The Good, the Bad, and the Classic -- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Busch Gardens Tampa: Mike Monostra shares his thoughts on Central Florida's "other" theme park.

From Mike Monostra
Posted November 8, 2004 at 6:59 PM
Isn't it ironic? We want an announcement for 'the other side' for BGW and we get ShieKra for BGT. Wow, that was just weird. Anyway, this week its Tampa's turn at getting a critique. Let's get started.

Morocco- Not a lot to do here.The new Katonga show isn't the best but it can hold its own. I will give a thumbs up to the ice cream. I loved it.

Egypt- This is a small land that is dominated by Montu. Montu isn't the best inverted coaster out there, but is defintly a top 10. King Tut's tomb is educational and i actually enjoyed it. That's to all the people who dumped on it.

Myombe Reserve and Edge of Africa- These are two fantastic places to see animals in their ownb territory. I actually prefer Busch Gardens over Animal Kingdom here, since I was able to see many more animals. The Railway is also a fantastic ride through th area.

Bird Gardens-It confuses me that0 Gwazi is in the middle of Bird Gardens. Nevertheless, it is a good ride, but there are better ones. The bird show kind of bored me but if you are a bird lover go see it.

Land of the Dragons- This is the best single children's play area in any park. I thought it was very nice looking and clean and the kids were having a ball. 2 thumbs way up here.

Nairobi- Rhino Rally is a complete bust and one of the biggest disappointments anywhere. I tried this a few times and every time the water sectio wasn't working. And Kilamanjaro Safaris actually shows more animals. What a waste.

Timbuktu
Good- Cheetah Chase
Bad- R. L. Stine's HL
Classic- Scorpian
I loved Cheetah Chase at BGW I still like it now. The Haunted Lighthouse is stupid and boring. Scorpian is one of those old clasic loopers we grow to love.

Stanleyville- This place is getting a huge upgrade next year with ShieKra as the centerpiece. Right now, Tidal Wave and Stanley Falls make for a quick stop. Not much other then that though.

Congo
Good-Kumba
Bad-Congo River Rapids
Classic-Python
Kumba is an O.K. coaster but not the best in its class. CRR does not get you wet consistently and there a re a lot better rapids out there. Python is simply an old ride that I at least still enjoy.

What should they do next?- After SheiKra, get a better tour ride then Rhino Rally. And add something to the Rapids.

Overall- ShieKra will finally give BGT some needed respect. This is the first coaster here that can say its the top in its class. 8/10

From Robert OGrosky
Posted November 8, 2004 at 10:15 PM
Glad to have somone bring up this park as i will be going there for the first time in 20 yrs this Dec.
Does anyone have a strategy when it comes to visiting the park so you can do it all in one day, some type of plan of attack.???

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