Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (BGT Discussion Thread)

I too am very excited to get a glimpse of the Intamin track. I last went down to Orlando/FLA in 2007; with all the new credits and attractions it looks like a nice long stay down there this coming season is in order.

Thanks to the admin for putting up the picture, I kept trying to link directly from twitpic which wasn't working.

Is there not the possiblity that the track for Busch Gardens was designed before the newer type of track was decided upon, thus meaning they would still build it with the older style track?

Just my 2p worth.

Intamin in Florida...it's about time. Maybe Universal or someone will follow suit.

Its nice to see that Busch finally gave in after all those years of not being able to trust Intamin. I think its about time they decided to do something fresh. Im curious to see if BGE follows suit.

If Cheetaka is a success, other Intamin coasters could follow. That is the most productive thought I plan to have today. Cheers.

Ok, this may definitely change our vacation plans for next year. Me loves me some Intamin!

I hope it will be as thrilling as they say it is. I don't want too much hype.

Its nice to see that Busch finally gave in after all those years of not being able to trust Intamin. I think its about time they decided to do something fresh. Im curious to see if BGE follows suit.

Yeah, it's nice to see companies trusting Intamin again, SF seems to be doing so too and I think it's great

Why did companies stop trusting Intamin? I'm aware of the reliability issues.. is that what you're speaking of?

Reliability, late openings, snapping cables, that kind of stuff.

Gotcha. Well I'm glad Intamin figured it all out. Super excited about finally being able to ride one, let alone at my home park!!!

This is great to see. They make Tophats out of box track right? I am hoping for a Maverick start and a Storm Runner finish. Go ahead and throw in a little Mega Liteish type stuff too please.

To be honest, the first thing that popped into my head when seeing that track was a Top hat.

Intamin! 2011 is going to be such an exciting year for coasters!

When did Sandor grow teeth on his track?

I know its probably too early still, but has anyone heard anything about a possible/rough opening date?? because it looks like I will be going to Florida next year(woohoo,cant wait) but when I discussed it with my mum tonight, it looks like we might be going end of April into Early May, the rough dates we have picked out at the moment are 28th April to 7th or 8th May(so I know I might be cutting the opening day really fine) I tryed to see if we could go a little later in the year but my mum finds it difficult to get holidays booked in Late May/June due to the nature of her work and we wouldnt really want to go in July/August as its usually way too hot, and too busy at the parks(I know what its like before in the past on those months, never again)

Oh well, will just have to keep my fingers crossed I guess. At least I will still have plenty of new stuff to look forward too anyway, Manta at SeaWorld,aquatica, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit at universal, and Harry Potter land I suppose,Bring it on

^All I can tell you is that a rumored Oct 13th announcement date is floating around right now. With that announcement we may get a better idea of the time frame, though I'm sure they'll just say Spring 2011.

^^ Most US parks will target "Memorial Day Weekend" for the official opening of new attractions and sometimes the couple of weeks before then for "soft opening" or technical rehersal. If you are only here until May 8th, there's probably a good chance you'll just miss it.

Sweet Tweet! For some odd nerdy reason, I would love to take a plant tour of the track manufacturing process. From raw form, to waterjet/laser cutting, weldings, finshing/painting, and finally, riding it (when it's put together of course)

Wasn't there a show on nat geo that featured footage from the B&M plant in Ohio? I agree that it would be neat if they'd show more of the actual manufacturing process in future documentaries,not just the construction footage.

Busch Gardens updated their 2011 attraction site where when the correct code is put in, a video clip will be shown. The first video is out and has a POV of part of the ride.

www.buschgardens2011.com/

^Uh, that link takes you to Go Daddy.

That link just goes to a GoDaddy hosting site. I guess they're having problems? Or is this a me-specific thing?

Not anymore guys! There is a teaser video showing a launch section which appears to be right after the figure eight turn at the beginning of the ride, going towards Rhino Rally. The code is CHASE, for those of you who don't know.

www.buschgardens2011.com/

That link just goes to a GoDaddy hosting site. I guess they're having problems? Or is this a me-specific thing?

It took me to GoDaddy as well when I clicked on their link from Facebook but when I type it into the search bar and made sure I included the "www." part, it seems to work. A lot of people seemed to be having the same problems based on their comments on Facebook.

It works for me. For everyone wondering, the first "code" is CHASE. It leads you to an awesome video of the coaster in action! Seriously, this is going to be awesome, looks like launches, tunnels, bridges, deep ravines, and the track is a nice green color

The link worked for me. Typed in the keyword for the code (Chase) and watched the video clip. So far the ride reminds me somewhat of Maverick and it's canyon sections. Looks good go far.