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Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

p. 375: Phoenix Rising family inverted coaster announced for 2024!

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Sea World offers shuttles from Orlando to Busch Gardens and back to Orlando again. i have never taken it just seen if offered on there site last time I purchased combo tickets

 

That is correct, BGT has free shuttles from Orlando if you have a BGT ticket. On our Orlando trip last summer, the shuttle picked us up at the Universal transportation hub (we stayed at Cabana Bay) and got us to BGT right at the 10am opening. The only downside is that the return shuttle leaves BGT at 7pm and I think the park was open to 10pm that night. But luckily it wasn't a very busy day at BGT (mid-week in August), so we were able to ride everything with several re-rides and still make the 7pm return shuttle. The only rides that had any kind of line were Cheetah Hunt, Cobra's Curse, and Falcon's Fury. It blew my mind that we could just walk on Montu, Kumba, and Sheikra, three of the best B&M's ever built.

 

 

I love these announcements for BGT, it was already one of my favorite parks and these additions will only make it that much better. Time to plan another trip to Florida!

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Howl-O-Scream 2018 is officially on! Went to the park last Saturday to check it out, and as always, it was awesome. BG really kills it every year with this event, I actually kinda like it more than Halloween Horror Nights. Quick thoughts:

 

-The park was DEAD. Like, I was really surprised to see that there was barely anyone at the park, and on the first weekend at that. Longest I waited for anything was 20 minutes for front row on Cheetah Hunt. lol

 

-The two new houses are actually crazy fun. Insomnia was probably my favorite of the night. The scare actors were great, and some of the sets are genuinely astounding. Simon's Slaughterhouse was pretty fun, except the 17+ thing is kinda dumb. I liked it a lot, but the rating is stupid. Still good, though.

 

-All the other houses are back! Motel Hell really delivered this year, that chainsaw guy in the rafters tho. OMG. I loved the new version of Unearthed, they dimmed the lights in the house significantly and hand you a flashlight at the start of the house. Awesome concept, makes for some really good scares.

 

-The coaster creatures are hilarious. I want that job.

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Going to BGT for the first time since I was very little tomorrow. What should I ride first?

 

Cheetah Hunt. It tends to have the longest line most of the day, even when it's not too busy. If you get there at opening it's the first coaster you come to anyway when going to the right. After that, Cobra's Curse.

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Going to BGT for the first time since I was very little tomorrow. What should I ride first?

 

Cheetah Hunt. It tends to have the longest line most of the day, even when it's not too busy. If you get there at opening it's the first coaster you come to anyway when going to the right. After that, Cobra's Curse.

Thank you for the wise words. I went right to Cheetah Hunt and waited about a half hour. Then I ended up buying Quick Queue (a massive bargain compared to other chains) and riding Cobra’s Curse and Montu with no wait. Now waiting for a show before going to tackle the other coasters

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

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^ Stay hydrated. The heat here has been brutal this year. Hottest Sept. on record, and forecasters are saying there's more heat to come into October. Avg high for sept has been 94 this year.

 

I managed to stay hydrated by downing five Powerades and a water.

 

Get a Quick Queue so you can skip the Stanley Falls line whenever you want (because it's truly the most miserable queue in the history of the world).

 

I did get Quick Queue and Stanley Falls (and Congo River Rapids) was awfully tempting, but I didn't end up riding it (I had no change of clothes and I had a 1 1/2 hour bus ride back to Orlando). However, I did take the Sky Ride across the park. To sum up the crowds, most of the big coasters and Falcon's Fury were walk-ons all day (the longest was Cheetah Hunt (which was only 15-30 minutes at most) and Kumba, which was running one train) while Stanley Falls and Congo River Rapids had 15-30 minute waits most of the day

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  • 3 weeks later...

Local yokels, how are the crowds on Howl-O-Scream weekends during the day? I'm thinking about going to the park for the first time this weekend or the next.

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  • 3 weeks later...

Drove into the park today. Super-busy but I got at least one lap on every coaster in a six-hour stay.

 

All I'll say until I do my trip report update tomorrow is...Kumba.

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Drove into the park today. Super-busy but I got at least one lap on every coaster in a six-hour stay.

 

All I'll say until I do my trip report update tomorrow is...Kumba.

I'm interested in what you have to say about Kumba. I still love it but when I visited a few weeks ago I could only ride it a few times in the back due to the jack-hammering coming off of the MCBR. Like the first half of the ride was great but the second half hurt so bad I couldn't do it too many times.

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I'm interested in what you have to say about Kumba.

I rode twice, both times at or near the front. Kumba is now #6 on my (somewhat short) list of coasters, behind Skyrush, Phantom's Revenge, and Twisted Cyclone on the steel side. I had set high expectations for it and it managed to exceed them easily. The drop and loop are intense as expected, but once you start going through the dive loop everything breaks loose and it's just an unrelenting coaster from that point until the final brake run. I have never said "holy [censored]" so many times in one ride on a roller coaster, and I was nearly out of breath when it finally stopped.

 

I can see why you might get jack-hammering coming out of the mid-course brake seated in the back, for sure. But I got smooth yet snappy trips through the corkscrews both times, even when sitting on the outer seats. I was never uncomfortable, though I did get a bit sick after I did a near-immediate re-ride. Next time I go I need to remember to bring my glasses strap with me so I can wear them on the ride, I bet that I would be fine if I did so. But if I just spaced my rides out throughout the day I would gladly take three or four spins total.

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I definitely recommend bringing a glasses strap for Falcon's Fury alone. For obvious reasons, the park requires a strap on that drop tower. The first time I visited, I wasn't overly impressed by Falcon's Fury, but that was because I could barley see. With my glasses, it's one of the best drop towers in the world.

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Of all the great things I’ve heard (and said) about Kumba, this is not one of them. Lol

Well, I think they are! Should've said "the bottom of the drop" in hindsight but I think that both valleys (before and after the loop) are pretty intense (though a little bit more controlled than what happens afterward).

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... we need to talk.

Hey, now! I was on a roll getting front seat rides on all the coasters, and the second time I rode I just made a bee-line for the row with the least wait in the station and it happened to be row 2. I'll be back in a few months...

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Of all the great things I’ve heard (and said) about Kumba, this is not one of them. Lol

Well, I think they are! Should've said "the bottom of the drop" in hindsight but I think that both valleys (before and after the loop) are pretty intense (though a little bit more controlled than what happens afterward).

 

Ahhh that makes sense! I was thinking you were somehow experiencing some secret airtime that I needed to find out about.

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