Seaworld and Busch Gardens Tampa 12/17 & 12/21:

[Tr0y]

So for the sake of keeping this review somewhat short, I also visited  couple of the Disney parks during my stay in Orlando and will be posting a trip report on that separately. 

 

 

 

12/17

 

My first park to visit while in the Orlando area for the week was Seaworld. Seaworld, has changed over the years from what I remember. Which used to use to be heavily aquatic animal focus to now also providing thrills to the enthusiasts of all ages. The park and even the coasters are well themed, and had up some Christmas lights and decor for their holiday special event: Christmas Celebration. I got there about 10 mins before opening to take advantage of my Platinum pass’s preferred parking. As far as coaster lineup goes, if you are a fan of B&M’s, this is a park you will want to visit. Given that they have 4 of them with Penguin trek to open in 2024. My favorite ride there is Mako, a Diamondback like coaster that has tons of airtime. I also got to ride Pipeline the Surf Coaster. Pipeline, being a standup coaster surprised me not being uncomfortable on the boys like the other B&M standup’s I have ridden. It also provides a very unique kind of airtime, being that my feet left the board a couple times. 

 

As far as shows go, anytime I have visit Seaworld I’ve always made time to take a break and watch the Orca encounter show. The show is a bit different with what I remember as a kid. The trainers now no longer enter the water with the Orca’s. Nonetheless I’m always amazed to see the shear size of these animals up close. They also host other animal shows as well, but this was the only one I attended during my visit.

 

I ate at two places during my visit to Seaworld. For lunch I ate at Voyages which is a BBQ joint that serves more than just pulled pork, turkey, and fried chicken. Which I cannot say about my home park. I ended up getting the brisket platter with fries. No substitutes were allowed for the side of fries. For dinner I ate at the Sharks restaurant , which provides a unique experience of eating basically next to the shark tank. I got the Filet Mignon with a side of steamed vegetables and mashed potatoes. The food and service was excellent.

 

As dusk approached I got a better viewing of what was to be the Christmas Celebration. To my surprise the park was not as decorated with lights anywhere near as many lights as Kings Island. However the Winter Wonderland on Ice show was Disney level of production. The entire lake had trees that light up and were in sink with the show, as well as fountains. Although some of the lights and fountains did not work properly. The talent of the Skaters was incredible. Definitely a must see show if you plan on visiting during the Christmas holidays

 

 

12/21

 

I got up early to make the hour long drive to Tampa to visit BGT. Arrived early again to take advantage of the Platinum pass preferred parking. I attempted to take a ride on Iron Gwazi but it was down the entire time of my visit. I made a stop at the gift shop to grab my pass-holder ornament, and afterwards went to what to my surprise used to be pass-holder lounge which I was told was closed and not returning. I didn’t get to ride much of any rides or stay late for their Christmas Town due to the crowds and the fact I had to leave early for dinner plans I have made.

 

All in all I had a fun, almost every coaster was running. Although some of the coasters only were operating one train, which caused longer lines. The Christmas lighting decor left much to be desired, compared to Kings Island.

[disco2000]

Wow, so BGT pulled a worse than CF on a VIP perk and eliminated the lounge completely?

[Tr0y]

24 minutes ago, disco2000 said:

Wow, so BGT pulled a worse than CF on a VIP perk and eliminated the lounge completely?

Yep, however Seaworld still has theirs, with Coca-Cola fountain drinks. 

[KIghostguy]

I rode Pipeline when I was down there for IAAPA last month and was also really surprised! Easily my favorite stand-up coaster. 

[VortexBFForever]

I got to go to SeaWorld earlier this month, and I agree about Pipeline being surprisingly fun! It's my new favorite stand-up! I also really enjoyed Mako, Kraken, Ice Breaker, and Manta, especially Mako since it gave me a very similar experience to Orion and I was missing Orion's airtime and drop. I even nicknamed it "mini-onion"  

[johnjniehaus]

Can anyone tell me how Pipeline compares to Riddler's Revenge at SFMM? I mean Pipeline looks cool and I'm totally onboard with the revival of the standup design but Riddler is absolutely amazing - long layout with 6 inversions...it's just hard for me to see Pipeline being able to top that

[DJSkyFoxx]

On 12/31/2023 at 9:02 PM, johnjniehaus said:

Can anyone tell me how Pipeline compares to Riddler's Revenge at SFMM? I mean Pipeline looks cool and I'm totally onboard with the revival of the standup design but Riddler is absolutely amazing - long layout with 6 inversions...it's just hard for me to see Pipeline being able to top that

I haven't ridden Pipeline as of yet, but I think most will agree that Pipeline wasn't designed to be a traditional stand-up coaster. It's a "surf" coaster that happens to have you in the standing position. Even still, it appears B&M has gone away from the more intense layouts of their standing position coasters to have a broader appeal since their former designs were hard on the legs and other areas of the body for certain folks. I don't foresee B&M going back to those crazy multi-inversion standing position coasters. I will never say never, but I just don't think that's their aim anymore for these types of rides. They have been there, done that, got the clout and then the fallback on popularity and demand.

And I've said before, I don't really feel this will be a popular model that we will see in lots of parks. It's a novelty experience and it fits a park like Sea World which is already a novelty park. Not saying there won't ever be any more installations, but I just don't see them as a high demand attraction. Who really knows though. 

[TOPGUN1993]

Pipeline is easily one of my favorite roller coasters ever. The sensation of airtime while standing is so strange yet so fun.

Highly recommend this ride, and I hope to see more installed. 

[CoastersRZ]

I rode this ride when I was down at IAAPA Expo this year.  It is such a fun ride.  It is definitely a unique sensation.  The fact that the "seats" can move 2" in either direction from the starting point (2" up and 2" down for a total of 4" of play), is a very unique sensation.  I agree that I hope more rides like this get installed.  I think I got five rides on it while at Sea World for an IAAPA Edutour, and could have done several more.  It was just a fun ride.

[BB1]

On 12/31/2023 at 9:02 PM, johnjniehaus said:

Can anyone tell me how Pipeline compares to Riddler's Revenge at SFMM? I mean Pipeline looks cool and I'm totally onboard with the revival of the standup design but Riddler is absolutely amazing - long layout with 6 inversions...it's just hard for me to see Pipeline being able to top that

Riddlers is great for the inversions, however having ridden 4 stand ups total in my lifetime (Vortex, Riddler, Georgia Scorcher and Pipeline) Pipeline is way more enjoyable and ranks better for me being an upper middle of the pack coaster. That being said it’s still a great coaster I just enjoy Pipeline more.

[CoastersRZ]

I too have ridden all of the four rides you mentioned (in addition to the three Togo stand ups that used to grace Kings Island, Kings Dominion and Canada`s Wonderland).  While it is a standup coaster, it doesn`t ride like any other standup coaster.  It is just a purely fun ride.  I found myself laughing with joy on the launch, because it was such a unique sensation and different from any other standup coaster.  The Sea World person who was conducting the tour told us "this is not your traditional standup coaster".  And he was so right.  It is a very re-ridable ride.  Just all around fun.  One of the things I disliked about Riddler`s and Mantis back in the day was the pressure that these rides put on your legs.  There was only slight moments of pressure on your legs.