Minnies Boy Toy
Keeping an eye out for Mickey....
- Joined
- Apr 29, 2013
- Messages
- 55
A few personal tips for the general good of the order:
If you want to stay in Tampa and you're a shopper I highly recommend the Renaissance hotel which is on the grounds of the International Mall. Basically you have lodging, shopping and a bit of clubby nightlife atmosphere right there in one place.
If you want to stay in Tampa and are a partier check out Ybor City.
For a nice upscale hotel I like the Marriott Waterside on the river and near the Convention Center.
As for Busch Gardens, my favorite coaster is actuallly one of the older ones, Kumba, which has a two-loop feature; it's loud and fast- it's also in the very back of the park, so one strategy is to get into the park and walk back there (or take the skyway or train) and ride this first - then work your way back.
Sheikra is the most visually impressive and imposing but it's such a smooth ride that it's really not as scary as you'd think once you get past that deliciously disorienting part where you're dangling over that 90 degree drop. By all means wait so you can sit in the front row so there's nothing between your legs dangling in front of you and the ground far below. Fantastic experience.
Cheetah Hunt is a fun coaster, not really "thrilling" but it is a modern coaster that is not dependent upon gravity - there are pneumatic impulses throughout the ride that get the cars going, so it's kind of disorienting to be shot straight out and up rather than clicky clacking up as usually and then being dropped from the top. That makes it different - and it's also the longest coaster in Florida - which makes it arguably worth the long wait times.
For BG in the summer I highly recommend going in a swimsuit and bringing a backpack or carrier with towels and a change of clothes. Get a locker across from the Tidal Wave ride and then do all the water rides at the same time, then when you get done you can towel off and get into dry clothes - otherwise prepare for some chafing in your future.
Speaking of the Tangyanika Tidal Wave ride, it's really not much - a relatively mild little boat ride with a big wet drop at the end, but it's worth it to stand on the bridge exiting the ride and getting splashed by the boats as they hit the bottom. Lots of fun but hold on to little kids - it's a literal wall of water.
Best food is the smokehouse under Sheikra. The Crown Colony restaurant has a great view with outdoor seating overlooking the Serenghetti Plain, but I find the food to be bland there, and the bathroom in that place is astonishingly small and cramped - if you have kids to worry about.
If you're going to be there all day and like to eat the Dining plan is a bargain, especially to be able to get waters any time you want them on what are always hot days in the summer.
If your kids are into slimy critters don't forget to wander through the caves near Jambo Junction where they have all the snakes/spiders/bats etc. Also there is an aviary in Lory Landing where you can buy little cups of liquid bird food and get some great pics of exotic birds perched on your arm, or head, or whatever as they eat. You will get bird poop on you ,that's almost a given, but worth the photo op for your kids, lol.
Just random thoughts.. my kids love BG (we live an hour away) and we visit all the time.....
I do have to add one other thing. The hospitality house, where you could get two 8 ounce samples of Budweiser products for free, was abolished when Anheuser Busch was bought out by the Belgian beer conglomerat Inbev. It used to be a fun little respite during the day, where you could walk into the hospitality house with your family and eat a light lunch while the adults had a nice cold beer, feeling like you were getting away with something beause the beers were free. What did that cost the company? Maybe a few cents in barley and hops? But nooooooo the miserable penny-pinching miserly ingrates closed it down. It now sits there, alone and empty save for a few worthless art exhibitions from talentless local artists from time to time, and as the public walks by, adult males of all ages suppress hot tears lamenting days of yore gone by, and plotting the invasion of Belgium.
But I'm not bitter or anything.
If you want to stay in Tampa and you're a shopper I highly recommend the Renaissance hotel which is on the grounds of the International Mall. Basically you have lodging, shopping and a bit of clubby nightlife atmosphere right there in one place.
If you want to stay in Tampa and are a partier check out Ybor City.
For a nice upscale hotel I like the Marriott Waterside on the river and near the Convention Center.
As for Busch Gardens, my favorite coaster is actuallly one of the older ones, Kumba, which has a two-loop feature; it's loud and fast- it's also in the very back of the park, so one strategy is to get into the park and walk back there (or take the skyway or train) and ride this first - then work your way back.
Sheikra is the most visually impressive and imposing but it's such a smooth ride that it's really not as scary as you'd think once you get past that deliciously disorienting part where you're dangling over that 90 degree drop. By all means wait so you can sit in the front row so there's nothing between your legs dangling in front of you and the ground far below. Fantastic experience.
Cheetah Hunt is a fun coaster, not really "thrilling" but it is a modern coaster that is not dependent upon gravity - there are pneumatic impulses throughout the ride that get the cars going, so it's kind of disorienting to be shot straight out and up rather than clicky clacking up as usually and then being dropped from the top. That makes it different - and it's also the longest coaster in Florida - which makes it arguably worth the long wait times.
For BG in the summer I highly recommend going in a swimsuit and bringing a backpack or carrier with towels and a change of clothes. Get a locker across from the Tidal Wave ride and then do all the water rides at the same time, then when you get done you can towel off and get into dry clothes - otherwise prepare for some chafing in your future.
Speaking of the Tangyanika Tidal Wave ride, it's really not much - a relatively mild little boat ride with a big wet drop at the end, but it's worth it to stand on the bridge exiting the ride and getting splashed by the boats as they hit the bottom. Lots of fun but hold on to little kids - it's a literal wall of water.
Best food is the smokehouse under Sheikra. The Crown Colony restaurant has a great view with outdoor seating overlooking the Serenghetti Plain, but I find the food to be bland there, and the bathroom in that place is astonishingly small and cramped - if you have kids to worry about.
If you're going to be there all day and like to eat the Dining plan is a bargain, especially to be able to get waters any time you want them on what are always hot days in the summer.
If your kids are into slimy critters don't forget to wander through the caves near Jambo Junction where they have all the snakes/spiders/bats etc. Also there is an aviary in Lory Landing where you can buy little cups of liquid bird food and get some great pics of exotic birds perched on your arm, or head, or whatever as they eat. You will get bird poop on you ,that's almost a given, but worth the photo op for your kids, lol.
Just random thoughts.. my kids love BG (we live an hour away) and we visit all the time.....
I do have to add one other thing. The hospitality house, where you could get two 8 ounce samples of Budweiser products for free, was abolished when Anheuser Busch was bought out by the Belgian beer conglomerat Inbev. It used to be a fun little respite during the day, where you could walk into the hospitality house with your family and eat a light lunch while the adults had a nice cold beer, feeling like you were getting away with something beause the beers were free. What did that cost the company? Maybe a few cents in barley and hops? But nooooooo the miserable penny-pinching miserly ingrates closed it down. It now sits there, alone and empty save for a few worthless art exhibitions from talentless local artists from time to time, and as the public walks by, adult males of all ages suppress hot tears lamenting days of yore gone by, and plotting the invasion of Belgium.
But I'm not bitter or anything.
by a 9 yr. old all night, so my own bed would be preferable.
