PTR: Sea World, Busch Gardens and Universal

[CoastersRZ]

It was a last minute trip. An invite from Jesse (Avatar), and much antagonizing on my part, I asked for the days off from work, and I was set for a long weekend and a trip to three parks down in sunny Florida that I had never visited and one I last visited six years ago.

So on Friday, December 10th, I departed my house shortly before 4am. I swung by Jesse`s house and we headed for the Indianapolis airport. I was shocked how much smaller the airport was compared to the one in Cincinnati. I do NOT like to fly, and the last time I flew was back in September of 2008. Before that it was back in the summer of 1999! I just hate flying. The flight, fortunately was uneventful. From the Orlando airport, we continued onto Discovery Cove for a quick meet up and brief tour of the park from Todd (Delirium_Guy). The weather was a little cool down in Florida, so the park seemed a little slow.

From there, we proceeded across the street to Sea World Orlando. This was my first visit to a Sea World Parks and Entertainment park. Immediately, I spotted Manta. The ride simply dominates the entrance to the park.

I simply love this effect. To our delight, when we saw this train, there were empty rows! So we proceeded to ride this ride. The queue line is amazing and I love the way they made the aquarium part of the queue. First ride on Manta was in the back row. The g forces in the back during the pretzel loop are quite intense. The B&M flyers load a lot better than the Vekoma flyers. It is also nice to go up the lift hill facing the ground as opposed to on your back staring into the sun. After having no line for Manta, we rode it again. Two thumbs up.

After that, we went to the dolphin show. The show was very well choreographed, and I liked that they also introduced birds flying above the stands.

After the dolphin show, we proceeded to Kraken. This is where we encountered our first real line of the day. About thirty minutes, as posted on the sign. The reason? They were only running ONE train on this floorless coaster from B&M. That makes for a line that seems to NEVER move. The ride was decent. I loved the loop that was set down in the trench, and especially loved the tunnel element. After our ride on it, they announced they were shutting the ride down temporarily to add a second train. From there, we proceeded to ride Journey to Atlantis. A fun little ride, and great combination of log flume with coaster elements.

From there, we decided to hit up Manta again. I simply love that ride. After that, they were opening up their Christmas area of the park, so we ventured over there. While over there, we opted to go on the Polar Express experience. I had never done it at Dollywood, and Jesse said he had, but was disappointed by it at Dollywood. But we gave it a try anyway. Once inside, the preshow waiting areas are incredibly themed to look like the side of Polar express cars. The ride experience is what you would expect from a standard simulator ride. After the ride, it dumps you into the arctic animal exhibit. Very nice tie in.

After that, we met up with Todd, who had gotten off work. We rode Manta, grabbed some pizza (very good pizza I might add), and then headed off to the Sky Tower. The lake looked amazing with all the trees out in it, all synchronized to music.

From the Sky Tower, we headed off to the sea lion show. A VERY entertaining show. And the cast did some quick thinking on their feet through some microphone troubles and an AFR from one of the animals. Very nice show.

From there, the live entertainment continued at Shamu Stadium. While the show started at 9:30, they had some pre-entertainment before show time. We got seats right up close. The seats were not marked as splash zone seats (more on that later), but we figured we were safe since the shallow display area was located right in front of us, preventing the whales from being able to splash us.

The whales did lots of tricks, and for most of the show, were splashing the stands to the left and right of us, but not center stage. It seemed as if our plan had worked. Until...

The very end of the show. I was seated on the end, and the people in front of us ducked. My pants were SOAKED. And while we were in Florida, the temperature had fallen, and it likely was around 50 or so by the time the show ended. Made for a cold evening.

From there, we had one more live show to catch, the ice skating show. The show was VERY well done, and featured a LOT of skaters.

I think that guy in the front, was in one of Kings Island`s ice skating shows a few years back. He looks familiar...

After the ice skating show, Sea World had a nice fireworks show over the lake. A great way to cap off a nice visit to a very nice park. Overall, it was a fun park. It would have been nice if there was another ride or two, but overall, the place is about the sea life. The landscaping in this park was impeccable as well. And hopefully, they will be able to continue to build up their Christmas event. It seems like they are off to a great start.

Day two was to be spent at Busch Gardens Tampa.

Again, this was the first Busch Gardens park I had ever been to. The drive down from Orlando to Tampa on I-4 was shrouded in fog most of the way. (The forecast had called for 71 and sunny). Upon arriving in the park, we waited a few minutes for the ropes to drop, then were off. The first ride we hit was Gwazi. They were only running one side (the yellow side). The ride wasn`t that bad (we rode in the front row), but the ride would have been better had the ride had Millennium Flyers instead of PTC trains. Also, the seat belts were a little awkward to buckle. One end was very short, and when you were seated in the car, it was practically on your hip, and you couldn`t extend it. It made buckling difficult as you had to contend with the lap bar, and the side of the car.

From there, we had some time to kill until the back side of the park opened. So we checked out the kangaroo area. It was cool how some of them were on the pathway!

Our next ride we tackled was SheiKra. I snapped this picture on our way to the ride.

The fog that morning made for some excellent shots, as well as some eerie rides!

I loved SheiKra. The front row on the ends is the best, as there is literally nothing below your feet. And the hold at the top of the drop is amazing. The fog added an extra fun element, as we could not even see the rest of the park when we were riding. We rode the ride like three times right off The Bat. Why? Because it was a fun ride, and there were NO lines. In fact, one time, Jesse and I were the only two on an entire train! I was on one end of the front row, and he was on the other. No one else was on the train! I wouldn`t mind if KI eventually gets one of these rides.

As you can tell, the park was pretty empty in the morning after just opening.

The next ride we conquered was Kumba, which means "Roar" in the Congo language. And this B&M roar`s. This is perhaps the loudest B&M coaster I have ever heard. Its so loud that the operators in the station actually were wearing ear plugs! It is a really fun ride, with nice pacing too. I love the loop through the lift hill too.

The next ride we conquered was Scorpion. This was a fun little ride (a ride that seemingly would fit perfectly at Coney, and be an instant upgrade over the Python at Coney). Two train operation would have been nice as there was a little bit of a lineup for this ride, but the second train wasn`t on the transfer track. Not sure if this ride ever runs two trains at all or not.

Our next ride before lunch was Montu. Unfortunately, this was where we ran into another frustration. Montu was only running ONE train. And to make matters worse, the crew was not moving fast, and they were not very efficient with how they handled the speed pass riders either (often letting them sit in rows other than the row that was blocked off on the loading side of the station, causing disruptions with guests who were trying to match up with multiple rows to be on the same train. Overall, Montu was a fun ride, but I prefer Afterburn at Carowinds over Montu.

By this time, we were getting hungry. So Jesse said that the Interpreter had suggested the Crown Colony Restaurant. Before entering the restaurant, the walk up to it provided some general overview shots of Cheetah Hunt.

The Crown Colony restaurant is a full service restaurant with waiter service. I ordered a turkey sandwich. They provided us with rolls before our meal came out. The sandwich cost around $10.25. It came with a side of french fries. When the sandwich came out, it was a HUGE serving. It was mounded with lots of turkey and freshly baked bread. It was well worth the cost of the sandwich. In fact, there was so much food, that I couldn`t even finish all the french fries, and I hadn`t even eaten breakfast before heading to the park. I give it two thumbs up. The turkey sandwich was delicious and would recommend the Crown Colony restaurant.

From there, we opted to ride the Serengheti Express. This train, also made by Crown Medal Products, which manufactured KI`s train, goes through an animal habitat, not unlike safari ride at Disney`s Animal Kingdom. When we rode it, the giraffes were coming right up to the tracks, and the train actually had to slow down to ensure the giraffes moved out of the way. After the train reached the first station, Jesse, disembarked to purchase a souvenir, and have it shipped home. Meanwhile, I stayed on board the train, to complete the round trip (there are three stations on the train). The round trip took about forty minutes!

We also rode Cheetah Chase, but had a little bit of a wait for it. We also rode Rhino Rally. Its too bad that the ride got shortened so much for construction of Cheetah Hunt. Hopefully, its course gets lengthened some once construction on Cheetah Hunt is completed.

Overall, my first visit to a Busch Gardens park was fun. The crowds had begun to filter in by mid afternoon, and after re-rides on SheiKra and Kumba, we opted to make the one hour drive back to Orlando and swing by Universal. A decision, that in hindsight, we now regret doing. But hindsight is 20/20 as they say. I will post the Universal portion of the trip report shortly. I hope you enjoy it so far!

[thekidd33]

Awesome report! It's stuff like this that really makes getting through the off season a little easier.

[CoastersRZ]

And continuing on with the trip report. We arrived at Universal around 5:10 in the evening. I had to purchase a two day ticket to get in. Jesse had a season pass, so I was able to receive a discount on admission. This is where we encountered some troubles. They had ONE, yes ONE ticket window open. There were maybe ten or fifteen people ahead of us in line. A supervisor eventually took people out of line who had etickets, but the line simply did not move. It was made worse by the fact that this one window was also selling season passes. The real root of the problem was one family (who had like two people in line), seems to grow to about eight different groups buying passes when they actually got to the window. I understand about it being in the evening, a few hours from closing, but this was ridiculous. Especially since we wanted to get into the park to see the parade and the Mannheim Steam Roller concert. To make a long story short, it took us nearly thirty five minutes to get my one ticket! Not cool at all, which is part of the reason why in hindsight we should have not went to Universal that evening.

Once in the park, we watched the parade. We then proceeded to the concert area, where the concert was supposed to begin at 6. The park closed at 7. By 6:25, I had grown antsy since the concert had yet to start. Jesse waited to watch the concert, when I went off on my own for a little bit. I ended up getting in the single rider line for Revenge of the Mummy. Talk about a very awesome ride. I love the section where the train travels backwards. I also like all the use of real fire inside of the building. Definitely two thumbs up for that ride.

By the time I was off the ride, it was 7. I caught a little bit of the Mannheim Steamroller concert. Then Jesse and I left the park after a very brief visit. We ended up grabbing some Whoppers at the Burger King Whopper Bar at Citywalk. I`m not really certain what made this a Whopper bar compared to normal Burger King restaurants.

Day two at Universal started bright and early at Island`s of Adventure.

Now I had previously been to Islands of Adventure back in the summer of 2004, so I had already been on all the roller coasters in the park. The reason for returning, however, was a little area known as the Wizarding World of Harry Potter.

We got in line for Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey. There was no line perse, but people were stopping to take pictures of the line. Why wouldn`t they? Talk about an intricately themed line! From talking picture frames, to seeing Dumbledore, to the talking sorting hat. The ride itself is awesome. It is a clever combination of projections and animatronic/special effects that blend seamlessly. The ride is very well done, and I`d recommend a visit to Islands of Adventure to experience this ride. After our ride on it, we got back in line to a somewhat longer line, but it was still about ten minutes. The ride had a minor hiccup and was down for about ten minutes, extending our wait to twenty minutes. Still, an awesome ride, and worth the wait.

After our two rides on Harry Potter, we grabbed some frozen butterbeer. Tasty stuff.

From there, we went about conquering the rest of the park. While crowds were light, this was made easier by the complementary Express pass we had been given the night before because of our horrendous wait at the ticket booth. We rode Dragon Challenge (both sides), proceeded to the Jurrasic Park River adventure, Dudley Do RIght`s Rip Saw Falls, Spiderman, Dr Doom`s drop ride, and then finished up at the Incredible Hulk. By this time our, good weather for the day (finally sunny, and a little warm), took a turn for the south as dark clouds rolled in. We hit up the Cat in the Hat ride (I had not done that on my previous trip to the park. It is a fun little ride.

By the time we exited the ride, it had begun to rain. So we opted to head over to the Studios park. Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit was currently down, so we ended up hitting the Beetlejuice Graveyard review show. A very well done show, with some good jokes sprinkled in. We grabbed a ride on Mummy, then headed off to tackle some classic Universal rides such as Jaws, Men in Black: Alien Attack, and the new Simpsons ride. From there, we spotted that Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit was open. So we ventured off to that to get in line. The wait wasn`t that bad. Maybe fifteen minutes (the Express passes were not valid at this ride). The ride was alright. Nothing to write home about. And while the onboard audio was cool, somehow, it just kind of ruins the experience of riding a coaster. You can`t hear the screams of other riders, or the roar of the train. Fun ride, but I`d much rather ride Manta or Diamondback.

We then grabbed lunch at Mel`s Diner, a 50`s styled diner. From there, we proceeded to Disaster, then hit up Twister. From there, we grabbed a few more rides on the Mummy. By this time, it was time to catch the parade, again. It was cool to see all the balloons that were used in the parade.

After the parade, it was time to head back to the airport to catch the flight back to Indianapolis, where it was reportedly snowing. Once we landed in Indianapolis shortly before 11pm, we were greeted by several inches of snow on the ground. And I had the unfortunate task of driving back to Cincinnati that night! It was slow going on the highway, but I finally made it home around 3am!

Overall it was a fun trip. I`m definitely glad I went. Besides not doing Busch Gardens and then going to Universal in the evening, I would have not done anything different. I definitely recommend Busch Gardens Tampa and Sea World to anyone who hasn`t visited those parks. While they are not Disney, they are still fun parks. It did feel weird to be in Florida and not be visiting Disney. Maybe next time though. With all the coasters I rode on the trip, I`m now up to 95 coasters on my track record. Still pales in comparison to many, but it is nothing to be sneezed at either. I hope you enjoyed reading my trip report!

[The Interpreter]

Thanks for the incredible trip report. I am very glad you went and I bet you are, too!

And just think, Disney awaits...that guy who was with you on the trip is an expert in all things Disney!

[BoddaH1994]

Great trip report! Looks like you had fun!!

I plan on making trek #2 down there in a month or so.

[CoastersRZ]

I did have fun. It was nice to take a little "mini" vacation. Makes me miss the summer months even more around Cincinnati. I love going to amusement parks, lol.

One of the things that I loved the most about Sea World was the lush landscaping throughout the park. Even though Manta was a brand new ride, it looked as if it had been there for twenty years because of the amount of lush landscaping surrounding the ride. It was simply amazing.

[The Interpreter]

Hey, when seasonal parks put in a roller coaster, they sometimes plant a tree.

[CoastersRZ]

Seasonal parks also do not have the type of budgets to devote to landscaping that a park like Sea World has.

On the other hand, Boomerang Bay, on my limited visits out there the last few years has had some nice landscaping as well. Not quite as extravagant as Sea World`s, but still nice. Even the landscaping in Planet Snoopy this past year was quite nice looking with all the blooming flowers. I just wish that Coney Mall could see some spruced up landscaping the way Coney Mall used to be landscaped in the early days, and the days of the mall at Coney Island.

[The Interpreter]

...and yet, and yet...even if was me who made that crack, compare Kings Island's landscaping to that of Kings Dominion or Six Flags Over Georgia. It is all a matter of priorities...a limited budget can only be sliced so many ways.

[CoastersRZ]

Well, I`d like to compare KI`s landscaping to those parks. But I have never been to Six Flags Over Georgia, and my lone visit to Kings Dominion was over ten years ago (way back in the year 2000). That was before I was even a licensed driver!

[Avatar]

Great trip report Robbie and sorry to be so long to respond. I really enjoyed touring Florida theme parks with a fellow coaster enthusiast and theme park lover like myself. One of my highlights and something I will never forget was ridding SheiKra in the fog especially when it was just the two of us. That quiet visual of the two of us on opposite sides of the ride (six seats separation) way up in the foggy air and not being able to see anything, it was like we were on a coaster way up in the clouds. That moment brings a smile to my face every-time I think about it. I hope we get another chance to do the Florida parks again and hope maybe a few other KICers can join us too. If so I know from our trip to slow things down a bit to enjoy the nuances of each park in more detail. I think I may have missed a great opportunity hear your thoughts about certain architectural aspects of the parks by being to rushed to get it all in. I do plan to do a separate trip report about the Sea World Christmas event as I just loved that atmosphere and entertainment line up.

The souvenir that you spoke of that I bought arrived in a much larger box safe and sound. Evidently they put the smaller box with my purchased item in a mid-chest high box and plastered it all over with fragile and this end up stickers (not bad for $20 for shipping). I told the wife (Lisa) that my brother had me ship home a box from Busch Gardens with a gift for my mother from him. I worried that she still suspected something so when she was gone away from home one day I took out the smaller box and hide it. On Christmas Eve when my mother arrived at our house I loaded the big box in her van as to give the allusion that the item from Busch Gardens was really for my mother. So later that evening I brought the smaller box out and gave it to Lisa to open in front of everyone. She was very happy as she really wanted to purchase the item back in September when she first saw it and even teared up.

Now every time I see it I have two wonderful memories surrounding it, our trip and a Christmas surprise. I love buying specialty souviners from them parks that offer a story and memory behind the purchase.

Well anyway a great report Robbie I really enjoyed going with you and thanks for sharing this trip with everyone.

[The Interpreter]

Awwww....you sir, are a very special, fun-loving and feeling person...and that's a wonderful present!

[Avatar]

Thanks Interpreter, I believe the same can be said about you as well, No I am sure of it.

[muppetfan1999]

I envy you sir. I envy you so much.

Also, how dare you not go to Disney World!

[Avatar]

No need to envy as we are sharing the experience with you and you will to with us in due time.

I dared to skip Disney for several reasons. We only had 3 days to get what we did in with Saturday being the only whole day in Florida. For feasibility purpose and the price of tickets then it would mean we should have done all Disney or since I had a season pass for Universal and we got to go to both Sea World and Busch Gardens for $50.00 total. Plus the fact Robbie has never done Sea World or Busch Gardens it was the best choice for us. I also really wanted to experience Sea World Christmas and see Mannheim Steamroller in concert.

Now have said all that I really want to do Disney during Christmas and think that we would have been better off skipping Universal on Saturday and went to one of Disney parks for their Christmas events even though it would have cost us more. But there is always next year.

[RailRider]

Love the trip report! Thanks for sharing and I love quick trips like this where so much can be accomplished because of down season. I really think these kinds of visits provide some of the most special memories.