Photo TR: Busch Gardens Tampa 06-14-13

[Sjcomora]

Hey TPR! This is my first TR on here, well actually, it's my first post on TPR . We woke up at 6 and were on the road with out friends at 6:30. We got to the park at around 11 with 2 stops. Since it was a Friday and many camps were taking field trips, the park was packed! I had never seen it this crowded before. Despite the crowds, the lines remained short. It was 100 degrees out (damn you, Florida!)

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  •Cheetah Hunt x2- I got a front row ride in the morning and a back row ride in pitch black. 4 train ops. 45 min wait for the front and a station wait for the back. I liked the front better, and it was much better than I remembered. Smooth, fast, and full of airtime. 3rd launch into the airtime hill= . The peak of the figure-8 delivered in the front! Definitely a top 10 ride. The theming is great in the queue and the area around it. 9/10
  •Montu x4- WOW! No wait for all 4 rides. 3 train ops. Twice for the front and twice for the back. I rode twice in the back without getting up at around 6 pm when the park was emptying out. Last visit in December, it was very shaky in the back, especially the section right after the batwing. I blacked out on the entrance to the Immelmann (full of lats, BTW) every time I rode. THIS is how a B&M invert should be. The zero-g roll really throws you to the side. I banged my head on the restraint during the last flatspin since it's taken at such a fast speed. 10/10
  •Gwazi Lion x1- Got a ride in row 3 or 4 in the yellow train. 2 train ops, but trains were being dispatched every 5 minutes. It was soooo slow and the line wasn't physically long, but the wait was about 30 minutes. I actually enjoyed the ride a lot. It was still pretty rough, but there were a few pops of ejector air. It really sucked when I was there in December. I didn't get a headache this time! 7/10
  •Kumba x8- Front row- 3, back row- 4, and row 3- 1. 2 train ops- trains 1 and 4 running (not sure why 2 trains were sitting in the garage). Never a wait for the front, but the first ride of the day, the line almost reached the first set of switchbacks. It was about 10 minutes, but we were delayed about 15 extra minutes because someone dropped their keys right before the tunnel. I have no words. Kumba is flawless. The sound it make, the epic zero-g roll, the blackout-inducing cobra roll, and the fast pace put this in my number 1 spot. Call me anything you want for putting a B&M looper as my #1! PS: don't stick your hand out during the final helix if you're sitting all the way to the right. I hit the grass with my fingers and it HURT! It felt like I was shocked. Has anyone else experienced this? Overall, the ride was really shaky (no headbanging) after the first drop and during the corkscrews. You can see each car shuffling individually, even on the lift. Train 1 was rougher than the other one. 100/10!
  •SheiKra x5- Front row- 3, back row- 2. 4 train ops- the line was never more than half way down the stairs. This is another B&M masterpiece. Everything is so well-executed. I especially loved not being stopped completely on the MCBR and being dragged over the top of the drop ! I greyed out on this too, but it's well worth it.
  •Congo River Rapids x1- 20 minute wait. I got the most soaked out of my whole "boat"! What a perfect way to cool down. We dried off by riding Kumba! A solid Intamin raft ride.

The park is very clean and everything is in order. The employees were great, and one of them in front of the entrance at Kumba stopped me to talk about video editing because I had a GoPro strapped to my chest! He was pretty cool. This is by far my favorite theme park, but not yet my favorite amusement park (Six Flags, Cedar Fair, etc.). We shall find out later this summer! Now onto pictures, which were all taken on my iPhone:

We have arrived! Hello Montu

Zero-Geeeeeeee!

Falcon's Fury construction. Nothing much to see here...

Lift hill action

Feel the sting. Didn't ride this. There was a line every time I walked by, and of course, 1 train ops!

Fun dancers in the Jungala section. Does anyone know their names?

Rusty Tiger lift hill porn

Fail shot of SheiKra from the station

Lots of screaming at the holding brake

There they go!

iPhone panorama of the pretty new paint. No really, it looks great! Goodbye, salmon-pink SheiKra. See ya in a year and a half!

FAIL

I like this shot a lot. iPhone 5 photography FTW

SheiKra from the SkyRide

I <3 you Kumba

Fresh new paint

It was so empty that they were sending out trains with just the front and back filled

Cheetah Hunt's signage at night is amazing

Montu at night is really amazing

Saw this guy in line for Montu. It said something about Intamin on the front

The Hunt at night

And I leave you with this picture of the figure-8 from the entrance!

[jjune4991]

Glad you enjoyed the park! I was operating Montu from 10-330 that day, so we probably saw each other during your 4 rides!

[XYZ]

Nice PTR. Hopefully, I'll go to BGT next year.

[Sjcomora]

Glad you enjoyed the park! I was operating Montu from 10-330 that day, so we probably saw each other during your 4 rides!

 

Thanks! I only remember the girl with red hair, but nonetheless, that's pretty cool .

 

Nice Photo TR. Hopefully, I'll go to BGT next year.

 

Thanks a lot. It's a great park year-round. It's actually one of the better parks to visit during the summer. I refused to get on any of the water rides in December, as it was in the 40s.

[TBpony414]

Nice little TR, looks like you had a fun day and got on a lot of rides! I've not been down to BGT yet, hopefully sometime in the next few years I can get a visit in.

[simon8899]

Thanks for the TR - loved the park in February.

 

Feel the sting. Didn't ride this.

 

Boooooo!

[mike541x]

Nice TR. I have to ride Kumba again. I went on a marathon with that ride back in March. And yeah, it sucks you didn't get to ride Scorpion. It's a great ride for a smaller sized coaster.

[Sjcomora]

Kumba is an awesome coaster. I've ridden Scorpion on past trips. It's fun to try and keep your hands up the whole time. I failed both times

[Condor]

Thanks for the pics! I really have to get back to BGT next year.

 

How is the trimming on Montu's MCBR these days? I remember in years past the train almost came to a stop, but on my last visit in 2011 it glided right through almost untouched and the second half became much faster. I'm hoping it's more the latter.

[Sjcomora]

The Batwing trim was on really hard. It sounded like a gunshot from the front row, but it didn't affect it at all. The MCBR was on pretty hard too, but it's cool because the drop off the MCBR is really banked, so you just hang against the restraints. The mini vertical loop and last flatspin aren't affected at all.

[PalmTree55]

Great TR, I love BGT! I agree, Kumba is one of the best coasters I have ever been on!