Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Roller coaster enthusiast and animal lover dream land. This is one of the MANY ways to describe Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay Florida. Just last spring break I took a trip from Orlando to Tampa to take in the mammoth super coasters that Busch Gardens has to offer.

The drive wasn't bad, the hour drive didn't feel like it was that long at all because of the excitement that had been building for the past week. This was because the last time I had visited the park was over five years ago on an 8th grade school field trip so i was looking forward to the trip. My girlfriend and I were trying to get there right as the gate opened because I knew that the volume of guests at the park were gonna be rather high. Unfortunately that plan didn't pan out because of delays for breakfast, although we did get to the park about half an hour after it had opened. The line to get into the parking lot was a mess it was only foreshadowing how the rest of the day would be. After we paid the 12 bucks to park the car we hopped out and took off and headed for the tram that takes you to the front gates. After about a 5 minute wait we boarded the trolley and were off to the gates to start our day. I highly recommend to purchase your tickets in advance so you can breeze past all the people buying tickets and then go straight to the turnstiles. Since we did had tickets we went to the bag check because i was carrying a book bag, I do not recommend doing so unless you absolutely have to because of this first stop and having to rent a locker at every single ride you get on, if it was a warmer day I wouldn't have but I did just so if we got warm we could take off our jackets and not worry about carrying them in hand.

After we got in the park we grabbed a map of the park and took off to start the fun. We had Already planned to go straight for Montu because it was the first steel coaster at the front of the park and we could get to it the fastest. We first breezed through the gorilla area and then headed straight for the coaster. It is kind of inconveniently located in the very far front corner of the park and is a long way from any other ride. When we got to the ride we rented our 50 cent locker and got right in line, the sign out front said it would be a 15 min. wait but i turned out being more of a 5-10 min wait which for a ride of its caliber is outstanding. After the short line we sat down and strapped in then when the floor dropped I'm not gonna lie, I got the butterflies which for the sake of things I'm gonna say it was adrenaline. After we climbed the hill and dropped into the first drop and straight into that loop it was all gone and it turned in to fun. After the ride sadly ended we got off picked up our bag and then took off to the next ride.

We decided to go to Gwazi next. This wooden roller coaster gives you a more reckless, out of control feeling. It has 2 separate sides lion and tiger, I personally favor lion. So after we rented our second locker of the day we got in line and went straight for the lion side. The sign out front told us that it was a 30 min wait so we didn't think it was gonna be that bad, it was terrible that half an hour drug into about 50 min somehow. When we finally got to pick our lane we went straight to the front because this is one of the prime locations to ride. This wooden craziness may not have any loops or corkscrews or anything else that the steel coasters may offer but after that first big drop you realize that your in for one insane ride. At a couple of points in the ride you feel like your cart is gonna fly off a turn and you can frequently feel the wheels come up off the track, or it may just feel that way. This coaster packs the punch of its siblings but in a different way that will leave you gasping for breath.

We then took a short break from coasters and visited Jungala inside the park where they have the tigers and orangutans. We spent some time in the orangutan area as my girlfriend love monkeys so we sat there and watched them play for a little bit. We then went to see what the rest off Jungala had to offer which are some smaller monkeys weird crocodile type animals and some bats. This area offers a huge net playground that was fun for even someone older like myself. We then took our time getting to Kumba one of Busch Gardens all time favorite rides even though it still does have a floor. When we got to the ride we rented yet another locker and went to get in line when we realized the ride was running but not with any passengers. It turns out they were finishing up their regular inspection to make sure everything is ok, so we just headed over to see Timbuktu and all the games after a short stay we went back to Kumba right on time and when we got in line the time prompted 20 min. The wait felt more like 5 and we were taking our seat and then we were off. That familiar feeling from Montu returned and right when we dropped down the first drop it was on and that felling disappeared and the having fun ensued. Kumba is so much fun the zero g fighter jet type roll has to be the single funnest element to the ride even though you only feel the weightlessness for a split second its is great.

We then headed somewhere to get lunch we headed back to the very front of the park to eat at Zagora Cafe. I had the bacon cheese burger it wasn't the best food but it was decent. The price wasn't bad either but it was relaxing to sit down and rest my legs after circling the park once already. After we ate we slowly made our way to Sheikra the ride the only ride that had me sketched out the whole day. I think the part that had me freaked was daunting 200 ft straight down with no floor underneath you. The wait time displayed was 45 min but we said we might as well get in line to try it out, like I wanted to. Anyway standing in the line just made my nerves I mean adrenaline spike to a day high. When we started to climb the stairs to get to the loading platform that's when I got a little bit more nervous. When we got loaded in i was scared first time all day i was actually scared. After we left the docking station and headed up the 45 degree incline to reach the 200 ft it was freaky when we got to the top of the hill we went through the little turn up top. After that they pause you for a short amount of time to view the area from the ridiculous height, then you creep forward to the drop point for that straight down fall just when u think your going over they stop you yet again but this time you're looking at nothing but track and ground. Then when you think you will never fall you drop and experience the weightlessness and then the track soars back up and around and then up 100 feet and it slows down for yet another 90 degree drop only this one you know when your going and its through the top and out the side of a broken building that makes you feel like your gonna hit. then the track soars back up yet again and then down and the cart scoops up water and sprays it all over the bystanders. and then its over. After I got off of that I was pretty much done for a while plus it was getting kinda late.

We headed back over to Timbuktu to do some of the carnival games so I could be the good boyfriend and win her a bunch of needless stuffed animals. Then we were gonna try Rhino Rally but the wait was never less then 90 min. all day so we decided it was useless to ride. About that time it was getting close to 7 so it was time to head out being as the park closed at 8.

We didn't only do the rides we did check out all of the interesting animals and do the whole shopping thing. I was pleasantly surprised at how relatively cheap that the gift shops were. They had name brand clothing there and it was priced right on to other retail stores so i can only assume that the other things they offered were right on too. Except for this overly priced large stuffed gorilla that ran about 190 dollars but that's the only thing that I saw that was a crazy outrageous price.

Next stop on our multi-day pass is Sea World in Orlando after their newest coaster Manta opens in May.