Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

^^ Jan and Feb to me are the most dead months...

I went today and it was dead compared to most days, both parking areas were not even half full! If Kumba wasn't down, then the lines would be shorter. Also, there was about 40 charter buses of middle schoolers, so that made the lines longer. I'll post some pictures of the construction soon.

Yea, Hillsbourgh county (Which BGT is located in) and Pasco county are having their fifth graders going to BGT/WDW/SW for their graduation things. I guess it's the "Big Thing" Before you go to middle school here.

From now til school lets out you can expect lines to be down, Spring break is basically the busiest part of the year for BGT IMO. And when temperatures in the 90's you can expect more people at Adventure Island down the street.

Kumba is most of the time a walk on during the less active times of year, theirs no line almost always.

Kumba is most of the time a walk on during the less active times of year, theirs no line almost always.

...Which is why BGT rocks!!!

I would say late May is the best time to go. I went in May of 2009 and waited 20 min. for Sheikra, a walk-on for both Montu and Sheikra both days I went. I also went to Adventure Island which has no lines either!!!

Yea, Hillsbourgh county (Which BGT is located in) and Pasco county are having their fifth graders going to BGT/WDW/SW for their graduation things. I guess it's the "Big Thing" Before you go to middle school here.

 

From now til school lets out you can expect lines to be down, Spring break is basically the busiest part of the year for BGT IMO. And when temperatures in the 90's you can expect more people at Adventure Island down the street.

 

Kumba is most of the time a walk on during the less active times of year, theirs no line almost always.

Dec 26th to the 31st are the busiest day for BGT of the year....well of any theme park in Orlando as well.

Also. Tomorrow night BGT is having a grad bash or grad night for 8th graders...

Also the st Pete time had an interview with Jimmy Dean (the new park manager) and he confirmed a new exhibit with Kangoroos and even a new thrill ride

ST Pete time

On a new BGT/BGW commercial on the Food network still shows the water portion of Rhino Rally and the Katonga show for BGT.

I guess this was an old commercial instead of a new one, eh?

^^, I'll pull up the artical

 

There are plenty of changes afoot at Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa. • Blackstone Group's SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is the third owner of the former Anheuser-Busch Cos. park in three years. • It recently opened a new Sesame Safari kids play area, and the Katonga stage show closes this fall after an eight-year run. Now construction is under way on a kangaroo exhibit and the waterfall part of Rhino Rally was closed without fanfare to make way for a new thrill ride in 2011. • The Times talked about all the changes last week with Jim Dean, 52, who recently took over as the park's new general manager.

You recently acquired the park's first collection of baby Australian kangaroos and wallabies for a new animal encounter. Is a themed home for them what's being built in the bird garden?

 

Yes. It's going to be something we do very well: create immersive and interactive experiences with animals. It's part of refreshing the oldest part of Busch Gardens to make it more appealing to young families like we did nearby with Sesame Safari. We're keeping the bird show. We'll have more details before the new attraction opens this summer.

You're due in 2011 to launch your first new thrill ride since SheiKra opened five years ago. Is that the reason you're relocating pathways to create a back-door entrance to Edge of Africa and rebuilding the railroad track at Nairobi Junction?

A thrill ride is next in the cycle, but we're still working out the final details, so we'll be able to talk more about it later in the summer. We're famous for creating combination of animals with one-of-a-kind rides like the Manta Coaster at SeaWorld, but I'm not going to comment on all the speculation.

 

We also improving access to give more exposure to Edge of Africa, with more pathways that will open up that side of the park. One thing leads to another in these sorts of projects, so to be ADA compliant we had to raise the railroad track by 4 inches. We'll have the train running again by June.

That's the rough end, we can officially confirm the new thrill ride now, at least. And a new kangaroo exhibit, I think the animal toperies are a symbol of how they are expanding the park?

Here's the full article. http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/retail/busch-gardens-to-keep-evolving-under-new-leaderbr-br-/1093171

I'd have to say I'm picturing this coaster, whether having a launch or not, with a lot of quick hops and bounds similar to a kangaroo bounding across a plain. And it seems as if the Australia themed area/Kangaloom name are back in the picture now.

Naw, if they were going to create a new area, it would be behind kumba or something where their actually is room. The article says a new exibit, not a new area. I don't think busch would do so many things at once, haha. I think a new area is out of the question for now. the name could be for the new exibit though.

(for the heck of it, here's the area behind kumba I am talking about. [spoil][/spoil]

I went today and it was dead compared to most days, both parking areas were not even half full! If Kumba wasn't down, then the lines would be shorter. Also, there was about 40 charter buses of middle schoolers, so that made the lines longer. I'll post some pictures of the construction soon.

Misty and I were there today as well! (I was in full nerd mode, wearing my Millennium Force shirt.)

Lots of changes at the park, even from just a year-and-a-half ago (when we last went). Bummed about Rhino Rally's water section, but maybe this will increase capacity. (I'm giving them the benefit of the doubt here, and assuming they've run so few vehicles for the last few years in order to keep the water section from being overworked. (But that's pure speculation on my part.))

Alright, so here are some pictures of what is happening at Busch Gardens. First, we have some wallabies! Then some more pictures of the dirt digging, and a new wall on the outside of the park. Also, the topiaries that I took pictures of a couple of weeks ago are coming along nice. Though now, the kangaroo topiary is next to Jack Hanna's area.

Look at the cute baby wallaby!!!

Looks comfy!

Dirt. This will one day be the path and new outpost for the Serengeti tours.

What's going on parallel to the skyride.

What used to be a train track is now just dirt.

Again parallel to the skyride.

Did I mention they were working parallel to the skyride???

New wall outside the park.

It is cool that they are going to have a Kangaroo exhibit. When I visited Busch about 3 months ago that had a trainer showing off a baby kangaroo right near the skyway station.

It is cool that they are going to have a Kangaroo exhibit. When I visited Busch about 3 months ago that had a trainer showing off a baby kangaroo right near the skyway station.

Years ago, they used to have a koala exhibit in the south western corner of the park near the flamingos. Large indoor viewing areas and the whole thing... it never really had a reason for why it was closed (Maybe the BG:Africa naming scheme?) but I'm curious if they'll be making a comeback. They were cute as hell, and if memory serves correct, they had quite a few little ones there as well.

^ I have always wondered why they didn't do anything with that space. I remember they originally built that exhibit area to house the Pandas from China from 1987-1988, then the Koalas moved in. Over the years it was used a few times as a haunt for HOS. A friend of mine said that it is now used for storage. Maybe this area will now house the new animal exhibits.

I am excited to see how this area turns out. I have only been to the park once though, so I cannot even remember much of anything other than...Kumba is that way, Montu is that way. But for me, the most exciting thing he said in the article was Kangaroo, interactive, and like Manta. Sounds like they are going to do this area to the tune of the Manta area.

I'm hoping to go down today and take some photos. Not sure if I'll be able too though. I'm working it out with my parents so I can take the car.

Once again I'm going completely off topic but where in the park can I find the Coaster Dynamics Sheirka and Kumba trains?

I didn't look for Kumba's but I know that SheiKra's CoasterDynamix trains are in the SheiKra store.

Once again I'm going completely off topic but where in the park can I find the Coaster Dynamics Sheirka and Kumba trains?

You might want to check out the Emporium store too. It's the largest in the park and located at the main entrance.

I saw a photo on a Behind the Thrills trip report, (sorry can't include it here but Weiner Looping made me stupid), that had both sides of the trench installed. Seems like the trench is too narrow for a Wingrider type train. The figure 8 looks a little tight too.

They are really moving along with this , can't wait for track!

Would Maverick be the best coaster in Florida? I think so. Cheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetaka

^Yea, I'm looking forward to seeing the progress in person. I was there a few weeks ago and things were really just getting started. ...train tracks removed, dirt being moved, etc. As soon as Kumba opens back up, I'm heading back.

I saw a photo on a Behind the Thrills trip report, (sorry can't include it here but Weiner Looping made me stupid), that had both sides of the trench installed. Seems like the trench is too narrow for a Wingrider type train. The figure 8 looks a little tight too.

Where does it show the trench walls are installed? I don't see it. I hope you're not mistaking it with the sides of the tunnel for the walkway, are you?

EDIT: Disregard what I said. I saw an update from BGTGuide, and I saw the trench walls. And you're right. I don't think it'd be wide enough for a wingwalker. That's if they want the track to go underground. What if they just want to go really close to the ground? So you were really close the ground. Just a speculation because I really want a wingwalker!

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has sent us a press release about their latest animal additions--two baby lemurs!

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay welcomed two endangered baby red-ruffed lemurs on April 21. The babies can be viewed by guests in Jambo Junction, where they reside with their mother and father, Maditra and Bozeny.

 

The babies are the first lemurs to be born at Jambo Junction, home to the parks’ animal ambassadors, since Maditra and Bozeny arrived as babies three years ago. Lemurs are a species of primate, and reach sexual maturity between 2 and 3 years old.

 

The sex of the babies has yet to be determined, but they are developing well overall, according to trainers. They are getting braver each day, and exploring their habitat under the watchful eye of Mom and Dad. They currently weigh about 300 grams or a little more than half a pound; lemurs average about 80 grams, or .17 of a pound, at birth. They grow to be about 8 to 10 pounds.

 

All species of lemurs are native to the island of Madagascar. Red-ruffed lemurs are one of nearly about 50 lemur species. Busch Gardens is home to five lemur species. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service considers all lemurs endangered. Lemurs are endangered largely due to habitat destruction. Their forests are destroyed for their wood and to grow agricultural crops.

 

Lemurs play an important role in the ecology of Madagascar as seed dispersers. The seeds can then grow into new plants, which is important since the forests of Madagascar are being destroyed at a very high rate. However, they cannot disperse enough seeds to match the rate of forest destruction.

 

The SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund is actively working with groups in the wild to save endangered or threatened species, such as lemurs. The non-profit, private charitable foundation is committed to supporting wildlife and habitat conservation, research, education and animal rescue programs worldwide. Since its inception in 2004, the Fund has donated more than $6 million to more than 500 projects around the world. For more on the Fund, visit SWBG-ConservationFund.org.

I like to move it move it!!

I'm no environmentalist, but this is pretty cool to see. It is always interesting to see endangered species being introduced to another climate and environment and see how/if they adapt and thrive.