Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

[Electerik]

For those who do, or do not, care about the name--I think this is another example of the divide between those who just want a thrilling ride, and those who want the total package. (AKA: The 'another 500 hundred feet of track, or theming?' argument.) To some, it might just as well be called Roller Coaster #8. To others, it's a betrayal of the relative-consistency of the park's other coaster names. I'm sure many fall in between. But, as usual, the two sides really don't understand each other.

 

/Personally, I love King's Island's suspended coaster...but there's no way in hell I'm buying a Flight Deck T-shirt.

[Dr.Shadey]

I honestly don't think "Cheetah Hunt" is a terrible name. I envision it like, "Cheetah('s, will, shall) Hunt" rather than "(We're going on a) Cheetah Hunt" or "(Let's watch this) Cheetah Hunt." If you look at it from more of a first person point of view (I'm the Cheetah and I am hunting) it seems to fit alright.

 

That's my opinion.

 

It also looks like a thoroughly enjoyable ride! And (thank God) I'm not stingy about my restraints. I understand that lap bars have the potential to make a ride like this slightly more incredible, but to me it's not worth bickering about. I'm planning on being down there this spring, I really look forward to hopefully trying out this bad boy!

 

-the Doctor

[Calicoasters]

I'm excited! I'm hoping to go to Florida next year for Disneyworld ect... and now I have something more to look forward to.

 

Great layout, great pacing, (3 launches seem to help that) cool theme, lame name (But I don't care!) and LAPBAR! = Love it!

 

It would be even more of a delight to find out if the ride will be featuring the "T-Bar" restraint.

[jedimaster1227]

Heck this is BGT we're talking about...perhaps in a year or two the ride will get all new trains/restraints! Crazier things have happened!

 

Floorless Millenium Flyers: a first on Intamin rides.

 

And considering this has a water portion, that would make this the first floorless launched Millenium-Flying Aquatrax!

[dragonskeep]

I watched the promo video and it was very cool. Seeing the different angles made it look even better, especially the shot coming up into the tower. I believe the cheetahs being in the area will make the ride better, if that makes any sense at all. I know for me the rays help on Manta. Hopefully we see more of those type of attactions. Oh and more Intamins.

[Fooz]

It's refreshing to see a coaster of this type with a really long footprint. I think the long straightaways look fun, and that section will look just awesome from the midways. I foresee one of the most picturesque Intamins yet! I wonder how much of an impact the final launch will have though, taken after a significantly faster one. The trenches and waterfall section will be just unreal though!

[COASTAH FREAK]

With all this talk about the name, we've lost track of one thing. We found the Maverick barrel roll! You just THOUGHT it was gone forever. Nope.

[themeparkman25]

The world is better off with more Intamin coasters.

[Ehnuk]

It is more than just a name.

 

I am new to the forums here, and I look forward to becoming a productive contributor in discussions. I have a strong opinion of the name of this attraction, and I hope no one thinks too poorly of me for my first post being a complaint. I will try to explain my position briefly.

 

To begin I would like to remind everyone of a simple concept of communication. It does not matter WHAT you say, but HOW your audience interprets it. In other words BGT may be inferring that we the riders are a cheetah on the hunt; however many people are clearly interpreting the name to mean that we are HUNTING cheetahs. I know when I heard the name that is what I first thought. Therefore to many people, BGT is promoting the hunting of an endangered animal.... O.k... maybe that is being a little dramatic- but at the very least they are equating it to an thrilling adventure.

 

As an Animal Care Specialist working in zoos for the past ten years, I find the name of this attraction offensive and appalling. Our role in zoos is to inspire our guests to want to protect and conserve the animals that they view. We do this by allowing guests to view animals in a safe, up-close setting; therefore allowing them to connect with those animals- and remind them that we share this planet with incredible species of life. To use the word HUNT in any capacity goes against this goal, and is insensitive.

 

I understand that this is a roller coaster site, and coasters are your main focus. However just to emphasize my point- look at how many of you have already proclaimed that the name doesn't matter- it is all about the ride. If the ride is great who cares what the name might insinuate? Well I do, all the other animal keepers in the world do, and I would have thought that BGT did.

 

I don't mean to be over-dramatic over a name, but realize I have chosen animal conservation as my profession, and it means a lot to me. To see another zoo pull something like this is disappointing.

 

Thanks for reading- I hope to be able to have some great positive discussion in the further!

 

MOD EDIT: Link deleted as it violates TPR's TOS that you agreed to in registering on the site.

Edited October 14, 2010 by larrygator

[Skycoastin Steve]

If people are really interpreting the name of a roller coaster at a family park to say that they are hunting cheetahs, then maybe they should have stayed in school a little bit longer.

[maverickpoint]

i see a lot of head jerking at some parts of the layout...but overall, it looks pretty fresh and exciting.

[chadster]

^^^ IMO it looks like you might be trying to push an agenda, as a quick google search showed 9 of 10 results to show images or material related to cheetah's hunting their prey, not being hunted. The point to the name being you are the cheetah on the hunt. So what if the domain name was just registered, do you not think there are nerds like us checking on new name registrations on a regular basis? They've kept it a secret, and if they changed the name, so be it, it's their ride, their millions, and their choice.

 

search results

[dragonskeep]

Bummer that the name is bringing people down so much. I interpreted it to mean the cheetah was hunting but certainly see where the confusion could come from, several prominent members with a lot of theme park knowledge did interpret it the other way. I think it is unfair to call out someone's intelligence for it. Personally I think the confusion alone is enough reason to change the name.

 

Night rides will be the kind of awesome that awesome is.

[COASTAH FREAK]

Would people please just stop hating on the ride? It's really frickin cool just the way it is. Nothing is going to be perfect by everyones standards.

[larrygator]

^^^ IMO it looks like you might be trying to push an agenda, as a quick google search showed 9 of 10 results to show images or material related to cheetah's hunting their prey, not being hunted. The point to the name being you are the cheetah on the hunt. So what if the domain name was just registered, do you not think there are nerds like us checking on new name registrations on a regular basis? They've kept it a secret, and if they changed the name, so be it, it's their ride, their millions, and their choice.

 

search results

 

 

Please don't be harsh on a new member trying to rationally explain his point of view.

 

I'm pretty sure once the theming is complete and commericals are made it will be clear that you are the Cheetah on the hunt and not the other way around. Especially if the train looks like a cheetah.

 

And I heard that a resident of the Busch Gardens neighborhood named Cheetaka was going to sue BG if they used her name.

[chadster]

Larry - not being harsh, just stating what I feel. I'll try to be more politically correct in the future.

[coasterking2981]

To begin I would like to remind everyone of a simple concept of communication. It does not matter WHAT you say, but HOW your audience interprets it. In other words BGT may be inferring that we the riders are a cheetah on the hunt; however many people are clearly interpreting the name to mean that we are HUNTING cheetahs. I know when I heard the name that is what I first thought. Therefore to many people, BGT is promoting the hunting of an endangered animal.... O.k... maybe that is being a little dramatic- but at the very least they are equating it to an thrilling adventure.

 

As an Animal Care Specialist working in zoos for the past ten years, I find the name of this attraction offensive and appalling. Our role in zoos is to inspire our guests to want to protect and conserve the animals that they view. We do this by allowing guests to view animals in a safe, up-close setting; therefore allowing them to connect with those animals- and remind them that we share this planet with incredible species of life. To use the word HUNT in any capacity goes against this goal, and is insensitive.

 

I personally completely respect that. But there are things that people who share your opinion about the ride that I do not think they understand completely.

 

First off, the Busch Gardens and Sea World parks have always been about animal conservation and combining the beauty of the creatures of Earth with the thrills of an amusement park ride. Why do people seem to think this ride's name is contradictory to the goal of the parks?

 

Secondly, it's a ride themed to the fastest land animal. That doesn't exactly leave a wide selection of names to begin with. Theming to animals is different than theming to things like ancient civilizations, anything science fiction related, etc., which do give you a wide margin of names to pick and stories to make up that fit the ride.

 

I just hope that at least conveys the reasons for my opinion, if not other's, about the ride's name. Plus, at least it's not a generic name and has a theme. I'd choose Cheetah Hunt over names like Scream!, Flight Deck, and many of the other, extremely generic and boring names for rides out there.

[larrygator]

Larry - not being harsh, just stating what I feel. I'll try to be more politically correct in the future.

 

No prob - As a moderator I just need to step in when a see a potential flame war. Someone else might latch on to your comments team up and the whole thing gets blown out of proportion.

[adavis]

 

On the other hand, I do not at all understand the Cheetah Hunt name?!?! For a park that is so dedicated to the celebration and conservation of animals using the word HUNT just sounds so terrible.

 

 

I do agree with the name, I think its a little odd, but I think the idea of the coaster was to emulate-loosely-the idea of a cheetah hunting.

 

As for the words hunt and conservation...believe it or not hunting groups are some of the most active and effective conservationists out there. The African lion and elephant are both great examples, as are moose in Michigan. In all of those cases, major hunting organizations have been the ones to step up and control the destruction of species.

 

If you just don't like the idea of hunting, are vegetarian/vegan, or whatever the case may be, I totally respect that. Just please understand that not all hunters are drunken idiots with a desperate desire to kill. I hunt because my family eats meat, it's fun (even when I don't pick up a gun), and it saves me money. Not to mention that where I live, the deer population would be so bad without hunting that deer would be starving to death and causing car accidents left and right.

 

Not all hunting is bad, and if you eat meat or animal products, it can be a nice wake up to see just how the sausage gets made. It's not always a pretty sight.

 

Back on track, coaster looks phenomenal!

[nitrofan]

So this ride has the same height requirement as a futuew kiddie coaster at SFMM?

 

Love this ride! It looks vey cool!

[808Freq]

They should give us 'laser rifles' where we could paint the target on the cheetah's as we are riding the coaster... think Men in Black.. but better. When you come back to the station, it tells you how many cheetah's you nabbed on your ride.

Edited October 14, 2010 by 808Freq

[The Yeti]

I think seeing the whole coaster in one video really puts the whole ride into perspective, and - despite the slow part in the old RR section (more of a let down than a dislike) - I think I am going to like it a lot. The various airtime hills throughout should make up for any slow parts. I'm extremely excited to have an Intamin coaster of this caliber in Florida (says the guy in Nebraska...but I do go almost yearly)...and yeah, it would be cooler if the ride's name was Cheetakah or something of the mythical/legendary-type names that Busch has used in the past. I don't get what is wrong with OTSRs on Intamin coasters either - I rode Maverick and thought it was just fine...I would rather hit my head on a restraint than hit heads with the person sitting next to me or wind up with whiplash.

[Wood Dragon 1988]

The last time I doubted Intamin was I305...which I liked. The time before that was Farenheit...which I liked. The time before that was Maverick...which is my second favorite steel coaster behind another Intamin. So I just won't doubt them anymore!

 

P.S. so nice to see Florida and Busch going with a very unique (and not so B&M for once) coaster! Not to say the coasters there aren't great or B&M sucks, but it is nice to see something different.

[Fooz]

They should give us 'laser rifles' where we could paint the target on the cheetah's as we are riding the coaster... think Men in Black.. but better. When you come back to the station, it tells you how many cheetah's you nabbed on your ride.

 

Or have a piece of meat on a track that follows next to a launch every once in a while, so that the cheetahs will run alongside the train??!?!?!

 

One can dream...

[CHILLERLC1]

I'm a fan of the name. I'm on a hunt to go see a cheetah. I don't have a gun and don't intend to shoot it. Get over it. Cheetah was already taken by Wild Adventures, Cheetaka is a weird name. I'm fine with this one.

 

The restraints are hit or miss. I got bashed on Maverick, at least a whack on the original Intimidator 305 restraints. We'll see what happens. Americans are too fat hence the overheads. I manage alright on Kingda Ka and Stormrunner.