Had a chance to ride the “milder” version of the Serengeti Flyer at Busch Gardens a couple of weeks ago. It was a Tuesday morning and the ride was a walk-on around 10:30am and running in “milder” mode until 1pm. I’ve ridden a lot of these S&S Screamin’ Swings now from Barnstormer at Dollywood to Finnegan’s Flyer at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.

I really enjoy them and think most parks could benefit from a fun, good capacity (40 riders at a time for probably ~1,000/hr), small footprint, high visibility and relatively low cost ride like this. Not every flat ride has to spin (spinning doesn’t always agree with me), so I really appreciate a ride like this. I had not ridden “milder” mode at Tampa before and had not seen it anywhere else, so I was actually pretty excited about it. I think it’s awesome that Busch Gardens Tampa has added this as an option. (The POV video above courtesy of Walrus Carp Clothing Co., a theme park clothing company! )

The beginning of the ride is essentially identical with the real difference being you don’t end up going as high or as fast. The ride arms basically reach a max of horizontal or 90 degrees from the tower or parallel with the ground. You still feel the sensation of speed, get some great views and maybe feel a split second of airtime, but nothing like the “float” you feel when these things go slightly past horizontal. You can see this in the pics of Tidal Surge at SeaWorld San Antonio and of Finnegan’s Flyer at Busch Gardens Williamsburg below. This adds the extra punch that changes this from a relaxing view to an intense thrill ride. However, if you have younger kids or someone who is a bit leery of the standard mode, this can be a great way to introduce them to a Scramin’ Swing. Then you can come back a few hours later and checkout “wilder” mode!