Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

^Oh, don't get me wrong. If I lived in the area I would visit every year! What I was saying is it works perfectly for me, since I am only going to be able to visit the Orlando/Tampa every few years during Halloween.

Video is now uploaded to CoasterTube so you shouldn't have a problem viewing it now.

 

Great stuff, guys!

Hey thanks for uploading it.

Great video with the scream cam. It looks like a great house. I'm very excited for HOS since it will be my first one. Sounds and looks like I'm going for a great year. I will try to post a review this weekend after I go Friday night.

^^Well that is unacceptable. As an enthusiasts and a moderator of TPR you should be required to attend every Halloween event in the country, at every park, every year and the events in Orlando at least twice each .

Just kidding, I get what you are saying and for someone who only makes it to town for October every couple of years the rotating houses do work out really well. I also think HOS is a much better value than HHN these days. I mean for around $100 on any night you can get admission, preferred parking, guided tour, and front of the line access to the houses and coasters. For the same type of experience at HHN on peak nights you might be pushing $200 a person.

^I would love to take in the Orlando events twice a year! There is just the problem of convincing my wife that is necessary.

I have never been to the Tampa HOS, I have never missed a Williamsburg one. This will be the first year I am going to do both and I am looking forward to the different ways the parks present their Halloween events.

The only thing I have to lose, is a little of my mind.

It looks likes a great house, wish i could make it back to Florida again this year, but there's always next year!

And Renee, I'm glad you didn't curl up into the fetal position this time!

Quality stuff all around. My entire office is rolling on the floor watching this! Great job Renee

Renee, you did better than I did! I got the the body hanging in the middle of the path and I just totally freaked out and froze. I thought if I moved close it would set off a trigger to make it twitch and I would have completely lost it. They had to come rescue me because my feet refused to move forward at that point. Steve did tell me I wasn't the first person they've had to come get, so that helped me feel a little better about my freak out. If I hadn't been by myself I probably would have been fine (last year at Busch Gardens Bash, I had Shirley, Chad, Joe, Stephen & the other Joe to help me keep cool - though they were laughing at how much I screamed). I'm just not good with this stuff all by my lonesome.

I love they gave us all Tricker's key with our videos! I was showing it off to everyone at work yesterday.

Went to HOS last night for the first time. It was great. We had front of line passes that worked great since towards the end of the night we were running out of time but with the passes finished everything. I think my favorite houses were nevermore and circus of superstition 3D. It was the first house I've done where the 3d actually looked really good. Blood asylum seemed short and they build up an ending that wasnt much. Fiends was very funny. It's in a weird theater and they even mention they moved the show. But it's still a great show. The hoardes going around the park I thought worked very well. Seriously even with it being the first night and some rain, I can't stress how much the front of the line passes worked for us. I mean we got to ride again on the coasters because they wouldn't punch our card sometimes. And I don't see how else we could of done all the houses. It was a great night and a fantastic first time for us at HOS. Sorry no pictures, I'm on my iPhone typing this.

OMG Renee! That video was hilarious! Just so everyone knows, Renee is a screamer. She was not embellishing at all!

So funny!

Went to HOS last night for the first time. It was great. We had front of line passes that worked great since towards the end of the night we were running out of time but with the passes finished everything. I think my favorite houses were nevermore and circus of superstition 3D.

I loved Nevermore last year. One of the few houses that focused on creative scares over a ton of gore. I love a good scare but not good at handling gore.

Some friends and I are working on planning an outing to HOS next month. Has anyone here done Fright Feast this year? Is the taco bar back? I loved that thing last year.

I had to make a video for my class. This is a very short video but I think some of you might like it. It's mainly from BGT but also has some SeaWorld Orlando.

OMG Renee! That video was hilarious! Just so everyone knows, Renee is a screamer. She was not embellishing at all!

 

So funny!

It's true... And the part that freaked me out the most was when they said "the creature" was right behind me. When, in reality, there was no one there. Yet I swear I saw a shadow following me and stuff like that is what gets me!

^^That was wicked awesome. I love the Kumba roar.

Anyone have a good plan of attack for a Friday night?

I would suggest either the Dinner Show or the front of the line pass. The first is $26 and you get first access to the houses before the rest of the people who didn't get the dinner come in, but after that, you're stuck in the lines. The quick queue is $35, and it lasts all night. Either way, try to do as many houses first when the lines are short. Then try the rides later in the evening. Sheikra and Cheetah Hunt will be long all night, but Montu and Kumba should be walk ons. Enjoy!

Here's an updated version of our Montu POV... enjoy!

Loved your GP impersonations Robb! It makes the video that much more enjoyable.

^^ nice video of Montu. I really enjoyed it a lot this year.

Does anyone know what is going on with Rhino Rally? It's off the park map and its completely blocked off. Screamscape says that it is "under refurbishment" but I have my doubts.

Does anyone know what is going on with Rhino Rally? It's off the park map and its completely blocked off. Screamscape says that it is "under refurbishment" but I have my doubts.

Screamscape just posted this.

Busch Gardens Tampa has confirmed with Screamscape that Rhino Rally “is closed for extensive maintenance, including an enhancement of the animal habitats. It will reopen in time for the busy holiday season, though I don’t have an exact date yet.”

www.screamscape.com/html/busch_gardens_tampa.htm

^They posted that 2 months ago. The newest update didn't get a stop sign next to it but it basically says he has no idea what's going on at this point.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has sent us a press release with a detailed run down on what its new event Christmas Town includes. We'll be there tonight for a media preview of this exciting new offering, so stay tuned for an in-depth look at Christmas Town later this weekend!

`Tis the season for a new family tradition! This weekend, Busch Gardens Tampa is launching the biggest Christmas celebration ever. Christmas Town transforms the park into a nighttime holiday wonderland of wintery surprises and all things Christmas, filling guests’ senses with seasonal sights, sounds and flavors, and creating a beautiful new tradition for Tampa’s families. What’s even better than that? A portion of the proceeds from Christmas Town will benefit All Children’s Hospital here in the Bay area.

 

For the first time in the park’s 53-year history, visitors to Christmas Town will experience all-new evening attractions, shows and shopping from 6 to 11 p.m. every Friday, Saturday and Sunday night, Nov. 30 through Dec. 23.

 

And while Christmas Town will introduce guests to all new experiences, guests will also have the opportunity to ride some of Busch Gardens’ most popular roller coasters, including Cheetah Hunt, SheiKra and Gwazi. The special event includes attractions exclusive to the nighttime experience:

 

• SnowWorld® Presented by Coca-Cola® brings real snow to Florida! Make s snowman, snow angel or just play in the soft white snow. Pack the perfect snow balls and test your aim at the target practice area. Spinning Coca-Cola® bottles and light-up noise targets will entertain kids of all ages.
   
  
• All aboard the Christmas Town Express for the biggest Christmas carol sing-a-long on wheels. Friends and family are invited join in singing traditional songs of the season like “Jingle Bells,” “Frosty the Snowman” and “Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer” while circling the park on a beautifully lit vintage-style steam locomotive.
   
  
• The Claus family invites you into their North Pole home at Welcome to Santa’s House. While the elves are busy preparing for Christmas, Mrs. Claus is in the kitchen baking holiday treats, but even Santa himself will take a break from his busy holiday schedule to meet and take photos with families in his private study.
   
  
• Straight from the South Pole, Penguin Point has brought a bit of ice and snow all the way to Florida! Come chill with these dapper little creatures and marvel at their underwater antics at the penguin habitat, located near Candy Cane Lane in the Nairobi area.

Even Busch Gardens’ most familiar fans will barely recognize the portions of the park that convert to Christmas Town through special entertainment, live music, festive treats, holiday shopping and thousands and thousands of twinkling Christmas lights:

 

• Celebration Village brings together the rich, warm colors of Christmas and heartfelt voices lifted in song to welcome guests as they enter Christmas Town. Draped in jewel-tone ornaments and glowing lights, the Moroccan Village comes alive with local choirs in the Marrakesh Theater and shops full of holiday gifts.
   
  
• Family and friends will cozy up to brave the chill in the air along Ice Wonder Way. The frozen pathway sparkles and shimmers in the night as snowflakes dance down the front of the Moroccan Palace, welcoming guest for special performances of the all-new Christmas Town ice show.
   
  
• Wild colors, exotic decorations and intricate animal patterns create the kind of Christmas found only in nature! Stretching along the Cheetah Hunt walkway, Jungle Jubilee welcomes guests to Florida’s only triple-launch coaster and the iconic Crown Colony restaurant, featuring special holiday fare and the new Carol of the Bells light show.
   
  
• Just around the bend, Candy Cane Lane gives Christmas Town a peppermint twist. Red and white lights twinkle in the trees throughout the Nairobi area, calling to mind the beloved Christmas confection and pointing guests down the path to the Christmas Town Express and Santa’s House.
   
  
• Experience the humble magnificence of that first Christmas night and remember the real “reason for the season” and along Miracle Way. Guests will marvel at a topiary representation of the Holy Nativity and illuminated angels, set along the Stanleyville Bridge in the warm glow of Christmas lights and sacred holiday music.
   
  
• Christmas has come to Sesame Street! Elmo and his friends are all dressed up in their holiday best at Sesame Street Season of Fun, ready to pose for pictures and plenty of hugs with kids of all ages who stop by to wish them a funny, furry Christmas.
   
  
• When it’s warm in December and there’s more sand than snow, celebrate a Floridian Christmas with a touch of the tropics in the Enchanted Flamingo Valley. Guests will be “thinking pink” as they encounter decorated palm trees and a flock of festive flamingos created from thousands of twinkling pink lights.
   
  
• Christmas is in full bloom along Poinsettia Parkway, where guests can lose themselves among hundreds of the traditional holiday flowers and feast their senses on delicious holiday treats.
   
  
• On your way to play in the snow, stop by Jingle Bell Junction and climb aboard a pint-sized train for a holly-jolly ride designed especially for young guests, located at the crossroads of Christmas Town in Gwazi Plaza.
   
  
• Guests can find the perfect holiday gift or indulge in a delicious seasonal treat as they explore Christmas Town Village. Set along the Gwazi Park walkway, tiny Christmas cabins will scent the air with seasonal treats like apple pies and strudels, gingerbread cookies, eggnog and roasting nuts, as well as a delicious array of flavored popcorns, roasted nuts, waffles with ice cream, fruit-filled crepes, rustic sandwiches, homemade potato chips and Starbucks coffees and hot chocolate.
   
  
• Enjoy a nostalgic white Christmas – in Florida! – in Christmas Town Park. Guests can experience real, frozen snowdrifts in SnowWorld® Presented by Coca-Cola®, meander among quaint cabin shops, pose for pictures with strolling snowmen, and finish off the night with an exclusive concert with the Grammy Award-winning group Jars of Clay.

Guests who have come to love Busch Gardens’ traditional holiday shows will still be able to see Christmas on Ice, Christmas from the Heart and Christmas Celebration during the day. But at Christmas Town, new shows and surprise guests who will provide a very special evening of family-friendly entertainment:

 

• Grammy Award-winning contemporary Christian artists Jars of Clay will provide an uplifting finale each evening with an exclusive concert in Gwazi Park. Performing both original hits and holiday favorites, the group will send guests on their way with music in their hearts and the spirit of Christmas in their souls.
   
  
• Jimmy Osmond’s Christmas Jukebox features Jimmy Osmond and his family singing favorite Christmas tunes and sharing special holiday memories each night in the Stanleyville Theater. In the true spirit of Christmas, Busch Gardens is joining Jimmy in his work with the Children’s Miracle Network, and will be making a donation to local Tampa Bay-area kids in need at All Children’s Hospital.
   
  
• World-class skaters will bring to life favorite Christmas songs both traditional and contemporary, in a cool, all-new angel-inspired ice show, Angels of Peace: A Christmas Journey on Ice, produced especially for Christmas Town by the creators of Christmas on Ice and Iceploration.
   
  
• Busch Gardens’ Crown Colony House restaurant sets the stage for a stunning ballet of music and light each night under the stars. The Carol of the Bells features tens of thousands of Christmas lights covering the façade of the stately building, set in motion to a choreographed presentation of stirring seasonal songs.

For those who can’t wait to get their night at Christmas Town started, guests are invited to pull up a chair at Mrs. Claus’ Family Feast for a special evening filled with stories, songs, a delicious buffet of traditional holiday fare, plenty of opportunities for holiday hugs and photos with Mrs. Claus and her favorite elves, and exclusive no-wait access to Welcome to Santa’s House and Snow Wonderland after dinner.

 

“When Christmas Town opens this weekend, it will be the beginning of a unique holiday tradition for Tampa Bay area,” says Jim Dean, Busch Gardens Tampa’s park president. “We are creating a season-long celebration for family and friends unlike any other event our guests have ever seen – the kind of Christmas fun only Busch Gardens can provide.”

 

Christmas Town is a separate-ticketed night event, and regular daytime admission is not required or included. General admission for Christmas Town is $39.99 plus tax. Busch Gardens annual pass members will receive the deepest discounts with advance online priced at $24.99 for adults and $9.99 for children, and special offers are available for guests wishing to upgrade their paid daily admission to Busch Gardens. Gift cards are available at Bay area Publix locations and additional discounts are offered through promotional codes from Chik Fil-A, Coca-Cola at Wal-Mart and Fantastic Sam’s. Families with children ages 3 to 9 will enjoy a special advance-purchase price of $9.99 for their youngest members.

[coastertube]http://www.themeparkreview.com/coastertube/play.php?vid=BGTB-ChristmasTown-BothDays-bRoll-FINAL-h264_6a13[/coastertube]

Can't wait to see the report. It looks like they are really trying to make it a great event!

I'm really curious to see what this event is like. I'm hoping to take my parents there in a few weeks. Everything I've seen so far looks great!