Welcome to the jungle.
I've spent the last day and a half having fun in Busch Gardens, Tampa. Today (Tuesday, 4th of July) was by far the better of the two days even though it's only 6pm and I've already had dinner and returned to my hotel room. The park is open until 10 and most of the rides until 8 or 9 but I must be showing my age... I'd had enough. But like I said, today was great. On Monday I waited in some serious lines. It was annoying. Heck, I waited 30 minutes in one line and before I got to the ride they closed them all down due to a typical Florida afternoon thunderstorm. That sorta sucked but it's how the summers are down here. Today I purposefully got there just after opening with the intention of missing the crowds. This strategy seemed to be working well because I was able to ride just about anything I wanted with minimal waiting. In fact though... it NEVER got that crowded today. I never waited longer than 10 minutes for any ride, and many of them you could just board almost immediately. All that extra time spent NOT waiting in line meant I got to see the shows I wanted to see, such as "Pirates 4-D" with Leslie Nielson, and "Katonga". The latter being really great. They have very talented singers and dancers at the park.
Of the rides, I'd have to say the new Shiekra was the highlight. One of only 3 so-called "dive coasters" in the world and the only one in the United States. Further, it's the biggest of them all supposedly, and the only one with true 90 degree plummets. Anyhow, this baby has ingenious seating... 8 wide, 3 tiered rows (giving those in row 2 and 3 a good view over the heads of those in front of them). All those seats per car and multiple cars going means they pump riders through in high capacity. That keeps guests happy by minimizing wait time. But... the ride itself... dropping you 200 feet litterally straight down. It's amazing... and right AT the precipice (with litterally the first two rows already facing directly down... they pause for about 10 seconds. It really works up your anticipation. You can see some good pictures of this ride in the link up there.
Some of the other coasters are pretty good too, notably the Gwazi wooden roller coaster (two different tracks you can try), and Montu, an inverted (or hanging) coaster.
I skipped the 2 flume rides and the Congo River Rapids. Not because you get wet... that I don't care about (got wet on Monday anyhow during the torrential thunderstorm), but just because they're not that thrilling. I want my rides to be exciting and those are mostly about the getting wet rather than any G-Forces.
Yeah, and it was really great to not feel pressured today. The park wasn't crowded and I could leisurely do whatever I wanted including leaving early. There was a scheduled to play tonight followed by fireworks... but since I have to make an early morning delivery tomorrow in south Tampa, I thought I'd just skip the 4th festivities and make sure I get a good night's sleep and arrive at my appointment on-time.
What else? How about FREE BEER. Yeah, and a decent 10-12 ounce cup too not just a shot-glass taste. That's pretty cool. Of course, the offerings are all Anheuser-Busch products. That almost makes up for the FIFTEEN dollars I spent on SIX bottles of water over the two days. (Note to potential visitors: bring your own. I'm a moron).
Oh yeah... and here's one last cool thing. For $5 more than the cost of one day admission you could buy a "Fun Card" that lets you get in free as many times as you want for the rest of the year. Is it likely I'll return? Perhaps not... but for five bucks I'm willing to take that chance. Besides, it already paid for itself by going yesterday AND today.
I've spent the last day and a half having fun in Busch Gardens, Tampa. Today (Tuesday, 4th of July) was by far the better of the two days even though it's only 6pm and I've already had dinner and returned to my hotel room. The park is open until 10 and most of the rides until 8 or 9 but I must be showing my age... I'd had enough. But like I said, today was great. On Monday I waited in some serious lines. It was annoying. Heck, I waited 30 minutes in one line and before I got to the ride they closed them all down due to a typical Florida afternoon thunderstorm. That sorta sucked but it's how the summers are down here. Today I purposefully got there just after opening with the intention of missing the crowds. This strategy seemed to be working well because I was able to ride just about anything I wanted with minimal waiting. In fact though... it NEVER got that crowded today. I never waited longer than 10 minutes for any ride, and many of them you could just board almost immediately. All that extra time spent NOT waiting in line meant I got to see the shows I wanted to see, such as "Pirates 4-D" with Leslie Nielson, and "Katonga". The latter being really great. They have very talented singers and dancers at the park.
Of the rides, I'd have to say the new Shiekra was the highlight. One of only 3 so-called "dive coasters" in the world and the only one in the United States. Further, it's the biggest of them all supposedly, and the only one with true 90 degree plummets. Anyhow, this baby has ingenious seating... 8 wide, 3 tiered rows (giving those in row 2 and 3 a good view over the heads of those in front of them). All those seats per car and multiple cars going means they pump riders through in high capacity. That keeps guests happy by minimizing wait time. But... the ride itself... dropping you 200 feet litterally straight down. It's amazing... and right AT the precipice (with litterally the first two rows already facing directly down... they pause for about 10 seconds. It really works up your anticipation. You can see some good pictures of this ride in the link up there.
Some of the other coasters are pretty good too, notably the Gwazi wooden roller coaster (two different tracks you can try), and Montu, an inverted (or hanging) coaster.
I skipped the 2 flume rides and the Congo River Rapids. Not because you get wet... that I don't care about (got wet on Monday anyhow during the torrential thunderstorm), but just because they're not that thrilling. I want my rides to be exciting and those are mostly about the getting wet rather than any G-Forces.
Yeah, and it was really great to not feel pressured today. The park wasn't crowded and I could leisurely do whatever I wanted including leaving early. There was a scheduled to play tonight followed by fireworks... but since I have to make an early morning delivery tomorrow in south Tampa, I thought I'd just skip the 4th festivities and make sure I get a good night's sleep and arrive at my appointment on-time.
What else? How about FREE BEER. Yeah, and a decent 10-12 ounce cup too not just a shot-glass taste. That's pretty cool. Of course, the offerings are all Anheuser-Busch products. That almost makes up for the FIFTEEN dollars I spent on SIX bottles of water over the two days. (Note to potential visitors: bring your own. I'm a moron).
Oh yeah... and here's one last cool thing. For $5 more than the cost of one day admission you could buy a "Fun Card" that lets you get in free as many times as you want for the rest of the year. Is it likely I'll return? Perhaps not... but for five bucks I'm willing to take that chance. Besides, it already paid for itself by going yesterday AND today.
VIEW 4 of 4 COMMENTS
if:
That's what I'm saying! There are plenty of folks who know enough to stand 3 feet away while begging. And in my neighborhood, he's lucky he just got hit considering the number of gangstahs, wannabee and legit.
mrbeast:
and I quoth dased and confused "Man, thats why I love colledge girls, the older I get they stay the same age." 