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Photo TR: Zach Goes To Busch Gardens!


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So, guys, hello, and welcome to my first ever trip to Busch Gardens. I feel special. Please nuderstand the difference.

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Here's a reference against my backpack, carry-on bag, saxophone case, and bookshelf.

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Yes, this is EVERY item of clothing, including my dress clothes, packed into a suitcase about as big as my saxophone case. :-o

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Into this small-ass suitcase.

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Just about everything on that bed is being packed.

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Off-topic: It's an (obviously Yamaha, judging from the case) alto sax, and a pretty nice one at that. I also have a tenor, but it's kind of cheap. And I want to start on soprano. I also write music. Woohoo.

 

On-topic: I'm leaving in about an hour.

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Busch Gardens!

 

Second best theme park I've been to - first is Cedar Point.

 

We started off at Montu. This is my second favorite roller coaster, behind Millennium Force. This ride actually made me say stuff, something that rarely happens. It was my favorite ride at the park and Alex's second favorite. I rode twice and Alex rode once.

 

After that, we took the train ride (boring) to the other side of the park. While Mom, Joey, and Alex did the 4D ride - was it themed to pirates? - I rode Scorpion. Decent although a bit rough on the ending helix. Afterwords, Alex, Joey, and I rode Cheetah Chase. Really boring.

 

Next, Alex and I rode Kumba. This was our third favorite coaster in the park. It isn't very intense, but it's extremely fun. I rode three times and Alex rode once. What I think is unique about Kumba is that you take the loops slow enough that you don't feel that many G-forces. The barrel roll was very intense, as was the cobra roll. What I don't get is why it's so rough in the tunnel.

 

While Joey and Mom rode Stanley Falls twice, Alex and I went over to Sheikra. You really need to be in the park to appreciate its true height. The thing towers over the rest of the park's skyline, but once you're at the entrance, you're amazed at how tall it really is.

 

This was Alex's favorite coaster at the park and my second favorite. I thought that it was a one-trick pony, and it's worth the wait for the credit but not for a second ride in a day. The first drop does feature the second-most insane moment of airtime I've ever experienced (the first is Millennium Force from the back), and the immelman is very fun. The entire ride was extremely fun with the two drops being intense.

 

There are four or five videos taken at different points, and you can either get a picture or a compilation DVD. There are cameras set up all over the ride, and about eight on the first vertical drop.

 

Finally, Alex and I went on Gwazi. We started off with Lion. (Both sides were open but not dueling.) It was extremely rough and not very fun. The operation was horribly slow. It took fifteen minutes to get on in a line that was rated at five minutes. Alex and I passed the time by being posers of posers (saying that everything was "hardcore" in a sarcastic voice).

 

Tiger was much better - just under Kumba on my rankings. We walked right on and it was much smoother than Lion.

 

With an hour left before the park closed at 7 PM, I skipped around the park while Alex, Joey, and Mom hit the water rides again. I was able to walk right onto Kumba's last row, Montu's fifth row, and Sheikra's last row.

 

Overall, it was a great day for roller coasters, and the four of us enjoyed ourselves very much.

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Was it urine? Or a spilled Diet Coke?

 

It's Diet Coke. Thanks, Alex.

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I got a HUGE portion of plain pasta for Elissa, but Joey got a friggin' MASSIVE 16-slice pizza. Let's compare. This thing of pasta was about as big as what you get at Maggiano's. That is one huge pizza.

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O NOES! Revenge of the Budweiser; it was a massive drinking party about fifty feet away from the Italian restaurant.

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We went to an Italian restaurant. Joey and I got our second B:TR credit of the trip. (It was to be the last.)

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At 9:30 PM, we decided to take a short walk for dinner, leaving Alex behind. (He got crotch-rot.) Here I am practicing my parkour skills.

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Alex hasn't taken a poopie for awhile. Here's his third.

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Teenagers always find something to do.

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Alex says, "Come on to Safety Harbor Resort, where the fun never ends!"

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This kind staff member opened up the back gate for us. Don't worry, we'll be back in twenty-four hours.

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Alex flashes back to his "Punta Gorda" look.

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I am *so* hardcore.

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Joey with his "I'm a smartass" look, Alex with his "F-ing rave" look.

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Gwazi Lion got stuck on the lift. Haha, Lion sucks. Go ride Tiger you fools.

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I'm surprised my camera zooms this far.

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Dude, a Robb-sized alligator.

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The Men In Black on Bench: The Ride.

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Outside of Gwazi, Joey and Alex discuss where to find another Bench: The Ride credit. Joey says that they're all clones.

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I show the kid how to be hardcore.

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While trying to read a huge park map, I accidentally stepped into a pool of water and mulch. :(

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Joey with another facial expression. He is the anti-Dave.

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Meh, I guess CC is OK.

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People say I look hotter without glasses. What do you think?

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Another TPR reference. Does Alex have nostril cam perfected?

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Joey is a man of many expressions. (Yes, I stole that from Robb.)

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Cheetah Chase. I've had more fun on traveling fair coasters.

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It's J-Lo as a zebra. Does this count as a donkey?

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This picture does no justice. Sheikra is HUGE.

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For some reason, we spotted an empty train stuck on Montu's lift.

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Remind you of Alpengeist?

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Alex takes his second poopie of the day.

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We're not even in the park yet and I'm already hardcore.

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Alex takes his first poopie of the day.

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Ah, we're finally at Busch Gardens! Adventure Island is tomorrow night.

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Florida isn't really the deep south...

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Alex, you went to fat camp and six months of extensive psychiatry to *prevent* this.

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Is Hannah a hermaphrodite?

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We get to the rest stop in Punta Gorda. Alex says, "Nearly two years after Charley and it's still crippled."

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I imitate Alex and become high while listening to Reel Big Fish.

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...and insane Zach.

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...shy Joey...

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Meet the gang! First you have "high" Alex...

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Did you happen to go on Saturday? The park was very packed on Saturday thanks to the free Leanne Womack concert. Even Python has a line that day.

Lucky for me I do have a Plantnum pass so I was able to reride most of the coasters but otherwise it would not have been worth it. Nice PTR by the way even though I do not think TPR condones underage drinking.

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On Saturday, we woke up at 7:30 AM to get ready for Stefan's bar mitzvah (the real reason we came up to Tampa). He being a conservative Jew, the service was very different than what we were used to. He only read a bit of his torah portion - one out of four paragraphs. It was a boring three-hour service. The best part was the lunch after. We got to meet some girls who were into us because we were from Boca.

 

So, we got back to the hotel around 1:30 PM and decided to go swimming for an hour. Afterwords, we had to wait until 5:45 PM to leave for Adventure Island and the party, so we wasted a lot of time by having a pillow fight and playing poker on our NDS's.

 

Adventure Island was awesome, even though only four slides were open. When we got there, a couple kids asked what was going on, and then told us to sneak them in as part of the bar mitzvah.

 

Riptide is a very unique slide. It's four lanes with a headfirst mat. They are all identical slides, so it doesn't matter which side you take. Just remember that the inside slides end on the outside, and the outside slides end on the inside. You pick up some speed during the helix, and the double drop is very fun, although the second drop loses speed. I'd ride this once with a long line, and then wait for the line to recede before riding again. Of course, being as there were about fifty people in the park at the time, there was no line. This was my second-favorite slide. I rode five times.

 

Key West Rapids is my favorite slide in the park (that was open). It's a typical single/double tube slide, only that it has three stops before the ending splash pool. The first segment is about a minute long, the second is about thirty seconds long, and the final double drop is about ten seconds long. It's much different from other tube slides because the track is very wide and you do bank on curves and spin. I rode this six times.

 

On my fourth ride, I went down with Stefan and his Tampa friends, two at a time in single tubes. I face-planted after the first stop, which was pretty funny.

 

Water Moccasin was open. This thing is pretty crazy. There are three lanes - two mirror slides with a couple helixes, and one with a near-vertical drop. All three end up in a splash pool. On my first ride, I banged my head against the top because I sat up for the splash pool. The drop one was VERY intense, and the curved ones have some nice speed as well. This was third-favorite slide. I rode each side once.

 

Gulfscream was open but didn't get very many riders because of its sheer height. It's basically a 45 degree drop from a very high height that transfers into a 20 degree drop that transfers into a brief flat run before depositing you into a pool at a very high speed. I face-planted into the water on this one as well. It is absolutely INSANE. Once you start to level out, your vision starts shaking from the speed. This was my least-favorite slide at the park. I only rode once.

 

The party was average - crappy music but good, free food. It was at what I think was the O'Douls Grill. Instead of dancing, Alex and I talked with some girls who were interested in us.

 

Overall, what I saw of Adventure Island was better than Rapids but worse than Blizzard Beach.

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Alex dropped something else - a bathroom drinking glass. Way to go! *thumbs up*

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Joey wants Alex to move.

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Alex and I crash and play DS Poker. I'm downloading. My character is busty.

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This was seriously the best grilled hamburger I've ever had. And this was my second of three bags of barbeque chips on the trip.

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There was a news guy walking through the hotel. I didn't get on camera, though.

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This kid was part of a traveling basketball team. He was pretty hardcore.

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Alex can be hardcore, even without shoes. And an old-school Tony Hawk reference - Ped Props!

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Everyone loves beef jerky!

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We're ready to go to the pool! But first I must eat my beef jerky.

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Oh look. I see Alex through the peephole. It's like a wide-angle lens. Hardcore.

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Alex relaxes and plays Brain Age on his DS.

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...and I'm me.

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...Joey is shy...

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Alex is high (and he lacks a suit)...

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Who said that nerds can't have muscles?

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We left today. Nothing to say here.

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What the hell?

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Alex, that's a wasted $1.06. That could be used for a 1/3 gallon of gas.

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Alex says, "I actually *bought* this?" Look at how small a Coke can looks compared to this 64-ounce drink.

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We went on the HUGE bridge. I forgot its name.

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Joey, who visited the next-door McDonald's for pancakes, says, "Holy crap, Alex."

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He drank about 4 ounces of it.

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Alex, however, got a 64-ounce Mountain Dew: Code Red.

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See?

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HOLY CRAP! A 24-soda fountain with 64-ounce drinks for 99 cents! I got the second-smallest size full of Powerade.

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Although it's kind of tough to see, this hotel has another TPR reference - BOOBS!

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Alex eats a muffin and makes his fourth poopie.

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I got that cut on my chin from face-planting on Key West Rapids. :(

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^It's not you, its something Joey and I were discussing in the chat one night.

 

BTW, nice PTR. BGT's my home park and everything, so yeah good to hear good reviews from people besides the locals. Just dont drink underage and post pictures of it, not the smartest thing you could do on the net....

 

Colin"Its called the sunshine skyway bridge BTW"C

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