dandaman Posted August 20, 2007 Posted August 20, 2007 Wasn't even expecting to go. I'd been down there since the Tuesday before, helping move my sister into college. Guess I got a surprise trip to BGA on good behaviour or something. (Nah. ) So I'll throw in a few pics from the week leading up to it before the coasters. *ducks* But, like most things, it all turned out nice in the end. Thanks for reading! ...Weirdest part was, it followed us all the way back to St. Petersburg/our hotel. I was literally about 30 feet away from being struck down when I was getting ice for the room. Needless to say, this lit up the sky for about 2 hours before we finally ran for the tram/car. The FLAT parking lot's water level went past my shoes. Geez. ...Until we turned around and saw this. So around 8:00, right at closing, we figured these typical Florida rainstorms would roll through in a half-hour or so. RUUUUUUUUN! What I wouldn't give for that front-row end seat... Floorless ShieKra < topless Shakira You know what's coming next... Immediately followed by some hot Schwarzkopf action for Joe! (Favourite pic of the trip.) Some hot Kumba-licious loop penetration for Derek! ...OW! Dammit that hurt! ...Oh, goodie. Dad takes a typical picture of me, marvelling at the perfect view of a different ride than I'm actually on. (Apparently said ride is invisible.) ...Could someone please enlighten me as to what's going in here? (It's a big hole, so it must be sponsored by Cedar Point.) Well, there USED to be a ride here... now Python's my only defunct credit! ...Who's sick and tired of the animals and wants to go on some rides already? There were about a hundred other flamingos not in the picture... oh, that reminds me! Happy birthday, Jeff Johnson! Apparently this was part of some BG summer camp. "Hi James!" Well, since there were no penguins in the African-themed park... rawr ...Awww, he's sound asleep, probably happily dreaming of chasing down and eviscerating prey that we'd consider "cute". OMG! He's still here from LAST August! I could've gotten a lot better pic of the little guy if my trigger finger was quicker. (Or my hand was steadier.) "Watoosi!" "Bless you." ...It's a hot day. I'd do it, too! ...Yes, we're finally here! Quit yer hollerin'! (Animal pics first, JUST for that.) After a lovely meal at Olive Garden later that night, these started kicking up as usual... it's still not worse than tomorrow's apocalypse! And with that, the SS Canaba sails away! Captain Paul & First Mate Bill, hoist the sails! ...So naturally, I come THIS close to a hole-in-one and a free game. $_(~%@! This is actually a really elaborate 18th hole... They shoulda built a hole over the pond and coat the balls with barbeque sauce. Now THERE's a water hazard! They say what they mean and mean what they say! ...Hey look! Helicopter! Hee-hee!... Oh. Right. Mini-golf. So this is one of those typical, totally-elaborate Florida mini-golf venues... "I'm stuck in a glass elevator of emotion!" Methinks real seafarin' ships had but not bright colours to attract their enemies. ...John's what? Boar WHAT?! ...Disintegrating all sentient life on the beach. ...But then the palm tree exploded... There appeared to be Red Tide (which is not as awesome as Red Dawn, unfortunately)... What he said. Took this to be the closest I'd get to a park this trip! Before anyone asks, yes, this DOES look like a certain "hotel" up I-4 when lit up at night. Caught a glimpse of our return flight! Sure, I have 15 plane pics, but why do that when you could skip down to the BGA pics? (Don't you dare.) Maybe it's 'cause I haven't flown on a commercial flight in 10 years, but this seemed like a nice airline. (No cancellations! Lookin' at you, Northwest!)
disneygurlz2s Posted August 20, 2007 Posted August 20, 2007 Ahh... ya gotta love Florida in the summertime. Thanks for posting these..it's enticing me to try to make a visit there when Samantha and I (hopefully) sail out of the Port of Tampa next June. My biggest concern is that there will be enough for her to do, since even by next summer I doubt she'll meet the height requirements for several coasters (although I will ride Shekira or however it's spelled regardless, because I am the mom and I said so!). Shari
Airtime&Gravity Posted August 20, 2007 Posted August 20, 2007 Good TR, and some of those photos were really nice. While I don't think there were enough of the park itself, the ones that were turned out nice. Too bad it rained at the end of the day, but hey, you got to make an unplanned stop.
Disney Dood Posted August 20, 2007 Posted August 20, 2007 That last shot is beyond awesome. Hole in the ground, sponsored by Cedar Fair... lol
Pufferfish Posted August 20, 2007 Posted August 20, 2007 Florida and their, you can never guess is coming, summer storms. Brings back memories from my trip down there earlier this year. The last night, it rained pretty bad, but that didn't detour us from riding everything, including Splash Mountain. Thus, my avatar. Looked like you had fun though. I've never been able to get to BGA. It's out of the way of everything.
dandaman Posted August 20, 2007 Author Posted August 20, 2007 My biggest concern is that there will not be enough for her to do... There's a lot of animal exhibits, one REALLY good show that's a lot like Festival of the Lion King (Katonga), a few good shows in the Desert Grill (where my parents hung out for a few hours watching the same show every hour on the hour), tons of animal exhibits (even more than Animal Kingdom), and likely a few rides even for her. I don't know if that alone justifies the $60+ price, but the coasters sure do. Good TR, and some of those photos were really nice. While I don't think there were enough of the park itself, the ones that were turned out nice. Too bad it rained at the end of the day, but hey, you got to make an unplanned stop. 1. That's why I put the "but first..." in the sub-title. (People complained I had no SheiKra pictures in last year's, so it's a step up. ) 2. Well, I really do love extreme weather, but that was almost too much for me. When you get knocked down by the force of thunder (FYI, I dropped all the ice), it's not all fun and games. That last shot is beyond awesome. I have quite a few other plane pics, but none that look nearly as good as that "cloud blanket" one. Florida and their, you can never guess is coming, summer storms. See, that's what I always think... but, whenever you go to WDW, I always guess the storms right. Daily agenda: Go back to hotel between 1-2, storms around 3-4, stops around 5-6. Every time. That's what made this so odd; it lasted for a good three hours, had likely the CLOSEST lightning I've ever experienced, then followed us home to boot. Thanks for the comments, everyone! Always appreciated!
jten11 Posted August 20, 2007 Posted August 20, 2007 Nice PTR. I'm glad you enjoyed your time there. That scorpion shot couldn't be more perfect....
crazydaveh Posted August 21, 2007 Posted August 21, 2007 Great report! Glad you had a chance to get away from moving someone in and having fun! How were the waits?
dandaman Posted August 21, 2007 Author Posted August 21, 2007 Not too bad. A lot more crowded than I was "used to", only considering that I went August 25th last year on a really drizzly day. Oddly, I walked right on front and back seat of Kumba this time around. Other than that, waits were barely longer than usual. ...A week ago right at this time, I was standing under that canopy waiting for those storms to pass. Now that Photobucket's back up, here's some short vids.
Gav Posted August 21, 2007 Posted August 21, 2007 I think they must have made a mistake when they designed Kumba because the loop goes around the lift hill.
dandaman Posted August 21, 2007 Author Posted August 21, 2007 It's not a mistake if designers planned it that way. Having a ride nearly kill you with uncomfortable forces is a mistake on the designers' part. (Unless you mean to do it, in which case your name is probably Ron Toomer.)
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