Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

[Rai Fox]

As far as I can remember that first post from 2018 was specifically in regards to the theories that it would be removed to make room for Orion, when it turned out to be Firehawk on the chopping block.  Different situation there.  Vortex also had very little ridership, while Kumba still draws a crowd just fine.

[swfan1988]

I've seen those Vortex comparisons too (which for the record I think KI made a big mistake with that whole thing), but I agree I think this is different. I thought KI was also kinda playing to the "will Firehawk or Vortex be removed?" deal leading up to that first tweet so perhaps context is needed?

Plus Vortex was an old Arrow, who has had few if any rides age particularly well, while Kumba is a B&M, which from I'll I've heard builds significantly superior products than Arrow ever did. It seems to me that unless Kumba is riddled with hidden problems, or is sinking into the ground (oh for crying out loud, did I just start that rumor...), or Busch just wants an excuse to use the land behind it then I don't think it's going anywhere. If anything, we know that based on KI's timeline, we all have one more year (to the day...that's hilarious I can't believe I never noticed that...) to ride Kumba!

Either that...or the marketing department hasn't gotten the memo yet...

[ioa98]

I think B&M coasters have at least a 40-50 year life span if taken proper care of. There's way older coasters still running then kumba but they don't have those forces that the trains puts on the track but B&M is a premium product and you get what you pay for in the long run.

[Garet]

No matter what the park says some people will not believe it and this rumor's basically going to become COVID-19. People arguing about who is right and wrong, are officials lying and old tweets to prove/disprove conspiracies, and still here years later. We'll see peaks of discussion and it'll fade and then when a deadline is missed, the rumor will mutate into a new variant closing date and rise up again and it'll keep repeating it until the date is eventually right, and then the 'I told you so' people will appear.

[xVicesAndVirtues]

I honestly regret even quoting Screamscape about this in the first place. There's more to the story from the Screamscape side that I've seen on social media today that I'm frankly disgusted by.

I'll give Bill credit for mentioning the fact that they just re-painted Kumba a few years ago, then pointing out the fact that Screamscape seems to be really going on a tangent with this whole story about B&M being in the park and then conveniently evaluating Kumba for another? repaint, then "oh looks like you need a new coaster here".

I feel like the guy who runs Screamscape has some other agenda like trying to get site traffic, social media shares, trying to get clicks on his 200 ads on his 1995 web page, or just trying to stay relevant/be talked about. Judging by his social media posts in which he's STILL trying to weirdly keep the rumor alive by replying to posts citing Busch Gardens' post and/or calling out his BS with replies like "The park confirming that it will do what it takes to keep it [Kumba] and following through with that would be the best news possible", just erodes any credibility and really, makes him look like a desperate idiot caught in a lie. Is he so entitled that he thinks Busch Gardens owes him some kind of commitment or answer to a rumor that he himself started and spread?

Even though I've always taken everything on that site with some grain of salt, I've still been a reader for like 15+ years, as Screamscape has, at minimum, been a one-stop page to read a list of actual announcements in a centralized list form so I don't have to jump to 20 different sites and social media pages to have an overview of what's going on in different areas of the industry.  But this one, at least for me, is pretty revealing and makes me think that the rot goes even deeper. At that point, what can you really trust from that source?

In short, f*ck that guy.

 

[boldikus]

5 hours ago, xVicesAndVirtues said:

 his 200 ads on his 1995 web page

 

This! How anyone can take seriously a website that looks like/is laid out like it is, is beyond me. Yes he's right half of the time, he's also wrong half of the time.

[dankeykang]

8 hours ago, xVicesAndVirtues said:

I honestly regret even quoting Screamscape about this in the first place.

Nah, no need to regret it.  Watching enthusiasts wildly speculate over smoke and mirrors is almost as entertaining as the ride itself  (talking about other websites, people here were pretty logical about it)

[DATman]

*edited to remove pointless snarky comment*

[pianojohn]

15 hours ago, ioa98 said:

I think B&M coasters have at least a 40-50 year life span if taken proper care of. There's way older coasters still running then kumba but they don't have those forces that the trains puts on the track but B&M is a premium product and you get what you pay for in the long run.

Firebird at Six Flags America is the OLDEST B&M coaster in the world (built in 1990 and relocated from Great America), and it's 32 years old. Where do you get this "40-50 year life span" idea? And "way older" than Kumba? 3 years older. 

Corkscrew at Cedar Point is rapidly approaching its 50th anniversary. AND it's an Arrow.

Suggestion: do 2 seconds of research before posting. Or end up getting your facts struck down like the rumor that started this whole thread.

[AmyUD06]

Yeah.  Let's not forget all of the Arrow mine trains still running from the 1960s.

Kids these days have no perception of time.  I blame TikTok.

[jarmor]

I know we have our own opinions but I feel Screamscape does deserve some respect in the coaster community.  Lance was (and still is in some capacity) one of the only main source of coaster and theme park news AND RUMORS site that has survived all these years.  Hell, he's been around as some of longer than some coasters lol.  I don't see the need to rag on the site as if it purposely states things as truth and leads people on.  And c'mon, making a joke that it still looks like the same site from 1995 lol.  Does it really matter that he focus more on content than aesthetics?  I mean TPR looks the same and I have no issue with either it or screamscape finding what works for them and sticking with so an iconic design.  With a lot of new and info site for coasters and parks dwindling, I have nothing but respect for Screamscape and TPR because they have proven one thing, they are two powerhouse in the community and you don't have to have a flashy site when your name supersedes itself. 

[JT325]

I love Kumba, but not as much as Scorpion.  Glad they both are there

Edit - with all the screamscape complaints, who wants to go start their own news site and make sure everything is correct?  I mean, really, why read it then? 

I love Screamscape

[jedimaster1227]

^I think it depends on what you’re looking for… Are you looking for rumors that may or may not be true or are you looking to only see the real stuff when it is confirmed. If it is the latter, you could just keep coming here where we post legitimate news as it is released. 

[AmyUD06]

My main gripe is when Screamscape posts rumors as fact, as was the case with this, and the Ride of Steel removal at Darien Lake, and countless other things in the past.  For this story, he posted it twice, and has yet to issue a retraction/apology.  Even on Facebook, where he's been called out for the BS of this post, still radio silence.

Tomorrow he'll just post something like "Ooops, look like I might not have had the full story....but still go get your last rides in anyway!"

And not entirely Screamscape based, but the articles he writes/links to on BlooLoop are 99% horrible.

[jedimaster1227]

Alright… Now that the rumor has been debunked, let’s move away from talking about rumor sites and keep the conversations on this thread focused on Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and all things related.

[prozach626]

*posted in wrong thread. 

[swfan1988]

Looping Starship fans rejoice! Someone on Twitter saw Phoenix testing...

 

[B&MBoy1982]

Did they confirm that it was closed for maintenance or was it a Covid thing?  

Hope to ride it again in June!

[southpuddle]

1 hour ago, B&MBoy1982 said:

Did they confirm that it was closed for maintenance or was it a Covid thing?  

Hope to ride it again in June!

If by “closed for Covid” you mean “closed because it’s one less ride to maintain and staff” then yes, it was closed due to Covid

[thrillseeker4552]

I kinda assumed this ride would never operate again and they would quietly close it but glad to see it may open! I'm not a big fan of these rides but anything to take in more crowds and add to the park's capacity sounds good to me.

I really, really want this park to get a Screamin' Swing or a Giant Discovery - they could really use some help in the flat rides department now that Iron Gwazi is open and their coaster lineup is perfectly topped off for the time being. And neither of these flats exist anywhere in Florida.

[Hilltopper39]

1 hour ago, thrillseeker4552 said:

I kinda assumed this ride would never operate again and they would quietly close it but glad to see it may open! I'm not a big fan of these rides but anything to take in more crowds and add to the park's capacity sounds good to me.

I really, really want this park to get a Screamin' Swing or a Giant Discovery - they could really use some help in the flat rides department now that Iron Gwazi is open and their coaster lineup is perfectly topped off for the time being. And neither of these flats exist anywhere in Florida.

There's a screamin swing sitting in the parking lot behind Kumba so at this point I'm assuming that will be the addition for 2023. 

I should say I can't 100% confirm that it's a screamin swing but there are crates and two large cylindrical tanks that look exactly like the compressed air tanks for screaming swing rides, in the parking lot behind Kumba and visible from the lift hill. I'm pretty sure this rumor has been around for a while and I'd kind of forgotten about it but I saw the tanks last myself last weekend. 

[VegasBaby]

1 hour ago, Hilltopper39 said:

There's a screamin swing sitting in the parking lot behind Kumba so at this point I'm assuming that will be the addition for 2023. 

I should say I can't 100% confirm that it's a screamin swing but there are crates and two large cylindrical tanks that look exactly like the compressed air tanks for screaming swing rides, in the parking lot behind Kumba and visible from the lift hill. I'm pretty sure this rumor has been around for a while and I'd kind of forgotten about it but I saw the tanks last myself last weekend. 

Would make complete sense as SEAS has recently put them in at BGW and SWSA.  I am all for them adding Screaming Swings to all their parks, they are one of my favorite flat rides.

[ricklap77]

According to some sources, Kumba would be retired at the end of this season.  It is reaching the end of its life.

[coasterbill]

I know that we all want to laugh, but maybe he’s using a 56k AOL free trial dial up connection and he hit the post button 5 days ago. Be nice.  

[bert425]

1 hour ago, coasterbill said:

I know that we all want to laugh, but maybe he’s using a 56k AOL free trial dial up connection and he hit the post button 5 days ago. Be nice.  

Shhhhh.. I know from my years of hanging out with my Vancouver & Toronto friends that time works differently in Canada.

(when they show up, they show up)

 

hmmmm. . maybe Frontier is a Canadian Airline?