Busch Gardens Tampa

Earlier today I set off on yet another adventure to both a new city and a new theme park. I took my first Florida road trip to Busch Gardens Tampa, about an hour away from Orlando. Though the rain got heavy at times, it didn't dampen my spirits on seeing the park or hanging out once again with fellow enthusiast James Kegler. And awaaaaaaay, we go...

• First the BAD news. Congo River Rapids (sister Intamin ride and layout to Opryland's Grizzly River Rampage) was down for rehab. (Deep breath)NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO! (You get the idea here.)
• BGT has some of the best fries and chicken strips I've had at any themepark. They tasted good. The cranes walking around covered area where we ate thought so too.
• Quote of the day by the Meerkats: "Guy: Are those chinchillas? Girl: No! Good one. Those are Meekrats." Yes there was much comedy over this one during the rainy afternoon. ;)
• Rode Rhino Rally, sans water part, and enjoyed the running comedy and bad jokes. The one-liners made this ride a new fave and a must do from now on. Shout out to our driver Rizzo (not kidding) for keeping us laughing the whole time. She did a great job.
• James and I ooo'd and ahh'd over dirt piles and footers that will link up with Cheetah Hunt, BGT's new Intamin triple launch coaster. The figure 8 hill/drop and columns make it one of the coolest looking coasters I've seen. When people comment on the bamboo style supports more than the track, you know you have something. Can't wait to see this beauty run.
• Wikileaks reveals a secret government plot to cover up the existence of lesser assertive rodents, also known as Meekrats.
• Had a good time photographing Kumba as it roared by again and again.
• As the afternoon wore on, it darkened up and rained progressively harder, especially while we visited Sesame Street Safari of Fun. Got pics with The Count and Abby Cadabby. Both liked my Kavu Chillba hat that looks like a Chinese coolie hat. Their assistants suggested I see Cookie Monster and his similar hat. Also got to meet Big Bird and Egyptian Elmo. Needless to say, I was tickled. ;)
• The Tigers were out and napping in the cool air as we toured Jungala. Cool to see them, but missed seeing the Python Arrow Corkscrew in that area. Seeing the little section of train in a display area just wasn't the same. Even so, Jungala was a nice area and the Tigers were gorgeous.
• Of all the merch and souvenirs, the Mexican style woven hoodies and sack-packs were probably the neatest. May pick up both on a future visit. And it seems BG has jumped into the pin trade game as well. Noticed that the pins said just Busch Gardens, and did not specify Tampa.
• Was very surprised how compact a park BGT really is. It's lush and pretty, but smaller than you'd think. Also, Sheikra is most compact on footprint. Kudos to the designers for getting that dive machine into a really small area. Impressive stuff, particularly the head chopper off the first immelman. And no, I did not mock the water spray as I did Griffon in 2007. Yes, lesson learned and drenching avoided. ;)
• Got to see King Tut's tomb near Montu. Enjoyable walk-through.
• In the Wacky Souvenir category: Busch Gardens denim booty shorts that look like something VERY small you'd see in Second Life. We're talking a little bigger than a girl's bikini bottom here. Nothing wrong with this, but it was just odd to see it at a park verses Target. To BGT's credit, they were not overpriced at a mere $15. (I'll let you all come up with the innuendo and one-liners on this one. On a side note, has anyone else noticed how REALLY short shorts have gotten in the last year? Like cheeks hanging out, groin level short?)
• At about 5:30 (4 hours after I arrived) we called it a day due to the rains. Even so, it was a good day out with Mr. Kegler and I'd go back to Busch Gardens on a sunny (and rapids operating) day to have another go.

Does the day end here? Nope. I stopped into CityWalk on the way home for some Bubba Gump Shrimp dinner. Met the very tall mascot. Yep, got a blurry pic with him before another tasty meal and a quick spin around the complex. Indeed, a tasteful end to a rainy but fun day.

Hope you all enjoyed and thanks for reading. :)