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Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

p. 375: Phoenix Rising family inverted coaster announced for 2024!

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On 1/10/2021 at 9:29 PM, CoasterGuy06 said:

Yeah I have a friend that just moved back to Tampa and he wants me to come visit in April and I told him "I'll come when Iron Gwazi opens." 😂

I keep saying the same thing for returning to Florida but my Disney Premier Pass ends March 31 so March trip here I come. If Iron Gwazi is open by then I'll make a side trip to Tampa from Orlando. 

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Same, I told my friends in FL I would visit but besides COVID...I've been putting it off bc I need Pantheon and Iron Gwazi to be open. I'll never tell em, but till those are open I aint driving down XD 
That said damn, still no estimation or "I heard" even? Oof. Well, hopefully it'll be open by May. I hope to do some coaster traveling as a graduation gift to myself :D

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^I am in a similar situation. I haven't been to Florida since 2007, when I was in grade school and too short to ride many things. I am dying to go back. But I'm not even gonna look at flights until Iron Gwazi, VelociCoaster, and Ice Breaker are all open!

Florida really is the place to be in 2021.

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This doesn't really apply to SLC but I sometimes wonder if people really even price out flights to Orlando. We're flying there this weekend and we paid $11. We go constantly. Nobody in the midwest or northeast should have to pay more than like $30-$40 ever to fly there unless they choose to splurge on a more comfortable seat for 2 hours.

 

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Texas can be cheap, too.  Going to SFFT for $18 RT on Allegiant next weekend.

 

I got to Florida for $40 RT in December for a fun weekend.  I imagine I'll be back late summer and fall a couple times with new coasters and cheap flights.

 

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Question for passholders, maybe Bill or someone else who goes frequently here can help. I've got the Florida 4 parks Gold Pass and I get some free tickets through it. In the past to redeem those tickets you go a kiosk or the ticket window, scan your pass, get your tickets, then go about your day. With covid restrictions and having to have a reservation, the website says you still have to redeem your free tickets at the park on the day of your visit, but then have to also make a reservation to use those tickets. Is there anyway to get those tickets in advance to make a reservation? I haven't heard of SeaWorld or BGT reaching capacity anytime recently but I'd hate to make a trip down there to redeem my tickets then not be able to make a reservation to get in lol.

 

Also, anyone know if the free tickets are only valid on the day you redeem them? Or only valid at the park you redeem them? Like I can't go to SeaWorld this weekend, get my free tickets, then use them at Busch Gardens a month later right?

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I don't know the answer to that question but I would suggest calling them. The people who answer the phone for that chain are great (which is weird since I would have expected them to fire all of them and outsource it by now). They can probably make the reservation for you. They won't hit capacity, but I agree... I would want the peace of mind of having the reservation.

33 minutes ago, tndank said:

Texas can be cheap, too.  Going to SFFT for $18 RT on Allegiant next weekend.

 

I got to Florida for $40 RT in December for a fun weekend.  I imagine I'll be back late summer and fall a couple times with new coasters and cheap flights.

 

Yeah we're doing Texas at the end of next month. Less than $50 each way per person... and that's on a real airline!

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I think I asked this in the forum before, but does anyone know if there's a "pre lift" section through the tunnel that used to be there on the original Gwazi?  I always thought it was so cool how they came out of the station and crossed each other before the lift.  Wondering if RMC did anything similar as a nod?  Or something funky like before the lift on some of the newer RMCs.

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On 1/9/2021 at 7:13 PM, Mike240SX said:

If anyone's interested, the park has posted the ride maintenance schedule for the first quarter of 2021.

https://buschgardens.com/tampa/park-info/ride-attraction-schedule/

Jan 5-15 Sheikra
Jan 25-29 Scorpion
Feb 1-5 Elmo's Safari Go Round
Feb 8-12 Big Bird's Whirlie Birdie
Feb 15-19 The Count's Cars
Feb 22-26 Dessert Runners
Mar 1-12 Kumba

Damn. I didn't know Busch Gardens closed for two weeks in March.

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On 1/25/2021 at 11:08 AM, thrillseeker4552 said:

^I am in a similar situation. I haven't been to Florida since 2007, when I was in grade school and too short to ride many things. I am dying to go back. But I'm not even gonna look at flights until Iron Gwazi, VelociCoaster, and Ice Breaker are all open!

Florida really is the place to be in 2021.

What a shame too, I was living in FL until July....I was so stoked for IG but what can you do? Oh yes forgot Ice Breaker! No doubt FL 2021 is looking like a big year. Deff hoping all of these will be open by June (wishful thinking?)

 

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On 1/25/2021 at 11:13 AM, coasterbill said:

This doesn't really apply to SLC but I sometimes wonder if people really even price out flights to Orlando. We're flying there this weekend and we paid $11. We go constantly. Nobody in the midwest or northeast should have to pay more than like $30-$40 ever to fly there unless they choose to splurge on a more comfortable seat for 2 hours.

 

Interesting. Where do you find these flights? 
I mean that sounds almost unbelievable! For that damn cheap I'd nix my road trip and just fly to Orlando and rent a car to get around. 

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Well, and everyone's situation is different, but for me flights aren't really the issue. The real $$$ comes from all the park tickets/passes, hotels, transportation, and food. Everything adds up!

I graduate college this spring. Once I get a full-time job and earn some time off, you bet a Florida trip is on my radar. I need to get on VelociCoaster and Iron Gwazi sooner than later! Ice Breaker looks fun too.

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1 hour ago, JJLehto said:

Interesting. Where do you find these flights? 
I mean that sounds almost unbelievable! For that damn cheap I'd nix my road trip and just fly to Orlando and rent a car to get around. 

Frontier, the greyhound bus of the sky. Sometimes they raise prices artificially and issue promo codes so sign up for the email list and then just watch that and the website. Like today flights from Providence to Orlando in March are "expensive" at $27 (lol) but it'll drop.

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Allegiant pretty much has a standing $20 off any flight in my Facebook.  Book each way and each person on different tickets.  Getting me to Houston for $9 each way.  And they have no charge change fees now so cancelling and rescheduling is no big deal.

 

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There's also this thread which may be slightly outdated at this point, but I thought it had some decent tips for airlines, hotels, credit cards, etc.

 

16 hours ago, prozach626 said:

Damn. I didn't know Busch Gardens closed for two weeks in March.

Aww come on man, cut Kumba some slack, it's almost 30 years old!

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3 hours ago, coasterbill said:

Famous last words but I've had worse luck with JetBlue, American and United than Frontier.

This. Out of the last 8-10 times we've flown:

Delta Airlines: Our flight out was delayed by a couple hours, so our connection in Salt Lake City was gone by the time we got there. We had the option to stay in a hotel for the night and catch a 4am flight, or fly 10 hours through the night on a "red eye," bouncing us from airport to airport, until we would arrive at our destination. We opted to stay overnight, and our luggage was nowhere to be found. They gave us a paper thin tee shirt to change into in the morning, and a toothbrush... 

American Airlines: Our connection in DC was canceled at 9pm, because the aircraft had issues. We had to stay overnight, but at least we had our luggage. We got there at 11pm  (just in time to grab a double gin and tonic at the bar to help put me out) and had to be up at 3am to catch another flight. We got notification via email on the shuttle to the airport the plane was still down, so we were going to have to take another flight at 9am, catch another layover on the West Coast with a 30 minute cushion, and arrive at our destination at 7pm. We rented a car and drove the remaining 5-6 hours.

United Airlines: Our flight was at 6am. We had to wait in the terminal for another flight home until 6pm. They had to book us with another airplane to make that happen, and we were lucky enough to grab the last couple seats. It was a small jet, which tend to move around a bit more. I was turning green by the time we landed. Again, we didn't get to sit together.

This is why when we're within 10-12 hours driving distance we usually go that route. Otherwise, we try as much as possible to get a direct flight. It's to the point where we'll fly in a few hours away from our destination and drive the remaining distance, rather than to have a connecting flight to the nearest airport.

So yeah, I'd have no issues rolling the dice with Allegiant and Frontier. Flying is always fun and exciting for us... until it's not.

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5 hours ago, coasterbill said:

Frontier, the greyhound bus of the sky. Sometimes they raise prices artificially and issue promo codes so sign up for the email list and then just watch that and the website. Like today flights from Providence to Orlando in March are "expensive" at $27 (lol) but it'll drop.

Hell $27!? Pretty sure 207 is what I would normally expect. I will absolutely check this and others out. Dang Ive been getting screwed by using Kayak and the big names lol

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