Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

[netdvn]

Well obviously you're not going to get any airtime from a B&M looper. That's not what it was designed for. I don't think I greyed out on it either but that doesn't mean the coaster isn't intense.

 

Even in terms of throwing me around, Cheetah Hunt's Rhino Rally turns and Verbolten's double helix still do a better job. Hell even Wild Maus threw me around a lot more.

 

In terms of "snappier" inversions, I prefer Storm Runner's snake dive over anything Kumba has. For good measure I'll also throw in Alpengeist's inversions too since those are pretty nutty too.

 

Tampa's only looping coaster that really impressed me was Montu (and Cheetah Hunt if you wanna count that too). Sheikra's just Griffon without the second inversion and with better theming. Scorpion had terrible ops and was really rough. Yeah Kumba's setting is great and the layout is fun, but it's nothing to write home about in terms of intensity, at least in my opinion.

[coasterbill]

Scorpion had terrible ops and was really rough.

 

Maybe I'm the crazy one but the amount of smooth coasters being called rough in this thread is amazing. Honestly I think the only rough coaster at either Bush Gardens park is Gwazi. I found all of the other coasters to be incredibly smooth.

 

Maybe people complaining about rides like Kumba and Scorpion being rough are why B&M goes out of it's way to build completely forceless rides with no snappy transitions. I guess that's what people want. I've heard people complaining about roughness on Kumba, Alpengeist and now Scorpion just in the last few weeks and I'm in disbelief. Is it just me that's totally confused by all of this? I don't think it's possible for a coaster to be smoother than Scorpion, and I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that.

[shivtim]

I absolutely love Kumba. It's my 3rd favorite steel coaster. Perfect blend of smoothness, intensity, and environment.

[djboss302]

I'm going to BGT in September so Ill have my opinion on Kumba than.

 

But to be completely honest, I'm more excited to ride Montu and Cheetah Hunt, and I'm not as excited to ride Kumba. I guess I'll just have to wait and see.

[netdvn]

Maybe people complaining about rides like Kumba and Scorpion being rough are why B&M goes out of it's way to build completely forceless rides with no snappy transitions. I guess that's what people want. I've heard people complaining about roughness on Kumba, Alpengeist and now Scorpion just in the last few weeks and I'm in disbelief. Is it just me that's totally confused by all of this? I don't think it's possible for a coaster to be smoother than Scorpion, and I'm not exaggerating at all when I say that.

 

I actually found Kumba to be pretty smooth, but if you really want my opinion on Scorpion...

 

I came on the ride with pretty high expectations. Everyone seems to praise Anton coasters to high heaven so I figured starting off with Scorpion would be a great idea. The line itself was surprisingly long and moved rather slowly for a park that was almost completely dead. Even Gwazi (known for terrible ops) had a nonexistent line. The only other coaster in the park with a line that day was Cheetah Hunt, but that was understandable since the ride was still the star at the time. The station layout was pretty interesting. I can only imagine how crazy that line would've been opening year with everyone begging for front row.

 

The trains seemed like they were in poor shape. Duct tape everywhere and the padding on the handlebars was falling off. Not a good sign IMO.

 

The layout is OK but not ideal for riding hands up without slamming into the fiberglass or the person next to you. I eventually gave up putting my hands up and just braced for the turns instead. It didn't really make the ride any smoother for that matter. Maybe I was too focused on keeping myself from hitting the person next to me to notice the smoothness of the ride or maybe I caught it on an off day.

 

All in all, I found Loch Ness to be smoother and the overall better ride of the two classic Busch loopers. I wanted to give the ride a second chance, but the line was too long to warrant that.

 

- Or maybe I just don't like it because I'm a roller coaster hipster

[ucfjav930]

Clearly everyone has their own opinions, but all this Kumba bashing is ridiculous. Go ride The Incredible Hulk if you swear Kumba is rough, then tell me what you think. Also, all of BGT's coasters are smooth with the exception of Gwazi.

[Woodie Warrior]

Clearly everyone has their own opinions, but all this Kumba bashing is ridiculous. Go ride The Incredible Hulk if you swear Kumba is rough, then tell me what you think. Also, all of BGT's coasters are smooth with the exception of Gwazi.

Nobody in this thread has been "bashing" on Kumba.

[Kenny B]

Just my opinion..... But Montu has delivered the most intense ride experience I've encountered. Not as disorienting as a great run on Batman ---- but that batwing is heavy.

[Ed Farmer]

I actually found Kumba to be pretty smooth, but if you really want my opinion on Scorpion...

 

...I came on the ride with pretty high expectations. Everyone seems to praise Anton coasters to high heaven so I figured starting off with Scorpion would be a great idea...

 

I can't say that I know where you're coming from on Kumba, but I agree with your general opinion Scorpion. My issue isn't whether or not it's rough (I don't think it is), I just think that Scorpion is a ride that many people see through their Anton tinted glasses. If you took Schwarzkopf's name off and slapped a Vekoma or Arrow tag on it instead, more than just a handful of people would have a different opinion of it. Sometimes, I get the feeling that if you told a Schwarzkopf person that "hey, you see that drinking fountain we just walked by? It's a Schwarzkopf..." They would run to it, bathe in it, and say that it was the purest, most delicious water they've ever tasted. I'm all for great Schwarzkopf coasters, but you'll have to drive several hours north for one (but it's a very good one). Scorpion is a nice coaster if you have younger kids and happen to visit on a slow enough day that it's 1 train-op won't result in your longest wait of the day.

[Barge84]

^ That's a pretty accurate description of some of the Anton fans I know.

[cfc]

While I like Scorpion, it doesn't blow my mind. It's a fun coaster, but not worth a wait of more than 15 minutes.

[traincrossin]

Screw Falcon's Fury guys, it's all about the bacon pretzel fury!

 

 

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[markysharky17]

I've gone on random trips to BG on the weekends and the wooden bridge leading to the station and the actual building you wait in before you get to the bridge is filled up completely. Yet they only run one train... Do they even have a second train? If not they should just get new trains like sooper dooper looper at Hershey park. The ride was ultra smooth the last time I rode it. I'm a regular to BGT and Scorpion is good but don't get to excited for it. I find it jerky and it does throw you around a little but it's still very smooth for a coaster. I like he front better then the back because going into the loop is more forceful.

[coasterbill]

I liked Scorpion a lot but it doesn't pack the same intensity of a lot of other Schwarzkopf loopers. The loop itself is great, but it doesn't do much else. That being said, it's a great coaster because it appeals to a lot of people. I just wish it had a higher capacity.

[Philrad71]

We were there last Wednesday and the park was quite crowded as it was a beautiful, sunny day with a high of around 80 degrees. What a great day to be at one of my all time favorite theme parks!

 

We splurged for the Quick Queue unlimited and managed to get two rides on Cheetah Hunt (once in front seat), two on Montu (once in front seat), three on Sheikra (once in front seat) and one on Kumba. We skipped Scorpion and the Wild Mouse this time because of time and the fact that I feel that neither is very good.

 

I did ride the far right seat in the back on Kumba and while it was fun, I (like some others) feel that the other three big coasters in the park are a bit better with Montu being my personal favorite (love the front seat!) coaster in the park and my overall favorite B&M invert. To each his own though...

 

We absolutely loved our first rides on Cheetah Hunt with the little pops of air, the launches and overall unique, lengthy layout...it was a very nice, smooth ride for us older folks!

 

One thing that I found interesting was that while they had Gwazi drawn on the map (and signs said it was closed for refurbishment), it does not actually list the coaster in the attraction section. Bird Gardens section has Gwazi Pavilion and Gwazi Park listed while Morocco has Gwazi Gliders, Gwazi Park and Gwazi Games.

 

Edit: The back of the park map lists Gwazi as one of it's attractions, but it is not listed anywhere on the front map - only the drawing of the coaster in it's location.

[OrlandoGuy]

^thats really disappointing to hear about Gwazi :/ I know Ill get a lot of flack for this, but it really is my favorite wood coaster (though I admittedly havent been on very many). Even if that werent the case though, Ill still miss it since it seems to be on its way out--it served as nice change of pace from the steel loopers the park is otherwise dominated by.

[B&MBoy1982]

Scorpion has 2 trains. One is a backup.

 

I have never seen BGT run 2 trains on Scorpion.

[Dr. M]

Falcon's Fury looks freaking amazing. The scariest moment of any flying coaster is that initial disorientation of your weight being completely shifted from your butt to your chest/stomach, and that's just sitting in the station. I can't imagine experiencing that over 300 feet in the air. If I was designing the ride, I'd take a cue from the ARM towers and have the seats rotate 2/3rds of the way up, so you can't see how close you are to the top of the tower, and then have it drop the second you reach the top with no warning whatsoever. I think that's the scariest way to do it; personally waiting a full 5 seconds at the top of an S&S tower gives me enough time to go all the way from being scared out of my mind to simply impatient. True, being flipped onto my stomach would probably negate that, so I'm sure it'll be awesome and insanely terrifying either way. Rotating upright mid-fall might produce some interesting dynamics too, makes the ride more interesting in general. We'd all love to imagine the seats staying tipped, the ride stopping right before you hit the ground, your nose hovering inches from the pavement, but I'm pretty sure your eyeballs would explode from the force.

 

Hershey needs one of these.

[DJeXeL]

Looking good!!

[jynx242]

A: Falcon's Fury looks amazing. I go every couple of weeks and have been watching it since it was a "wee little thing"

 

B: I have never seen a 2nd train for Scorpion -are we sure there is one? Also - I like it, and not just because it is a Schwartzkopf. It is a fun ride and has an awesome old-school loop, low to the ground helices, etc...

 

C: It is funny how opnions differ so much between enthusiasts. For me -Kumba is, hands down, the best ride there. I love the rest and Cheetah Hunt is tons of fun and has some good pops of air - but none of the other rides there do it for me like Kumba. I can re-ride the crap out of it and always leave smiling.

[rcjp]

^^Nice! It's funny how the car looks nothing like I thought it would look, but very cool.

[netdvn]

Cheetah Hunt concept art! Click here! This site did a bunch of design projects for Busch. Check em out. They're all awesome.

 

I'm glad the park didn't go for this one. It looks awful.

 

I guess the ride was gonna be more Egyptian themed than cheetah themed.

 

My favorite of the four designs.

[rcrider4]

^^^It definitely has a second train. It is sometimes out on the storage track, although that is a pretty rare thing to see. They never have two running on the track for some reason though. You can actually see the second train in TPR's POV

[linearinduction]

If Lagoon can operate 3 Trains on Fire Dragon I can't see why Scorpion can't run 2!

[coasterfansince1999]

I managed to get to BGT for the first time yesterday. Parking was slow and the trams to the front were very filled.

Lines got more crowded throughout the day, but were decent at first.

 

Gwazi- About a 20 minute wait. Very slow considering they are only operating one side with both trains. Was fun at first, but them became unenjoyable after the first drop due to roughness. Don't plan on riding that one again.

 

Sheikra- Had a 5 minute wait at first. My #1 coaster right now. It was extremely fun and the drop was amazing. I like how they take video of you on the ride.

 

Kumba- Walk-on. Not my favorite, but it was quite fun. I like how the loop goes over the lift hill. Not too rough.

 

Scorpion- 30 minute wait. Slow moving line with only one train. The ride was fantastic and very fun. Loved the classic Schwarzkopf loop.

 

Cheetah Hunt- Was posted a 50 minute wait but it was a little more than an hour due to someone having a protein spill on the 2nd car and the staff taking 15 minutes to get the hose running. I loved this ride. It was insanely smooth and the launches take you by surprise. I like how close it gets to the water during the turns too.

 

Around mid-day every wait was 70+ minutes,so I purchased a Quick Queue ticket for re-rides and Montu. Worth every penny. It was super effective.

 

Montu- Walk-on with Quick Queue. Very forceful and lots of G's. I liked it a lot.

 

After that, I re-rode Cheetah Hunt and Kumba one more time and Sheikra 2 more times because the ticket had a bonus slot for any ride listed. I ride Sheikra one more time before leaving because it was a 10 min wait. I left around 6:45.

 

I would say I had an overall positive experience there. All the rides were fantastic (except for Gwazi and Pheonix) Quick Queue was a great system and everything was walk-on. Will definitely come back.

Edited March 31, 2014 by coasterfansince1999