Colonel_SoB_fan Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 SO you all helped out tremendously with my first Sea World trip, so I come to you again looking for help for my first BG trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delirium_Guy Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 SO you all helped out tremendously with my first Sea World trip, so I come to you again looking for help for my first BG trip. Depends on when you are visiting the park. If you are visiting on a weekday, lines won't be too much of an issue....with most being less than 30 minutes with the exception of Cheetah Hunt. * Cheetah Hunt has been opening late fairly often, typically opening by 10AM though. While you can stick it out and get a ride fairly quickly if you get there right at Park opening, the line balloons into 90-120 minutes almost instantly. By later in the afternoon, you can be on it within an hour and also you can ask the team member out front if they are utilizing the single rider line or not. They have been experimenting with it, so it is open at various times through out the day. We were able to ride 3 times in 20 minutes last weekend. * Do not miss riding Cheetah Hunt at night, it is incredibly fun and a far different ride * Gwazi is likely to be one of your longer waits, despite appearing to have a short line, because of the slowness of the loading and unloading * Snagging rides on the other coasters should be easy, Sheikra being the most popular followed by Montu and then Kumba....although Kumba is my favorite ride in the Park :-) * Don't miss the Stanleyville Log Flume. It is small, but a perfect example of the old school traditional Arrow flumes....low to ground speedy ride through the trees * Although we are all coaster people, be sure to take some time to check out the animal habitats at the Park. Jungala, Walkabout Way, Edge of Africa are all top notch and shouldn't be missed * CIrque Dreams: Jungle Fantasy, I thought, was a great show and I'd recommend seeing that as well! * Park has a great food, but the hidden gem IMHO is the top level of the Crown Colony House. Family style dining that overlooks the Veldt with views of the animals and Montu. Definitely my favorite place to eat there! Hope some of this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 I am going on Tuesday the 28th. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 Enjoy one of Terp's absolute favorite parks. And allow me to put in a good word for the BBQ place back by the flume. Terp, who adores Kumba, ya! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted June 21, 2011 Author Share Posted June 21, 2011 I will have the All day dining plan ticket. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ahank Posted June 21, 2011 Share Posted June 21, 2011 As Terp said, do not miss out on Zambia Smokehouse. Best food in the park in my opinion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 So I just spent a hour writing up a TR for this trip and my computer crashed. I promise I will have something up at some point in time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 Sorry that happened to your hard work. If you redo your report just know I and I am sure others are interested in hearing about your trip, especially from your unique perspective. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 It will be redone, just not right now as work at Magic Kingdom is arriving soon. I know there are a myriad of people on these boards that read these reports, which, at least for me, is why I post them. Give people a look through my own eyes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted July 3, 2011 Share Posted July 3, 2011 I heard Typhoon Lagoon reached capacity today, so i wish you well tonight and hope you do get a chance to see the show high above at the Kingdom tonight. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted July 3, 2011 Author Share Posted July 3, 2011 While have not heard that officially. It would not surprise me Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delirium_Guy Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I heard Typhoon Lagoon reached capacity today, so i wish you well tonight and hope you do get a chance to see the show high above at the Kingdom tonight. Most likely. Aquatica was closed at capacity by 10:00AM both yesterday and today, so hearing that about Typhoon isn't surprising. With that said, Magic Kingdom was dead last night and Hollywood Studios wasn't that busy tonight either. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted July 4, 2011 Author Share Posted July 4, 2011 While Magic Kingdom was dead last night, I feel we made up for it tonight before 9:15. After 9:15 when everybody left it was dead again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback FOF Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 I heard Typhoon Lagoon reached capacity today, so i wish you well tonight and hope you do get a chance to see the show high above at the Kingdom tonight. Most likely. Aquatica was closed at capacity by 10:00AM both yesterday and today, so hearing that about Typhoon isn't surprising. With that said, Magic Kingdom was dead last night and Hollywood Studios wasn't that busy tonight either. 10am?!?! What time does it open? Any idea what the capacity is? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delirium_Guy Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 While Magic Kingdom was dead last night, I feel we made up for it tonight before 9:15. After 9:15 when everybody left it was dead again I would imagine so. I certainly will be avoiding the place tonight, for sure! Instead, we'll take our usually comfy spot on the beach at the Poly for the fireworks! DiamondbackFOF, Aquatica's toll booths open at 8:30AM and the park opens at 9AM. So yes, within an hour, the park can fill to capacity. That is actually a fairly common thing to happen. Once they hit capacity, they leave the tolls closed until around 2pm....then they will re-open. This gives the guests that were there early time to enjoy some attractions, but also leaves time in afternoon and into the evening for that second wave of guests to also enjoy themselves since the Park closes at 8PM or 9PM through the summer. What I can say about capacity is that Aquatica was designed to hold 16,000 guests. With that said, they cut the gates off at a lower number than that to ensure that guest experience isn't compromised. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Diamondback FOF Posted July 4, 2011 Share Posted July 4, 2011 Okay thanks for the info! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted July 5, 2011 Author Share Posted July 5, 2011 1. PTR take two. My fiancee and I decided to take a two day getaway to the Tampa Bay area. Our itinerary was Clearwater Beach, Skyline Chilli, Reds baseball, and Busch Gardens. So to start off we headed from Orlando, FL to Clearwater, Fl. The drive was about 2 and a half hours, and the weather was great, for a little while. After a hour or so the clouds rolled in and that 60% chance of thunderstorms appeared inevitable. So after a hour of chancing the inevitable we decided to leave the beach and search for the Clearwater, FL Skyline Chili restaurant. We finally found it and I found the first highlight of the trip Fairfield Pride in the State of Florida. GO INDIANS After eating at the best place in Florida, we checked into the most expensive, cheapest hotel ever. Right outside the fairgrounds of Tampa Bay. I feel we were lucky to have a bed. Basic cable, small bathroom, no clock, bad smell. I wonder what it looked like before its refurbishment, since that was our selling point was its recent refurbishment. 50 dollars a night was crazy, but o well you win some and lose some. After checking in and washing up we headed to downtown St.Petersburg for three dollar parking, and a free trolley ride to Tropicana Field. Home of the Tampa Rays. I'm glad they have a sign that said that because I'm pretty sure the Cincinnati Reds fans out numbered the Rays fans. That was evident throughout the game as the Reds fans had a lot to cheer for in a 5-0 victory. We would head back to the Motel 6 and go straight to sleep so we can be one of the first to Africa in the morning. Mission Accomplished. I actually almost drove by the entrance because I was the only vehicle going to Busch Gardens Africa. We parked right by Montu and the front entrance was not far away. We walked through the turnstiles at 8:58 and at 9 went and started taking advantage of the All Day Dining deal. Now we were at Africa for 12 hours, so I could go on and on with this report and talk about EVERYTHING we did in half a day, or I could save everyone time and turn the direction of this report. This part is for Keith, aka Kifan1980. 28 inversions. List of Inversions Phoneix 2x1=2 Montu 7x1=7 Scorpion 1x1=1 Kumba 7x2=14 Cheetah Hunt 1x2=2 SheiKra 1x2=2 In addition to all those looping attractions, not all are coasters, we also did Gwazi twice, all the animal attractions, Rhino Rally, Sky Ride, Pirates 4D, Congo River Rapids met the seasme street characters and the train. We also ate four meals in 12 hours. Let break this down, first starting with the park itself. Overall the park was fantastic. The park was very clean The park was massive. Staff was friendly, helpful, informative. Easily my favorite park in Florida. One negative is they need more flat thrill rides. Next up is the food. Excellent In our four meals, never had a bad meal. On to the Animals Amazing how many there are, seemed like a different animal around every corner. Missed Kasi and Mtani, biggest regret. Loved you close could get to some, and even pet most of them. Even feed the kangaroos. Coasters 1. Cheetah Hunt a. Intamin b. Newest Coaster c. Surprised it ran the whole time d. Not as thrilling as Maverick, but better coaster overall 2. Gwazi 3. GCI a. Twin coaster, not racing b. Amazingly smooth c. Love the Millenium Flyers, paging Son of Beast, please. d. Fast, violent, but smooth e. Favorite at BGA 4. Kumba a. B&M b. Amazingly fast c. 7 forceful loops d. Loudest coaster I have ever heard. Hear Kumba throughout the park 5. Montu a. Prefer over Raptor b. Another loud B&M c. Never loses its speed. Nonstop action d. Highly rated coaster 6. Sand Serpent a. Rough, but fun 7. Scorpion a. Oldest standing coaster in the park b. Decent speed c. Fun loop 8. SheiKra a. B&M b. First Dive Machine c. Looks intimidating, but after the drop it not that scary. d. Great ride Picture time Hope you all enjoyed reading about my trip to Tampa Bay. Thanks for reading Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Thank YOU! a. You made me realize I simply MUST get back to my favorite Florida park. b. Your pictures are awesome c. I loved the style of your report. D. Please tell me you went to Crown Colony! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 Thanks terpy, I wasn't sure how to pull off a trip report of this size. I am glad I can help you come to that realization. I can see why it is your favorite FL park. It truly is a magnificent place. Now for the bad news, out of the 6 eligible restaurants, we ate at four and Crown Colony did not make the cut, and neither did Zambia Smokehouse. Only the cafe was eligible in the Crown Colony restaurant. While I'm confident those two restaurants are very nice, after eating four meals in twelve hours I have no regrets about the amount of food we ate. We did eat at Zagora Cafe, Bengal Bistro, Desert Grill, and Garden Gate Cafe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avatar Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 Ahh great trip report I am glad you finally got to go and share your adventures there. I have never got to ride Maverick when they had all their theme working it, so I am really looking forward to riding Cheetah Hunt. I would love to be able to live so close to Central Florida to experience the parks often like yourself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 I wish I could experience them more often as well. Unfortunately money is tight and places like Disney, Universal, Sea World parks are not for tight budgets. I still hope to experience Universal Studios, but if not I am thankful for what I have been given Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KIfan1980 Posted July 6, 2011 Share Posted July 6, 2011 This part is for Keith, aka Kifan1980. 28 inversions. Thanks for sharing your PTR - BGT is a wonderful and unique park with an incredible mix of rides and animals. The atmosphere (food, music, theme, landscaping) is also excellent, and as you note it provides a serious opportunity for inversions (I went well over 50 in my day there ) Looking forward to a future trip where I can try out some of the new items and other restaurants - Flyers on Gwazi sounds like a big upgrade and Cheetah Hunt looks like a lot of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted July 6, 2011 Author Share Posted July 6, 2011 It was funny once the Summer Nights hours kicked in, theme went out the window as pop music played throughout the park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KICoasterGirl Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 Thanks for the TPR. I have not been to BGA since 1980 so I think it is time to go back. We are just starting to plan our 2012 spring break trip to Florida. So far it looks like our spring break falls on a different week then most all of Florida and even Atlanta. Hopefully the crowds won't be horrendous. EDIT: OPPS, it seems that my daughter didn't log off on my computer. If she had been to BGA in 1980 she would need a time machine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Interpreter Posted July 7, 2011 Share Posted July 7, 2011 You just HAD to mention Atlanta, didn't you? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colonel_SoB_fan Posted July 7, 2011 Author Share Posted July 7, 2011 Thanks for the TPR. I have not been to BGA since 1980 so I think it is time to go back. We are just starting to plan our 2012 spring break trip to Florida. So far it looks like our spring break falls on a different week then most all of Florida and even Atlanta. Hopefully the crowds won't be horrendous. EDIT: OPPS, it seems that my daughter didn't log off on my computer. If she had been to BGA in 1980 she would need a time machine. We went last tuesday and our longest wait was 24 minutes for Scorpion, which was running 1 train Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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