Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

[sam06pr]

Ah. I didnt have much fun going to this park in 2008. They shut down at the hint of thunderstorms, And if the chairlift is clogged there is a long walk between the two halves of the park with not many rides in between. oh and I watched SheiKra get stuck at the top of a lift hill in a thunderstorm at closing time no clue how they got the guests down.

 

 

Whenever there is lightning close by, busch parks close the rides almost immediately. Just to let you know, lightning those travel, and their have been times where all the power shuts off because of a lightning strike. I don't think, people would feel comfortable and secure stuck in a ride during or almost a thunderstorm. Plus I highly doubt someone would like to be swinging side to side on those chairlifts during high winds.....I know they run the rides in rain, just not during heavy raining

 

BTW bgtguide posted some pictures of the new kangaroos.

[jjune4991]

Oh my gosh, those little guys are so cute I can't wait to see them next week!

[sam06pr]

Take pictures!

[galahad]

Be there in september, hope the construction work will be at a good poit.. Unlikely I'll find some track on place tough..

Good excuse to go back next year..

[dragonskeep]

I think track may be on site by then, but probably not installed. Just go snooping around nearby empty lots instead of riding coasters, just kidding of course. Have a good time in September but i think you will have a real good reason to come back next year.

 

All I need right now is to see this trench being dug. Soon?

 

I guess there has to be a drop out of the station. Praying for AIRTIME . I wont care if it's all low but I would love a Tophat or a fast launched lift hill.

[gatorchomp83]

Just returned from a four hour trip to BGT, and have a lot of positive things to report.

 

First off, VERY impressed with Gwazi's operations. While they do still have the whole first check seatbelt, then check lap bar procedure, they were running all four trains today and they were making attempts at dueling them. Only when one side was taking an inordinate amount of time to dispatch did they send a train off without the other. Also, IMO, Tiger side is definitely improved and I didn't feel it was nearly as rough as it used to be, while Lion is still a bit on the uncomfortable side.

 

Montu and Kumba were both running two trains with great dispatch intervals, and Sheikra was very efficient as well.

 

We took a ride on the skyride to get a better look at construction, and the area this ride sits on is just massive. There is a ton of land-clearing going on right next to the skyride entrance near Montu, and there are survey markers everywhere, reaching all the way to Rhino Rally. We were a bit perplexed about where the transfer track is going to go, as looking at the blueprints while there, it appears that they're actually going to be below the skyride loading platform. Its also very clear that the loading station will be on the furthest-most area in the old monorail station.

 

I have a feeling this ride is going to be massive, and can't wait to see what's to come.

[SharkTums]

^It should definitely be a great project to follow and watch progress!

[alpengeist04]

I was at the park this past Tuesday and it's very interesting listening to what the GP thinks is going on at the construction site. Heck, there were more people watching the construction workers then were in line for some of the rides. ...Maybe they should have a queue to view the laying of the railroad tracks.

[~mike~]

The layout...

 

http://bgtguide.com/bgt/project2011/bgt2011layout/composite-map

 

[sam06pr]

^yeah we all have already seen it a few pages back. So you are almost a month late lol

[Maximo37]

^yeah we all have already seen it a few pages back. So you are almost a month late lol

 

Not entirely true... I find this most recent post of the layout very helpful as it combines both the ride layout, birds eye view of the land as well as the alleged blue print. I kind of like this one and find it to be a nice contribution... (as I wait oh so not very patiently for the true press release...)

[tanthonyam]

That thing looks huge!

[Thom25]

It does look huge and can't wait for the announcement. For me, this latest image of the layout with launch sections finally provided a more completed picture of the layout. (thank you).

 

What surprised me, is the distance from the third launch to the brake run. Kinda short compared to the distance between launches two and three. Is it me? Very interesting no doubt.

[themeparkman25]

Deleted by author

Edited January 20, 2011 by themeparkman25

[jjune4991]

Maybe what you don't realize is that it will be quite larger than what is shown. The figure 8 looks a little tight, but I'm sure there won't be a problem.

[Lenaapple1974]

Also, who is to say how tall it would be in those tight spots. I am very interested to follow the construction on this one. Very entertaining!

[Montuman99]

I don't understand, what part of the park is this?

[dragonskeep]

It does look huge and can't wait for the announcement. For me, this latest image of the layout with launch sections finally provided a more completed picture of the layout. (thank you).

 

What surprised me, is the distance from the third launch to the brake run. Kinda short compared to the distance between launches two and three. Is it me? Very interesting no doubt.

 

I hope the second launch is followed by a Storm Runner type Tophat. This one is gonna be fun to watch!

[jjune4991]

I don't understand, what part of the park is this?

 

This is the front of the park, near the Nairobi entrance. At the bottom of the photo, where the track makes sort of a box, we have the skyride station contained in that box. The right side of the track that extends towards the top of the photo is the Edge of Africa. The topmost part of the photo is Rhino Rally. Hope that helped!

[Jay20016]

I don't understand, what part of the park is this?

 

The short answer? The Savannah/Veld area between the main pathway and Edge of Africa.

 

The long answer?

 

I don't take credit for the image, nor the rather crappy paint add-ons. ;D

 

The old monorail station seems to play a large part in it. As does the water segment of Rhino Rally (Yellow/Blue). At the top right corner where the blueprints and satellite image meet, there is a building. That building is pretty much where you drive across the bridge and start the flash flood segment for Rhino Rally.

 

The majority of the track seems to be in and around the area that the Sky ride goes over if you board at the front of the park.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Can't wait to see how this all plays out.

[jjune4991]

Looks like Kumba is getting a face lift. Apparently they are using some type of chemical to get rid of the rust, and not a paint job? I think they may paint over, but if this chemical solution makes a good coat so the track doesn't rust, then kudos to the maker. Here's a pic of a spot that was clean, from BGTguide.com

 

EDIT: I'll get some pics of Kumba and the construction of the new coaster on Thursday/Friday.

A view of the cleaned loop.

Edited May 3, 2010 by jjune4991

[BGTKing]

You click on the photo to see it full size.

[themeparkman25]

Deleted by author

Edited January 20, 2011 by themeparkman25

[BGTKing]

They are definitely scrubbing it. You can see it in this short video we took.

 

[dragonskeep]

Good to see Kumba get some love. Still a very good ride.

 

And on a different topic: Heartline roll.