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Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

P. 377: Wild Oasis realm in Jungala announced for 2025!

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From Coaster-net:

 

Tampa, Florida - Florida Theme parks seem to have just about everything! Except an un-themed drop tower.

 

No need to fear though! Busch Gardens Tampa seems to be on their way to save the day! Busch Gardens Tampa recently filed plans with the Southwest Florida Water Management District (or as we locals call it SWIFTMUD) to build a Drop Tower attraction.

 

For those of you that are curious The Southwest Florida Water Management District is the regional

agency designed to protect and preserve water resources. Local (possibly federal)laws require that construction permits are filed with the Southwest Florida Water Management District to minimize land destruction. This is essential with water, which is why The Southwest Florida Water Management District makes sure the permits show that any land that may be disrupted will be restored in some capacity.

 

Anyways, the tower. First thing to note is that the Drop Tower will be placed in the middle of the park where the current Sandstorm, an Orbitor attraction, is currently located (ironically Sandstorm is the only attraction I have not had any desire to ride at the park). Sandstorm fans need not worry though, Sandstorm was confirmed by the park as being relocated near Gwazi, the dueling GCI wooden coaster.

 

Looking at the Tower blueprints it is unclear what we should expect. Busch Gardens Williamsburg received a Moser drop tower last year, but encountered lots of difficulty in opening the attraction. If anyone has the blueprints for the Busch Gardens Williamsburg project to compare, that would be awesome!

 

Other rumors point to this drop tower possibly being an Intamin. Perhaps the new BGT tower will be the Intamin drop tower Kennywood just sold. The park is expected to make an announcement in the near future regarding this new attraction.

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How does Mach Tower compare to other drop towers, such as the one Kennywood just sold or the drop tower at SFGAm? I am a huge fan of Intamin drop towers, so I hope whatever BGT gets is an Intamin or can compare...or the first spinning S&S Space Shot, anyone?

 

Is it possible that the piece blocking some of the seats is just the top of the ride?

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I would be highly shocked if the new drop tower was the one from Kennywood.

 

It isn't the one from Kennywood, so don't worry about being shocked anytime soon. Again, eight sets of four seats - double the amount that Pitfall had.

 

^ I was thinking the same too !!!!! But I think it will be the same one BGW got

 

The seats are laid out differently, so it can't be an exact replica of Mach Tower. Might still be a Moser, but it has a different setup so who knows.

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Why is it that an established company like Busch went with the Moser tower in the first place? It seems to me that all the large parks have well-known companies such as Intamin or S&S making them drop towers. I know this has a bit more to do with BGW at the time, but I wonder if Busch may reconsider Moser as a builder for this one.

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^ Why not? Moser is an established company. There's no reason the park shouldn't view other options when deciding a new ride/attraction. I'm sure the park didn't want the constant delays the ride had, but for a new prototype ride, it's pretty reliable.

 

Plus KD has an Intamin drop tower anyway and an S&S tower wouldn't look as good as the Moser one does.

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From Coaster-net:

 

Tampa, Florida - Florida Theme parks seem to have just about everything! Except an un-themed drop tower.

 

No need to fear though! Busch Gardens Tampa seems to be on their way to save the day! Busch Gardens Tampa recently filed plans with the Southwest Florida Water Management District (or as we locals call it SWIFTMUD) to build a Drop Tower attraction...

 

Nice to see somebody actually reads my work (although this article was very late). I included some nice pictures in the actual article.

http://www.coaster-net.com/news/1724-busch-gardens-tampa-to-build-drop-tower-attraction/

 

As for my view. I see where it could go either way either being a Moser or an Intamin. I'm more curious to see who will build the ride, than about the actual ride itself.

 

The "Pitt Fall" rumor was thrown at me by someone, it sounds very far out there, but who knows.

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The "Pitt Fall" rumor was thrown at me by someone, it sounds very far out there, but who knows.

 

Please let this happen. It sucks that Kennywood took it down, but relocating it to Busch Tampa is the next best thing after Kennywood.

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I HIGHLY doubt Pitt Fall is coming to BGT...this will be a new drop tower most likely. The reason Kennywood got ride of Pitt Fall in the first place was because it had too high of upkeep costs and was beginning to hit the end of its life span. Why on earth would BGT rebuild a 15+ year old drop tower when they could just call Intamin up for a new, higher capacity one, (gee) just like the one shown in the official renderings.

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^Also, again, the plans for BGT very clearly show a 32-seat tower. Pitfall has 16 seats, and even if there was room to install sets on the diagonals (which, judging from pictures, there definitely isn't), why in the world wouldn't they just install a brand new tower at that point? I don't get this Pitfall rumor at all...

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A.J. told me why Mach Tower was not an Intamin. It isn't because those two don't have the ...best... relationship.

Yes, the Escape from Pompeii debacle didn't do wonders for the relationship between Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Intamin. However, the opinions of one park don't necessarily match the opinions of the other.

 

I'd guess the tower would be a Moser so they can theme it similarly to the way they themed Mach Tower (onboard audio, shaking seats, etc).

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A.J. told me why Mach Tower was not an Intamin. It isn't because those two don't have the ...best... relationship.

Yes, the Escape from Pompeii debacle didn't do wonders for the relationship between Busch Gardens Williamsburg and Intamin. However, the opinions of one park don't necessarily match the opinions of the other.

 

I'd guess the tower would be a Moser so they can theme it similarly to the way they themed Mach Tower (onboard audio, shaking seats, etc).

 

So...Cheetah Hunt?

 

Does anyone happen to have the plans for Mach Tower? This "debate" could really easily be solved.

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Honestly...I don't care which company it comes from...I'm just glad a drop tower is heading to the park! It will be a great addition and hopefully it will have theme and cool effects. I know that if Moser builds it...it probably will have effects like Mach Tower but it isn't Mach Tower. I hope for something unique and the octagon shape for the ride is already something "different" o unique"

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Honestly...I don't care which company it comes from...I'm just glad a drop tower is heading to the park! It will be a great addition and hopefully it will have theme and cool effects. I know that if Moser builds it...it probably will have effects like Mach Tower but it isn't Mach Tower. I hope for something unique and the octagon shape for the ride is already something "different" o unique"

 

^ THIS!

 

I look forward to seeing what they do!!

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Will be going to BGT on May 23, which is a Wednesday. What should our 'plan of attack' be? We want to do all the coasters + some other major rides (just like most people). Any shows that we should definitely see?

Is this a holiday-week, because Memorial Day is in a few days? What can we expect of the crowds?

 

Should we eat inside the park or would it be better to take our car and eat somewhere right outside of the park?

Thanks.

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^Go directly to Cheetah Hunt if you get there at opening. If you don't get there at opening, give the line some time to die down and go later in the afternoon. The rest of the rides won't have a wait longer than 15-20 (if that), so you can take your time exploring the rest of the park. If you're going to be there all day, I highly, highly, highly recommend getting the all-day dining pass. It's a hell of a deal. Make sure you see Iceploration, and make sure you visit the kangaroos at feeding time.

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We're definitely considering the all-day dining pass, depending on what kind of ticket combination we'll buy (going to Sea World) as well.

Park's open from 9.30-6 and we'll be there all day, so according to what you said, we should have more than enough time to enjoy the dining pass without having to miss must-do rides. Thanks!

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