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rcrider4

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    Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

    in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!

    Posted

    Honestly, with Florida weather, you can't really predict the time rain will start or stop this far out. It will almost certainly be different by Thursday or Friday. I would wait until at least Thursday and look again. If it has pretty much no chance of rain after 2, go for Friday. School will be in and the rain will keep people away, so it will be pretty dead and you'll have no problem riding everything a couple times. If the rain chance gets worse, go for Saturday, as weather shuts down pretty much every ride in the park as everything is outdoors. It will be busier Saturday, but with the long Christmas Town hours, you'll have plenty of time to do all the rides as long as you get there near opening.

    Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

    in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!

    Posted

    It is, but not that much. Mainly just some smaller Christmas trees lit up along the pathway

    So the places area month travels in is pitch black? Hooray!

     

    Do they untrim montu at night?

    Montu isn't in pitch black as it has lights along the ride path, but it's still pretty dark. The only coaster that really gets absolutely pitch black is the back half of Cheetah Hunt. Going through the canyon has literally no light.

    They don't untrim Montu at night, but since it is colder, it tends to run a little slower, and thus the trim isn't as bad.

     

    They did have a light display to music on the Crown Colony House. Sorry, I didn 't get any pictures of that. My son was preoccupied with getting his rides on Cheetah Hunt.

    Yep they do. It's done to Carol of the Bells and runs every 15 minutes. It's not technically in the Egypt area, but the Crown Colony Plaza though, so that's why I didn't include it. The actual Egypt area is the least lot area of the park besides Congo, which has almost nothing at all IIRC.

    Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

    in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!

    Posted

    Looks great! I've been wanting to see the layout of this! So I heard there was a forwards part, backwards part, and then spinning part. I'm assuming the spinning is after the second lift, but which part is the backwards part?

    Jeff Hornick said in an interview with Screamscape that you go up the second lift backwards and start spinning at the top. I wouldn't be surprised if that long brake run before the lift is the part where it switches direction, as it seems awfully long to be just a brake run. If that's the case, then that little twisty part between the brake and lift will also be ridden backwards.

     

    Quick question for regulars to the park. I am shortly going to be one of those hayseed tourists the week after Christmas (my brother and his wife recently adopted a baby and live nearby). With Quick Unlimited, what would be a good estimate on number of roller coaster rides I could get in, provided my family is there from open to close with brief breaks for eating and gazing at some mammals?

    You should have no problem getting multiple rides in with Quick Queue Unlimited, even with the crowds. The lines are almost always under 10-20 minutes, except for sometimes Cheetah Hunt before lunchtime on the busiest of days. With the extended hours, you'll have plenty of time to ride everything you want many times. Make sure you also plan to leave time after sunset to just walk around the park and enjoy all of the Christmas Town decor, lights, and experiences.

    Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

    in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!

    Posted

    Is it possible to do the whole park in one day? How long do you think it would take, I'm not really into spinning rides... How long do you think it would take to hit all the big rides?

    On a day like those, where it is an off season weekday, you will have absolutely no problem with lines at all unless for some reason a bunch of end-of-the-year school trips decide to come on that day. Even then, it won't be bad. You will easily be able to do everything, even the smaller things. Just don't ride between 10:30 and 1:00 to avoid the line, and everything else will be a breeze. I would say you could do all of the major rides in 3 hours, and add in some shows and smaller rides and you could fill out the rest of the day. Also, know that all rides open 30 minutes after the park does, with the exception of the ones in the front area of the park (Cheetah Hunt and Montu), which opens at opening, and Congo River Rapids, which opens an hour after the park does. If you are there right at opening, ride Cheetah Hunt first, then Montu. Otherwise, go to Montu, the Animal Care Center, or go to the rides further back to catch them at opening.

     

    Any small attractions that "don't miss?"

    I'd say definitely do Scorpion, as it's a classic coaster that you don't see much of here in the southeast. Also, Congo River Rapids is an excellent rapids ride that you should do if you are OK with getting wet. If you get to the park early, head the the Animal Care Center ASAP to see if they will be doing any treatments there, as, if they have one that day, they usually happen before 12, often at 10:30 or 11. There's also an area in Nairobi called Jambo Junction located just behind the Hippo statues, and behind that is Curiosity Cavern. The latter especially is something that most people don't notice, and both offer some neat animal encounters. And if you want a great view of the large animals, make sure to get on the train at the Nairobi Station. That's the one that will take you out back into the Serengeti Plain. For shows, I highly recommend Iceploration and Opening Night Critters, and Treasures of the Mirage is good if you have time to kill and you want some AC and/or some food, but it isn't a must see. The others shows you should skip unless you have small children.

     

    Can you WALK to the park? I, thinking of staying at the Holiday Inn Express across the street, and can't seem to see a break in the fence on google maps.

    Yes, you can. The pedestrian entrance is located at the corner of Busch and McKinley, on the McKinley side. Here's a Street View of it. So it's a little walk from the hotel, but considering the amount of walking you will be doing all day at the park, it really isn't that much.

     

    Any stand out food? Both in and outside the park?

    Best food IMO is at Zambia Smokehouse in Stanleyville next to SheiKra. Their BBQ is amazing, but it is also the most expensive place to eat. Second place goes to Dragon Fire Grill in Pantopia. A bit more affordable, a ton of options of food from around the world, and you can watch Treasures of the MIrage while eating if you time it right.

     

    I also have to say that you should definitely download the Busch Gardens app before you go. It is absolutely invaluable. It will tell you wait times, show times, directions, and pretty much everything else you could need.

    Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

    in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!

    Posted

    Haha that's what I figured. I've had an annual pass since I was like 8 or 9, and I've done a lot of research online, but I was never able to find any evidence of it running more than one train, no matter how hard I tried, so I figured it just never did. I wonder why they stopped then. I can understand it in the off season, but the 1 train op in the summer makes the wait time for it absolutely brutal.

    Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

    in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!

    Posted

    I don't think Scorpion has ever had a two-train operation. There are two trains, but that's so that a train can be in maintenance while the ride is running. The second train will sometimes be sitting on the storage track in the middle though. But to answer your question, Scorpion ranges between 5-30 minutes on the off season usually, but can sometimes even get to 45 if the crowds are right and the already slow operation slows down even further.

    Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

    in Theme Parks, Roller Coasters, & Donkeys!

    Posted

    How busy does Busch Gardens Tampa get on Saturday in nov I usually just go in the spring but I'm going nov 7th

    It's busy relative to the crowd for the rest of the week, as Saturday is definitely the busiest day, but late September and early November is a very slow time, so it shouldn't be too bad. You should easily be able to do every major ride in the park, plus a show or two and some animals.

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