Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

[The username]

Will do

[The username]

Ended up getting 4th train today, but we were present for the grand opening ceremony! Absolutely fantastic ride, even better than Steve imo. Gonna have to ride it again at night!

[teacherkim]

3 hours ago, The username said:

Ended up getting 4th train today, but we were present for the grand opening ceremony! Absolutely fantastic ride, even better than Steve imo. Gonna have to ride it again at night!

Good to hear! We were there in December on a larger family FL Christmas trip and this was my son's feelings on Gwazi not being open yet. When we had booked the trip a year ago we were still hoping it would be. But we will be back down for the ACE spring conference in May and catch a ride then.

 

[xVicesAndVirtues]

13 hours ago, The username said:

Ended up getting 4th train today, but we were present for the grand opening ceremony! Absolutely fantastic ride, even better than Steve imo. Gonna have to ride it again at night!

Who is Steve? Do we know her?

[AndrewA86]

I'm looking at hotels in the area. The less expensive options like Econo Lodge, Tampa Inn, and even a La Quinta have really bad reviews. Has anyone ever stayed at one of those 3 on a regular basis, and if so are they really that bad?

[coasterbill]

No, that's a super great idea. Just do me a favor before you go and private message me your personal information so I can take out a life insurance policy on you.

[AmyUD06]

9 minutes ago, AndrewA86 said:

I'm looking at hotels in the area. The less expensive options like Econo Lodge, Tampa Inn, and even a La Quinta have really bad reviews. Has anyone ever stayed at one of those 3 on a regular basis, and if so are they really that bad?

Are you getting a rental car?  If so, I'd stay in Orlando and drive to BGT.

[dankeykang]

^^^Maybe try looking at AirBNB?  But yeah, if you're not sharing costs, it's generally much cheaper to stay in Orlando.  

[coasternut]

I was just there for Iron Gwazi previews recently. All the "local" AirBNB's are located in a scary area of town. I stayed a 2 different ones and lived to tell. There is is La Quinta by USF, not the one near the park that isn't bad and "not too dangerous. " Try that one.

[PKI Jizzman]

Stay at the new Hampton Inn across from the park. The first thing they told me when checking in is that they lock the doors at night. That was a bit of a surprise visiting for the first time and not knowing the area. They also have a shuttle and the driver is on call to pick you up to and from. 

[bert425]

We stay at a nice courtyard Marriott about 10 minutes from the park 

 

I’d recommend it

 

this one

COURTYARD TAMPA NORTH/I-75 FLETCHER

[coasternut]

^^ I forgot all about that Hampton across the street. It's a nice place and very close too. It will be more expensive than the "good La Quinta." I've stayed at both.

[AndrewA86]

Thanks for all the recommendations. I am flying into Tampa and looking to stay within walking distance from the park. I looked at that Hampton right next to the park but it's too expensive. And I am not renting a car as it is cheaper to uber to and from the airport. It looks like the Holiday inn right by USF is where I'll be. Not right next to the park, but still within walking distance. Really excited to get back to the park and check out Iron Gwazi!!!!

[haydn12]

We always stay at the Holiday Inn Express Suites across the road.  They have a free shuttle to the park.

[tndank]

Just in case you haven't considered it, you could also look for a cheap hotel at the airport and uber to the park.

 

[AndrewA86]

12 hours ago, haydn12 said:

We always stay at the Holiday Inn Express Suites across the road.  They have a free shuttle to the park.

 

Thanks. I would if the price were lower. Everything right next to the park is either crap or too expensive.

 

10 hours ago, tndank said:

Just in case you haven't considered it, you could also look for a cheap hotel at the airport and uber to the park.

 

The airport is too far away. The uber costs would wipe away any savings from the hotel price.

I'm going to stay about 2 miles away. I can walk that distance no problem.

[bert425]

The park is really in an iffy part of Tampa 

 

I hope you don’t end up with massive hospital bills from getting mugged because you wanted to save a few bucks from renting a car or uber and wanted to walk to the park

[southpuddle]

OMG such drama! He’ll be fine.

[tndank]

2 hours ago, AndrewA86 said:

The airport is too far away. The uber costs would wipe away any savings from the hotel price.

I'm going to stay about 2 miles away. I can walk that distance no problem.

Not sure you understand.  You're uber'ing to the park/area regardless.  Staying at the airport doesn't add an additional uber.  

Or, you can find a cheaper hotel further away from the park.  Save on the hotel, save on the uber to get there, and have enough to uber to the park instead of walking. 

You seem to be limiting yourself.  Best of luck.  Have a great trip.

 

[anonymouscactus]

You have to walk by the whole park to get to the entrance from the USF la quinta. You are right, about 2 miles total to the entrance, plus 2 miles back, plus another 2 miles to do 1 lap around the park. The walk back probably won't be so fun, and if you're doing it at night, I would say at least take a Uber back to the hotel. Save on 2 additional miles of walking after a long day, and as others have said it's not the greatest of areas. I don't think you'll get mugged taking a walk down McKinley but if you're doing it alone I would probably feel a little uneasy at night.

[xVicesAndVirtues]

From Screamscape

Quote

As theme park fans descend upon Busch Gardens Tampa this season to give the new Iron Gwazi a try, I do have one request. Be sure to ride KUMBA while you are at the park. In fact, give the old girl 2 or 3 rides if you can. 
    While B&M first entered the minds of coaster fans in 1992 with the creation of the first Inverted Coaster (Batman: The Ride at Six Flags Great America), they really shattered the idea of what could be done with traditional sit-down roller coaster design when they opened Kumba a year later in 1993. Until that point, the look and idea of what was possible on your standard steel roller coaster had been entirely defined by the work of Arrow Dynamics and Vekoma. 
    Kumba set a whole new standard for roller coaster design from that moment forward, in terms of engineering, design, inversion elements, and even a new definition for what a modern roller coaster should sound like with the iconic Kumba “roar” as the trains passed by. So the next time you visit the park, hopefully sooner than later, give Kumba some love, because Screamscape has been hearing things… 
    Very bad things… 
       So ride Kumba while you still can.

I really hope this is just "Screamscape nonsense"...

[southpuddle]

Here’s to hoping that when the time comes, Busch gives Kumba the Incredible Hulk/Nemesis treatment and not the Dueling Dragons treatment

People still really love the ride. While it doesn’t get a line like Sheikra gets, it’s fun to listen to comments about how much fun it was on the final brake run nearly 30 years later. 

[teacherkim]

16 hours ago, AndrewA86 said:

Thanks for all the recommendations. I am flying into Tampa and looking to stay within walking distance from the park. I looked at that Hampton right next to the park but it's too expensive. And I am not renting a car as it is cheaper to uber to and from the airport. It looks like the Holiday inn right by USF is where I'll be. Not right next to the park, but still within walking distance. Really excited to get back to the park and check out Iron Gwazi!!!!

No idea how crusty it is but if you really want to save money there is an Econo Lodge that is both significantly cheaper and significantly close than the Holiday Inn. You'd be looking at a half mile walk instead of 2 miles.

[coasterbill]

They just repainted Kumba like 3 years ago. Give me a break...

[ioa98]

What lmao?? Kumba just was repainted and they just got to 10 coasters for the park, it isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Pretty sure B&M coasters have a long life span as well. It is also running very smooth then in previous years and there is only one rough spot that could be fixed with two track replacements. I don't believe this one bit.