Skycoastin Steve

Please, no.

^Dude, every coaster project at every park goes through changes like that. There could be a host of reasons like difficulty of construction, cost, intensity, or practicality that could cause plans to change on a coaster. If you look at preliminary concept art of a lot of coaster projects, NONE of them are 100% like what was originally portrayed. Maybe the person that stole the plans should have kept this in mind (or not stolen them in the first place). As far as I can tell, the layout diagram that was leaked at least 6 or 7 months ago on Screamscape is precisely what is being shown now in the POV. Lance might have mislabeled where the launches were, but the track layout is identical to what is being built. As it is, this shouldn't have surprised you anyway, as they already gave away about 95% of the layout in the teaser videos! On another note, some douche bag has started an online petition to change the name of Cheetah Hunt to Cheetaka. To prevent the idiot from getting page hits, I refuse to link to it. Also, BGT just said on their facebook page that the ride is going to have lap bars, which is certainly exciting news.

^^^The coaster is following exactly the path the plans showed when they were leaked several months ago. They wouldn't just change the layout at the last second out of spite because the plans were leaked. If the wrong things were assumed from the leaks, that's not BGT's fault. Remember when everyone KNEW the new ride at Cedar Point was going to be named StratoSaur? That's what people get for assuming.

We have the launch speeds, quoted from BGT's facebook:

Ah that's right, forgot about California Screamin' and Formula Rossa.

I don't think it'll be Intamin's longest launched coaster unless it tops Maverick's 4,450 feet.

Cheetah Hunt? When there's already Cheetah Chase? Did the Cedar Fair naming guys invade this project or something?

Mother of God.

^^Montu is the only coaster that is available for the tour. It sorta makes sense, since it has the most spread out low zone area compared to rides like Kumba and Sheikra that probably don't have as much space to walk around in. ^I was always under the impression that the vultures were created in likeness of the Beatles. The movie was made in 1967, so that would make perfect sense. Always been a favorite of mine! EDIT: Here is an interesting blurb on the vultures from IMDb:

A good friend of mine always talked about building a "thrill park" in the Orlando area. I always thought he was nuts, and I think these people are nuts. However, in the rather unlikely event that this actually gets built and opens, I'll be there for the credits before they disappear. I missed my chance on HardStyle MusicRock Park.

^You can get the tour via the website here, or you can go to the Adventure Tour Center at the front of the park and purchase one there.

^^I'm curious as to why the trains having a cheetah head would make you sad. Most people would complain about the lack of theming if it didn't have something like a cheetah head on it.

And now for part 2! As is always the case with BGT, I made sure the devote a good chunk of my day to checking out all the wonderful animal exhibits that are part of the park. Anyone who goes here and doesn't go to Myombe Reserve, Edge of Africa, Jungala, the Bird House, Walkabout Way, etc. is just missing out! There are some truly unique and beautiful creatures to be seen in this park while taking a break from riding rides. Walkabout Way is the newest interactive animal experience offered by the park, and as has already been covered on here, you get to walk through an area full of kangaroos and wallabies and feed them by hand! I would be lying if I said this wasn't what I was looking forward to the most for this visit. Sure, the coasters are great, but I'm a bit of a geek when it comes to animals, and I eat up any chance I get to feed them up close and personal. This, along with the dolphin feeding exhibit at SeaWorld, will always be "must do" things for me when I visit those parks from now on. Now for pictures! The way this turtle was sitting just cracked me up. It's like he tried to belly flop into the water and landed on the rock. Brave turtle! Time to see some apes! Whatchu lookin' at, Willis? Hiding up on the hill. Lounging away on the hill. I don't know how anyone could argue that we didn't evolve from this. He's a little camera shy today. Giraffes! More giraffes with their friend the ostrich. Meerkats, the strangest/cutest creatures ever. Snuggling Meerkats, which could be a good name for a coaster element. Or maybe a sex position? Striped donkeys. Not as charming as the singing vultures from Jungle Book, but at least he posed for the camera. Hyena. "MUFASAAAAA!!!!" Papa lion. Pay no attention to the giant balls. haha, you looked! All the lions were sleeping. The other female lion. I guess papa lion is swingin' enough for two ladies. She looks passed out for the moment, though. The rhino looks, dare I say, horny? Hey, who let the ACE-er in??? He looks angry. GRRRRRRR!!!!! I are sleepy cat........ ......leave me alone. Flamingos! Pretty birds...... Woohoo! So cool! I instantly fell in love with these things. That's what she said. Jen making a furry friend. Love connection? This one grabbed my hand and started licking it when I ran out of food. I guess you can say he turned my hand into a human ice cream cone.

Time for my first update in almost two months! This will be a two-part update to showcase the fun times that were had at Busch Gardens Tampa by myself and Jen (paiging_jen on TPR) on 10/10/10. The first part will highlight the rides portion of the day, complete with our VIP backstage tour of Montu! And the second part will highlight the animal portions of the day, which included feeding kangaroos and wallabies by hand! Now for part 1. BGT is just one of those parks that has coasters that always seem to sneak up on me (much like Kennywood). Every time I go back, I have always forgotten just how good their major coasters are, almost to the point it's like riding them for the first time again. They definitely have two of the most intense B&Ms anywhere in Kumba and Montu, and also have a damn good dive coaster in Sheikra (which is crazy to think it's the 3rd best coaster in that park). Montu had crept slowly downward out of my top 10 this year as rides like X2, Phantom's Revenge, and the Intimidators leapfrogged it. However, Montu forced its way straight back into my top 10 after the rides I had on it this week (I went two days on my own, and my third day was Sunday with Jen). We also did the VIP coaster tour of Montu, which included the maintenance bay, transfer house, and a walk back that included climbing up to about 10 feet below the MCBR! For $20, it was a pretty cool experience to attain some of the knowledge that was shared during the tour, as well as get some photos that the normal public can't get. I would recommend it for anyone visiting the park. Here are my extended thoughts on the rides portion of BGT that I experienced this week. Montu - As I said before, jumped back into my top 10 steel coasters. Every element is intense, it has great pacing, the zero-g roll throws you out of your seat, and the batwing (even when trimmed) is as intense as it gets. My favorite seat was the front right. Kumba - Still kicking ass after 17 years, this is one of the most intense B&Ms you'll find anywhere. Its zero-g roll, even more so than Montu, ejects you out of your seat no matter where you're sitting in the train, and if you happen to grab the back right seat, you get an absolutely CRAZY yank coming out of the inversion. The only knock on this ride is the corkscrews have gotten pretty rough, but it's still sitting pretty just outside my top 15 steel. Sheikra - It is what it is, a dive machine. While I definitely love these rides, I really wish there was more to them. That's not to say they aren't great rides, but it always seems like they could be better. Gwazi Tiger (Lion was closed for rehab) - The whole first drop was re-tracked, which made for a somewhat smoother ride, but it still has a lot of shuffling. Busch Gardens, for the love of all things holy, PLEASE get this ride some Millennium Flyers. Scorpion - Classic Schwarzkopf, always gotta get one ride on it. As a rant to end the report, I just want to say how appalled I was with Busch's operations. They've never been known for having a great operations staff (which is odd considering how good BGW's is), but they were AWFUL this week. They were slow, cared nothing for capacity, gave absolutely, positively NO effort whatsoever towards guest interaction, and several of them were just flat out rude. I honestly don't know how a park as good as BGT can have operations that are THAT bad. They make Six Flags' ride operators look like Gods in comparison, and anyone who knows me knows that I loathe Six Flags ride operators. On two of my visits, Sheikra had three trains running, which was pointless, because the 3rd train would literally sit on the brakes for 5-6 minutes at a time while the other two trains were loading. In many cases, the 3rd train would be parked before the restraints were even locked on the 1st train! For the life of me, I don't know how they couldn't get guests on the train and have the restraints locked when given about 3 minutes to work with. They, along with Gwazi (which has the jackass "check seatbelts then lapbars" policy), were the two worst crews. And that's not to say that any other crew was that much better. Montu and Kumba both had slow crews, just not as slow as Sheikra and Gwazi. They need someone to take over that department and overhaul the departmental attitude, because as of right now, I would give them about a -1.5/10 overall. Anyway, here are the pictures. Montu from the parking lot. New for 2011, it's Giant Crane and Massive Pile of Dirt Behind Palm Tree: The Coaster! Montu doing its thing. I always like to keep my head erect. Bogey assembly of Montu! From what the guy explained, this is the fastest wheel combination they can have for Montu. Apparently, the first season it was open, they used this for every bogey assembly on the trains, but it ran way too fast. So since then, they have only been using this wheel combination on the front two cars, while the rest have softer, slower wheels. That means if you rode it in 1996 (pre trim and pre soft wheels), then you rode it at its absolute best! Ratchet assembly for each of the restraints. These are strong enough so if you picked the train up by them, they wouldn't break. More spare parts. Transfer house! The 4th Montu train. They always have one train that is taken apart and being rehabbed during the year. Nerd shot. Old wheel covers. Loop! Shows you just how low to the ground the corkscrew finale is. Under the first drop, a shot that normal guests can't get! Montu pulls 3.85 G's going up into the loop after the first drop. A zero-g roll that lives up to its name! The trim on the batwing only caught about half the times I rode it. Insane element! Climbing up into the brakes. The tour took us up the stairs to about 10 feet below the brake run! Through the palm tree! First drop view from under the brake run. Train dropping off the brake run. Yes, we were that close to it! Cool shot of the first drop. Mini loop! Such a great finish to an amazing coaster. From behind the corkscrew. Once again, yes, we were that close to it! Monster Immelmann makes for a good shot. Only picture of Scorpion. Moving on! KUMBA! Coming off the brake run. Corkscrew #1 Corkscrew #2 Tallest loop in the world when it opened, and I love how it wraps around the lift hill. Sheikra! Bigggggggg Immelmann This kid was terrified. Either that or he really had to pee and sitting on the brake run for 5 minutes wasn't helping his cause. Dropping Vertical drops rock! Any chance we can get the water replaced with human blood for Howl-O-Scream? The tunnel says OM NOM NOM NOM! Air Grover! Credit #270! Thumbs up! Gwazi is a Liger. It's pretty much my favorite animal. Bred for its shuffling and jack-hammering. Hmmmm..... What is that lurking in the field over there?

Do we keep the extra "B" on the acronym? SOB(B)?

^^Awwww come on now. Don't be so bitter! No but seriously, I would like you to explain the thought process behind how they could sue anyone from this site. Please, give me yet another laugh from this thread.

Sour grapes never tasted so good! Anyway, what would those people sue for? Are you really that f***ing stupid to think they have any grounds for a lawsuit?

^Cats in space? I'll donate to that!

For the record, the guy that wrote this is named Steve, but not this Steve. I'm getting a giant donkey-sized kick out of this whole thing.

^The reason Griffon can't operate under 42 degrees is because of the possibility of the coaster stalling. Since a drop tower doesn't have that problem, I would think it can operate as long as the wind speed was low enough.

^Their facebook page is unbearable. More brain dead people post on that page than the rest of the interwebs combined.

Maybe this guy will donate some money and his tiny giraffe to the project. Opulence, he has it.

According to this story, Busch Gardens will formally announce the new coaster next Wednesday on facebook, and then to the rest of the media shortly after. Link to story

That's what I was thinking.

Timberliners are also going to have similar side guards.