YoshiFan

Serengeti Flyer's entrance sign is up (picture taken from the train). Cobra's Curse has also been closed the past 2 days, hopefully it's not going to be an extended closure like some past times over the last 2 years.

Iron Gwazi earlier today.

Sheikra has reopened

Last year Sunday was a lot less crowded than Monday but that was probably because the Buccaneers played a playoff game that day. This year they are playing Monday night so it probably won’t make Monday less crowded at least not until later in the day. If you can get there at opening Monday, I’d probably go then. If you stay ahead of the crowd you should be able to get to Iron Gwazi and then Montu before it gets too crowded. Montu has been running 1 train a lot and the line can get bad by late morning on weekends/holidays.

The water wasn't there on Tuesday. I was hoping it was like that for the day only and it's not back not having water again permanently. One good thing was operations were better than normal. Iron Gwazi had around 2 minute dispatches and Cheetah Hunt wasn't stacking (although only 2 trains were running). Phoenix is completely gone.

Friday, lines will be mostly walk ons with maybe Iron Gwazi, Cheetah Hunt and Cobra’s Curse having up to 20 minute waits. Usually by the early afternoon, Iron Gwazi is a 0-10 minute wait on weekdays when local schools are in session. A Sunday will be more crowded, not horrible but those same rides will likely be 30-60 minute waits.

That should be plenty of time. By the middle of next week the coasters will likely be walk ons to 10 minute waits. I’m not sure about closed rides, unlike Busch Gardens they don’t have a closed rides list page on their site. Last January, Journey to Atlantis was closed for track work but the other coasters were open.

Iron Gwazi is closed today - Thursday. https://buschgardens.com/tampa/park-info/ride-attraction-schedule/ Looks like another unexpected closure as it wasn't on the upcoming closed rides list. They also likely wouldn't plan to close the ride when Tampa schools are still on winter break and with the park very crowded. Montu had a posted 3 hour wait earlier today.

Some construction pictures from yesterday:

Ice Breaker at SeaWorld yesterday.

They covered up the cubbies in the station at rides like Montu. Most people leave the drinks and shoes on the floor of the station. At Cheetah Hunt, there is a shelf in the station for those items. Iron Gwazi also has small zippered pouches at each seat for loose articles.

I went to the park for a few hours today. Operations were surprisingly good compared to usual. Iron Gwazi was only stacking for 20 - 30 seconds. Cheetah Hunt had both loading stations open and was running 4 trains despite the trains going out with multiple empty rows. I thought it was interesting on a day when the park was empty that both Cheetah Hunt loading stations were open but not on days I visited during the summer when it was much more crowded. Montu was only running 1 train but understandable with it being a 1 - 2 train wait both times I rode the coaster. I saw 2 maintenance workers at Phoenix. It looked like they were loading a water dummy into a seat and lifting restraints up and down on some of the other seats. I hope it does re-open with a day like today really showing how few flats and non coaster rides are operating. It was in the upper 60's, kind of cold for the water rides since you get soaked on both of them and besides those rides, that left the carousel, train and bumper cars for the only non coaster rides open. The new Screamin' Swing will help too.

Some bad news for anyone visiting the park soon, Iron Gwazi has been closed all day and is now listed on the website as temporarily closed. They typically don't add a ride to the closure list online if it is only closed for something like a day. https://buschgardens.com/tampa/park-info/ride-attraction-schedule/

Wait until the afternoon to ride Iron Gwazi. Everyone goes to Iron Gwazi first and the line can be around an hour for most of the morning. By around 12:30 - 1:00 on weekdays, people have moved to other areas of the park and Iron Gwazi will be a 5 - 10 minute wait.

I took some pictures of the construction when I was at the park yesterday

Looking forward to seeing the show return. Hollywood Studios doesn't feel the same without it. For the days I don't see Fantasmic, I also hope it will take people away from the ride lines towards the end of the night. When I last visited 2 weeks ago, even smaller rides like Alien Swirling Saucers had a posted 50 minute wait at some parts of the day and more popular rides like Rock N Roller Coaster were up to 100 minutes (single rider took 20).

I’m going to be cautiously optimistic for this coaster. The only standup I have ridden is Green Lantern that I did not like but given B&M’s reputation and it being over 20 years since their last standup, I am expecting this to be much more comfortable to ride.

I don’t think I have ever seen Trailblazer with a 2 1/2 hour wait before.

As expected, the park will be closed Wednesday and Thursday and possibly Friday too (part of the e-mail says Friday, the other part does not). “ BUSCH GARDENS TAMPA BAY WILL BE CLOSED WEDNESDAY, SEPT. 28 – FRIDAY, SEPT. 30 Dear Pass Member, Due to Hurricane Ian, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay will be closed Wednesday, Sept. 28 & Thursday, Sept. 29. Please stay tuned to our social media channels for updates. Annual Pass members’ guest tickets with an expiration date of Sept. 30 will be extended through Oct. 16. “ I hope anyone in the path of the hurricane remains safe.

If you can fit on everything at Hersheypark, I think you should be able to fit on everything at BGT. Fahrenheit is probably more restrictive than anything at BGT with how Hershey keeps shortening the belts. I haven't been there myself but the Sunken Gardens are supposed to be good. https://www.stpete.org/visitors/sunken_gardens.php I'm not sure about the food, I usually go to Wawa on the way home. Supposedly there is a wall around the ride. I don't think it will be reopening anytime soon but I hope I am wrong.

It was supposed to reopen in late summer but then they cancelled that because it would have to close again because of Screamin’ Swing construction. I wouldn’t be surprised if it never reopens considering the staffing it requires and so many parks getting rid of them over the last few years. I plan to marathon a lot once the weather gets cooler. After 3 rides on Iron Gwazi, 1 on Cheetah Hunt, Montu and Cobra’s Curse combined with the heat index just under 110 degrees, I had enough.

The water park is probably going to be jammed all 3 days if the weather is good. I visited on Labor Day 3 or 4 years ago and the main and overflow lots were full and cars were parked on the grass.

This was Iron Gwazi's station at around 1:00 today. Yeah I know local schools are in session but it's still amazing to see the trains going out with so many empty rows on a new RMC. Also merchandise now has a 5% surcharge. A few months ago they added the surcharge to food and drinks.

Last year Friday was moderate crowds (58%), Saturday was crowded (84%) https://queue-times.com/en-US/parks/24/calendar/2022/11 I went on Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend last year and waits for rides like Kumba and Montu were 20-30 minutes, rides like Cheetah Hunt and Cobra’s Curse had longer lines.

Shows did return but they aren’t every day especially during the week and during the slow times of the year. Today for example there is just a Sesame Street show. The lack of indoor attractions is frustrating. I was there weeks ago try to get a few rides in during a short visit. It never rained but there was thunder and lightning and the rides were closed for over an hour. I ended up sitting under cover just outside Iron Gwazi’s entrance until it reopened. A dark ride or enclosed flat ride/coaster would be a good addition.