YoshiFan

I agree, it gets frustrating to visit both parks because of the operations and lack of rides. I was recently looking at BGW's ride collection and saw they had almost twice as many rides (not counting kids rides) as BGT. BGT could use some flats and a dark ride to help spread out crowds. Kumba and Congo River Rapids are still closed and not supposed to be reopening anytime soon (rumor is Kumba has a broken lift motor and the rapids needs a new pump) and now Sheikra and the log flume are having their annual maintenance with both supposedly closed until March. Even with those 2 rides open until today, these past few weeks had some of the highest wait times ever for some coasters with Cheetah Hunt and Iron Gwazi both having up to 4 hour posted waits.

Kumba has been closed for a few weeks now, Montu and Cheetah Hunt are now on the closed rides list: https://buschgardens.com/tampa/park-info/ride-attraction-schedule/ To have 3 major coasters down right as it's about to be the most crowded time of the year is going to be interesting. That leaves a total of 10 rides open in the entire park that aren't kiddie rides. Unfortunately, they aren't adjusting operations to run the open rides at a higher capacity. There could have been more than a few hundred cars in the lot this afternoon yet Sheikra still was close to a 40 minute wait because they were only running 1 train.

Serengeti Flyer has re-opened. There was a sign at the train stations on Friday night that they are planning to re-open it soon as they are still dealing with damage from the hurricane. It was also a nice surprise to see the Skyride operating until park closing at 8:00. Usually it closes a few hours before the rest of the park. Montu and Sheikra were also running 2 trains, I can't remember the last time I saw Montu running 2 trains on a weekday.

If it is true, I'll miss Kingda Ka. I became an enthusiast towards the end of 2004 and was following the construction of the coaster. I thought it was amazing that the world's tallest and fastest coaster was going to be less than an hour away from me. It wasn't my favorite ride in the park but the launch was unlike anything else I had experienced. I may even be more disappointed about Zumanjaro likely being removed too. Of all the drop towers I have ridden, it's easily my favorite.

I still remember visiting in 2000 with my school. For some reason as part of a 3 day trip, they planned 8 hours at Animal Kingdom and only 4 hours at Epcot. With just the safari, Dinosaur, Kali River Rapids and the Discovery River boats, we ran out of rides to try very quickly. That visit always is in the back of my mind as it was my first impression of the park and even now, I rarely visit more than 4 times a year for half a day compared to visiting the 3 other parks around once a month each.

I went back today to get some more Scorpion rides in. I was surprised to see the park hours listed at the parking booths as 10 - 5. This is a recent change as it was showing closings at 6 recently. Now every Monday - Thursday in September and Monday - Wednesday in October have those hours. It's understandable as the park is empty on those days. Even with the heat index at around 100 degrees, the log flume was a complete walk on. I do feel bad for any people visiting for the day. Serengeti Flyer and Congo Rapids are closed with no reopening date listing. Iron Gwazi was closed all day with Sheikra also having some downtime. With the carousel and Skyride closing in the next few days for refurbishment, that leaves the train, log flume, bumper cars and Falcon's Fury as the only non coaster rides operating in the entire park.

BGT sent out an email today pushing back the closing date to September 8th. ”Good news, thrill seekers! There's even more time to enjoy the twists and turns of the iconic Scorpion roller coaster, because we've extended the closing date to Sept. 8, 2024. This unique coaster has been a fan favorite since 1980, and it’s your last chance to experience a piece of history. While we say goodbye to Scorpion, exciting new attractions are on the horizon.”

sooperdooperLooper is one of my favorite coasters at Hershey and I also really liked Laser at Dorney so when I moved from PA to FL, I was glad that Scorpion was here so I still could ride a Schwarzkopf looper frequently. It's sad to see it being removed. I agree less than 2 weeks notice is not good. For anyone non local, it doesn't give them much of a chance to get their final rides in.

I went to Busch Gardens yesterday to ride Phoenix Rising. I was able to get 1 ride before previews ended and then some more rides during Passport to Thrills. It's a mostly tame coaster as expected but in the back of the train, there were some more forces than I was expecting. There was a slight rattle but less noticeable than Penguin Trek's and didn't take anything away from the ride. I also thought it was better than the 2 Vekoma family inverted coasters I have ridden at Fun Spot Orlando and Kings Island with steeper banked turns on Phoenix Rising. They built a very small queue for the ride. It can hold around a 20 - 30 minute line at the most. There is only 1 train and slow dispatches with everyone from the previous ride needing to exit before the air gates open for the next train. Combined with this being one of only 2 coasters in the park without an inversion (besides the kids coaster), it's probably going to be very popular with long waits once it opens to the public. The Passport to Thrills party was also great other than them not letting people in until 6 when they originally stated you could check in at 5:30 which caused the line to go past Scorpion. They gave out first rider buttons (also available during previews), popcorn, drinks and a Phoenix Rising fanny pack that was originally supposed to be available for all pass members until the end of the month. There was also a DJ and free face painting.

If anyone is planning on going to the park for Phoenix Rising's opening, I think the park put out the wrong date. Here is the post from the other day: I just got an e-mail from the park about the Passport to Thrills event and they list the previews as the following: "Saturday, 7/13: Platinum Pass Member Preview, 10-5pm Sunday, 7/14: Platinum and Gold Pass Member Preview (10am – 9pm) Monday, 7/15: Platinum, Gold, and Silver Pass Member Preview, (2pm-9pm) Tuesday, 7/16: Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Pass Member Preview (2pm- 9pm) Wednesday, 7/17: All Pass Member and Fun Card Preview (10am- 9pm)" Based on that it doesn't seem like it is opening to everyone on the 14th.

There are reports that they keep changing the exit procedure for the ride. When I rode the coaster on Tuesday, they allowed everyone to go through an emergency exit that goes right outside. More recently, they are now forcing people to wait in line for the penguin exhibit after the ride and it is taking people up to 25 minutes to exit after waiting and walking through the exhibit. I hope they are just testing different policies and that won't be a permanent policy. Having to wait in line to exit each time you ride the coaster is going to be very frustrating.

I went to SeaWorld today for the first day of Platinum Pass previews. There are new kiosks at the park entrance that work much better than the old ones. The old ones always were out of service or freezing up. As with past previews, they were checking to make sure everyone entering the line had a Platinum Pass. The wait time sign was posting a 15 minute wait but it was a walk on unless you wanted the front or back rows. The queue starts outdoors but is mostly indoors which is a welcome addition with the air conditioning. The queue is themed well with some props and then there are stairs and a walkway over the track in the station. It reminded me a little of Kingda Ka's walkway entering and exiting the station. The first launch was good and the ride is mostly a lot of twists and turns without too many drops. The ride isn't forceful at all but I wasn't expecting it with it being marketed as a family coaster. The second launch is close to the end of the ride before a large banked turn. There was a little bit of a rattle but not too bad. Penguin Trek is a great addition to SeaWorld and really needed. The park has so many thrill coasters and something much tamer really adds some variety to their lineup. I think it's going to be very popular with it appealing to almost everyone, especially with the low height requirement of 42"

Penguin Trek is opening on July 7th Pass Previews start on July 2nd. The e-mail was just sent out with the dates for pass holders: https://www.wesh.com/article/seaworld-orlando-opening-date-penguin-trek/61195796 "Ready to be among the first to ride the ALL-NEW Penguin Trek? As a Pass Member, you can join us for previews from 8 a.m. – park close on select dates based on your tier: Platinum Pass Members: July 2–3 Platinum and Gold Pass Members: July 4 Platinum, Gold, and Silver Pass Members: July 5 Platinum, Gold, Silver, and Bronze Pass Members plus Fun Card holders: July 6" I'm hoping the previews wont be too crowded with it being a holiday week and schools on summer break. Ice Breaker and Pipeline were 5 minute waits for me during those previews but they were in the winter and spring on days when local schools were open.

Update from Thursday last week. With the track complete, it looks like they are working on the station building. The annual pass previews have been moved from May to June. I thought May was kind of optimistic. There is also a wall up heading into the Tree Top Trails are of Jungala. Also if anyone is planning to ride the Sky Ride when they visit, I suggest riding earlier in the day. When it first re-opened, it closed at 4 on Monday - Thursday when the park closes at 6. Then it changed to closing at 6 with the rest of the park. On Thursday, no times were listed and it was already closed for the day at 3:45. I guess now it closes whenever they feel like it (it didn't appear to be weather related).

Most (or maybe all?) of the track is in place. I couldn't get the best view or pictures as the Skyride was closed. They got a lot done in the 19 days since I was last there. It also looks like Pass Member previews will be next month according to the rewards page on the website.