Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

[PortugePunk]

um yeah.. so this looks amazing. i need to go back to florida next year for sure. i'll just have to take 2 weeks and hit everything.

[sheikramatic2006]

So they announced it and all. When is Vertical Construction Starting?

[themeparkman25]

post removed by author

Edited January 20, 2011 by themeparkman25

[dragonskeep]

They seem to be high tailin it on the first and second launch areas. Maybe we will see them do a little of the rock work in the trenches before installing track. Cheetah Hunt doesn't look very difficult to build. I remember certain parts of Maverick going up very fast. Looking forward to seeing the Tower come together or as I like to say, the Figure Eight Tophat.

[jten11]

Hey guys, been a while since I been on TPR (damn near a year), so this is my first time hearing about the new coaster. Sorry if my reactions are a bit late, but wow! I definitely have to reason to visit Busch Gardens again after 3 (or 4?) years. I love that's its pretty lengthy, has 3 launches and I wasn't expecting a heart-line roll when watching the promo vid, but I like. This looks like it will be an AWESOME ride at night! As far as the name they can call it "Unnga Buunga" for all i care and I would still ride it. Also this will be my very first time experiencing an Intamin coaster, period. Being a resident in B&M-ville, Florida, it'll be interesting to finally ride one of these Intamin beasts.

[sixflagsgadvguy1000]

I might be going here for the first time in a few months, How are the coasters here? I heared that Gwazi is pretty rough and jerky, but what about Kumba, Montu, Scorpion, and, Sheikra. I hear Montu and Sheikra are awesome. Kumba I hear is good, Scorpion ok, Gwazi rough and jerky. What are you're opinions. I'm worried about blacking out on Montu's second loop because it is the size of a Batman or Nemesis loop and I black out on those too. What about Sheikra's Immelmann. Is that a gray out inversion? I went on Griffon and I grayed out a little bit in the immelmann. My main concern is Montu's second loop. How is it. Hows is the first loop. Do you gray out.

[jedimaster1227]

http://www.buschgardens.com/bgt/buschgardens2011.aspx

 

The new ride logo (or title package) has been posted to the official ride website.

[Lenaapple1974]

I may not like the name they picked for the coaster, but I love the logo! Thanks for keeping us up to date with everything!

[Coaster Cow]

Something just hit me, sorry if it's already been said before. Does anyone else think that it was named Cheetah Hunt because the wild mouse Cheetah Chase is right next door? It would provide some separation between the two rather than just having two totally different cheetah themed rides.

Cool logo, too, by the way! Busch always seems to know what they're doing.

[jedimaster1227]

^It has already been stated that Busch Gardens is considering changing the name and theme of Cheetah Chase in order to reduce confusion within the park.

[coasternut]

I might be going here for the first time in a few months, How are the coasters here? I heared that Gwazi is pretty rough and jerky, but what about Kumba, Montu, Scorpion, and, Sheikra. I hear Montu and Sheikra are awesome. Kumba I hear is good, Scorpion ok, Gwazi rough and jerky. What are you're opinions. I'm worried about blacking out on Montu's second loop because it is the size of a Batman or Nemesis loop and I black out on those too. What about Sheikra's Immelmann. Is that a gray out inversion? I went on Griffon and I grayed out a little bit in the immelmann. My main concern is Montu's second loop. How is it. Hows is the first loop. Do you gray out.

 

Gwazi has gotten rough over the years. I was there for the media day opening and it was great. The experience isn't the typical GCII woodie which I love . This ride was pre Millennium Flyer trains. Montu and Sheikra are great . I've had good and bad rides on Kumba. It's really not too bad for it's age. I can't wait for their new ride to open. Another Intamin I'm sure I'll love .

[sixflagsgadvguy1000]

I might be going here for the first time in a few months, How are the coasters here? I heared that Gwazi is pretty rough and jerky, but what about Kumba, Montu, Scorpion, and, Sheikra. I hear Montu and Sheikra are awesome. Kumba I hear is good, Scorpion ok, Gwazi rough and jerky. What are you're opinions. I'm worried about blacking out on Montu's second loop because it is the size of a Batman or Nemesis loop and I black out on those too. What about Sheikra's Immelmann. Is that a gray out inversion? I went on Griffon and I grayed out a little bit in the immelmann. My main concern is Montu's second loop. How is it. Hows is the first loop. Do you gray out.

 

Gwazi has gotten rough over the years. I was there for the media day opening and it was great. The experience isn't the typical GCII woodie which I love . This ride was pre Millennium Flyer trains. Montu and Sheikra are great . I've had good and bad rides on Kumba. It's really not too bad for it's age. I can't wait for their new ride to open. Another Intamin I'm sure I'll love .

 

 

Awesome! Thanks So Much For The Advice.

[sixflagsgadvguy1000]

I might be going here for the first time in a few months, How are the coasters here? I heared that Gwazi is pretty rough and jerky, but what about Kumba, Montu, Scorpion, and, Sheikra. I hear Montu and Sheikra are awesome. Kumba I hear is good, Scorpion ok, Gwazi rough and jerky. What are you're opinions. I'm worried about blacking out on Montu's second loop because it is the size of a Batman or Nemesis loop and I black out on those too. What about Sheikra's Immelmann. Is that a gray out inversion? I went on Griffon and I grayed out a little bit in the immelmann. My main concern is Montu's second loop. How is it. Hows is the first loop. Do you gray out.

 

Gwazi has gotten rough over the years. I was there for the media day opening and it was great. The experience isn't the typical GCII woodie which I love . This ride was pre Millennium Flyer trains. Montu and Sheikra are great . I've had good and bad rides on Kumba. It's really not too bad for it's age. I can't wait for their new ride to open. Another Intamin I'm sure I'll love .

 

 

 

 

Montu is great you say. How does it compare to the other Bolliger And Mabillard Inverted Roller Coasters. I have ridden Batman The Ride at Six Flags Great Adventure and that was intense as crazy lol. That thing blacked me out, I'm sure Montu is that crazy, Batman and other smaller more compact inverts like that are always usually a bit more intense. Like Batman The Ride, Flight Deck, Black Mamba, Nemesis, Nemesis Inferno, and I hear even Talon and Dueling Dragons ( Dragon Challenge ) are intense. I have also ridden Great Bear and Alpengeist but that was not that crazy all though I felt that tingling feeling in my feet and the numbing weird ache in my feet from all the forces but nothing like the feeling I got on Batman The Ride. Man that thing was nuts.

 

Montu looks awesome. The second loop might be tight and compact. Is it anything like the loops on Batman. I am talking about Montu's second loop. The first I can handle. The second not so sure.

 

I rode Griffon. Griffon rocked. Next to Intimidator 305 it's my favorite coaster ever. But not so sure about Montu's second loop.

 

Montu's second loop looks intense. Like Batman's. Is it as crazy. Or is it more gentle. I love inverted coasters. But not the crazy ones that make you black out and weird feelings in legs and feet.

 

Griffon's drop is much better then Intimidator 305's in my opinion. Intimidator 305's drop with the trims is a bit weak for me. Griffon I was free float airtime falling the whole way. Deffiantely an awesome sensation on Griffon's first drop. Love the falling free float butterflies-in-your stomach feeling.

 

Is Shei-Kra- the same or is She-Kra- different. Sorry for such a long message. How many times have you ridden these coasters?

[jjune4991]

The batwing gives you intense G's. And the wingover is a great finale.

[sixflagsgadvguy1000]

The batwing gives you intense G's. And the wingover is a great finale.

 

 

Doesn't After Burn have a Bat Wing? And is a Wing Over the same thing as a Cork Screw?

[sixflagsgadvguy1000]

The batwing gives you intense G's. And the wingover is a great finale.

Thank's everyone for all the advice.

[CMonster]

I might be going here for the first time in a few months, How are the coasters here? I heared that Gwazi is pretty rough and jerky, but what about Kumba, Montu, Scorpion, and, Sheikra. I hear Montu and Sheikra are awesome. Kumba I hear is good, Scorpion ok, Gwazi rough and jerky. What are you're opinions. I'm worried about blacking out on Montu's second loop because it is the size of a Batman or Nemesis loop and I black out on those too. What about Sheikra's Immelmann. Is that a gray out inversion? I went on Griffon and I grayed out a little bit in the immelmann. My main concern is Montu's second loop. How is it. Hows is the first loop. Do you gray out.

 

Gwazi has gotten rough over the years. I was there for the media day opening and it was great. The experience isn't the typical GCII woodie which I love . This ride was pre Millennium Flyer trains. Montu and Sheikra are great . I've had good and bad rides on Kumba. It's really not too bad for it's age. I can't wait for their new ride to open. Another Intamin I'm sure I'll love .

 

 

 

 

Montu is great you say. How does it compare to the other Bolliger And Mabillard Inverted Roller Coasters. I have ridden Batman The Ride at Six Flags Great Adventure and that was intense as crazy lol. That thing blacked me out, I'm sure Montu is that crazy, Batman and other smaller more compact inverts like that are always usually a bit more intense. Like Batman The Ride, Flight Deck, Black Mamba, Nemesis, Nemesis Inferno, and I hear even Talon and Dueling Dragons ( Dragon Challenge ) are intense. I have also ridden Great Bear and Alpengeist but that was not that crazy all though I felt that tingling feeling in my feet and the numbing weird ache in my feet from all the forces but nothing like the feeling I got on Batman The Ride. Man that thing was nuts.

 

Montu looks awesome. The second loop might be tight and compact. Is it anything like the loops on Batman. I am talking about Montu's second loop. The first I can handle. The second not so sure.

 

I rode Griffon. Griffon rocked. Next to Intimidator 305 it's my favorite coaster ever. But not so sure about Montu's second loop.

 

Montu's second loop looks intense. Like Batman's. Is it as crazy. Or is it more gentle. I love inverted coasters. But not the crazy ones that make you black out and weird feelings in legs and feet.

 

Griffon's drop is much better then Intimidator 305's in my opinion. Intimidator 305's drop with the trims is a bit weak for me. Griffon I was free float airtime falling the whole way. Deffiantely an awesome sensation on Griffon's first drop. Love the falling free float butterflies-in-your stomach feeling.

 

Is Shei-Kra- the same or is She-Kra- different. Sorry for such a long message. How many times have you ridden these coasters?

 

You're a little overboard on the graying out thing, aren't you?

 

Honestly, the only inversion you'd have to worry about (in all of Busch Gardens) is Montu's batwing, and even then, it shouldn't be that bad. The immelman which you're so concerned about is fine, I don't see why it would be a problem.

[B-RadG]

Afterburn and Montu are the only inverted coasters to have Batwings, yes.

Wingover is B&M's fancy word for a Corkscrew. Same thing but B&Ms tend to have a gradual banking change leading into it and then a quick snap over the top and gradual change out of it.

 

I went back in April and the park was great. The operations could have been a lot better (especially for a Busch park) but it was still above average.

Gwazi is a really good coaster it's just forgotten about due to the roughness. PTCs aren't meant to run on those kinds of layouts. Anyhow, ride it first thing in the morning. It's closest to the entrance and smoother by a long shot in the morning. My organs hated me after riding in the afternoon.

Kumba is easily one of my favorite B&Ms and my favorite looping coaster. It was just as smooth as a modern B&M and thrice as forceful. The lack of trims/a MCBR that takes off speed makes it so great.

Montu was great except for the fact that when I rode the trim was taking off too much speed for the Batwing to be forceful and the MCBR was slowing it down to a very slow pace, making the second half drag on forever slowly.

Scorpion was nothing special at all. It shuffled a lot and had a meh layout. For its size it's pretty intense but it's nothing to write home about.

SheiKra was really average. Nothing stood out and it shuffled a LOT. It's a shame though, because I adore Griffon.

[4rturo]

The batwing gives you intense G's. And the wingover is a great finale.

 

 

Doesn't After Burn have a Bat Wing? And is a Wing Over the same thing as a Cork Screw?

 

Yes to both. Wing over is just how BM call their inverted corkscrews.

[Lenaapple1974]

sixflagsgadvguy1000 - Dude, you sound more paranoid than I was two years ago! Don't fret.... none of the Busch Gardens coasters will give you a problem. The way I got through all the questions and issues I had was that if I went on on B&M...then another, and liked it - then B&M was A-OK in my book. I get it, but you may be psyching yourself up for a fall if you react this way about them. This past summer, I knocked out three new parks. HersheyPark, Busch Gardens Europe, and Kings Dominion. Since the last post re: Great Adventure in another thread that I responded to, I have also conquered Kingda Ka! All I have to say is... JUST DO IT! You won't regret any of it. Most of all - HAVE FUN!!!

[coasternut]

I was at BGT today. Lots of stuff closed mostly due to all the construction: no train, monorail and only 1 side of Gwazi running. What ever happened to the idea of putting Millennium Flyer Trains on this GCII? That would definitely improve the Gwazi ride.

I do question the statement that Cheetah Hunt will open in the spring. I'm guessing late spring if not summer. Not a lot of work completed so far, and I was a little disappointed. You can only see the construction status from the Crown Colony balcony. Lot's of Intamin track at Adventure Island awaiting installation. I'll be back tomorrow - Sunday. I wish I thought to bring my camera, but not too much to see so far.

[redfoot12]

Hope Cheetah Hunt is up early/mid spring. I may be going to a wedding in Tampa. I'd be down for a BGT trip.

[coasternut]

Hope Cheetah Hunt is up early/mid spring. I may be going to a wedding in Tampa. I'd be down for a BGT trip.

 

If I were you I wouldn't hold my breath. Have fun at the wedding...

[aimster]

I was at BGT today. Lots of stuff closed mostly due to all the construction: no train, monorail and only 1 side of Gwazi running. What ever happened to the idea of putting Millennium Flyer Trains on this GCII? That would definitely improve the Gwazi ride.

I do question the statement that Cheetah Hunt will open in the spring. I'm guessing late spring if not summer. Not a lot of work completed so far, and I was a little disappointed. You can only see the construction status from the Crown Colony balcony. Lot's of Intamin track at Adventure Island awaiting installation. I'll be back tomorrow - Sunday. I wish I thought to bring my camera, but not too much to see so far.

 

One side of Gwazi (Tiger) is down because from what I was told when I was there last Monday and took the Coaster Insider tour of Montu, they're rehabbing the trains on Gwazi one side at a time to make the ride not so rough. Even my tour guides agreed Gwazi has gotten really bad over the years (it was great when it opened). So hopefully when the Tiger side comes back, it'll be a smoother, better ride. And at that time, the Lion side will go down for a similar rehab of those trains.

 

Considering Spring goes from March 20-June 20 in 2011, they got until then to make good on their "Spring 2011" promise for getting Cheetah Hunt open.

 

Oh and the monorail station is going to be the the loading area for Cheetah Hunt (and the old Clydesdale barn area is going to be turned into a cheetah encounter attraction similar to the tigers at Jungala. Looking forward to that! And skyway will reopen once Cheetah Hunt is complete, so there's that to look forward to as well. And seeing as they're working on getting everything ready to get the track installed, once that starts happening, it's going to go fast. They just need to get all those big piles of dirt out of the way first.

 

I think 2011 is going to be a great year for Busch Gardens. I'm actually considering finally getting an regular AP instead of one of those FunCards (that way I don't have to pay for parking every time... that adds up after awhile). It's really one of the more underrated parks here in Florida. I really regret not going more when I lived 10-15 minutes away (now I live about twice that, which is still pretty close, but...).

[redfoot12]

Well, the wedding I'm going to is in late April or early to mid May. Come on, BGT!