Busch Gardens Tampa: General Discussion

[Ted]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

I like the name "Falcon's Fury" Sounds very catchy.

 

[Rob]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

Just seen the latest drop tower rumours posted above. Not going for Moser any more, well I never!! I don't think Busch will ever be buying a product from Moser ever again. As for the idea of tilting seats so you were facing the ground, it sounds scary as hell but I love the idea!

 

[Danny]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

Great name and great concept if they come to reality. I'm not too keen on drop towers, but I'd certainly make the effort to speed up my next visit back to Florida to ride this.

 

[Martin]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

Name sounds very RCT.

 

[Alastair]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

Name sounds very RCT.

At least they didn't call it "Roto Drop 1"

 

[BigAl]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

Bad news from Screamscape regarding Gwazi:

General Park News - (1/8/13) Interesting news from a reader who visited Busch Gardens Tampa late last week. They report that Rhino Rally was up and running once again, and has returned to the park map, though the attraction is pretty much as it used to be. No reported improvements or expansions.
On the bad side, Gwazi is still only running with just the Lion side, and according to sources, it may be quite some time until Tiger runs again… if it EVER runs again. I’m told that the sign showing off the wait time for the Tiger side of the queue has now been removed, and the Tiger side is now used as the Quick Queue entrance, with the aid of a bridge that has been construction to allow them to pass over the Tiger track in the station to get over to the Lion side.
According to rumors spreading through the staff, Gwazi’s maintenance budget has been slashed to the point that it can not run both side any longer. Two of Gwazi’s trains have also been reportedly cannibalized for spare parts to keep the other two running. As before, Gwazi is only running one Lion themed train and one Tiger themed train, with the other Tiger train visible and stripped down on the old Tiger maintenance track. So sad…

Glad I managed to get a go on the Tiger side a few months before all of this. I hope it'll be able to revert back to both sides at some point as it's a good ride. :/

 

[Quetzal]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

It's a shame to see that both of Orlando's racing/duelling coaster are no longer duelling.

It seems like a bit of a backward step, to have had new trains installed not so long ago, and are now cannibalising these trains for parts. It wouldn't surprise me if Gwazi were to close al together sooner rather than later.

 

[BigAl]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

Well if this is anything to go by, I wouldn't worry about it closing (from Screamscape):

General Park News - (1/9/13) After doing a little more checking with some people more ‘in the know’, I’m told that Gwazi Tiger is still down due to some much needed trackwork. No one seems to know why this has not been completed yet, nor how much longer it will take until it is done. There was a rumor floating about several months ago indicating that the park might have been wanting to install some Topper Track to try and smooth out some troublesome sections of the ride. I suppose it is possible that they could be waiting on this… but no one seems to know just what the hold up is, only that they expect it to reopen this year.

 

[Quetzal]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

Oh, that's better news!

Has an opening date been confirmed for the drop tower? The tilting seats sounds like an amazing concept, and I'd really like to try it out when I visit next year.

 

[BigAl]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

No, I don't think there's an official opening date floating around anywhere. Every site just lists '2013' so far.

 

[Danny]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

Nothing to do with the drop tower, but ah well:

Despite SheiKra being in a better condition than Bliv [which is in dire need of a paint job. If it gets one or not 2013 remains to be seen], it will be undergoing a repaint this month. There's a nice little interesting Q&A here about the project.

 

[BigAl]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

Screamscape have news on the new drop tower coming to the park this year:

2013 - Drop Tower / Desert Dive - Planning - (2/4/13) The word from a few BGT insiders is that the park is still planning on adding a drop tower ride to the park, but they are now not expecting to begin construction on the ride until around July. It is still expected to take over the Sandstorm location, which will be moved to a new site near Gwazi.

 

[Danny]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

Not anything to do with a drop tower, but....

After 600 gallons of paint and 7,000 man hours, SheiKra is ready to reopen next Saturday, February 16! Will you be among the first to ride it?

Not a large fan of any red and blue colour scheme, but I hope Bliv looks this good after the repaint!

 

[Spark]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

7000 man hours lol mental

 

[LiamC]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

Not anything to do with a drop tower, but....

After 600 gallons of paint and 7,000 man hours, SheiKra is ready to reopen next Saturday, February 16! Will you be among the first to ride it?

Not a large fan of any red and blue colour scheme, but I hope Bliv looks this good after the repaint!

It always have been red and blue, but I agree, it's does look garish

Are they're painting all dive machines this closed season, or is this just coincidence?

 

[Danny]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

It always have been red and blue, but I agree, it's does look garish
Are they're painting all dive machines this closed season, or is this just coincidence?

I'm aware it's always been red and blue, and I've always disliked the colour scheme. The fact it now looks shiny and new is making me dislike it more than I originally did :S

I think Busch might be going through a stage where they repaint their coasters every two years or so. It wasn't that long ago that Kumba was repainted [although it was in dire need of some attention anyway], and Sheikra didn't necessarily need it. I wouldn't be surprised if Montu got a repaint in the next few years, although I'll look forward to that because I'm in love with the colour scheme as it is.

 

[Alastair]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

I like the red and blue, not merely because it reminds me of Spinball but because it really stands out from the surroundings. Looks as good as new with the repaint as well!

 

[BigAl]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

More news about the drop tower attraction from Screamscape:

Late 2013 to Mid 2014 - Drop Tower / Desert Dive - Planning - (2/21/13) Busch Gardens posted their list of 2013 Attraction Rehab dates (see above) and I noticed something very interesting that could involve the new rumored drop tower ride. On June 19th, four attractions in Timbuktu are slated to close down, all at once: Sandstorm, Bush Flyers, Desert Runners and the Kiddie Train. While the rehab on the Sandstorm is listed as lasting for one week (June 19 through June 26), the three kiddie rides are all listed as closing from June 19 through to December 31st! As the rehab calender only includes dates within 2013, this says to be that these three rides may be slated for removal on June 19th.
The once planed timeline to move the Sandstorm to a new location near Gwazi has come and gone, and Sandstorm still sits in Timbuktu. I also don’t believe we will see the park able to move the ride to a new location in a week-long window in June 2013 either, so I’ve got to wonder if the site of the proposed Drop Tower ride has been moved over to the combined location where the three kiddie rides sit, just to the south of Phoenix. This location on the edge of Timbuktu would also provide a pretty good view down into the Rhino Rally / Elephant exhibit area next door. One more thought to chew on... if these three kiddie rides are removed, will they be moved to new locations in the park, or just simply retired?

 

[BigAl]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

Screamscape is reporting that Kumba is down for unscheduled maintenance. Apparently there's some work taking place on some footers by the cobra roll:

Source.

 

[Spark]

Re: Busch Gardens Tampa 2013: drop tower "Desert Dive"

Great picture that is!