Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

[scars]

We all passed the time just chatting, joking around and stuff. yeah we'd boo when they'd make announcements about the coaster not being open, but it wasn't a borderline riot or anything. Quite the opposite. Those of us who stuck around the whole time were very patient and orderly, which really surprised me.

 

i can sign that, i was standing in the second or third row in front of the entrance, waiting for the cheetah to open...

(fyi: yes, they gave us free water but first as someone collapses while waiting in the sun...)

[WillMontu]

As Erik posted above, we went down to BGT for Memorial Day. As I usually do, I brought the DSLR along and got some nice shots. Please excuse my poor attempts at captions - it's been a while.

This was the reason for coming here! It's re-opened!

The ride is just so much better now, though the Nairobi queue was out the door, while the Congo side was a walk-on.

Plus now it goes under a coaster

On top of that, we have more big kitties. This was the only one we saw - I'm guessing that there were others, perhaps in the old Clydesdale building

And there's a new coaster

For Barry, it's #500

Close-up of one of the trains

I don't think the old Monorail station's ever seen this much of a crowd

The train's that way!

The supports penetrate the gift shop. Truly hard core coaster porn

And now for some closeups

The top of the "tree"

There are many places to get pictures of this ride

A missed attempt to catch the train from the skyride.

 

[insert Through the Trees joke here]

And through the water

On the return leg

The second launch

And for the truly sad and pathetic: New name = new credit

Hey, Big Mike, I think they want their shirt back.

[DBru]

Awesome reports, guys. Thanks for sharing!

 

So...do these "new foam" shoulder straps feel any different than the older versions?

[Inukaza]

Awesome reports, guys. Thanks for sharing!

 

So...do these "new foam" shoulder straps feel any different than the older versions?

 

 

Well... I don't know how the other ones feel, however, I will say that when we hit airtime, my shoulders slammed into the shoulder straps and they hurt quite a bit. I'll be honest, while it's noticeably foam after inspecting it, it's a very HARD and Stern foam.

 

I would have traded the heart line loop for lap bars. Still a great coaster, though.

[Skycoastin Steve]

The restraints didn't bother me. But then again, they haven't bothered me that much on Maverick, Storm Runner, or 305 either.

[Hilltopper39]

^ That's still insanely cheap compare to what Six Flags charges for a gold or platinum Flash Pass.

Oh absolutely. I've done the unlimited at BGT, and while it doesn't include as many rides as the SF ones typically do, it's still a very good deal. Both are worth the money in my opinion. I'm wondering at what point Cheetah Hunt will be added to the Quick Queue. It obviously won't be any time soon, my guess would be after Halloween when the crowds go down.

 

It would be nice if they were able to add Cheetah Hunt to the Unlimited Quick Que with a one ride only per guest limitation, heck make that one ride an additional up-charge to the Unlimited and it would probably still sell.

 

I guess living in Central Florida for a few years and only going to parks in the off season or for special events has spoiled me a little too much.

[aimster]

^ I think eventually they will add Cheetah Hunt to Quick Queue and Quick Queue Unlimited. Just right now since the ride is brand new, they want to give everyone the same opportunity to ride and now have people bitching about people "cutting" ahead in line because of Quick Queue. I'll bet either later this summer or in the fall they'll add it.

[doublestufforeo]

^ I think eventually they will add Cheetah Hunt to Quick Queue and Quick Queue Unlimited. Just right now since the ride is brand new, they want to give everyone the same opportunity to ride and now have people bitching about people "cutting" ahead in line because of Quick Queue. I'll bet either later this summer or in the fall they'll add it.

 

I sell Universal Express passes all day pretty much and they don't apply to Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey or Hollywood: Rip, Ride, Rockit because they're both too new still.

[chargersmichael]

I just got back from Busch Gardens. It's my birthday and went to the park to ride Cheetah Hunt. We were first to the park, first in line and once the ropes dropped, my mom, my sister and I sprinted to Cheetah Hunt. We were the lead of the pack with many following us. We were the first riders of the day in the front row. It is so much better than it looks. The launches are great. The loop is insane. The Rhino Rally feature was amazing. The 3rd launch into the hill was so cool! It is a lot faster than it looks. It was running great all day! It had about an 80 minute wait all day. Sheikra was down from park opening and was still down when I left. Cheetah Hunt provided airtime, hangtime, and a lot of speed. I can only imagine if it was like the animated video! It's a great ride. I love launch coasters. Photos coming soon!

[tiger01]

Has anyone got an image of the new park map?

[jjune4991]

I have the new park map. I can get a picture uploaded tonight or tomorrow.

 

EDIT: Nevermind. Adam (jedimaster) posted it on his TR

 

[orangeblue]

So, with Cheetah Hunt up and open, what do you guys think is next for BGT? Personally, I'm hoping for some kind of major flat ride like an extreme swing, Huss giant frisbee, or drop tower. Considering how BGT and BGW always seem to mirror each other in development, I could realistically see them installing a drop tower given the new one at BGW. As for coasters, I wouldn't expect another one for 5-6 years since that's been the trend lately (unless the economy dramatically improves and tourism picks up again).

[jjune4991]

There are height limits in Florida, and a shallow water limit. So they're limited in what they can build. As much as I'd love a tower, they may not be able to build it. Or maybe they don't want to.

[DougieFresh]

I don't think a tower fits BGT's style. However, I do think something along the lines of Apollo's chariot would be cool. Or another Intamin.

[paiging_jen]

A zip line!

[chargersmichael]

I was hoping they would build a pathway from Scropion to Sheikra. Give Scorpion new trains and move the entrance. Also, move the market shop where Sheikra is to complete the pathway. More animal exhibits and I honestly don't see another coaster for a long time. Where will they put it? I see a Giant Swing from S&S going to BGT and a zip line through the Congo would be awesome! Maybe they could do away with Tidal Wave and make a new better water ride from Intamin! Their water rides are only ok. Not really worth it. The only thing I could think of with a new roller coaster is the midpoint Skyride station, reopen that and create a new land and put a B&M Hypercoaster and reopen that restaurant!

[KrakenKing]

If they were to remove any ride, I'd have to put my vote in for Phoenix.

 

While still a fun ride and a classic, every year the line seems to get shorter, and shorter. I went on a day where every coaster had an hour+ wait (even Scorpion had a 45min) and the wait for Phoenix was one ride cycle.

 

If they were to open that spot up, I could see them putting in an Intamin or Mack Gyro-Drop ride reaching the 200ft mark or taller (Remember, SeaWorld's tower is 300ft). Being in the center of the park it'd give a great view!

[dragonskeep]

They have done a lot of building out there lately and the Nutrition Center is on the way so we will probably have to wait for anything new. I think the dream of getting a hyper anywhere in Florida is not going to happen any time soon. I thought BGT would get one, it seemed like a natural fit but I dont see that in the near future now. Someone mentioned water rides and I agree that is the way to go next. Busch Gardens needs a good high capacity water ride, a highly themed flume would be a very good upgrade for the park. Although, recent projects have targeted kids and families so maybe an outright thrill ride will be next. They are even taking care of the zoo aspect by adding a couple animal attractions lately and the coming Nutrition Center.

[Inukaza]

A zip line!

 

 

But they already have one. D:

[aimster]

Went to the park this morning for the passholder ERT on Cheetah Hunt before the park opened. And guess what... once again Cheetah Hunt was delayed. They had Montu running for those who wanted to go ride that instead. But this time they lead everyone inside the queue of Cheetah Hunt to wait it out, which was much nicer than last week when we had to sit in the blazing sun. Just before 9:00 they had it up and running with 4 trains on the track. I only got one ride in (after that it was a 3 hour wait since the park was open to regular guests), but yeah, still lots of fun. The free gift everyone got for the passholder event was a nice reusable Cheetah Hunt tote bag.

[paiging_jen]

Hopefully no one was booing this time. I figure I'll go over for the passholder ERT in a couple of weeks, maybe some of the kinks will be worked out.

[orangeblue]

Cheetah Hunt opened on time today. About to ride the front row!

[oriolat]

How many trains does CR run at the same time? It says it can run 5, but I take they only run 4 at the time because of the dual station. Do they have a spare train so that they can always have the coaster running at max. capacity (just like the other B&Ms at the Park)?

[orangeblue]

Park has a power outage. Stuck on skyride

[tiger01]

Park has a power outage. Stuck on skyride

 

Well at least you got on Cheetah Hunt! Are you on your own up there?