Busch Gardens Tampa: General Discussion

[Brad97]

If they are going for a giga, I kind of feel that an Intamin might be more likely in order to differentiate it from Mako. I could be completely wrong though. Either way, it's very exciting!

 

[MakoMania]

The park have now filed permits for some major tree removal, although the location is not yet specified in the permit application.

 

[MakoMania]

We now know that this will be the location of the tree removal: between Kumba and the Serengeti Plains.
(Credit to Touring Central Florida)

It looks like a great place to put a hotel overlooking the plains. It is also quite close to the former Rhino Rally area so it is not impossible that the area could be used for a new roller coaster. I do think they will want to use the old Gwazi & Tidal Wave spots for ride developments first though.

 

[MakoMania]

The park have filed for seperate applications to completely enclose Sand Serpent within a building for 2018!

Finally something at BGT that can run in the storms!!!!

 

[Rob]

Interesting idea, hopefully it will be more imaginative that just putting a box around the ride. 2D theming effects a la Laff Trakk could be really effective here.

 

[MakoMania]

Just an add on to the several mysterious happenings going on at the park, Busch Gardens Tampa President Stewart Clark (who previously helped run Discovery Cove) says we can expect big surprises this fall. Not sure if this is talking about 2018/2019 announcements or Howl-O-Scream.....

 

[MakoMania]

Touring Central FL has a great BGT park update:

http://touringcentralflorida.com/2017/0 ... mber-2017/

It appears that Kumba is recieving some new paint, although it is still unclear if the entire ride will be repainted. Meanwhile, a new Porcupine exhibit is being introduced in the Edge of Africa area and one of the two new for 2017 Howl-O-Scream mazes has been named as Demented Dimensions.

 

[MakoMania]

A couple of exciting BGT updates today:

The park have started to tease "a new thrill" coming to Adventure Island (Busch Gardens' Waterpark) in 2018. The teaser video hints strongly towards a drop capsule slide like Ihu's Breakaway Falls at Aquatica Orlando. It's great to see continued investment in Adventure Island with this new attraction and Colossal Curl in 2015 as before the park was pretty neglected in terms of investment.



Also, another new for 2017 Howl-O-Scream maze has been announced: Undead Arena. We now know 6/7 of this year's mazes:

Undead Arena (new 2017)
Demented Dimensions (new 2017)
Zombie Containment Unit 15
Death Water Bayou
Unearthed
Motel Hell

It has also been revealed that this year's event will feature at least 5 scare zones!

Lastly, the park just celebrated Oliver's 1st birthday!

Oliver will play an important role in the AZA's species survival plan.

 

[Matt N]

As Hurricane Irma is due to hit mainland America today, the hurricane has apparently changed course and is now headed along the West Coast, which includes Tampa! How does everyone think Busch will fare during the Hurricane?

 

[MakoMania]

As Hurricane Irma is due to hit mainland America today, the hurricane has apparently changed course and is now headed along the West Coast, which includes Tampa! How does everyone think Busch will fare during the Hurricane?

They are as prepared as is possible, let's just hope and pray for the best for the animals and the staff that are riding it out to care for them.

 

[MakoMania]

A few updates to be shared from BGT, some recent and some not so recent.

The park has welcomed a healthy male baby Orangutan. As one of the world's largest zoos, Busch Gardens Tampa plays an important role in the AZA's species survival plan and Orangutans are no exception.

There have also been other new arrivals at the park!

Also, Busch Gardens have announced (a while back) the opening of Vanish Point at Adventure Island in March 2018! The new attraction will include new high-thrill capsule drop slides built off the existing Colossal Curl tower.


The park's next event; Christmas Town begins November 19th and and two new annual events called Three Kings Celebration and Bier Fest have been announced for 2018. Three Kings Celebration will take place daily January 1st-6th whereas Bier Fest will be weekends from August 25th until September 16th.

 

[Matt N]

Has anything progressed with regards to the 2019 giga coaster rumours? Or anything remotely related to a Gwazi replacement? I could also ask the same about Williamsburg's 315ft tall attraction.

 

[MakoMania]

Has anything progressed with regards to the 2019 giga coaster rumours? Or anything remotely related to a Gwazi replacement? I could also ask the same about Williamsburg's 315ft tall attraction.

Nothing yet, stay tuned! It seems likely that there will be some sort of large new attraction in 2019/2020, what it is remains a mystery.

 

[Rob]

Well BGW are getting a major new attraction in 2019, so I suspect it is unlikely Tampa will get anything major in the same year!?

Would make sense if both parks got a Giga though.

 

[MakoMania]

Well BGW are getting a major new attraction in 2019, so I suspect it is unlikely Tampa will get anything major in the same year!?

Would make sense if both parks got a Giga though.

It all depends on whether SEAS remains intact (I think it will at this point). SEAS usually have 3 major capex projects every year, 2016 was Mako, Cobra's Curse & Discovery Point, 2017 was InvadR, Wave Breaker & Ocean Explorer, 2018 is Infinity Falls, Electric Eel & they are spreading out the third major capex money between Sesame Place, Aquatica Orlando, Adventure Island Tampa & Aquatica San Antonio.

2019 is currently expected to be a high capex year in Williamsburg, San Antonio & possibly Tampa as well.

As for two Gigas, it's not impossible, but given that SeaWorld are tightening the purse strings a little, it may be a bit much. They are building Infinity Falls though, so anything can happen

 

[Matt N]

It all depends on whether SEAS remains intact (I think it will at this point). SEAS usually have 3 major capex projects every year, 2016 was Mako, Cobra's Curse & Discovery Point, 2017 was InvadR, Wave Breaker & Ocean Explorer, 2018 is Infinity Falls, Electric Eel & they are spreading out the third major capex money between Sesame Place, Aquatica Orlando, Adventure Island Tampa & Aquatica San Antonio.

2019 is currently expected to be a high capex year in Williamsburg, San Antonio & possibly Tampa as well.

As for two Gigas, it's not impossible, but given that SeaWorld are tightening the purse strings a little, it may be a bit much. They are building Infinity Falls though, so anything can happen

What's San Antonio's major year predicted to be, then? They only got a coaster this year, so is it rumoured to be a Submarine Quest dark ride, like what San Diego got?

Also @MakoMania, do you know if SeaWorld does major capex investments based on cost? Or do they do them based on scale of attraction? I'm only asking because when Williamsburg invested in Tempesto, which was also a Sky Rocket II like Electric Eel, I believe it was classed as a medium investment? (Correct me if I'm wrong.) But Electric Eel is being classed as a major? It makes no sense. Also, I don't see a Sky Rocket II costing very much, as many parks that have one are very small.

 

[Maelstrom]

I am sure I read recently when the last set of performance figs where released, that Sea World Orlando will be getting a major capitol project each year for at least the next 4-5 years which may affect what other parks get.

 

[Matt N]

I am sure I read recently when the last set of performance figs where released, that Sea World Orlando will be getting a major capitol project each year for at least the next 4-5 years which may affect what other parks get.

That's a bit unfair! At least Merlin do a (reasonably) equal capex system.

 

[MakoMania]

SeaWorld Orlando will be getting a significant new investment every year in the form of High, Medium, High, Medium.

The Sky Rocket II coasters are considered a high investment year and SeaWorld San Antonio's 2019 project is rumoured to be one of these.

 

[Matt N]

SeaWorld Orlando will be getting a significant new investment every year in the form of High, Medium, High, Medium.

Ah, so they alternate between high and medium. I'm presuming that high is above about $10million and medium is below $10million. So, for example, Mako was a high investment and Kraken Unleashed/Dolphin Nursery was a medium investment.

The Sky Rocket II coasters are considered a high investment year and SeaWorld San Antonio's 2019 project is rumoured to be one of these.

Aren't Sky Rocket IIs a bit low capacity for parks like the SeaWorld parks? Especially considering San Diego gets over 3 million visitors per year and roller coasters are few and far between?