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Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

p. 375: Phoenix Rising family inverted coaster announced for 2024!

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Yeah I like the idea of a dark ride at BGT. You could get some shade and it be a nice place to stay out of the rain for a bit. Plus they could use a few more family style rides. Although I am curious what a "speed coaster" is considering they have cheetah hunt. I just wish they could of asked GCI or RMC to try something with Gwazi before they gave up on it.

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I'm kind of torn on the future of Gwazi, part of me would love to see it restored or renovated to run like it did in it's opening years, but part of me kind of wants to see it removed. With some of the recent attractions built by Seaworld Parks (Manta, Cheetah Hunt, Antartica when it opens) I'd love to see what their design team could do with that plot of land. Gwazi always was in a bit of a strange location in the park to, you can see all of the backstage areas from the ride, it makes usage of the field for special events a bit awkward at time. I bet if you gave the management team the opportunity to start over they would probably utilize that plot of lad a bit differently.

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^I've always felt like Gwazi fit really awkwardly into the park's layout as well.

 

I never found the ride to be as bad as people made it out to be, with the PTCs or when I rode last year with the Flyers (I actually rerode last year because there were some nice little pops of air scattered around). I wouldn't be particularly sad to see it go though, especially if it gets replaced with something that's got a nice theme to it, coaster or dark ride or what have you. SWP&E has been doing some pretty good stuff lately!

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Yeah I like the idea of a dark ride at BGT. You could get some shade and it be a nice place to stay out of the rain for a bit. Plus they could use a few more family style rides.

 

I agree with this. Something "DarKastle-like" would be nice to see in Tampa.

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I looooved Gwazi in it's glory days. It was a great wooden coaster when it was new. But time has not done good things for it. I've always said I'd much rather have it torn down than a RMC makeover. The land it sits on is a huge footprint, and with the space around it, the potential for a new 'land' or themed area with more than just one coaster would be great! Some flats, indoor dark ride, ect. I don't know how they'll fit a 'speed coaster' on that plot of land though, but heck, more power to them if they can! I'm more excited for something new, over trying to save it.

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Actually quite excited about this rumor which is odd because I LOVE Gwazi, but I would trade Gwazi for a B&M Hyper coaster any day of the week. I do agree that BGT is due for Darkcastle type ride rather than another coaster, but considering the area a Hyper would make a good backdrop for events like Bands Brew and BBQ. Who knows, maybe more than a coaster is in the works, such as a permanent outdoor amphitheater type setup?

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The trains for Gwazi are said to be shipped to the Williamsburg park for a future wooden coaster going in there in the near future.

 

If this rumor is legit, call me excited. It's about time Williamsburg gets a wooden coaster. Shouldn't be too surprising to see rumors pointing to Tampa finally putting Gwazi on the chopping block. The ride ran pretty poorly last year when I rode. I'm looking forward to seeing what its replacement is.

 

- It would be an interesting spot for a new coaster or the planned drop tower.

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The thought of another coaster in that area is depressing...especially a possible cookie-cutter B&M.

 

Since they finally stepped out of Africa with the addition of Walkabout Way (aside from the Bengal tigers), I'd LOVE to see Gwazi replaced with a huge Asian themed area which incorporated pandas. There's not a single zoo in Florida where you can see pandas, so BGT would have a great marketing possibility there....and they just happen to be one of the few places that could deal with all the red tape involved in acquiring them from China. The facilities they could build would obviously be top notch, and a great benefit to panda research.

 

Just make the area BGT's answer to SWO's Antartica. Dark ride, immersive panda exhibit, bring over the Komodo dragons, throw in some King Cobra enclosures, maybe even a drop tower (finally?), add a great Asian-inspired restaurant, and then surround it with typical Asian architecture and Angkor Wat-type theming. Boom. Done.

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^I like this idea. If they could come up with a Yak and Yeti quality restaurant, that would be great (food at BGT is a bit hit or miss, but better than what you get at SeaWorld).

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Wouldn't a dark ride like Darkastle be too close to IOA with Spiderman and Universal with Transformers? I know they are already right next to each other but 3 that close would be a surprise. I could see another large coaster down the road if Gwazi was removed.

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Wouldn't a dark ride like Darkastle be too close to IOA with Spiderman and Universal with Transformers? I know they are already right next to each other but 3 that close would be a surprise.

 

I don't think this would be an issue. Tampa and Orlando are not "right next to each other," so I doubt that proximity would matter.

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