ok? Does that clear that up now? Yeah I was frustrated and disappointed the coaster wasn't going yet, but the sun/heat was zapping my energy. I probably couldn't "boo" if I wanted to. I was near the very front of the line and everyone was VERY civil where I was. Maybe it was different further back. We even cheered when they brought out the yellow barricades as we took it as a good sign the ride would be ready soon. When all was said and done, the long wait was TOTALLY worth it and like I said in my other post, if I had to do it all over again, I probably would. I can't wait to go back next weekend for the morning ERT for passholders they're doing every weekend in June before the park opens. I HATE getting up early, but I'll do it for Cheetah Hunt. I think this might be my new fave coaster in the park.

Wow that was just terrible. Some of those idiots were really going to the extremes today, especially that Antonio tool who kept going on and on. I wanted to find him and burn his AP for him. We don't need trash like that. I stuck it out and waited in the sun 4.5 hours because I wanted to be one of the first to ride. I held up WAY better than I expected. A nice girl held my spot in line so I could go back to my car to get my bag/money. I thanked her buy buying her a bottle of water, which she appreciated. I made small talk with people around me (I was maybe 4 or 5 people from the very front up at the entrance to Cheetah Hunt. We all passed the time just chatting, joking around and stuff. yeah we'd boo when they'd make announcements about the coaster not being open, but it wasn't a borderline riot or anything. Quite the opposite. Those of us who stuck around the whole time were very patient and orderly, which really surprised me. We did started chanting "LET US IN!" to the drum beat of the drummer street performers who came out a couple times. The drummers were cracking up and encouraging us to keep going. They passed out free bottled water to us not once, but TWICE! Very much appreciated. I started hollering I wanted a free cheetah, which drew quite a few laughs (I ended up buying a little plush one later). When they started sending the test trains around, every time one went by, everyone started cheering... especially the first one. We went NUTS! Finally at 2:00, we were ready to go and they led us through the queue and it was like one big party. Everyone was cheering, chanting "CHEETAH! CHEETAH!" and slapping hands as we passed each other. It was great! And the coaster itself? LOVED IT! I was on the 2nd or 3rd train out in the front row. That 2nd launch really packs a punch and the figure 8 feels a lot faster than it looks. Got some good airtime on a couple hills too. I was hollering and hooting the whole ride and waving to people on the Skyride (and they were waving back). It was just awesome. It was worth waiting 4.5 hours in the sun to be one of the first general public rides. And I'm just crazy enough I'd do it all over again (maybe). Oh and when I was going to get in line for the Skyride, who do I run into, but park president Jim Dean! I stopped him to tell him how much I loved the coaster and he asked if I was one of the first riders, which I told him I was. He apologized for the long delay and I told him it was ok because it was totally worth the wait. I even got him to pose with Wonderpup for a photo! Now.... PICTURES!!! I think I want this shirt. Plushies!! Nice shirt Wheeee!! To quote Robb: "88 MILES AN HOUR!" Kitties!! I didn't see the one on the left had its tongue out until I looked at the pics on my laptop and I CRACKED UP! Taken from the Skyride. Twisty!! ShiekRa from the Skyride Kumba from the Skyride WOO-HOO!!! Wonderpup with park president, Jim Dean!

^ The thing with Snow White, up until 1983, the guest riding was Snow White. The ride was from her perspective, so in that respect, it made sense to go from basically biting the apple to "And they lived happily ever after" because if you were Snow White, you would have been out cold. But then they redid Fantasyland and they added Snow in the ride because people were complaining she wasn't seen at all in the ride before then. When all is said & done regarding Little Mermaid though... I still like it and I can't wait for WDW's version. Ariel is the only princess I don't want to smack upside the head.

Someone got some full HD POV video of Little Mermaid during today's soft open and put it on YouTube! Don't watch if you don't want any spoilers! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aIarm5FEQXI For what it is, I like it, but the ending is very abrupt and "WTF?!" worthy.

I too hope the park won't be too bad, but with the new coaster & animal habitat getting its grand opening, plus the Friday starting a holiday weekend... we'll see. Hopefully most people will be at work and school for at least half the day. I got the day off so....

More! More!

That POV made me even more excited. It looks like a really fun coaster. And that's the important thing... that it's FUN. I can NOT wait until Friday. I have cheetah mania and my poor coworkers have been dealing with listening to me go on and on about it all week.

I need to go back and look at the photos I started taking every 2 weeks starting in January through now... amazing how fast this thing went up when you think about it. And what Adam said, this whole corner of the park has been given new life and it looks gorgeous. Friday can NOT get here fast enough!

Yup. They have I think 15 cheetahs over at the Cheetah Run habitat (16 including Kasi). They'll have the cheetahs doing sprints several times a day to show how fast these beautiful cats are. I can NOT wait for Friday. Right now the 10 day forecast shows a high of 89 and 30% chance of rain/storms. The forecast in Tampa Bay changes on a daily basis, but I'll be keeping an eye on it regardless. Just hoping the big grand opening doesn't get rained out.

^ Yeah it is odd, but at the same time, they STILL doing some construction here and there, adding finishing touches to the area. They might not be done with all that until Thursday at the very latest. I saw a bunch of workers in that area today tweaking things and working on stuff. They're working around the clock to get this ready for the grand opening. Oh and the funny thing today was when I was taking photos, I had 2 or 3 people ask me if I knew when the coaster would be opening. Do they not see the signs and billboards all over the place stating May 27?

Wish I had seen this before I went to the park today. Well, good to know! I'll be sure to do that when I'm back next Friday for Cheetah Hunt's grand opening. Here are some photos I got today: Merchandise is in the Cheetah Gifts shop Saw some new cheetah merchandise in the Caravan Crossings shop Kasi! Baby aardvark Skyride was testing today

I went to Busch Gardens for awhile to see how Cheetah Hunt and Cheetah run were looking (and hoping for a soft opening, but no luck). I did see the Skyride testing and saw Kasi the cheetah cub (can he BE any cuter??). There were a ton of out of town middle school groups there on class trips though, which was annoying. So I didn't stay as long as I had originally planned.

OMG Do it! Do it! DOOOOOO IIIITTTT!!!!

I've never been asked to show my ID, but your name is printed on your passport. And yes they still have the finger scanners. That's what they basically use to verify you're using your pass (and not passing it along to someone else to use). Oh and your pass will be just like a regular one-day admission ticket (i.e., a flimsy paper ticket), so I I highly recommend investing in one of those passholder lanyards they sell in just about every gift shop. I like that my lanyard is different (it's beaded instead of fabric... I got it at one of the shops in the park a few years ago, but they don't sell those ones anymore). I've never used Quick Queue, so I can't help you there. For me, if a line is too long, I just skip it. There's times I'll go to the park and not ride anything and just enjoy the atmosphere, the animals & the shows. I have a 2 year passport, so I know I have plenty of time to just come back another day. And in other news, at work today we were told we get next Friday off (4 day Memorial Day weekend? YES PLEASE!), so I get to go to the grand opening of Cheetah Hunt! Still mad I can't go to the nighttime ERT event that night though. Grrrrr. Oh well. I would happily pay for a ticket if BGT offered a limited amount for sale.

They look like gravestones to me.

I'd pay $60 just to hold and feed the tiger! Holy crap that's just awesome. Tigers are my favorite animal and I would give just about anything to be able to pet one. Oh and the photo is great! I'm so jealous.

As was already posted, when the tram drops you off at the gate, go to the self-serve ticket machines (you can miss them) and follow the steps. Be sure to have your passport voucher with you. BGT does not have photos on their AP's. I have a 2 year passport and it doesn't have a photo. I remember back maybe 10 or so years ago even the FL resident FunCards had photos on them, but not anymore. As for the parking, yes it'll still be free. Just show your passport voucher to the parking attendant. They'll take it to scan so they can print out a receipt to give you, then send you on your way. And don't forget you get a 10% discount on food & merchandise (including on the refills if you have one of those sports bottles... totally worth the $7.99!).

LOL! I have a video on my YouTube channel from 2005 (I think) of Lightning McQueen & Mater driving down Hollywood Blvd to their meet & greet location at MGM (as it was still known at the time, now Disney's Hollywood Studios). In the comments, I saw the following: "Where is this?" The title of the video was "Cars at MGM" and the video description clearly said where it was and what you were watching. Makes me want to reach through the computer and SMACK them.

^ Adam posted a pic of just that in this very update. CREEPY!

We got a couple really cool ones over by the Gulf beaches in Tampa Bay. It's part of a small chain called Smuggler's Cove. There's one in Indian Shores, Maderia Beach and there's another in Bradenton and I think Sarasota. They're pirate themed and beautiful. My BF & I played the one in Indian Shores a couple months ago and really enjoyed it. We were going to do the one in Maderia Beach last weekend, but it rained, so we decided to try another time. You can check them out here: www.smugglersgolf.com I have some photos I took with my phone of the Indian Shores location. If you'd like to see, let me know and I'll upload them sometime. This weekend we're going to Orlando and I want to try the Pirate's Cove over at the Crossroads. Looks pretty nice from what I've seen driving by it a bazillion times on I-4. I want to try The 2 different Congo River locations on I-Drive sometime as well. I live near the Congo River in Clearwater and it's pretty nice. Good theming. Its even busy with all the construction going on right in front of it out on US 19.

I absolutely hated "Under New Management". It was so bad I've seen people get up and walk out muttering, "What is this mess?" To bring the Tiki Room back to its former glory makes me happy. Looks like the Offenbach number won't be back though (I'm one of the few loonies who LIKED that number), but as long as they don't start singing doo-wop, Miami Sound Machine or any "modern" songs, all will be good. Long live Jose, Fritz, Michael and... the other bird (I can't remember his name)! A friend of mine heard the old Florida Orange Bird might somehow get incorporated into the scheme of things. I would LOVE to see him back in some form. I remember meeting the walk-around character in the 70's and had a little toy Orange Bird too. I don't think he'd fit into the show itself, but maybe the preshow or over at the Sunshine Tree Terrace stand that's at the exit to the Tiki Room. I'd buy a lot more Citrus Swirls (orange & vanilla swirled soft serve... I love them more than Dole Whips).

Whatever happens, happens. But I do appreciate the offer, very cool of you to do this if you can't get a Funcard for your brother.

How much can I bribe you for one of those? I am so bummed I didn't win either of those contests on the BGT blog. I wanted to go to that night time ERT SO bad. *sigh* Oh well. /done whining