Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

The “Seaworld Rehab” is what the frequently seem to do with the Skyride but there never appears to be anyone actually working on it.

Stanley Falls Flume is having it's scheduled annual maintenance currently.

Thanks everyone! I really appreciate it!

Apparently, you can rent a wheel chair at BGT and you, your family and friends can skip the lines without showing any documentation that you're disabled. I observed this while waiting for Cheetah Hunt this past Sunday. Two large groups did this back to back and it was amazing how quick the process was. Not sure BGT is doing it right. I'm thinking there must be a dr's note or something. This park needs to address this.

Apparently, you can rent a wheel chair at BGT and you, your family and friends can skip the lines without showing any documentation that you're disabled. I observed this while waiting for Cheetah Hunt this past Sunday. Two large groups did this back to back and it was amazing how quick the process was. Not sure BGT is doing it right. I'm thinking there must be a dr's note or something. This park needs to address this.

Legally you cannot ask for documentation of a person's disability. This has become a huge issue especially with service animals. (Though that one is a tad easier to figure out.) Unfortunately that is the world we live in.

That being said I don't agree with a policy of the while group skipping the line. Personally I believe that only one or even two people should accompany the person.

Legally you cannot ask for documentation of a person's disability.

Yes.. but you can require a note from a doctor without stating the actual disability. Six Flags requires a doctor's note and I think more parks should move to this system.

Your doctor should include the following information:

 

Doctor's name

 

Address of the doctor's practice (Printed stationary is OK as long as it includes the Doctor's medical ID number)

 

Phone number of doctor's practice (Printed stationary is OK as long as it includes the Doctor's medical ID number)

 

Name of person requesting the Attraction Access Pass

 

Statement indicating the guest has a disability or other qualifying impairment under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and/or applicable state law that prevents the guest from waiting in a standard queue.

 

Valid time period of disability (permanent or, if temporary, the valid time period the Pass is needed for)

 

Doctor's signature

 

The note must NOT describe or indicate the nature of the disability

Its also not a skip the line pass, it's a "not wait in the physical line" pass...

At BGT and SeaWorld Parks you get a time to return after waiting in a virtual queue. Same with Cedar Fair.

I went to ride the sky ride and encountered this.

I guess 60 degrees and 15 mph winds count as inclement down here.

^ It was like 48 for the high the day that we were there in December and it was open. Perhaps they just put out that sign mistakenly versus the generic "This ride is temporarily closed" sign?

Weird.

It was cold as SH%T that day too!

15 mph winds generally means occasional gusts over 22 or 23 MPH which is usually the cutoff. That kind of checks out.

Ok I was figuring it was more the wind than the temperature.

At least the alternative was walking through Pantopia and it gave me a reason to get my second bacon pretzel fury of the day.

^ Never a bad trade-off!

Today Theme Park Review was invited to visit Adventure Island, the water park next to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay so that we could try out the new Vanish Point slides set to open with the park tomorrow! Four years ago

The slide is about 10 feet shorter than Ihu's Breakaway Falls but wraps around an existing slide complex for a truly interwoven that makes this third new slide very unique! The slides are translucent by design and allow rides to see partially outwards as the go along. The drop cabins (Proslide SkyBOX) continue to impress with the moment after the floor has dropped out from beneath you being unparalleled.

We'll have the video from my experience up shortly... Check out the photos below to get a glimpse at this excellent new attraction--I highly recommend checking it out when you're in the area!

We were greeted by a few tall characters on our way in!

I was told my scream was quite intense.

I cannot wait to see the full video!

Tons of attractions are kept in close proximity by design.

Tight turns to be found!

The three slides weave in and out of each other throughout the course of their respective layouts.

Colossal Curl launches from the same platform as Vanish Point.

For a less intense start...

Vanish Point features one traditional slide without the ProSlide Tech SkyBOX or the layout wrapping around the tube lift for Colossal Curl!

We were also treated to the sounds of the park's steel drum band!

Vanish Point was added to a lower portion of the Colossal Curl station segment.

Watchers too afraid to ride can from the entrance sign to see the expressions of the more-brave riders once they're in the tube.

Colossal Curl and several other slides are packed together in this space.

A look at the super steep drops pf Vanish Point.

And it keeps dropping!

Time to head in for myself...

Another look at the two SkyBOXes from Proslide!

There's even a glass slit where you can look ahead in the direction you'll be dropping once inside.

A beautiful, twisted collection of water slides!

A look at Colossal Curl...

Special thanks to Adventure Island for hosting us today! Come down to check out this weekend as the water park opens for the season.

It's funny but I find myself scared to do the slide without the drop capsule as opposed to the ones with it. It's something about throwing myself down the slide vs being dropped lol.

Great report! I thought Adventure Island looked compact from atop the lift hills at Busch Gardens, but it looks even more compact from you photos. I lost count of how many slides I saw per photo.

I'm a big fan of the drop pod slides. Glad to see more popping up even if I may never make it to Adventure Island.

Can't wait to ride these!

Nice report, I really enjoyed Adventure Island when I went. I didn't expect to like it as much as I did. It wasn't a huge park but the slides they have a great and the lines weren't very long for any of them the day I went.

^ Same. I freaking loved this water park.

I particularly loved Paradise Lagoon where you could jump off the rocks - and the small slides with the long drop into the water were cool too. In this day and age, it's surprising to see something so Action Park-ish still around.

Thanks for posting the report, Adam - the new slides look great!

I love that they have the screen to broadcast rider reactions. Not only does this let non-riding party members know when their party is riding, but it allows everyone to laugh at the screams.

Looks great! I like that there is an "easier" slide for people who aren't ready to handle the drop. I know a lot of the Busch Gardens campers are going to love this!

I'm wondering how the queue for this will be maintained compared to Colossal Curl (sorry if this is obvious, I don't go to many water parks). I remember Colossal Curl's queue frequently extending to the bottom of the stairs when it first opened, which sometimes was a 45 minute or so wait (and that's for a tube slide that fits multiple people). How will they distinguish between the queue for these and Colossal Curl on that stairway?

Looks like some beautiful slides for me to never go on. I think it's awesome that drop capsule slides exist, but I am very sure they are not for me.

It's kind of a bummer to see parks lose their older unique water slides but with replacements like this I doubt they'll be missed for long.

The live video feed on the ride sign is a really cool touch!

^^The SkyBOXes terrify me in the best way... But I think that's what I like about them. Once you step in, there's no turning back, so you can't be tempted to bail out like you can on the more traditional body slides.

I think what surprised me most about these slides compared to Ihu's Breakaway Falls at Aquatica Orlando was the length of the layout after the initial drop. It allowed me to decompress after the drop and take in the simple fun of the slide... And man, was this thing smooth! The park VP explained to me that this is the third generation of this kind of slide in a SeaWorld Entertainment park and each time they had worked to better the experience--and I'd definitely say that even though Vanish Point is 10 feet shorter than Ihu's Breakaway Falls, the experience is definitely better overall thanks to the longer slide experience and the smoother slide finishing inside to allow for a more comfortable experience.

This is one of my favorite water parks and vanish point is a great addition. If Busch Gardens and Adventure Island was located some place outside of Florida it would get a lot more attention.

You can now get Year-Round Quick Queue at Busch Gardens Tampa for $299 ($269 if with an annual or platinum pass). Strange the park isn't promoting this more. Has the company not learned from their lack of marketing over the last few years? I mean, how much does it cost to make a FB, Twitter or IG post?

attractionsmagazine.com/busch-gardens-tampa-introduces-year-round-quick-queue-pass-299/

Busch Gardens Tampa introduces Year-Round Quick Queue pass for $299

 

Frequent visitors to Busch Gardens Tampa who hate waiting for their favorite attractions can now purchase a Year-Round Quick Queue pass for $299 and get 365 days of line-skipping privileges.

 

Recently, the website for Busch Gardens Tampa quietly added a new upgrade option called the Year-Round Quick Queue, which provides unlimited front-of-the-line access to Falcon’s Fury, Cheetah Hunt, SheiKra, Montu, Kumba, Cobra’s Curse, Scorpion, Stanley Falls Flume, SandSerpent, and Congo River Rapids for 365 days days from the first day of use.

 

Park admission (such as an annual pass) is required but not included in the Year-Round Quick Queue price of $299 per person ($319.93 after tax). Annual Pass Members get a 10% discount on their Quick Queue purchase. Guests must meet individual height requirements for ride entry; passes are non-refundable and rain checks are not available.

 

For one day visits, Busch Gardens still offers standard single-use Quick Queue (seasonally priced starting at $14.99 per person plus tax), Quick Queue Junior for rides with height limits below 48″ ($9.99 and up), and QuickQueue Unlimited ($19.99 and up).

We just booked a trip to Clearwater the week of May 21-26 (week that leads into Memorial Weekend) and a Busch Gardens visit is one of the things we are most looking forward to. As of now we are planning to spend one of the days there. I'd assume going on a Tuesday or Weds are probably the best to visit from a crowd standpoint? Is there a certain restaurant or food stand to look out for? We've never been here but years ago my wife visited BGW and loved the "food from around the world" motif. We will have our kids with us (ages 5 and 7) so because of that, repeat rides on most of the coasters will probably be out of the question. Therefore, if there is a known spot to ride or avoid on certain ones I'd love to hear that! I've never done a dive coaster before so I'm particularly pumped to ride Sheikra!

I'll be doing a full trip report of the visit so thanks in advance for the advice! (p.s. anyone know the best deal on single day tickets?)