Disney Imagineer Wally Crump passed away this week at age 93. Although he’s probably best known for his work on It’s a Small World, The Haunted Mansion and the Enchanted Tiki Room, he also consulted on projects for Busch Gardens Tampa too. There are several Disney+ shows featuring him. He was a genius and will be missed.
A Busch Gardens Tampa Resort Hotel Coming in 2025 or 2026?
In a recent investor call, SeaWorld CEO Marc Swanson brought up their plans to add a resort hotel in 2025 and another in 2026, but details were sparse. This has been rumored for some time, but it appears to be getting more serious. Here are some of his comments from the call:
Continue readingCarnival Games at Busch Gardens
Do you enjoy playing games when you visit a theme park? You’ll see people carrying giant stuffed animals around the park, so people do win, but did you ever wonder what the odds were or strategies to win? The good thing is that at a place like Busch Gardens you can at least be sure the games aren’t a 100% scam like some carnivals. However, not all games are created equal, so it’s best to be educated before you play to know your real odds and the best strategies.
Continue readingFalcon’s Fury at Busch Gardens to Reopen this Spring
After being closed for nearly a year, Falcon’s Fury is expected to reopen soon according to this article from Tampa’s Bay 9 News! The shutdown reportedly is not related to the tragic drop tower accident in Orlando, but instead to not being able to get spare parts due to supply chain issues.
Continue readingSerengeti Flyer Opens on February 27th!
Busch Garden’s newest ride opens on just 10 days! The Serengeti Flyer will be opening in the location of the old Rhino Rally station overlooking the Serengeti and all the animals. The new “flat ride” ride is in a very scenic area of the park overlooking the Serengeti and will provide a ride in a gap area between the Africa area and Pantopia.
Continue readingI Had ChatGPT write a Review of Busch Gardens!
You might have heard of ChatGPT. It’s the artificial Intelligence (AI) program that can write essays, emails, poetry, articles and even lines of computer code. There have been a lot of buzz about it in the media about kids and college students using it to do their homework for them to journalists wondering if they’ll someday be replaced. I asked it to write a review of Busch Gardens in Tampa and this is what I got:
Continue readingThe Child Swap Policy at Busch Gardens for Single Riders is One of the Best Using Their Quick Queue Program
Explaining Cheetah Hunt LSM (Launch) Technology with 3D Printing by Amusement Labs
I’m a huge roller coaster fan and even have a sister blog dedicated to 3D printing (this entry appears on both sites). One of the more recent advances in roller coaster technology has been the use of magnetic launches as opposed to the old school lift hill (think click, click, click up the hill). To be fair launch does go back 50+ years with examples like the Tidal Wave coaster I used to ride at Six Flags Great America as a kid. This defunct ride actually used a falling weight and pulley system to launch the train with a deafening “clank” as the weight hit bottom! One of my personal current favorite launch coasters in Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens Tampa where the launches are used to mimic the acceleration and movements of a cheetah.
Continue readingScorpion’s Circular Loop
Scorpion at Busch Gardens has a rare element, a circular loop. It’s one of the few remaining. There was a great article in Vox about loops and the move away from circular to lessen g-forces. As a rider I can’t say I’ve found the loop overly intense, but there is only one and it isn’t that fast. Here’s how the park describes it:
Continue readingIs the Phoenix Rising at Busch Gardens?
This tweet I think captured a lot of people’s feelings when they heard the Phoenix was testing. Could the Phoenix, closed since April 2018, be reopening? There has yet to be any official announcement from the park, but walls have come down and the ride has been seen in action several times including with human analog sandbags. However, there were also rumors that the ride had been offered for sale, so although this could be a prelude to a reopening, it also be a test for a potential buyer. The great folks at Theme Park Express posted these great pics of the ride testing (used with permission).
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