Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

Gwazi- About a 20 minute wait. Very slow considering they are only operating one side with both trains. Was fun at first, but them became unenjoyable after the first drop due to roughness. Don't plan on riding that one again.

So the only thing you found fun about Gwazi was the station exit and lift hill?

Couldn't agree with you more!!!!

And yes, Quick Queue was our savior for multiple rides when we were there a couple of weeks ago. Nice to see the park is pulling in some good attendance during some of the "off" days (Sunday and Wednesday).

I'm so anxious to see what will replace Gwazi in the near future. A giga coaster would be a welcome addition but realistically probably a good hyper coaster. Falcon's Fury is really looking great, so impressive as drop towers go. That carriage looks so sick when compared to other style of drop rides. Kudos to Busch Gardens for making another great addition to their ride lineup.

I spent the 27th and 28th at the park. Both days me and my nephew got the quick queue. We really needed it on the 27th as the park was packed. The 28th not so much as there was a storm threatening, never happened though. I thought everything in the park was really spread out and the landscaping was great. We managed to get multiple re-rides on all the coasters except for Gwazi (once was enough) and scorpion (no quick queue). The animal enclosures were well done, and I could tell that they were well taken care of. Falcons Fury looks like it will be awesome, I just wish we had planned our vacation a little later so we could ride it.

I'm just going to jump into my thoughts on the coasters.

Cheetah Hunt: A fun well paced coaster with some airtime and hang time.

Gwazi: The only reason I rode this is for the credit. It was rough and beat me up. I liked the layout though and could see that it was once a fun woodie.

Montu: Very forceful, like a B&M should be. I rode quite a few times and couldn't find a bad seat.

Kumba: Best coaster in the park. I felt physically drained after every ride.

Scorpion: I only got one ride due to no quick queue but I enjoyed it.

Sheikra: Great views from the top of the lift hill. The queue was packed on the 27th, but the 28th it was only a station wait. The first drop was amazing.

I honestly felt that Gwazi was sort of fun when I went to the park last year. It certainly didn't beat me up, and I somehow wanted to go back in line. Of course, the only two wooden coasters I've been on have been GA Cyclone and GASM, so my opinion shouldn't say much.

^Nope I totally agree. Just an average ride in my mind.. It tracks fairly well for some of the forces it offers in my opinion. I also found wildcat at Hershey to be somewhat enjoyable though..

^and^^ When I rode it back it January I thought it was rough, but it wasn't really painful, so I thought it was a decent ride. Then again, I did ride Hades 360 over the summer my perspective might be a little skewed.

^ Hades360 successfully trained me to become an unbeatable fighter. I do think that Hades360 makes rough coasters seem a lot smoother.

 

B: I have never seen a 2nd train for Scorpion -are we sure there is one? Also - I like it, and not just because it is a Schwartzkopf. It is a fun ride and has an awesome old-school loop, low to the ground helices, etc...

Sure looks like a second train to me.

 

B: I have never seen a 2nd train for Scorpion -are we sure there is one? Also - I like it, and not just because it is a Schwartzkopf. It is a fun ride and has an awesome old-school loop, low to the ground helices, etc...

 

 

 

 

Sure looks like a second train to me.

Those pictures look quite old, where do they keep it when it isn't on the storage track? On Google Earth it shows an empty section of track where that train is sitting.

I not exactly sure where the Scorpion trains are taken when not at the track. I do know that BOTH trains are indeed used at the ride. They are swapped in and out like the 4th trains on Montu and Kumba.

I worked at Rhino Rally, and really only knew where to pick up my Land Rover at and take it back to at the end of the night.

Going to The Park For The First Time Wednesday Or Thursday. Supposed To Be Sunny Both Days, 67 On Weds And 75 On Thurs. A Friend Said I Shouldn't Be Worried About Lines But Read Trip Reports A Few Pages Back About How It Did Get Busy During The Week And They Had To Get Fast Passes. What Should I Be Expecting? Prefer Not To Get The Fast Passes...(Sorry About All The Caps, Dumb Phone Lol)

^Just wait and see what it's like when you get to the park. You can always opt to buy the passes once you have walked around inside the park and scoped things out.

When we went a few weeks ago on a Wednesday, I had no intention of getting the Quick Queue Unlimited as I anticipated that it might not be busy. As soon as the tram pulled up to the gate and the queue line to get tickets was completely packed (this was around 11:30 AM), I figured that getting a QQU was probably a wise move.

While the coaster wait times for Sheikra and Kumba weren't too bad (15-20 minutes), it was nice to not have to wait 90 minutes for Cheetah Hunt. Montu also had a huge wait early on that saved us close to an hour, but when we went back there later in the day it was probably a ten minute wait.

I did notice that the lines for the coasters dwindled significantly later in the afternoon about an hour before the park closed. I rode Sheikra three times in a row and never waited more than three trains (and didn't have to use the QQU).

It is between Spring Break and Easter Break for the most part right now, so the lines aren't too bad. I went on Sunday and never saw a wait longer than 35 minutes (and that was on Cheetah Hunt).

And we are dropping! (without the tilt).

It looks A LOT better than I imagined, I thought it would brake much higher after what I herd about the pre-brake section. Imagine this thing facing straight down

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u0DjD7IS8gU

Nice!!

About the brakes issue, I guess we'll have to wait to be able to tell where the actual braking starts as it is easier to feel it than to see it. Anyway, this should be one hell of a ride!

Based on the video, it looks to me like the brakes start a little bit above the yellow section.

Is that the final speed?

Is that the final speed?

I was wondering the same thing.

I hope not because man, it doesn't seem like it picks up that much speed.

Isn't it always going to fall roughly the same acceleration (9.8 m/sec^2 or 32 ft/sec^2)? At least until it hits the brakes?

Edit: fixed m/sec to m/sec^2.

^It will be slightly less than that due to friction and air resistance, but pretty close

This is magnificent. I'm hoping its not like match towers and breaks 2/3 of the way up the tower. What if they give you a choice of having some seats stay normal and some 90*. I'm almost certain that most of the GP will see this and go 'HELL NO!' But that won't stop me from rideing!

So from my quick timing.

Assuming breaking begins at the yellow section, drop time is ~3 seconds.

V=at or v=(9.81m/s/s)(3 seconds) gives you a speed of 29.43 m/s or 65.83mph.

Then a conservative estimate would be about 60mph when you hit the brakes.

So from my quick timing.

 

Assuming breaking begins at the yellow section, drop time is ~3 seconds.

 

V=at or v=(9.81m/s/s)(3 seconds) gives you a speed of 29.43 m/s or 65.83mph.

 

Then a conservative estimate would be about 60mph when you hit the brakes.

Compared to an ARM/Larson tower which reaches 47mph or Intamin's Giant Drop at almost 80pmh (according to their site).

It's all just a function of height. The 80+ mph Intamin free falls are all in the ~400ft range. This is only a 310'ft drop. That being said it likely will have a higher drag coefficient doe to ride carriage design associated with this type. When KD's has. A 272 ft drop and hits 72mph.

And I was correct in my math, the published top speed of FF is 60mph.