live2tell75

Thanks to everyone for posting the kind comments throughout my report, I appreciate them. The whole area is beautiful. I can see why some may think the loading platform looks unflattering. It's not that noticeable because it is set in a corner and the rest of the area is pretty themed. But I agree, it still would have been nice to theme the queue like in a cave, similar to the way they did for The Wild Surge.

The trip report is all up to date. I've added a few more photos throughout mixed with the original photos. I've also updated all my reviews for the different areas of Jungala. Enjoy!

I've updated this report with my review of the Bengal Tigers Habitat on page one. I'll have more updated with my thoughts on the rest of Jungala soon!

Random final photos. The media event was an awesome experience. Thanks to Robb and Elissa for letting me cover this event. Jungala is amazing! If you really want to get up close to a tiger or explore a jungle, then go check out Jungala at Busch Gardens Africa! Thanks for reading! Thank you Laura for being such an awesome host! My complete Jungala collection of goodies. The backside featured a schedule of the events for the day. My media event Jungala press pass. A Busch Gardens Africa DVD featuring promotional videos of some of the rides. Also a Jungala photo disc (which I'm sad to say doesn't work) =( I tried on both my Mac and Kevin's PC. Jungala shirt. Not just a notebook but a cool planner too! A cool notebook. For attending the media event, I received a lot of cool Jungala goodies like this backpack. A different camera angle of Sheikra You know it's Spring Break when The Scorpion has a line the extends outside!!!! Yeah for the water portion of Rhino Rally!

Orangutan Outpost: Along with the Tiger Trails habitat, The Orangutan Outpost is the other main large animal exhibit in Jungala. If you had visited Busch Gardens Africa in the past, you might remember they had a small orangutan exhibit located where Sheikra is now. Their new home is gorgeous! They so much room to roam around. From swinging from the trees, testing on top of the large outpost towers, or getting up close to the viewing areas, I think the orangutans are enjoying their new home. You can view these animals in a few different areas. Outside you can have a great view of the large outpost towers that the orangutans like to sit on top of. Or you visit inside the air-conditioned viewing area. Like the tiger exhibit, this has large viewing windows that overlook the habitat. But the best part of this area, there is a glass window in the floor. A rope hammock is attached to the underside of the floor. This allows guests to get very close to the orangutans. As you can see in the following photos, I was lucky enough to see one of the animals hanging out in the rope hammock and interacting with park guests. The orangutans were so cute! This will be another area of the Jungala I could spend a long time in. Check out when the boy put his hand to the glass, the orangutan met his hand to the glass! If you don't smile when you see these animals, then you are evil!!! So cute!!! This makes for awesome up-close interactions with the orangutans. As you can see, there is a glass panel in the floor with a rope hammock attached to the floor. But the best part of this exhibit is inside the Orangutan Outpost's viewing building. The Orangutan Outpost, unlike the their previous home, is very large. The orangutans have a fantastic new habitat. Final stop, The Orangutan Outpost. Like the tiger exhibit, the Orangutan Outpost is a must-see when visiting Jungala. They seemed happy having a bird's eye view over Jungala. One of a few high posts for the orangutans.

The Tree Top Trails After the media event we explored the large play area geared for tweens, The Tree Top Trails. This is a wonderful play area for kids of all ages. Tree Top Trails features climbing nets, rope bridges, caves, cargo mazes, water elements, and a toddler area. The play area is mult-layered, so guests can explore the many different levels of jungle life. For the media event, workers were busy putting the final touches to a few of the smaller animal habitats in this area. Set within The Tree Top Trails is the Kulu Canopy. This animal exhibit features northern white-checked crested gibbons, flying foxes and gharials (crocodilians with long narrow snouts). Many areas on the different levels of The Tree Top Trails give guests unique and excellent viewing opportunities to see the animals. An example: on the third level, there is a cave that ends with a glass viewing bubble that rests on a tree branch in the middle of the gibbon's habitat. Located within The Tree Top Trails are 2 rides: The Wild Surge and The Jungle Flyers. Wild Surge is a frog hopper set in a very cool theme. It bursts out of a rock cave and peaks over a waterfall. The second ride, The Jungle Flyers is a series of 3 zip lines that take young guests high over Jungala and then back. This should be popular with the kids. Just a warning: The Jungle Flyers is intended for kids. In order to ride, guests have to be under the age of 13 and weigh less than 220lbs. During the media day, the zip line was used during the media presentation, but did not open to the other guests. If it hasn’t opened yet, it should open any day now. I feel that The Tree Top Trails is a great addition for the family. Busch Gardens has the large play area for children in Land of the Dragons. Now there is a play area for that in- between-age. The too young for Sheikra, but too old for the Land of the Dragoons. I think this area will be a big hit. The area really makes you feel like you are one with nature. It does look pretty cool shooting above the rocks and the waterfall (which is on the other side). Wild Surge frog hopper No Jungle Flyers today. =( Because the toddler play area is under shade, this should be nice for families during the hotter days. A toddler play area The kids seemed to really love the water elements. Water playgrounds are a wise feature in any kid's area in Florida. The whole area was very cool with its many different levels. All the kids seemed to be having a lot of fun. Did I mention there are a lot of rope bridges? This area features lots of cargo nets and bridges. The Tree Top Trails are set deep within Jungala. Time to check out The Tree Top Trails The Tree Top Trails is fun for kids of all ages! Themed drums for kids to make tribal music with.

The Media Presentaion After exploring the village, it was time for the media program to begin. The event started with a parade of the colorful stilt walkers followed by the day's speakers: Donnie Mills: Executive VP & GM of Busch Gardens Africa, Mark Rose: VP of Design & Engineering, Glenn Young: VP of Zoological Operations and Virginia M. Busch, President of the Sea World & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund and Conservation Ambassador for the Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks. The speakers elaborated on the meaning of Jungala, basically it is a celebration of all the creatures that make up the wild. To view a video of the complete media event click on this link: http://www.videonewswire.com/event.asp?id=46873 and it will take you to The Worlds of Discovery website. After the speakers were finished, everyone counted down, and a burst of confetti and high energy music filled the air. And about 100 school kids attacked and experienced the next stop on our tour, The Treetop Trails. The colorful parade kicks off the media event. A rider shows off The Jungle Flyers, over Mark Rose's head. Mark is the Vice President of Design & Engineering. I thought it is really cool how Virginia, is continuing the legacy of her family name in helping with conservation. Virginia M. Busch, President of the Sea World & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund and Conservation Ambassador for the Anheuser-Busch Adventure Parks. Between the Worlds of Discovery Parks: Busch Gardens, Sea World, Discovery Cove and Aquatica they care for the largest collection of animals in the world - 50,000 animals! Press from all over the world was here to check out Jungala. Glenn Young, Vice President of Zoological Operations. Executive Vice President and General Manager of Busch Gardens Africa, Donnie Mills. After a countdown, Jungala officially opens to a colorful musical explosion of festivities!

After a bite to eat from a yummy breakfast buffet provided, Laura and I checked out the main village area of Jungala. This area features upbeat tribal music, colorful costumed stilt wakers and zoo educators giving park guests the opportunity to touch and learn about rare exotic animals. One of the Jungle Flyer Ziplines flying over the village. The main central area of Jungala. A group of the colorful stilt walkers. Hands on interactions with the animals.

Cont. The Bengal Bistro's seating area. The Bengal Bistro, a new eating spot, formally The Vivi Restaurant. Also for the media event, Busch provided everyone with a pretty yummy hot breakfast buffet set up in front of the restaurant. The "Giving Wall" The Jungala gift shop, complete with a little tiger viewing area in the trunk of the tree. Tiger Lodge, home to great viewing areas and the Adventure camps sleep-overs. The Tiger-Pop-Up

Bengal Tiger Habitat First up Laura and I checked out one of the main elements of Jungala, The Bengal Tiger Exhibit. Growing up, when visiting Busch Gardens Africa I always enjoyed Claw Island, home to four Bengal Tigers. For those that never got to see Claw Island, it was a good size tiger habitat with a few bridge-viewing areas set in the heart of the Congo section of the park. When Disney’s Animal Kingdom debuted their The Maharajah Jungle Trek attraction in the Asian section of the park in late 1999, I fell in love with their Tiger exhibit. Disney’s tiger exhibit brought guests close to the tigers through viewing windows that were surrounded by highly elaborate Asian themed architecture. It was one of my favorite animal exhibits in any park, until now. At Jungala, the new Bengal Tiger habitat in my opinion blows any other tiger exhibit away. You begin entering The Tiger Lodge, an enclosed air-condioned large viewing area of the one of the 2 tiger habitats. The Tiger Lodge has plenty of views of the 12 Bengal Tigers. Yep, they now have 12 tigers total, which is a pretty large collection for a zoo. Lots of positives about The Tiger Lodge: There are many different angles of the glass windows to see the animals. It’s air-condioned so it’s a great place to escape form the brutal Florida heat or crazy thunderstorms. The lodge will also be used for Busch Garden’s family sleepovers and adventure camps. I don’t know about you, but being able to sleep next to the tigers would be pretty awesome! The lodge also features the Jungala “giving Wall mural. By purchasing a bead from the adjacent gift shop in the lodge, you help donate towards the Busch Gardens/Sea World Conservation Fund. Once you have your bead, you place it on the rainforest mural. The idea is that once the rainforest mural is complete, all the beads represent a small part in helping with conservation. After The Tiger Lodge you take a trek on The Tiger Trials. The trails include many different elements. The first part of the trail winds through a cave with large viewing windows on either side overlooking the 2 tiger habitats. The best part of the cave is that there is a glass bridge that connects between the 2 exhibits that travels directly above the trail. The zoo exhibit educators can open both sides of the bridge to let the tigers travel between, or just open one side of the bridge. It was awesome to view one, two or three tigers walking or just sitting above the park guests walking on the trail. The next part of the trail features the “tiger tug-of-war”. During the media day, the “tiger tug-of-war” was not being demonstrated. From talking to one of the exhibit educators, he explained that the tug-of-war would be a demonstration conducted with zoo educators and park volunteers. The park guests will be specifically picked based on which tiger wants to participate. 2 large guests might be picked to participate when a more aggressive tiger is on the other end. A smaller park guest may be picked when a playful tiger is on the other end. Don’t expect to always be able to experience this. The main factor will be if the tiger wants to participate. It should be interesting to see/experience when it happens. A unique part of The Tiger Trails is an underwater cave tunnel that guests can stoop down and travel through. This gives park guests perfect views of when the tigers decide to take swim in their large plunge pool. This was very cool! Once you get through the underwater tunnel, you come up to a cave with a ladder. One or two park guests can climb to the top and experience what it is like to be in the middle of the habitat. Basically the park calls it the Tiger Pop-U p. It’s a bubble that sticks out of the ground and guest’s heads are in the middle of everything! It was pretty cool. The only thing that I noticed that there wasn’t very much air and it was pretty hot. But then again you’re probably not going to be in there for a long period of time anyways. The rest of The Tiger Trails give fantastic views of the multi-level habitats. The tigers were very active through the exhibit. They were coming up to the glass windows and seemed very curious of all the new visitors. It is a really surreal experience to be that close. They are such beautiful creatures and so big! I could spend hours just hanging out in this exhibit! I cannot wait to go back to this area. More reviews, captions and my thoughts of the rest of Jungala coming soon! Stay tuned! Don't move! There is a tiger behind you! Yep the white tiger is still stalking me! This underwater tunnel will give guests a perfect view of the tigers taking a swim. Stairway down to the underwater tunnel. The hole in the fence represents were the tiger-tug-of-war experience will be. Total stalker! I have a feeling the white tiger was stalking me. The awesome bridge connecting the 2 habitats. I love this photo. The little girl had no idea that the tiger ran up and was behind her! One of the tigers coming out of the glass bridge in the cave. I just want pet it! The tigers seemed very interested in all of the guest activities. Hope they have been fed! Don't you just want give it a hug! Ok maybe that might not be a great idea. I want to keep all my limbs. =p Did I mention that you get really close. Absolutely gorgeous! I spy a tiger! Very lush. Let's explore The Tiger Trail.

Hello everyone! I had the great honor of representing TPR at today's Jungala Media Day at Busch Gardens Africa. It was an amazing time! The new addition to Busch Gardens Africa is awesome! I started out my adventure arriving a the park at 6:45 in the morning. I checked in at the media tent and got my bag of goodies: A Jungala press kit including a folder with everything you need to know about Jungala, a back pack, stationary and pen, t-shirt, DVD and photo CD. This was pretty cool since this was my first time ever being part of the "media". I met with my media ambassador host, Laura. Laura was a fantastic guide and a major help throughout the day. Onto the photos! The main village of Jungala. Cool animal stone statues. At the Stanleyville side Jungala entrance A overview of Jungala seen from the Skyride. All about the creatures that make up Jungala. As it says at the top, it's the Jungala fact sheet. Overview of Jungala. Let's take a look inside. The Jungala press folder. I checked in around 6:45 am. Where to start off the adventure? The tigers sound good!

^It has been open since March 1st. The park has an official media grand opening on April 4th.

My Final Thoughts: We had a great time at Aquatica. I think it is a great addition to Orlando. This park does have something for everyone. The park is very colorful. A lot of people have asked me if Aquatica is my favorite water park. My answer is no. I don't think I have a favorite water park. I love elements from all the water parks I have been to. Typhoon lagoon is awesome because of it's theme, it's kick ass wave pool and there are lots of hidden relaxing areas. Blizzard Beach's theme is the most elaborate and features lots of thrills. Wet n' Wild has my favorite attractions but totally lacks on a consist theme, shade and the last few times I visited, the park was kind of dirty. I'll always love Adventure Island, because this is my home water park. It has pretty good theming and has a lot of shaded areas. I really love White Water in Atlanta. It is a really big park and is set in the woods, which is different from the Florida parks. With the exception of shade, Aquatica has captured a lot of elements of many parks. Thrills can be found with Dolphin Plunge, and the Taumata Racers. The whole family can enjoy pretty much everything in the park together. Again, the theming is very bright and colorful. I think visitors will really enjoy this park. I plan on visiting Aquatica again in the next 2 weeks, so it will be intertesting to see if anything has changed. Thanks for reading!

Whanau Way is a 4 flume slide complex. When we were at the park preview, you could only ride using a single inter tube. I have heard you can now experience this attraction on a single or double person inter tube. Overall these were fun slides. The sun sets over Aquatica. Another place to get a bite to eat. Erik is all thumbs up for Whanau Way!

^ yep, it is a clock that: 1. Tells when the next waves are coming. 2. The time. 3. The temp. of the water.

Wave Pools Aquatica consists of 2 side by side wave pools, Big Surf Shores and Cutback Cove. Both offer different wave cycles. The wave pools are surrounded by a huge beach filled with plenty of chairs for sunbathers and sand for the kids to play in. Also near the wave pools are the private Cabana rentals. One of the private cabana areas

Part 5 cont. Kata's Kookaburra Cove is a pretty nice children's area. Like the rest of the park, it is very colorful and features lots of slides for the little ones.

Part 5: Wahalla Wave is hands down one of the best family raft slides I have ever been on! We hit the sides like crazy! HooRoo Run is a fun family slide, but not anywhere as intense of the surprisingly steep drops on The Bubba Tub at Wet n' Wild. Taumata Racer is a excellent open/enclosed head-first racing slide. You really move on these! Because this has 8 slides, I assume that it will be the best attraction on a crowded day. Like Riptide at Adventure Island, this is a cool attraction. Next up: Taumata Racer. HooRoo Run, was fun but not as cool as Wahalla Wave. Wahalla Wave kicked ass! Time to check out the 2 family raft slides, Wahalla Wave and HooRoo Run. Banana Beach Cookout was a pretty good all-u-can eat buffet that was valid the entire day.

So I'm finally trying to get caught up with all of my photo trip reports. I thought I would just group all of my holiday photos into one report. Better late than never! First up is Mickey's Very Merry Christmas Party at The Magic Kingdom. I went to the event with my #2 mom, Sue. We had a fantastic time. I had never been to this event. Like the Halloween Party, this was a lot of fun. The decorations, music, parade and the drop-dead castle drenched with lights were all awesome! I wish we could have enjoyed the complimentary hot chocolate, but since it was 85 degrees and really humid, we had one sip and that was enough! The cookies were good though. If you have never been, I highly recommend going. Onto the photos! Next up: Holiday Resort tour with Kevin

Part 4: Roa's Rapids- Roa's Rapids was one of my favorite attractions of the day. Unlike the Loggerhead Lane lazy river, Roa's Rapids was anything but lazy! This has a super fast current! You really pick up speed when making the turns. In this river, tubes are not allowed, but life vests are provided. I wasn't surprised how many adults I saw wearing the life vests, because of the fast current. The river featured lots of waterfalls and fountains. Roa's Rapids is another major plus for Aquatica! Another gift shop, Adaptations.

Part 3: Walkabout Waters & Roa's Rapids Walkabout Waters - All I can say is this is the most awesome water fortress attraction I have ever been in. It is huge! Not one, but two large buckets dump over the complex. There are many different flumes. And the best part is, unlike Splash Attack at Adventure Island, all the water effects - water guns, hoses, sprays, etc.. work! I guess it helps that it is brand new. This is a major plus for the park.

Part 3: Walkabout Waters and Roa's Rapids

Part 2 Cont.: Tassie's Twisters: Tassie's Twisters are fun bowl slides that empty out into Loggerhead Lane. I have only been on one other bowl slide and that was Disco H2O at Wet n' Wild. I'm going to have to say even though I enjoyed Tassie's Twisters, Disco H2O is much cooler. Disco H2O has much more going for it: It is enclosed, has special effects, lighting, music and a pretty steep drop. I think Tassie Twisters is great for the family.

Part 2 Cont.: Loggerhead Lane Loggerhead Lane is a pretty cool lazy river. The best part is that you are required to use a tube. This makes more of a "lazy river". You can just float along and not worry about annoying obnoxious kids splashing running/swimming through the river. The main difference of this lazy river is that it floats through 2 caves with aquariums. One cave features an underwater view of the Commerson's dolphin exhibit and Dolphin Plunge. The other cave features a large aquarium filled with many tropical fish. Yes, the aquariums could be a little bigger, but it was still awesome. How many lazy rivers even have aquariums? Thought this was a major plus for the park and puts this almost in the league with Disney's lazy rivers. Pretty fishies Erik wants to see some fishies I know I am. Will and Erik are you ready too see some dolphins?

Part 2 Dolphin Plunge If you know anything about Aquatica, Dolphin Plunge is the park's unique signature attraction. The attraction features 2 enclosed tube slides that twist a couple of times in pitch darkeness. Then trough a clear section trough a Commerson's dolphin habitat. This is the most popular attraction in the park. And since it is one of the first attractions guests see once entering the park, it is a natural draw. We rode this twice, once early in the morning and once in the afternoon. When we rode in the morning, the clear part of the tube was fogged up. But later in the day the tube was pretty clear. I think it is a neat idea, but you do travel through the dolphin part pretty fast. If you look to your side, you probally can see a lot better. Honestly, I am not a big fan of enclosed body slides. But I love enclosed slides where you site on a raft. The Black Hole at Wet n' Wild is one of my all time favorites. I don't think I'm clostraphobic, but I do like that enclosed raft slides are usually a lot bigger. I feel more in control when riding on a raft, on a slide. Anyone else know what I mean? I probably sound pretty crazy! I think that is why I probably didn't enjoy Dolphin Plunge as I had hoped too. I think I was worrying how fast I was going and when I needed to hold my breath before hitting the spash pool. After saying this, I will definitely check it out again. I now know what to expect and next time should be able enjoy it more. One of the first attractions you see once entering the park. First up, Dolphin Plunge. One of three gift shops in the park. Front area of the park, including Dolphin Plunge, Tassie's Twisters and Loggerhead Lane.