A Wonderful First Experience at BGT

I sandwiched my visits to BGT in between the Orlando parks. Although it made for extra travel, Busch Gardens was so worth the hassle!

Overview

On Day 4 of my trip, I spent the morning and early afternoon traveling to Tampa via Amtrak. When I booked this trip, the daily shuttle from Orlando to BGT was not operational. It's now back, but I'd still consider other options, as the shuttle arrives to the park late and leaves early. Anyway, I spread out my visit to Busch Gardens over three days. I was there on Saturday from 4PM-10PM, Sunday from 10AM-10PM, and Monday from 10AM-3:15PM before taking Amtrak back to Orlando that evening. Thankfully, the weather cooperated the whole time in Tampa, and crowds weren't too bad. I rode Kumba 13 times, Iron Gwazi 11 times, Cheetah Hunt 6 times, SheiKra 6 times, Montu 5 times, Scorpion twice, Tigris twice, Sand Serpent once, Cobra's Curse once, and Air Grover once. Busch Gardens is a very big and beautiful park with a world-class coaster collection. I loved the animals too! Without seeking them out, I came across flamingos, penguins, alligators, ducks, turtles, cheetahs and elephants. This is my #3 park behind Cedar Point and Kings Island. Operations were kind of slow, and in-park purchases were pricier than competitors.

Coasters

My favorite BGT coaster is unsurprisingly its newest: Iron Gwazi This coaster is a masterpiece from start to finish. From being able to see Gwazi's footers and the park's skyline on the lift, to being hurled face-first towards the ground, to flying through the "death roll" and being tossed every which way, IG is the best coaster in Florida for me, and by a sizeable margin. As far as airtime goes, my favorite moments are the drop, the outer banked hill, the wave turn, and the "fake drop" at the very end. I still don't like RMC's restraints, and some of the twisted airtime moments before and after the stall are a little too aggressive for my preferences. However, Iron Gwazi's pacing and length are perfect. I could enjoy the ride without my legs feeling assaulted. There are two additional reasons that I prefer this coaster to Steel Vengeance: it's PURPLE, and the line usually does not exceed 30 minutes. I rode in rows 2-11 and liked every spot equally. IG did experience about 80 minutes of downtime on Sunday, and also had to quit operating for an hour for the fireworks show. This coaster is very polarizing at BGT as its deemed too intense/scary by many guests, which keeps the wait times down.

Kumba is a ferocious B&M looper that never gets more than a five minute line for rows 2-8. On my first ride, I could only think about how rough this coaster was, especially for a B&M. But I learned to brace for and look past the shakiness. I appreciate this awesome coaster's pacing and sequence of inversions. My favorite moment on the ride is the zero-g roll taken at an insane speed. There are even two airtime moments - on the small hill before the cobra roll and rising into the MCBR. The finale with the thrilling tunnel and forceful helix delivers every time too. I prefer the left edge seats, as the coaster feels faster to me. However, the middle seats are a tad smoother. Even though it's rough, Kumba surpassed Superman Krypton Coaster as my favorite inversion-focused coaster. I love Kumba and hope it sticks around or gets new track. It would be a shame for BGT to remove this brilliant ride.

I also love the other inversion-filled, monstrous B&M at BGT, Montu. This one is a lot smoother and has a longer line than Kumba. All inversions on Montu are excellent, especially the batwing and final corkscrew. I prefer this coaster to Banshee, as there is no inline twist that makes me woozy. Montu has similar intensity to the Batman clones and Afterburn, but has a better, longer layout and runs very smoothly. Surprisingly, this coaster's top speed is only 60mph. It felt closer to 70mph in my opinion, but perhaps that's a testament to Montu's wicked pacing and trenches.

Cheetah Hunt was the best surprise for me at BGT. This coaster, with a few more inversions, is what I'd hoped Maverick would be like. Cheetah Hunt features three powerful launches, a twisty section that is fun without yanking me from side-to-side, three really nice airtime moments that are more pronounced in the front, and a well-timed inversion. I rode in the front, middle, and back rows, and liked the front best because of better airtime and views. Cheetah Hunt is a long, fun, thrilling, and forceful ride. After visiting the Disney parks, this ride is much more intense than a "family coaster." My only complaints are those awful Intamin OTSRs and some downtime. I waited through two spells of mechanical issues. With so many other great coasters at BGT, I personally wouldn't wait much more than 30 minutes for this attraction, but it frequently was an hourlong wait or more.

I was a tad disappointed by SheiKra, my second dive coaster and 200th credit. This ride is already short and has filler elements after the second drop into the tunnel. However, this coaster has amazing airtime, and riders are pressed against the restraints for several seconds on the drops. It's a neat feeling, but I prefer Valravn with the vest restraints and superior inversions. The drop on Valravn also feels more intimidating, due to the additional 23 feet in height and Cedar Point's skyline. SheiKra is also bumpy. Its splashdown is better experienced offride, since onride it's just straight track that slows the coaster down. I rode twice in the front, once in the middle, and three times in the back. I prefer the front row by a little bit for greater suspense during the holding section.

Schwarzkopf's Scorpion was more intense than anticipated. Since I rode without a seatmate, I got thrown around a lot after the loop. This coaster never has a line, and is a solid intermediate coaster for those afraid of the B&Ms and Iron Gwazi. I rode Scorpion in the very front and back rows. For only topping out at 41mph, this was one wild ride!

Tigris was a dud for me. I strongly dislike the trains, restraints, and (dis)comfort collars. The abrupt twists bang me around. There is very forceful airtime, but I couldn't enjoy it. The front row was more tolerable than the back. The best part is probably the slow roll, but even that's just alright.

Cobra's Curse serves as an intermediate coaster at BGT. Its thrill level is slightly more intense than the Pandemonium clones at Six Flags parks. This ride is well-themed, long, and well-rounded. I think it might've been my first coaster with an elevator lift. Cobra's Cuurse had a lot of downtime and long lines during my visit.

I don't have comments on Sand Serpent or Air Grover.

Other Rides

I rode Congo River Rapids and Stanley Falls Flume to cool down. Both water rides were typical. I'd hoped to ride Falcon's Fury, but it was closed for maintenance on my visit. Skyride was also not operating.

Food & Merchandise

I ate meals at Zagora Cafe for $23, Chick-fil-A for $18, Dragon Fire Grill for $21, Oasis Pizza for $21, and Twisted Tails Pretzels for $14. The food at BGT was mostly mediocre and very overpriced. In terms of merch, I bought an Iron Gwazi t-shirt for $29 and a coaster mug for $17. A lot of their merchandise was themed to animals rather than coasters.

Cost

I bundled my 2-night hotel stay with the SeaWorld/Busch combo admission ticket for $497. The package included a one-time Quick Queue as well, but I only used it on Cheetah Hunt, Congo River Rapids, and Cobra's Curse at BGT which saved 3 hours. I also received a cute goodie bag at check in with a lanyard, luggage tag, stuffed animal, and sunglasses. Check out the cost breakdown of my entire trip here.

Photos

These photos were taken by me. Please credit this website if used.