Electerik Posted March 15, 2007 Posted March 15, 2007 Though I'd been to the park several times, this was my first visit to Busch Gardens Africa with camera in hand. As usual, I took a bazillion pictures, but most of them sucked. Here are the few that didn't (so much). Gwazi was only running one side. Hardly surprising. I do like this ride, but I was afraid that trying to ride it would ruin an otherwise great day. ;o) I just like this building. That's Gwazi in the background. The splashdown, with the second vertical drop behind. Here's a shot of the queue and approach to the lift from the station house. SheiKra is a Top Ten coaster in my book. Here you can see how well it interacts with the midway and its surroundings. Tanganyika Tidal Wave had way more theming than I thought it would. Stanley Falls, with SheiKra in the background. Scorpion, with Stanley Falls (log flume) behind. Congo River Rapids. The blue-green track in the background is Kumba. Yay, now I have this picture of Kumba, too! BGA has a great Sky Ride. Coming up is the "turn station." We skipped Rhino Rally since the river section wasn't working. The same thing from the Sky Ride. My favorite "animal thing" at the park, this half-aquarium type habitat. Assorted animals. I think these ones are from Scandinavia. Here's the inside. Note the view of the "Serengeti Plain." The Crown Colony House is the park's full service restaurant. Another shot of Montu, this time from the train. And it has a very well-themed gift shop! Tut's Tomb is a walk-though. A minor attraction, but nice. I like Montu. Just not as much as I like Top Gun: The Jet Coaster over at Carowinds. Akbar's Adventure Tours Simulator was, of course, not operating. Nor was this Dippin' Dots stand. I'm not really a show kinda guy, but I gave this one a try--and it was pretty darned good! The park's train ride. Definitely above average, since there are animals to look at along the way.
speedracer Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Actually really nice pics there of one beautiful park, thanks for sharing.
BarryH Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Great photos! I want to try the Crown Colony House one day.
Dailey Enterprizes Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 I've never been on a B&M drop coaster before, but after looking at this picture... my god those trains are huge. I mean compared to the person walking in the que line those trains look bigger than my living room.
bulldogmom Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Great pics! I like the ones of Sheikra and the one of the aquarium thingy. I would go absolutely out of control in that gift shop- I love Egyptian stuff.
Movieguy Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Beautiful. Wonderful pics all around. I've never been to this Busch Gardens...and now that I've seen these shots, it makes me want to visit even more.
crazydaveh Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 No pictures of the beer house? That's the best part of Busch Gardens and SeaWorld!
spaceace12 Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 I think the one with gwazi in the background is the beerhouse. I probably should have went in there since my main point to not drinking is that it costs too much.
robbalvey Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Hey Erik! Great stuff! Always like see your Photo TRs! Thanks for posting. --Robb
ebl Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Great TR! I have been to BGT---er, BGA---but it's been almost five years. If I get back to Florida this fall, I may skip over to Tampa and get caught up on the new stuff since my last visit. Eric
verticalzero Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Busch Gardens does look beautiful with some lovely rides to top it off Is "Gwazi" really that rough and people do not ride it..? Sheikra looks stunning esp when it hits the water.
thecoasterkid Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Great pics, now I want to go there in May even more! Any idea on when that Sheikra train switch is going on? For some reason I thought it was in March, and was going to last about 3 weeks. I'm hoping for it to be open when I'm in the area on May 27th. I'm hoping to get all the coasters packed into about 3 hours of park time.
alpengeist04 Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 ^I keep hearing the end of May, but I'm not sure.
crazyrider06 Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Nice pictures, it doesn’t how many pictures you post as long as you post them, that’s cool. Im dying to go to Busch Gardens Africa. Hopefully sometime soon ill get there
Bubba Z Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Taken from their web-site. Also posted to TPR a while back. Guests’ last day to experience SheiKra in its current form will be Memorial Day, May 28. The following day, America’s first dive coaster will close for approximately three weeks for the floorless conversion construction. My question is, How often do they run only one side on Gwazi compared to both? I would hate to miss the one credit on my only day there. Great pictures Erik , Thanks !
Electerik Posted March 16, 2007 Author Posted March 16, 2007 Thanks, everyone, for the kind comments. It's not that Gwazi is too rough to ride, it's that the operations are so bad that you'll never get on the thing. How often do they run both sides? I have no idea; I've never seen it done. As for SheiKra....
Dailey Enterprizes Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 ^I just realized that the floorless transition isn't going to be that easy because those floorless coasters need that weird loading platform in the station. That's going to be interesting...
thecoasterkid Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Thanks alot for the Sheikra help. I'm glad that I'll be there on the second to last day it's open. Would have preferred to try the floorless, but atleast it won't be closed while I'm there (if I even go).
alpengeist04 Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 ^I just realized that the floorless transition isn't going to be that easy because those floorless coasters need that weird loading platform in the station. That's going to be interesting... I believe Busch Gardens built Sheikra's station with the idea of going floorless down the road, so the transition shouldn't be as extensive as if they were building it from scratch.
jarmor Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 Thanks, everyone, for the kind comments. It's not that Gwazi is too rough to ride, it's that the operations are so bad that you'll never get on the thing. How often do they run both sides? I have no idea; I've never seen it done. I guess im one of the lucky few who have actually been to the park when they were running both sides! Needless to say I got double the beating!
SpartanTS Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 I wish I would have known you were there. I was there Wednesday also. Sheikra was about a 30 min wait, but everything else was pretty much a walk on. Great Weather too, and I even got a picture with that huge rabbit
coasterdude5 Posted March 16, 2007 Posted March 16, 2007 I was there on Wednesday, too. Great photos, as usual.
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