travel

Busch Gardens Announces Kumba will Close August 2nd, but Surprises with Simultaneous Announcement of Kumba’s Revenge!

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As rumored earlier, Kumba is indeed closing forever on August 2, 2026 and silencing the iconic roar forever. The park made it official with a release on social media today. This is sad for sure and August 2nd will be a dark day in the coaster community with the closure of both ArieForce One and Kumba on the same day. However, in the sadness there is some intrigue as the park simultaneously announced a new attraction to replace it called Kumba’s Revenge as part of a $100 million project. Could this be the much rumored Giga Coaster for Busch Gardens? Time will tell I guess, but today is a time to reflect and enjoy what we’re losing, we can focus on the future after August 2nd. Kumba was a beast and provided kinetic beauty and iconic sound to the back of the park. Enjoy these last few weeks with Kumba and hope to see you at the park!

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Will Busch Gardens Close Kumba and Silence the Roar Forever?

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Kumba at Busch Gardens Tampa
Kumba at Busch Gardens Tampa

Update 7/14/26: Unfortunately the rumors were true and Kumba will close on August 2, 2026.

Rumors are flying online that Kumba may be closing, perhaps as soon as August 2nd! The demise of the iconic B&M coaster has been feared for years now, but this time feels real. There is no official word from the park yet, but my information comes from sources in the know that have essentially always been right (which is unfortunate in this case). It seems crazy to not announce anything in advance, but the same thing happened with Kingda Ka, so anything is possible. The last time Busch Gardens closed a roller coaster was Scorpion and they announced a September 2, 2024 closing on August 23, 2024. Therefore I’m not expecting a long runway once the announcement is made. The hope is of course that the only announcement we get is a retrack (like Hulk at Universal).

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Mythbusters Tested if a Giant Ball of LEGO Could Roll Over an Actual Car with the Help of LEGOLAND California!

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Mythbusters has been off TV for a while, but you can now watch a bunch of their classic episodes for free on YouTube. One of those episodes tested if you could make a giant ball of LEGO that would roll down a hill and over a car! Obviously, it is possible to make a giant LEGO ball, so the myth centered more on its weight and the number of LEGO bricks it would take. The ball they constructed was amazing, made of solid LEGO bricks where some large builds may be hollow or use DUPLO at their core. The Mythbusters crew even visited their local LEGOLAND California park for some advice and also took in some rides while they were there.

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Review of Dinner at Sanaa at Walt Disney World’s Animal Kingdom Resort

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Sanaa Entrance Sign

I had a chance to enjoy dinner at Sanaa, located at the Animal Kingdom Villas at Walt Disney World. Sanaa is a restaurant featuring African cooking with Indian flavors with spectacular views of exotic animals. Disney took a bit of a risk initially with Sanaa in that they used one of their best pieces of real estate for a restaurant serving food that many of its typical guests wouldn’t be very familiar with or find slightly intimidating. A safe choice would have perhaps been something like a steakhouse as opposed to the predominantly African-Indian menu. However, this place was packed and reservations at good times are sometimes tough to get, so apparently it’s working! The name is pronounced “Sah- NAH” with the first part like the beginning of “safari” and with the stress on the second syllable “NAH”. It is derived from Swahili, where it roughly translates to “artwork”.

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Gators Live at Wild Adventures is an Entertaining and Educational Show

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Gators Live Show at Wild Adventures Theme Park
Gators Live Show at Wild Adventures Theme Park

The Gators Live show at Wild Adventures Theme Park is a chance to see the American Alligator up-close and learn more about them. The show focuses on the natural history and conservation of the alligator and and a couple other animal ambassadors like a Burmese Python and a tortoise. Guests get to watch expert gator handlers engage with these animals. In many cases audience members, especially children, have the opportunity to be extremely close to or even touch the animals! Here is a basic review of Gators Live and what else you can expect during the show.

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The Great Refillable Souvenir Cup Program at LEGOLAND Florida

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If you’re going to spend a day at a theme park, especially one in Central Florida in summer, hydration is going to be very important. Thankfully LEGOLAND Florida has you covered with their souvenir cup refill program. Each cup will cost between $17.99 and $20.29 (depending on the number you purchase) and get you free refills throughout your visit that day. When you come back for another visit you can reactivate the cup for $10.99/day and enjoy another day of free refills. A standard soda at LEGOLAND Florida is just over $5, so it won’t take long to break even on a cup. The park also makes getting those refills super easy and convenient utilizing the Coca-Cola Freestyle system, providing dozens of beverage options.

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Tormenta at Six Flags Over Texas Opening June 26th (delayed) with World Record 218 Foot Inversion

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Tormenta Logo (Courtesy of Six Flags Over Texas)

Update July 2026: Tormenta is now scheduled to open July 9th and is currently running member previews and technical rehearsals!

Update June 22, 2026: According to the Six Flags Over Texas social media, Tormenta has been delayed from the original June 26th date.  First news of the delay started with the postponing of media day for June 25th. The commissioning and testing process is taking longer than expected and the park wants everything perfect for opening.

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Family Review of Galacticoaster at LEGOLAND Florida: A Spectacular Experience That’s So Much More Than a Ride

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Galacticoaster (Image courtesy of LEGOLAND)

Our family of 3 had a chance to experience Galacticoaster at LEGOLAND Florida and we were wowed, awestruck and captivated by this amazing attraction. Calling Galacticoaster and “ride” or a “roller coaster” really sells it short as this is a multi-part story driven experience. The actual “coaster” portion of Galacticoaster is pretty short, but you’ll be entertained thoroughly over 10 minutes or so as you’re completely immersed in the ride’s story. This ride and its twin at LEGOLAND California represent a $90 million investment by Merlin Entertainment and you’ll immediately see it was money well spent.

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If you Visit Fun Spot Atlanta, Be Sure to Make the Short Drive to Truett’s Luau, the Hawaiian Themed Chick-fil-A

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If you make the pilgrimage to Fayetteville, Georgia and Fun Spot America Atlanta to ride the amazing ArieForce One, there’s also another unique restaurant experience less than 15 minutes down the road. Truett’s Luau, often referred to as the “Hawaiian Chick-fil-A”, that is also located in Fayetteville, Georgia. This is not your standard Chick-fil-A with different as in addition to the standard Chick-fil-A staples, the restaurant features unique, tropical, and Polynesian-inspired items like fish tacos, Kalua pork, mahi-mahi, and bubble tea. The restaurant was opened in December 2013 when att 92 years old, Chick-fil-A founder S. Truett Cathy created this special project to share his love of Hawaiian vacations. He even handpicked the decor to bring the island spirit to his home state.

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The Best Six Flags Dark Ride is Monster Mansion at Six Flags Over Georgia

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Monster Mansion is also an opening day attraction at Six Flags Over Georgia in 1967. It was formerly known as Tales Of The Okefenokee (1967–1980) and Monster Plantation (1981–2008) and now it’s Monster Mansion. There’s a ton of history here and even connections to Disney. This was the first “dark ride” at Six Flags Over Georgia and most reviews claim it is the best in the whole Six Flags chain or any regional theme park. It is also a source of original characters for meet and greets and some cool merchandise for the park. So let’s dive into what makes Monster Mansion at Six Flags Over Georgia so special and it’s evolution that continues today.

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