I had the pleasure to visit Busch Gardens Tampa during a November December work trip, arranging a park afternoon in as part of my "travel" day to the City. I will always celebrate a chance to do some roller coasters while traveling for business, and having it be a Busch Gardens an even sweeter treat!
Rather than a fun park review (which you can find from my previous BGT trip report here), I'll focus on updated coaster impressions and broader thoughts:
Iron Gwazi
I've come to find Iron Gwazi a familiar friend over the years. Like many RMCes, the first few rides include such thoughts as "Dear God", "What the!?", and "Holy Crap!" But also like RMC brethren, once you've worked out the general layout and ride expectation, you get to truly sink into your seat for full enjoyment of elements as they bleed as much airtime and g-force from the track as possible.
I was grateful to do this trip relatively close to having also ridden Steel Vengeance (roughly a month prior for CP's last weekend of their season), a shorter gap of time comparison than I originally had with IG. And as I've posited in the past and still sticking to it - Iron Gwazi is a top five coaster, that only just gets bested by SV. All the elements are there, it's just a question of how do you like your ride arranged; I'm still sticking with the longer SV layout that peppers inversions between airtime on the back half. But man, did I forget how good that opening overbanked turn is!
SheiKra
Another familiar old friend as time has marched on! Twenty years on (!?), SheiKra still seers into my memory as an audacious B&M re-envisioning of the dive machine to have: 1. A hyper, 200 ft. drop, 2. Inversions, 3. A splashdown finish. It's just bonkers that it would have been within the top 10 tallest North American (and possibly global) coasters when built, when we take 90-degree drops for granted 15-20 years on.
Cheetah Hunt
You know I still grapple with what Cheetah Hunt is, and it's legacy to stand. Was it a bold invention to weave animal enclosure, retired ride (Rhino Rally) elements, and terrain together? Or was it an Intamin design that could neatly squeeze into the park without significant modification to it's surrounding? I do believe there's an alternate universe out there where Cheetah Hunt opens before Maverick, heralded as the founding Blitz coaster to give the coaster more credit it's probably due. Also of note, the waterworks were back on in the canyon, so was glad to get the "full" Cheetah experience on the s-bend turns. I will say, of all the rides I rode, Cheetah Hunt has the most active and full queue throughout the day - notably popular with the casual park goer. And the opening launch sequences and integration with the surrounding environment is so smartly done.
Phoenix Rising
Hey a new coaster! Ok in quick synopsis - these B&M family inverts can pack quite the punch, and carry a lot of prospect for future iterations. Of most important note while we await the Big Bad Wolf sequel coaster at BGW - the way B&M executes overbanking on this design is uncanny. I was double checking the ride axel mid-ride to make sure the train was not in fact swinging. Those that saw Scott's reverse POV on the Youtube channel can notice his similar reaction of "woah!" on the overbanks. It really gives a genuine Arrow suspended swinging sensation in the turns, and I'm hopeful the new BBW coaster can bring back that part of the ride experience.
Cobra's Curse
Would gladly file as the most RCT coaster out there. It's just so quirky on it's layout, and squeezes a lot of turns, helix, and backward track section into the small footprint. Rode with a family who did not know what to expect, so it was fun to see the reaction when we started rotating.
Montu
Glad to report I did not black out, finally! They do not make them like they used to, and Montu provides peak B&M 90s vibes. How quickly we have forgotten the benefit of building into the ground for ride height, rather than forcing elements high into the air with zero ground play. The batwing, submerged corkscrews, etc. are perfect chef's kiss.
Oh... and I also finally rode Air Grover. They kindly offered a reride, to which I politely declined.
Sadly Kumba was closed on my visit (chock it up to slow, middle-of-the-week operations), and I also forwent Tigris to maximize Iron Gwazi and Cheetah Hunt rerides.
Other thoughts that occurred during my visit:
Rather than a fun park review (which you can find from my previous BGT trip report here), I'll focus on updated coaster impressions and broader thoughts:
Iron Gwazi
I've come to find Iron Gwazi a familiar friend over the years. Like many RMCes, the first few rides include such thoughts as "Dear God", "What the!?", and "Holy Crap!" But also like RMC brethren, once you've worked out the general layout and ride expectation, you get to truly sink into your seat for full enjoyment of elements as they bleed as much airtime and g-force from the track as possible.
I was grateful to do this trip relatively close to having also ridden Steel Vengeance (roughly a month prior for CP's last weekend of their season), a shorter gap of time comparison than I originally had with IG. And as I've posited in the past and still sticking to it - Iron Gwazi is a top five coaster, that only just gets bested by SV. All the elements are there, it's just a question of how do you like your ride arranged; I'm still sticking with the longer SV layout that peppers inversions between airtime on the back half. But man, did I forget how good that opening overbanked turn is!
SheiKra
Another familiar old friend as time has marched on! Twenty years on (!?), SheiKra still seers into my memory as an audacious B&M re-envisioning of the dive machine to have: 1. A hyper, 200 ft. drop, 2. Inversions, 3. A splashdown finish. It's just bonkers that it would have been within the top 10 tallest North American (and possibly global) coasters when built, when we take 90-degree drops for granted 15-20 years on.
Cheetah Hunt
You know I still grapple with what Cheetah Hunt is, and it's legacy to stand. Was it a bold invention to weave animal enclosure, retired ride (Rhino Rally) elements, and terrain together? Or was it an Intamin design that could neatly squeeze into the park without significant modification to it's surrounding? I do believe there's an alternate universe out there where Cheetah Hunt opens before Maverick, heralded as the founding Blitz coaster to give the coaster more credit it's probably due. Also of note, the waterworks were back on in the canyon, so was glad to get the "full" Cheetah experience on the s-bend turns. I will say, of all the rides I rode, Cheetah Hunt has the most active and full queue throughout the day - notably popular with the casual park goer. And the opening launch sequences and integration with the surrounding environment is so smartly done.
Phoenix Rising
Hey a new coaster! Ok in quick synopsis - these B&M family inverts can pack quite the punch, and carry a lot of prospect for future iterations. Of most important note while we await the Big Bad Wolf sequel coaster at BGW - the way B&M executes overbanking on this design is uncanny. I was double checking the ride axel mid-ride to make sure the train was not in fact swinging. Those that saw Scott's reverse POV on the Youtube channel can notice his similar reaction of "woah!" on the overbanks. It really gives a genuine Arrow suspended swinging sensation in the turns, and I'm hopeful the new BBW coaster can bring back that part of the ride experience.
Cobra's Curse
Would gladly file as the most RCT coaster out there. It's just so quirky on it's layout, and squeezes a lot of turns, helix, and backward track section into the small footprint. Rode with a family who did not know what to expect, so it was fun to see the reaction when we started rotating.
Montu
Glad to report I did not black out, finally! They do not make them like they used to, and Montu provides peak B&M 90s vibes. How quickly we have forgotten the benefit of building into the ground for ride height, rather than forcing elements high into the air with zero ground play. The batwing, submerged corkscrews, etc. are perfect chef's kiss.
Oh... and I also finally rode Air Grover. They kindly offered a reride, to which I politely declined.
Sadly Kumba was closed on my visit (chock it up to slow, middle-of-the-week operations), and I also forwent Tigris to maximize Iron Gwazi and Cheetah Hunt rerides.
Other thoughts that occurred during my visit:
- Busch Gardens Tampa remains a jumbled mess of pathway and layout. Still one of the few parks that I consult Google Maps wayfinding to find the best pathway to rides and attractions - how they managed a quasi-Boomerang park design remains impressive and dumb. I get it that animal enclosures make it for hard park redevelopment and planning out new rides... but still remarkable at how helter skelter BGT is compared to SeaWorld and BGW.
- I've decided all amusement park food has crossed into the same nexus of being: 1. Barbeque 2. $14 for an entree and two sides.
- What BGT lacks in park planning, it gains in quite phenomenal space making, and not skimping on large pathways and gathering areas. I had to do a few work calls in between rides throughout the day, and found it so comedic that I could easily find a cute palm tree here, bench there, or table to properly position myself as "somewhere in Florida" on calls. Just nice to not feel cramped on the walk-ways with space between. (but still, please - just make it easier to get from one side of the park to the other)