Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

[Hilltopper39]

yeah I'm afraid thats a BGT policy of some kind and wont change with the new trains. Dispatch times on Gwazi have always been the slowest I have ever seen anywhere, 30 plus minute wait with an empty station

[DJeXeL]

^Wow.........what for? Do they dispatch the trains together?

[Hilltopper39]

excuse me not an "empty station" but a 3 or 4 train wait just inside the station always seems to take at least 30 minutes even with two trains on each track.

[dragonskeep]

I bet Saturday will have some pretty brutal lines for Gwazi. Sorry to here the load times have not gotten better. I wonder why they do it that way.

[Midgetman82]

They should have two people coming down each side of the train to check. First person checks the seatbelt, you pull down your lap bar, second person behind the first checks lap bars...

I don't really mind the wait for Gwazi, I'm not always in a rush to get through the park.

 

Those flyer trains look great, especially with the grille and the lion/tiger face on it.

[WildStangAlex]

of course it helps that the Viper trains have retractable seatbelts... and the ops check the belts and the lapbars in one swoop... it was wonderful...

 

Viper doesn't have retractable seat belts, just the same individual seat belts just like most PTCs out there including American Eagle, Voyage, Raven, Etc.

[Maximo37]

^^

It doesn't... I could have sworn they did when I was there this past September... I guess I could be mistaken though... (just asked my partner when he got home from work about Viper's seatbelts... when I suggested retractable, he looked at me like I was crazy!!... You are correct that Viper DOES have similar set up to Gwazi's... not sure why I recall otherwise...)

 

Anyways... JUST got back from BGT and sadly Gwazi wasn't even testing... going back tomorrow for the official opening... really looking forward to it...

Edited January 22, 2011 by Maximo37

[dragonskeep]

^ Have a great time. Sadly I can't go.

 

Reguarding operations on Gwazi: I know the guy from GCI spoke about redundancy for safety but did anyone ask BGT why they dont check both at the same time. In there defense if someone could get away with not clicking there seatbelt to ride I am sure they would. I remember when we were kids we would keep it loose on Blue Streak for more airtime. There probably is a pretty reasonable explanation, I would love to know the honest reason. Maybe with the ride not sucking now they will put more emphasis on capacity. I mean who knows maybe they just didn't really want anyone to ride it before.

[dandaman]

What do YOU think [Cheetah Chase] should be named/Rethemed as?

 

My suggestion could work well for BG's more "ethnic" names.

 

Montu

Gwazi

Sheikra

Kumba

Mujabubukins

[Ed Farmer]

What do YOU think it should be named/Rethemed as?

 

Wild Izzy

[KDcoasterMAN]

Anybody going to the park today? I hope to see some Gwazi offride pics and vids!

[PayneTrain]

I'd call it the Salt Lick Sidewinder, since they can't use Return to Sender. However, given the creative team's more recent moves, I'm sure we will see "Timbuktu Wild Mouse Turbo," or some other lame name.

 

tangent

I want it back now in Williamsburg, please.

Or send Scorpion. Yeah, send Scorpion.

Gwazi Tiger+Gwazi Lion+Montu+Kumba+Sheikra+Scorpion+Wild Mouse+Sesame Street

LNM+Alpengeist+Apollo's Chariot+Griffon+Grovers+2012

It's irritating how the otherwise better park gets the smaller and less fantastic coaster collection, but I guess it's because BGW is my home park. And my ridiculously high standards/borderline insane crusade for a good Schwarzkopf Looper in Virginia doesn't help.

/tangent

[grinch1313]

It's clear the new name needs to be Mouse Hunt. Mouse Trap would also be acceptable.

 

Cheetah Hunt is looking so amazing! I really cannot wait to ride it. I haven't been this excited for a coaster in awhile.

[Ed Farmer]

tangent

I want it back now in Williamsburg, please.

Or send Scorpion. Yeah, send Scorpion.

Gwazi Tiger+Gwazi Lion+Montu+Kumba+Sheikra+Scorpion+Wild Mouse+Sesame Street

LNM+Alpengeist+Apollo's Chariot+Griffon+Grovers+2012

It's irritating how the otherwise better park gets the smaller and less fantastic coaster collection, but I guess it's because BGW is my home park. And my ridiculously high standards/borderline insane crusade for a good Schwarzkopf Looper in Virginia doesn't help.

/tangent

 

Williamsburg has a great B&M hyper and solid Arrow looper that I would love to see in Tampa, while Tampa has a great B&M looper, solid GCI coaster, and Schwarzkopf looper that I'm sure Williamsburg locals would love to see up north. I've always thought both parks were about equal in terms of the quality of their offerings. Lets not forget Big Bad Wolf and Drachen Fire (I enjoyed both) were ripped out and not replaced yet. Tampa had Python, which I'm not sure anyone is or should be missing. Can't go wrong with either park.

[aimster]

Was back at Busch Gardens again today for the official reopening of Gwazi! OMG the new trains are a HUGE improvement. So much smoother. I rode Lion once and Tiger twice and didn't feel like I was just beaten with a jackhammer. Checked on the status of the construction on Cheetah Hunt too. I talked briefly with one of the construction workers and he said this thing should be quite impressive when it's finished.

 

And now... photos!

Of course I went nuts over the kangaroos & wallabys again.

Wonderpup thinks this is the best part of the park besides the coasters!

I love the tigers at Jungala.

This elephant was swinging around what looked like an old Christmas tree, then it swung it onto its back and was carrying it. Comedy.

Cheetah Hunt construction update!

Wonderpup says spring can't get here fast enough!

This tree was planted since last Saturday.

Seriously, spring needs to hurry up and get here!

Nice view of Gwazi from the balcony of the Crown Colony.

And ShiekRa

Gap in the wall!

There was a gate open by that little gift shop by the Moroccan Palace Theatre, so I got a good shot of the workers building... this thing.

This should be an interesting element.

Follow the flag! Actually, I did! I snuck into a Brazilian tour group and followed along for about 20 minutes. No one noticed.

Then I commandeered the flag of another group!

Kumba was running good.

Pretty water feature in Walkabout Way. This used to be part of the bird gardens... the peacocks and some other birds used to hang out here.

And one more dose of cuteness to close out the day.

[bgeguy]

That tree has actually been there since before construction even began.

[aimster]

Really? I don't remember seeing it last week. Oh well no biggie.

[Saldek]

I believe this is the same tree in this pic that was posted on page 133 of this thread back on November 17, 2010.

 

[The SETGO Guys]

Was at BGT yesterday. New Gwazi Trains are amazing...

 

-Zach

Edited January 23, 2011 by robbalvey

[Maximo37]

I also was at BGT yesterday for the opening of Gwazi... got there about 8:45a... and walked directly to Gwazi... and much to our delight, there was hardly anybody there... the operation first thing in the morning was spotty (they nearly sent a Lion train with one restraint unlocked...)... the loading overall was quicker than I was expecting... the loading was actually not that bad... it was the physical dispatchers which were not on their game early in the morning (honestly seeming to not pay all too much attention to what was happening on the load platform)... the "loading" teams actually, seemed to be getting impatient with the dispatchers while waiting for the trains to depart... as for the trains themselves... with the PTC trains, I used to enjoy Tiger, ten fold over Lion... but that was mainly due to Tiger being marginally less rough than Lion... I've since become a "switch hitter" and now love Lion quite a bit more than Tiger... it just seemed to be more fun overall... the new trains have helped this ride immensly... no more headaches... no more pain... just a brisk fun, dare I say, pleasant ride... this is what the coaster should have been all along... I'm in love with Gwazi all over again...

[jjune4991]

On the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay facebook page, all of the new posts are nothing but praise for the new MFs on Gwazi. Can't wait to try them out myself!

[Maximo37]

^^

I was on the second train, open for the public on Lion... not sure which side you were on... but if you waited at the transfer track for a bit after that first run, it was because they had to check the trains again due to that restraint not being locked... turns out the guest wasn't able to ride due to his size, but seriously, how did that slip by the loaders?!... I only rode each train once... had to get back to Orlando to work... but cannot wait until Wednesday when I give them another spin... many more spins in fact... and you are absolutely correct... Tiger WAS smoother... I just seemed to have more fun on Lion this go around... Oh, and I didn't have my camera... my partner needed the camera for work (I went to BGT with a friend)... That's why I'm going back on Wednesday so my partner can enjoy too... and he's never seen Cirque Dreams... so a few beers, coasters and shows... overall should be a great day off from work...

[BarryH]

I went to Busch Gardens on 1/21 hoping Gwazi would be open, but it wasn't. I couldn't make the official opening on 1/22 to ride the new and improved Gwazi. If I find myself in Tampa soon, I'll drop by and give Gwazi a ride.

[The SETGO Guys]

Removed by user

Edited January 6, 2012 by The SETGO Guys

[Skycoastin Steve]

Hello everyone. Ask yourselves a few questions. First, have you ever fed giraffes? Do you want to? Have you ever wondered what various animals' noses looked like from three inches away? Do you think it's funny to watch foreigners run away from a splash down? If the answer to any of these questions is "yes," then check out the first installation of the 2011 Extravaganza! Only high quality pictures need apply, no grainy cell phone pics around these parts!