Looty Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 This is my first attempt at a TR so here goes nothing: My friend and I decided to head down to Tampa a few weeks ago to escape the cold of Minnesota and to catch the Vikings game. While down there, we made sure to hit up Busch Gardens as well. I'll let the photos do the talking. Enjoy! I'll end with a photo of what we woke up to the next morning. Thanks for reading. It's huge! After the game, we decided to go check out the Sunshine Skyway Bridge. Vikes ended up losing, but we had a great time! Adrian Peterson Baby! Pirate Ship Raymond James Stadium is probably the best NFL stadium I've been to (Pittsburgh is a close second). We had GREAT seats! The next day was the big game! A few of the buildings looked neat. Tampa seemed surprisingly bright and clean. We left in the late afternoon and decided to check out downtown. We decided to skip Gwazi. I almost lost a kidney last time I rode it and I value my kidneys. I did, however, have the uncontrollable urge to climb over that fence despite my better knowledge...good thing that Danger sign was there to stop me. FREE BEER! Holiday World take that! Sheikra didn't let me down. In fact, I think I like it a tad bit more than Griffon. Sheikra's layout just seemed better than Griffon's. Next up was Sheikra. I hadn't been on it floorless yet. Jack Hanna was there too! This photo has never been taken before. Kumba is in desperate need of a paint job! Another sweet coaster. This guy was planning his next escape. I think this tiger wanted to eat me. IMO...Montu is the best invert out there! It truly is awesome. "A Top 10 Coaster" Busch Gardens is also home to some amazing coasters. Apparently ACE was having some swimming event this day too! The life of a celebrity. Flamingos...meh. These guys were pretty cool too. The next day we headed for Busch Gardens. I've never seen a croc before so I thought this was pretty cool. I put on my best tappin' shoes and headed for one of the friendly Minneapolis airport bathrooms...unfortunately there were no political figures to be found. The airport was incredibly busy today!...yet our flight was delayed an hour. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheHulk Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Nice photos, and I'd love to have seats as good as that at a football game! The Eagles are my favorite team til the day I die, but I do like the Vikes as well. Anywho, I agree with what you said about Montu. Very cool inverted coaster. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packfanlv Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Thanks for the TR! Tampa and St. Pete are pretty cool. We visited the big spaceship (Tropicana Field) for a Rays game when we were there. That has to be the worst stadium in the world! Busch Gardens looks awesome. As a Packers fan, you know what I am going to say about the rest! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looty Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 ^Yeah well...I'm sorry about what happened on MNF last night Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
packfanlv Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 I knew that was coming. Hey you win some and lose some. At least we are still in the running for the division. It was a disastrous showing last night though. There is no disputing that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hotlanta Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Those are amazing seats and a very well done photo TR. After sitting in the nosebleeds of the concrete hell they call the GA dome, i would kill for those seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jew Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Great TR! I'm not really a fan of the NFL, but I do love visiting sports venues, so I appreciate those photos! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Homer Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 I've always wanted to visit Raymond James for a Bucs game. You got awesome seats. A great Tampa trip report though! Kumba is in desperate need of a paint job! Sad thing is, it was repainted in 2006 and it rusted back to the way it was. Oh well, I still love the ride. We visited the big spaceship (Tropicana Field) for a Rays game when we were there. That has to be the worst stadium in the world! I agree the Trop is pretty abysmal stadium wise, although the amount of things to do inside is impressive. I kind of wanted that new stadium to happen, but the Trop is still perfectly functional as a stadium. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceace12 Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Nice TR. I was new to the whole taking the good photos at BGA when I went there so I only got a few of hte ones everyone takes. I did not ride Scorpion when I went because I missed it somehow (got a picture, but no ride, is that a Jeff Johnson Credit?). As for the (Devel) Rays stadium, I have no idea why in the heart of sunny and warm year round Florida that a baseball team needed an indoor stadium. I mean, the Cubs play outdoors in all weather in Chicago. The Vikings are (or were as I haven't watched them, only when they played the Colts) a good team. Peterson is crazy good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 First off, great report! As for the (Devel) Rays stadium, I have no idea why in the heart of sunny and warm year round Florida that a baseball team needed an indoor stadium. I mean, the Cubs play outdoors in all weather in Chicago. In the summer (obviously when baseball is played) Florida is known just as much for rain as it is sun. In fact, it's also the lightning capital of the world. I'm not sure how many games have been saved due to the dome, but I'm sure the thought process of building one involved the temperamental afternoon/evening thunderstorms of Florida....especially being right on the west coast (where storms usually roll in from). It's been the same in South Florida. For years, there's been talk of a retractable roof stadium for that very reason. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coolhandluke Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 It's been the same in South Florida. For years, there's been talk of a retractable roof stadium for that very reason. Yeah, they have the design, location, etc, but have yet to break ground. And, according to their site, they just encountered another setback... http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081125&content_id=3691803&vkey=news_fla&fext=.jsp&c_id=fla On a more relevant topic, excellent report! I've always been fascinated by both BG Tamprica and Raymond James, so I was very pleased with pics of both in the same report. Nice captions, too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaceace12 Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Okay, I have only been to Florida during the cooler months of the year and never really knew what goes on down during the summer as my grandparents just lived down there during Oct. though April (now they stay up here all year long, they think it is freezing now, it is mild to me). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BeemerBoy Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 It's been the same in South Florida. For years, there's been talk of a retractable roof stadium for that very reason. Yeah, they have the design, location, etc, but have yet to break ground. And, according to their site, they just encountered another setback... http://florida.marlins.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20081125&content_id=3691803&vkey=news_fla&fext=.jsp&c_id=fla Yep, and because of where it will sit, I'll never step foot in it based on principal alone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alpengeist04 Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Kumba is in desperate need of a paint job! Sad thing is, it was repainted in 2006 and it rusted back to the way it was. Oh well, I still love the ride. LOL, I said almost the same thing in the other BGT thread. Nice trip report Looty. ...That is till you got to the Bucs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThrillsAndChills Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 great pics! I've been to Busch Gardens Williamsburg a few times, but never even seen pics of the one in Tampa until now. Looks like a lot of fun, I'll have to visit the next time I'm in Florida. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
holyblakbelt Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Good TR. Busch Gardens Tampa looks like a awesome place to go. Maybe the next time I go to Orlando I'll side trip it to Tampa. The Vikings are (or were as I haven't watched them, only when they played the Colts) a good team. Peterson is crazy good. They're alright. We need to fire Coach Childress and a decent quarterback and we will be a championship caliber team in no time. Sorry I got off topic. I just needed to put my two cents on the Vikings knowing that they were in the TR. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looty Posted November 26, 2008 Author Share Posted November 26, 2008 ^Agreed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MisterP Posted November 26, 2008 Share Posted November 26, 2008 Great pics. I'd love to see the Bucs stadium...it looks so cool. I'm a Rams fan (OK, don't make fun of me...I'm from STL...I have no choice), but my wife is from the Twin Cities, and I'm psyched because we're going to see the Vikings play the Giants that weekend after Xmas. I've been to the Metrodome for baseball, but I can't wait to see the Vikes there... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Looty Posted November 28, 2008 Author Share Posted November 28, 2008 ^I'll also be at that game. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
coastercrazed49 Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 First off, great report! As for the (Devel) Rays stadium, I have no idea why in the heart of sunny and warm year round Florida that a baseball team needed an indoor stadium. I mean, the Cubs play outdoors in all weather in Chicago. In the summer (obviously when baseball is played) Florida is known just as much for rain as it is sun. In fact, it's also the lightning capital of the world. I'm not sure how many games have been saved due to the dome, but I'm sure the thought process of building one involved the temperamental afternoon/evening thunderstorms of Florida....especially being right on the west coast (where storms usually roll in from). It's been the same in South Florida. For years, there's been talk of a retractable roof stadium for that very reason. It also must be nice that it can provide shade from the blistering sun in the summer. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dragonskeep Posted November 29, 2008 Share Posted November 29, 2008 Hey Looty, first off, real cool trip report. By the way , that's a gator not a croc just FYI. Your seats for the game were totally sick and RJ is a great place to see a game, sorry my boys didn't show you a lot of hospitality. I wish they could fix the rust problem on Kumba, it deserves better. Glad you had a good time. I miss the Black and Blue division. Here's a trip idea for you. Come to Orlando, hit the parks and go check out the Magic. Dwight Howard is worth the price of admission. Our new building will open in October 2010, and it is going to be probably the nicest venue in the NBA. Just in time for the new Robo-Coaster at IOA. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Sad thing is, it was repainted in 2006 and it rusted back to the way it was. Oh well, I still love the ride. Yeah, I was there when it was down for the paint job so I never got to ride. Great seats for the Bucs game. I would much rather be there than sitting in cold, rainy Ralph Wilson stadium watching the Bills lose to the 49'ers 10-3. Talk about an epic fail! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tnguy Posted December 1, 2008 Share Posted December 1, 2008 Man Raymond James does look really nice. I had no idea. It looks like a very cool place to enjoy a game. Oh and the BGA pics were cool too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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