Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

[CPSFMMCW]

Heres what I gotta say: It looks to me that its either gonna be torn down or i box by RMC. One frickin side of the coaster isn't running! That says something by itself! I personally think that they'll choose to RMC gwazi and then maybe the following year or two add in a wooden coaster so they have a true woodie in the park. Or at least, thats what they should do.

[SharkTums]

Tear it Down!!!!!! Create something new. A nice new woodie would be nice....but I'd rather have a hyper or giga. Tampa is just really a harsh place for a wooden coaster to keep up to par; especially since it's a year-round park. Perhaps if they use steel supports maybe?

 

Yeah but if they tear it down we'll probably just get a B&M Hyper. I'd rather have a RMC redo.

[aCoasterStory]

Tear it Down!!!!!! Create something new. A nice new woodie would be nice....but I'd rather have a hyper or giga. Tampa is just really a harsh place for a wooden coaster to keep up to par; especially since it's a year-round park. Perhaps if they use steel supports maybe?

 

Yeah but if they tear it down we'll probably just get a B&M Hyper. I'd rather have a RMC redo.

 

I'd like to see an RMC redo and then have the *next* expansion be a B&M hyper. But I have no idea where they'd put a B&M hyper without having it run along the northern or western edges of the park, or go out over the Serengeti plain (which would actually be really awesome).

 

But then it'd have 4 B&M's. How many parks have 4 B&M's? But then what other type of ride would fit this park well (assuming an RMC makeover of Gwazi)?

 

Their current park lineup is incredibly impressive:

 

the "Big 4":

Montu, my #1 invert

SheiKra, my #1 dive coaster (and an incredibly fun and re-rideable ride)

Kumba, many enthusiasts' #1 coaster

Cheetah Hunt, an incredibly fun, long, and popular multi-launched coaster

plus a classic Schwarzkopf in Scorpion, a (slow and honestly not terribly fun) wild mouse in Sand Serpent, and a kiddie coaster in Air Grover

 

throw in an RMC makeover of Gwazi, and you'd have the "Big 6" (Iron Lion and Steel Tiger, anyone?)

 

But what then? What kind of coaster would the park still be missing??

 

Stand-ups are out of vogue. Wing and flying coasters came and went and I don't anticipate seeing too many more of those (at least until B&M tries their hand at a 4D coaster). They don't need a floorless since they have Kumba.

 

I'm not sure if any of the Intamin offerings would make sense given that they already have Cheetah Hunt. I don't think I could see a giga or megalite or another launched coaster. I can't see them going with a Vekoma, except maybe an SFC (if they did that, i'd hope they'd do a custom terrain version like Orkanen).

 

I don't know if any of the smaller manufacturers have anything that would work well for BGT, especially as far as capacity is concerned.

 

Thoughts?

[CPSFMMCW]

^ Flying coaster in my opinion would be awesome, but I think we'd definitely be seeing a hyper beforehand.

[aCoasterStory]

^ Flying coaster in my opinion would be awesome, but I think we'd definitely be seeing a hyper beforehand.

 

Of the 5 US B&M flyers, I actually prefer the S:UF at SFOG because of how well it interacts with the terrain (I know I'm in the minority--Tatsu just didn't do it for me). But Starry Sky Ripper/Sky Scrapper looks like it'd be pretty sweet. I think I'd be open to a newer-style, more epic flying coaster, but it'd still be the 4th B&M, and I don't know how they'd theme it effectively or where they'd be able to put it.

[Cyrbuzz]

Being that Sea World in Orlando already has a flyer I doubt they will put one in Busch Gardens. I'm going with hyper or slight possible giga coaster as Gwazi's replacement.

[rcjp]

But then it'd have 4 B&M's. How many parks have 4 B&M's?

SFMM, SFGAm, SFOG and then SFGAdv with a record breaking 5!

So yeah, it's not that common, and they're all six flags.

[aCoasterStory]

But then it'd have 4 B&M's. How many parks have 4 B&M's?

SFMM, SFGAm, SFOG and then SFGAdv with a record breaking 5!

So yeah, it's not that common, and they're all six flags.

 

Good call. I totally forgot about several of those coasters, even at my home park! Lol.

 

But SFMM has 18 (going on 19, and likely 20 next year) coasters. SFGAm has 13 (including Goliath), SFOG has 11, and SFGAdv has 12. BGT right now only has 8.

 

4/9 would give it the highest percentage of B&M's at any of those parks.

[rcjp]

^Yeah, that's right. I hadn't thought of it that way.

[leviathandude306]

Personally think it might be an iron horse treatment for the woodie... With rumours of "iron colossus" at SFMM, maybe the two parks are thinking the same thing?

 

If it's a hyper/mega m type coaster, I actually think it'll be an intamin, seeing as their last two major installations have been from them. Could we see North America's first mega lite?... Or at least something sick like SFNE Bizaro or Wallabi's Goliath?

 

Then again, with the falcons fury issues, maybe they'll decide to go with someone we haven't thought of for a similar ride?.. Maybe chance perhaps? A higher capacity, larger version of LR would be awesome!

[Her0ofLime]

Since I want to have the best possible experience for my upcoming trip, and being a newbie to Busch Gardens, over the next few weeks i'll be pelting this thread with questions. With that in mind, I have a question to ask, what do you think the lines will be like on a weekday in Late June/Early July for most of the major rides (SheiKra, Kumba, Montu, Cheetah Hunt)?

[SharkTums]

^There will be lots of camp groups, it will also be super hot and humid. Spring for Quick Queue and have a much more enjoyable day.

[chargersmichael]

I might be completely insane or something but I want Busch Gardens to go big with their next ride that might be too expensive for them. If they could tear down Gwazi and build a Volcano Mountain in its place. The Volcano can host either a roller coaster or a simulator ride. I was thinking it could be themed to like African Safari tours, with lots of theming inside the mountain with lots of African scenery and then something goes wrong. Then you're inside the volcano and it is about to erupt and you blast out the side like Everest or Journey to the Center of the Earth. I know it would probably never happen...but still.

 

It would be such a great icon for the park, aimed for families, and be a lot of fun!

[The Yeti]

^I don't know about that..I think that actually sounds better for Disney's Animal Kingdom, even though they already have a few iconic structures. I guess it's more that when I think of Africa, I never think of volcanoes and - as if Falcon's Fury won't be iconic enough - I'd rather see a 300 ft coaster in the BGT skyline!

[CoasterStreak]

Slight change of topic, but I was at the park this past Thursday (the 12th) and Rhino Rally was open. The ride was incredibly short at only about 5 minutes including a couple stops for crossing animals. Additionally, the train ride attendant was telling people to make sure they took a ride on it because it has only reopened for a very limited time.

[jray21]

^There will be lots of camp groups, it will also be super hot and humid. Spring for Quick Queue and have a much more enjoyable day.

 

Quick Queue is definitely worth the extra cost, and it really does make your visit much much nicer.

[chargersmichael]

Any updates on Falcon's Fury?

[BGT-Bill]

Still waiting on the replacement parts, and painting of a design on the lower part of the tower has begun this week. They also pushed back the construction walls to just around the base/platform. Not a whole lot else going on with it recently.

[glouthan]

^Welcome to the forums!

I'm really hoping that Falcon's Fury opens soon, so I hear some reviews. Hopefully I will be able to visit next year!

[COASTER FREAK 11]

Any updates on Falcon's Fury?

 

$hit dont work. lol

[chargersmichael]

So apparently there is a massive paint job going on with Falcon's Fury. Were they originally going to paint the tower before it was supposed to open May 1st or leave it as it was?

[rcrider4]

So apparently there is a massive paint job going on with Falcon's Fury. Were they originally going to paint the tower before it was supposed to open May 1st or leave it as it was?

In a news article I read back in November or December it talked about a lady coming in to paint a sunset design and that it was going to take about two weeks. However, that was slated to happen after the tower was constructed but before testing. Obviously that didn't happen, so I'm not sure what the plan changed to be before this setback happened.

[Cyrbuzz]

Does anyone have any pictures of the new paint scheme? I'm looking forward to this beast and have no problem being patient with the park. I would rather have all the bugs worked out first so I can enjoy an intense and safe ride. Busch Gardens is great and I'm happy to be a pass holder for the last 10+ years.

[ka8911]

Here's a pic I snapped with my phone the other day. Not the best photo, but it gives you an idea.

[Cyrbuzz]

That color scheme looks pretty good. Looks better than just the yellow and goes better with the new look of the area.