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Author TR: Busch Gardens Tampa 10/14
BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001

Rank: Site Moderator
10/15/2005 1:49:23 PM
On Thursday afternoon I left Atlanta and headed south on 75 looking forward to visiting BGT. I got there around 10 at night and got a hotel near the park (thankfully one of the clean ones in the area!) and next morning I was up and ready to go.

I got to the park promtly and at 9:30 I was on my way to Montu. Larry was still en route so I figured I'd take a ride on Montu as a warm up.

Montu used to be my favorite Invert but now it didn't seem as good as it used to be. The ride seemed slow and forceless at points but then again it was strong in others. I knew I'd have to try again at some point in the day

Larry called and was at the park and I was headed towards the entrance to meet him. Fortunately, he managed to pick the slowest moving line and I got to check out the marching band, one of my favorite things about BGT:

Once Larry got in, where else would we go but to SheiKra! We passed Gwazi and went back to get in line for SheiKra. We figured the front row would be the place to sit due to the views on the drops. Up and down we went and I think we both agreed that it wasn't all that great up front. It was probably a 7/10 from the front, but we gave it another shot, this time in the middle row. Wow, I think we both were suprised by the nice bit of airtime on the drops, so we had to try the third row after that, and we did. I'm not sure what number the ride will get, but 8 is looking most likely. I think I actually liked the air we got in the middle row the best

On we marched at that point, heading back to Kumba to ride the first B&M sitdown looper. We rode in the back row and I enjoyed the ride as much as I did before. It wasn't as rough as some of the Florida folks say it is and provided some sweet inversions and movements. Still an 8.5/10 I'd say.

We then headed to the center of the park and took our ride on Scorpion, the great Schwarzkopf! It provided a nice punch in the limited layout and was pretty good, even for a Schwarzkopf. The G's in the helices were a bit too much to keep my hands up which is pretty sweet, though I did catch my hand on one of the bushes. Probably a 7.5/10, and I'm not sure how I will round at this point. It was fun but not quite as good as Laser so I'm guessing 7 will be the final score.

We were going to get the Cheetah Chase credit for me but the line was too long for a mouse ride in my opinion, so we walked onto Phoenix. I never really liked these rides and it was just an "ok" flat.

From there we headed back to Montu and got two rides in the back. The first three inversions are all pretty good but the batwing is where the disapointments start. On my first ride they had the trim turned off and the batwing was still the best part of the ride, but on these rides they were on and the batwing was rendered pretty forceless and just ok. On all three rides the mid course almost brought the train to a complete stop and the second half suffered. The inversions in the trenches were still pretty good, but in between (especially in the turn pictured below), the ride slowed down too much Montu is probably an 8.5 rounding to a 9 in the end, so it will apear that nothing is changing when in fact it is

By now it was around 2 and we needed to eat to conribute to Larry's food survey! Earlier it was determined that the Zambia Smokehouse would be the place to eat so we walked all the way across the park and I don't think either of us regrette
Message updated 5/11/2012 12:29:49 AM by BobFunland
WAR2174
Posts: 1067
Registered: 3/6/2003

Rank: Platinum Critic
10/15/2005 4:56:10 PM
Good trip report Bob. I don't think I could drive all the way back after a day at the park.
Message updated 10/15/2005 5:03:55 PM by WAR2174
BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001

Rank: Site Moderator
10/15/2005 9:19:08 PM
Thanks. I'm just Superman I guess (I've done 15 hours in one day before )

Since they are burried deep and I thought y'all might like to read them with ease, here are my updated reviews:

Kumba
Montu
Scorpion
larrygator
Posts: 4654
Registered: 11/7/2002

Rank: Platinum Critic
10/20/2005 12:56:18 AM
yes, how you stated my assessment of food at Zambia Smokehouse is correct. Great brisket, good ribs and chicken. Thanks for meeting up with me
BobFunland
Posts: 7962
Registered: 8/9/2001

Rank: Site Moderator
10/20/2005 2:35:00 AM
Thanks Larry. Glad to meet up with you again and hope all went well this week with the softball tournament.

I will need your memory as to which side of Gwazi we rode twice for when I do my review
larrygator
Posts: 4654
Registered: 11/7/2002

Rank: Platinum Critic
10/20/2005 2:08:54 PM
we rode Tiger, Lion, Tiger
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