Propeller Factory Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 I went to the park for the first time in half a life. It's such a beautiful park. I felt like I was a peep from Rct tho "it's too crowded here" "Kamba was great" "I've been queuing for sheikra for a long time". Also I need to say this: bg needs signage. There is such a complete lacking of signage in the entire park, and with a layout like that, you NEED signage. I couldn't find kumba at first, then I didn't know how to get back to cheetah hunt, it just confused me and I feel especially in pantopia there needs to be like a better main path. Also it started raining at around lunch and so everyone went into the dragon fire grill and let me tell you that was a hot mess there was no indicated lines and all of the separate lines are really weird it's confusing and it just needs to be redone honestly because bg knows that it rains in Florida and people go inside when it rains but they don't know what to do with the people once they're inside it was chaotic and it was a mess. I love their coaster collections though. Kumba was a huge surprise to me. It is an extremely fun coaster with great forces and lil pops of airtime here and there and it's SO SMOOTH that was wonderful. Sheikra broke down while I was in line idk y but it was running about 10 mins later. It was whatever I'm not a big fan of dive coasters and I've been on griffon so this is nothing new. Scorpion was cool. Cheetah hunt was like a chill maverick and I really liked that feel. It's in such a nice location and even though it's really new it fits in perfectly with the landscape. Montu wasn't as good as I thought it would be honestly. I like alpenguist better. I went on Falcons fury which was extremely scary. Liked it. Felt like I was going to die. Gwazi just looked like a heap of wood I was like nah. I wish they moved the employee parking to somewhere else cause it's like "jungle, jungle, two story cement parking garage" and it give it like an icky corporate feeling like it least paint it to fit in or something idk. I was also underwhelmed by the safari too honestly like I know it's an open air train but all there really is is like wildabeest and gazelles with a giraffe thrown in. Congo River Rapids was so boring I didn't get wet at all until the waterfall. It just wasn't fun. They had a dj outside the crown colony/cheetah hunt playing loud rap/pop music and I was like this doesn't seem to exactly fit the theme of Busch gardens like what happened? I was also surprised about how many people from different countries there were. I heard French speakers, Arabic, Japanese, Mexican, England, and Indian. So my entire day was really good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 ^ Personally I have never had any problem navigating my way around the park...not any different than any other theme park that I have visited over the years. Did you grab a park map at the entrance, fold it up and bring it with you? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Propeller Factory Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 Yeah I mean it was really confusing getting from like the entrance to cheetah hunt tower to pantops a but from there it was easy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vonni Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 I personally didn't have any trouble navigating the Park, but when I was there it was pre Shiekra and pre Cheetah Hunt, and Python was still there. I don't know if that made any difference or not. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doom1001 Posted August 8, 2015 Share Posted August 8, 2015 It's not a small park and I could see someone who's never been there before getting lost if they're just walking the park expecting to easily find all the rides and attractions.The simple solution is to pick up a park map at the front of the park,you can't really get lost having a map.I've been to the park hundreds of times and I always get the map,fold it and put it in my back pocket.I was there last Saturday,I wanted to do Adventure Island for a couple of hours and then go to Busch until late since the park was open until midnight.You may have heard about the weather in Tampa last week and how horrible it was,as I arrived I could tell the water park was out but we tried heading into Busch where I became a primate expert as we were trapped in the Myombe Reserve from the non stop downpour.We saw the pets show,the new show inside the Dragonfire grill and the behavior of the gorillas for about 90 minutes.We left the park and headed to a somewhat drier Orlando I couldn't even see the Cobras Curse construction. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RAWKIN_coaster38 Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Cheetah Hunt was running with guests today for those of you who are interested. I got confused about the layout of the park at first, but that was also because I was going in through employee areas and didn't start out at the front of the park. It's basically a big loop once you get the hang of it. I always have people asking me how to get to various rides, though. Also, there's a lot more to the safari than what you saw, but the animals walk around and you can't always guarantee you'll see everything, especially from the train. We went on a safari today and the white rhinos were really far away, but sometimes they're right next to the road. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
djcoastermark Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 the white rhinos from the train can really be neat if the timing is right. We were there a while back near sunset ,and the train had to stop because of all the animal activity. The best was seeing the rhinos charging through the serengeti . Truly an amazing event. Yes, the park can be confusing with all its little paths winding about, but that makes it interesting. Lot s of hidden spots with something neat to see. at every turn . If you think it's confusing during the day, just wait until halloween in the dark with all the fog and darkness. It is very disorienting then to say the least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlahBlahson Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I can see someone getting lost there, Busch Gardens has a horrible park layout. Rides that are physical neighbors are literally a ten minute walk from each other. It's one huge loop with Montu and Kumba off on dead ends. Not to mention the parking that is across the street being awkward. Doesn't mean it's not my favorite park in Florida, but the layout is very poor compared to most parks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DILinator Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I love the Busch Gardens parks, and have almost nothing bad to say about either of them! However, I will confess, BGT is one of the few parks that's given me trouble getting around - even with a park map... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwgator Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I've never had trouble getting around the park. I will say that it was probably more newbie friendly before they opened up the shortcut from Edge Of Africa to Nairobi when they built Cheetah Hunt. Now in order to see all the animals in Edge Of Africa, you have to do some backtracking in parts of it. Kumba may be off the main path, but it does circle around by Congo River Rapids back into Jungala so it's not that bad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Propeller Factory Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 I saw on their website that they have matinance days and cheetah hunts was from the 2nd-4th but yeah it's open now. The problem with Montu being on a dead end is that there's nothing else out here it's just cheetah hunt and montu. It'll help when they open Cobras curse but I think they need a flat ride of some sort there. Also the construction is literally piles of dirt feat big pit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chargersmichael Posted August 12, 2015 Share Posted August 12, 2015 I have to say this year's Howl-O-Scream is looking very interesting! The theme is Unearthed with Scarlett as the icon. The level of detail in the following video looks very promising of the type of house they are building for Unearthed. Below is a video introducing Scarlett. Houses: 1. NEW Unearthed - Scarlett's Revenge (From the Producer of the Blair Witch Project) 2. The Basement 3. Circus of Superstition 3D - The Last Laugh 4. DeadFall - Thirst for Blood 5. Zombie Mortuary 6. Death Water Bayou 7. Zombie Containment Unit 15 - Moving Targets Fiends is the only show. Here is the Map: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owl_Enthusiast Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Hi everyone! I visited Busch Gardens last week the day before my Zumba convention started. I was staying at the Hyatt Regency so I hopped on the trolley to SeaWorld and took the shuttle to BGT. I bought the unlimited Quick Que so I didn't worry about mapping out my plan for the day. I just followed people to Cheetah Hunt and carried on throughout the park till I had hit all the rides. After that I doubled back and re-rode some and rode the train to see the animals. Overall the park was great! Great coaster selection, cool animals to look at, and the whole place was nicely themed with lots of shade and trees. I usually try to hit parks when I travel. Last year after the convention I hit up Fun Spot then Universal & Islands of Adventure. This year I chose BGT for the day before and SeaWorld for the day after. Next year I'm thinking about hitting Seaworld again for Maku and Universal's new water park and/or Aquatica. Our rooms flags. My friends are from Jordan and The Philippines, but we all live in beautiful Vancouver BC. We came to Orlando for the Zumba Instructor convention, but technically it hadn't started yet so we went to Ben & Jerry's. Waiting to get on the shuttle to BGT. The shuttle went from SeaWorld to Busch Gardens, and it took about an hour and 20 mins. Only thing I didn't like was that it drove us home at 6pm which was a bit early for my liking, but it was free so I won't complain. While driving down the highway I found some of these Mickey Mouse power lines. Montu greets us as the bus pulls into the lot Cheetah Hunt looks amazing! Cheetahs are awesome. My first ride of the day. This ride was fantastic!!! The ride never stopped. I felt like it was almost over and then it kept going. It's the only Intamin ride I have ever ridden and I can't wait to try more of them. Next ride was Montu. I liked this ride a lot. First ride I was in the second row and I wasn't to impressed. Second ride I took in the back and it was amazing! Later in the day I came back for another ride and when the train came back into the station a kid and thrown up all over his restraint. I hope his family brought an extra shirt... Taking a break from the coasters I walked through the trails and found a big aquarium full of cichlids. Here is a blurry hyena. Cheetah Hunt being awesome. I took a look at the care center No animals needing checkups today. I got here just in time to see the elephant This is the first time I've seen an elephant. The trunk really creeped me out. It moved so weirdly. Onwards to Pantopia! Falcon's Fury looked crazy. I didn't ride it, didn't even make it into the line. I'm not big on drop towers. I just watched it cycle a few times and carried on. Cobra looked like a better alternative to the drop tower for me. It was nice to ride with only a lap bar. The one at West Edmonton Mall has those weird should harnesses. It wasn't the best ride, but it's a great family looper. I seen lots of families riding it together. The rain started to come down so I went to get some lunch. The food was standard park food. The clouds parted and the shined down on this glorious piece of machinery This is hands down the best coaster I have ever ridden. I don't understand why it had such a short line all day. I rode it so many times with my Quick Que, but it was never more than station wait in the regular line. Rapids looked good, but I wasn't in a water ride mood. I came upon some weird things.... Nightmare fuel roaming around this area. The flume ride looked good. I wasn't in a water ride mood so I skipped it. FYI Tidal Wave was down for the day. Hello Sheikra! I rode this in each row. I liked this ride. I wish it was a bit longer but it was still great. I watched a guy take the walk of shame. 2 ride ops tried to close his restraint, but it was far from close to closing. Felt kinda bad for him, he waited in the 40 min que for only to be denied. I caught the train in Stanleyville and took a ride through the serengeti plains. Rhinos are cool. Zebras! My favorite print Giraffes and antelope just chilling in the shade. I got off and started my wandering again. The orangutans were huge. Back over to the elephants This tortoise was MASSIVE These flamingos were behind a short fence. They were very friendly little guys. I didn't feed them because I'm not stupid, but I did try to lure them over with my empty hand. It seemed to work pretty well. MUST FIGHT URGE TO PET FLAMINGOS They had a small group of penguins. I love these guys. So cute! "Hey can you turn down the heat please?" Got dinner here. I can't remember what I ordered, so it must not have been that great. I love parrots, I have 2 small ones at home. Here are some baby ducks just because baby ducks are super cute. I found a whole army of sleeping flamingos. They sleep with their necks noodled on their bodies. Follow your nose! These things were awesome The tiger was sleeping both times I went past him. One last pic of Falcon's Fury full tilt. Bye bye Busch Gardens. I will be back someday! When I returned to my hotel the Zumba precon party had already started! Sorry for the long post. I didn't realize I had so many pics. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
anonymouscactus Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Great trip report! Enjoyed reading and seeing. One thing that Busch does that I've never seen other parks do is offer a one time quick queue for those who get denied a ride after waiting in line so long so they can go on something that is a little more relaxed in the restraint department. At least they did when I worked there a few years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcrider4 Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Yep, they still do that. Love that they do that. Although it would be best if people just tried the test seat located at almost every major ride entrance before getting in line... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Philrad71 Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 ^Agreed. Not sure why people don't bother with the test seat...or go to the seats designated for larger guests on an invert. I witness the walk of shame at least once at just about every park that I visit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StealthFan Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 I approve of the above trip report due to the massive tortoise! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owl_Enthusiast Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 ^^ Most of the time I seen kids playing, or people taking photos on the test seats. I never seen anyone actually test it. I seen a few big boys using the middle seats of Kumba with no problems. I didn't know they gave out a pass for walks of shame. That's a good idea for sure, that should make people feel a bit better about it. What I noticed was TONS of empty seats on every train. They really need better groupers, and single rider lines. Thank god I had Quick Que Unlimited so it wasn't holding me back much. I never had anyone sit beside me on Cheetah Hunt, and once on Sheikra there was only 1 other people in my row! When lines are 45mins long, you would think they would try to help capacity. This went for both BGT and SeaWorld. I was the only one in the row on Manta once, and all other times it was just me and my friend in the row. There was a guy grouping people in the stations so I don't know why they were sending out so many empty seats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rcrider4 Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Yeah, it's very rare to see anyone but children sitting in the test seat. I think I have seen an adult trying it maybe 5 times in my life and I have been to BGT hundreds of times. As for grouping, on Cheetah Hunt especially, it's just not practical. Sure you could on SheiKra, Montu and Kumba, but on Cheetah Hunt, at their fastest, they are sending out 16 rows of people every 90 seconds. That's just not really possible to keep up with, especially with the super long station that's very hard to see the end of from the turnstile, and the language barrier of many foreigners that slow down the process. At the expense of capacity, they just let everyone choose their seat, which actually makes people quite happy as they like being able to choose, and they don't usually know that it meant a somewhat longer wait for them. Falcon's Fury is the one ride in the park with actual forced grouping, so there is rarely an empty seat. It makes sense though, as the grouper has a long time to set up the seats while the ride is running. As for Manta, it's hit or miss for me. Sometimes I go and there is a grouper setting up 3-4 in every row. Sometimes I go and there is a grouper in one station but not the other (not sure why that would be), sometimes there is a grouper that just waves you through (usually on quieter days), and sometimes there isn't one at all. I don't know, maybe they could learn something from Universal and their incredible grouping, but with the park not as busy, and the ride vehicles not as suited for it (their vehicles usually have less rows to make it easier), it's just not worth it to them to do it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ayy lmao Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Owl enthusiast 1.cobra is called scorpion 2. If you liked sheikra you would have loved falcon's fury. I hate drop towers, but I absolutely love ff. It's so fun. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vette2006c5r Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Just in BG just announced this new coaster. http://www.theonion.com/article/busch-gardens-unveils-new-9600-mile-long-endurance-36691 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PVA62 Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 ^About a year late on that, but that is totally possible... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WindexCyanide13 Posted August 23, 2015 Share Posted August 23, 2015 Just in BG just announced this new coaster. http://www.theonion.com/article/busch-gardens-unveils-new-9600-mile-long-endurance-36691 Wow, never seen that article before. It's been posted many times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deere839 Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 Any one been to hallo scream I'm thinking about either driving up to try there Halloween event or Christmas event are they good? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jarmor Posted September 2, 2015 Share Posted September 2, 2015 HOS is pretty good. I recommend doing the dinner before as its good food and it gives you like the first hour of express included. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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