- November 21st, 2015, 10:45 pm
#85611
Busch Gardens 11/21/2015
With overcast skies and high humidity, me and my workmates headed to B.G.T. for the day. With the “special” they were running where you buy a full price ticket and get an all-day food pass for free I couldn’t pass that up.
It has been some 10 years since I’ve been so I was pretty excited about getting there and trying out what was built since my last trip. There were mixed emotions amongst us as far as what we liked and what we really liked.
OK, Cheetah Hunt? Well, it took a few rides to win me over. Maybe I was expecting more before I got on as my first ride was meh! Then a couple rides later it grew on me and I consider it an intermediate coaster. Meaning that it may not be for the first timers but also not for the seasoned. Yes, everyone has their opinion but that is mine. It was a cool ride for sure with some unique elements but not a must do for me. Having 3 separate launches I would have thought “more” but I guess it was to imitate a Cheetah running after its prey.
Montu! Ok, you can’t say enough here. I love our After Burn but it pales in comparison to Montu. The forces you feel are stronger, way more elements, and like After Burn it just continues to give until it’s over. The setting also helps tremendously with the close calls and “underground” areas. It is just a sweet ride and for the invert class it is, and has been my number 1.
Falcon’s Fury! Can we PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get one of these? OMG, I thought of nothing but what if the restraints fail as we reached the top. I mean, it starts to pull your legs up behind you, putting you face down to the ground before you reach the top. I will say that the ole ticker was racing and the adrenaline was flowing. Then the drop, with you face down to the ground, up until it swung your feet back out to have you straight up again was, sphincter clinching goodness. Cedar Fair, Please get one of these here. I thought the one at 6 F.O.G. was wicked but nope! Falcon’s Fury is the most nerve racking free fall I’ve been on, and that count is over 50.
Kumba. This is still a favorite of mine. The drop is the easiest part of this coaster. It just continues to twist and flip you with relentless abandon. I am just impressed with how many twists, turns and flips it has without the sense of speed loss. Plus for Kumba are the visuals from off ride. Just looking at it from outside the queue it is visually stunning to see how tight some of it is and how close the calls actually are. Solid coaster back then and still a solid ride today.
Scorpion. Yes, it is old. Yes, it may have a simple design but the one loop and the ending helix are sweet spots. It just proves you don’t have to be the tallest, nor the fastest to be a good ride. I could only wish our Cyclone had that final set of helixes.
ShieKra. I thought it to be a pretty cool ride. Maybe it was just the friends with me but I thoroughly enjoyed it. On the second ride we got on the front row, to the dismay of my friends, who’s looks would have killed when the finally sat down to realize where we were sitting. Oh well, haha, too late my friends. The front row is where the full element of hanging on top of the drop really comes into play. The drop is small but packs a good punch when finally released but what I liked best was the second drop into the ruins and under the water. Speaking of water, can we all stop hoping for a “splash down” effect? It is only cool from watching from the sideline. We felt absolutely NO effect from the front or back rows whatsoever.
We saw where Cobra’s Curse was being built which surprised me on how close it is with Montu. Part of it looks to “share” a couple of the same supports. I couldn’t see too much but what I could see looked pretty cool.
Poor, poor Wood. There you are just looking like a bad afterthought. No love just isolation.
Ok, so we went into the Treetop Trails area and climbed up, down, sideways and backways. Me, being 6’ 4”, 54 years old and 220lbs made for some very interesting predicaments I got myself into. I can only hope no one was taking any videos of this buffoon climbing around. The Orangutans just watched and were probably shaking their heads at us. The bats just stretched their wings and went back to sleep.
We ate 3 times in the park. Once at the Crown Colony Café for some simple pizza, fries, cheesecake and sprite. The next place was the Zambia Smokehouse for some pretty good and tasty BBQ chicken (half), mac and cheese, fresh apple cobbler with caramel sauce drizzled on top and sprite. Well, it was so good we ate there again, this time getting Smoked Beef Brisket, Corn on the Cob, Carrot cake and sprite. So, the food was good and included in the price of a ticket. Not too bad in my book. Maybe I could have gone cheaper but to me we got a good deal. And, according to ever single cashier we talked to there is no limit to you going back in line and getting more food so a couple of my friends tested that theory and went back for more and again, no charge.
Overall we had a fantastic time today. We did everything we wanted and nothing we didn’t want. There was a good amount left to do but we weren’t interested like the water attractions, the Christmas stuff or any of the shows or Safari. We practically walked on everything or maybe had one or two circuits to wait but no more than 10 minutes per ride.
Hanging out with people you like and especially knowing they are on the scared side of things makes for great times and a lot of laughs. There wasn’t any non-stop geeky talk about coasters just tons of fun enjoying the day. I don’t remember B.G.T. having such a crazy layout. I understand with all the animals and paths just to see them but it just seemed a tad chaotic and misdirected at times. Montu is a dead end, Kumba may not be a dead end but the entrance sure is hidden. If you go walk amongst the Animals you can miss several things so you need to keep your handy map in reach.
If you’re waiting on pictures don’t. There are so many pictures floating around I hardly take pictures anymore. It is just too much of a hassle to even carry my cell phone in the park more or less a separate camera. These days I just enjoy enjoying the parks hassle free.
Now, to get to Universal after Thanksgiving and before my job really gets backed into a corner.
With overcast skies and high humidity, me and my workmates headed to B.G.T. for the day. With the “special” they were running where you buy a full price ticket and get an all-day food pass for free I couldn’t pass that up.
It has been some 10 years since I’ve been so I was pretty excited about getting there and trying out what was built since my last trip. There were mixed emotions amongst us as far as what we liked and what we really liked.
OK, Cheetah Hunt? Well, it took a few rides to win me over. Maybe I was expecting more before I got on as my first ride was meh! Then a couple rides later it grew on me and I consider it an intermediate coaster. Meaning that it may not be for the first timers but also not for the seasoned. Yes, everyone has their opinion but that is mine. It was a cool ride for sure with some unique elements but not a must do for me. Having 3 separate launches I would have thought “more” but I guess it was to imitate a Cheetah running after its prey.
Montu! Ok, you can’t say enough here. I love our After Burn but it pales in comparison to Montu. The forces you feel are stronger, way more elements, and like After Burn it just continues to give until it’s over. The setting also helps tremendously with the close calls and “underground” areas. It is just a sweet ride and for the invert class it is, and has been my number 1.
Falcon’s Fury! Can we PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE get one of these? OMG, I thought of nothing but what if the restraints fail as we reached the top. I mean, it starts to pull your legs up behind you, putting you face down to the ground before you reach the top. I will say that the ole ticker was racing and the adrenaline was flowing. Then the drop, with you face down to the ground, up until it swung your feet back out to have you straight up again was, sphincter clinching goodness. Cedar Fair, Please get one of these here. I thought the one at 6 F.O.G. was wicked but nope! Falcon’s Fury is the most nerve racking free fall I’ve been on, and that count is over 50.
Kumba. This is still a favorite of mine. The drop is the easiest part of this coaster. It just continues to twist and flip you with relentless abandon. I am just impressed with how many twists, turns and flips it has without the sense of speed loss. Plus for Kumba are the visuals from off ride. Just looking at it from outside the queue it is visually stunning to see how tight some of it is and how close the calls actually are. Solid coaster back then and still a solid ride today.
Scorpion. Yes, it is old. Yes, it may have a simple design but the one loop and the ending helix are sweet spots. It just proves you don’t have to be the tallest, nor the fastest to be a good ride. I could only wish our Cyclone had that final set of helixes.
ShieKra. I thought it to be a pretty cool ride. Maybe it was just the friends with me but I thoroughly enjoyed it. On the second ride we got on the front row, to the dismay of my friends, who’s looks would have killed when the finally sat down to realize where we were sitting. Oh well, haha, too late my friends. The front row is where the full element of hanging on top of the drop really comes into play. The drop is small but packs a good punch when finally released but what I liked best was the second drop into the ruins and under the water. Speaking of water, can we all stop hoping for a “splash down” effect? It is only cool from watching from the sideline. We felt absolutely NO effect from the front or back rows whatsoever.
We saw where Cobra’s Curse was being built which surprised me on how close it is with Montu. Part of it looks to “share” a couple of the same supports. I couldn’t see too much but what I could see looked pretty cool.
Poor, poor Wood. There you are just looking like a bad afterthought. No love just isolation.
Ok, so we went into the Treetop Trails area and climbed up, down, sideways and backways. Me, being 6’ 4”, 54 years old and 220lbs made for some very interesting predicaments I got myself into. I can only hope no one was taking any videos of this buffoon climbing around. The Orangutans just watched and were probably shaking their heads at us. The bats just stretched their wings and went back to sleep.
We ate 3 times in the park. Once at the Crown Colony Café for some simple pizza, fries, cheesecake and sprite. The next place was the Zambia Smokehouse for some pretty good and tasty BBQ chicken (half), mac and cheese, fresh apple cobbler with caramel sauce drizzled on top and sprite. Well, it was so good we ate there again, this time getting Smoked Beef Brisket, Corn on the Cob, Carrot cake and sprite. So, the food was good and included in the price of a ticket. Not too bad in my book. Maybe I could have gone cheaper but to me we got a good deal. And, according to ever single cashier we talked to there is no limit to you going back in line and getting more food so a couple of my friends tested that theory and went back for more and again, no charge.
Overall we had a fantastic time today. We did everything we wanted and nothing we didn’t want. There was a good amount left to do but we weren’t interested like the water attractions, the Christmas stuff or any of the shows or Safari. We practically walked on everything or maybe had one or two circuits to wait but no more than 10 minutes per ride.
Hanging out with people you like and especially knowing they are on the scared side of things makes for great times and a lot of laughs. There wasn’t any non-stop geeky talk about coasters just tons of fun enjoying the day. I don’t remember B.G.T. having such a crazy layout. I understand with all the animals and paths just to see them but it just seemed a tad chaotic and misdirected at times. Montu is a dead end, Kumba may not be a dead end but the entrance sure is hidden. If you go walk amongst the Animals you can miss several things so you need to keep your handy map in reach.
If you’re waiting on pictures don’t. There are so many pictures floating around I hardly take pictures anymore. It is just too much of a hassle to even carry my cell phone in the park more or less a separate camera. These days I just enjoy enjoying the parks hassle free.
Now, to get to Universal after Thanksgiving and before my job really gets backed into a corner.