Yoshi

Maybe the insurance companies require it? I have heard others say in Europe, rapids rides don’t have seatbelts because it’s expected that people will remain seated. I haven’t ridden Congo Rapids in at least 7 years but thought they used Velcro seatbelts that were easy to undo. Other parks that use traditional belts with a buckle seem more dangerous.
 

I don’t know if it would be possible for Congo Rapids or not but around 2017 or 2018 at Thunder Canyon at Dorney, the lifeguard chairs were removed every so many feet and replaced with cameras. Now a ride operator sits in a room near the top of the conveyor belt at the beginning of the ride with a lot of monitors watching everything. That probably saves the park from using 3 or 4 less ride operators.

I think if any were to be removed, it would be Twister. I think it’s the last or one of last top spins left in the US. 
 

I am glad to see the Saw Mill Log Flume is being refurbished. I don’t like the recent trend of parks removing water rides to the point that parks like Carowinds don’t have a single water ride on the amusement side of the park.

It looks like it recently opened

https://islandwaterparkac.com/

I'm kind of surprised at the admission cost of $89 for the day or $69 after 4 pm. I know it's a tourist area but that still seems kind of expensive. I never went to Kalahari in the Poconos for the same reason, it's difficult to justify paying close to $100 for a day when a Dorney or Great Adventure season pass with water park access costs less than that.

It's not official but there are rumors Timberline Twister at Knott's is being removed:

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cuk1av2P-E3/?igshid=NTc4MTIwNjQ2YQ

https://www.baynews9.com/fl/tampa/attractions/2023/07/13/legoland-florida-closing-flying-school-roller-coaster

Quote

The theme park announced Thursday that its Flying School attraction will close to “make way for future awesomeness.”

The last day to ride will be Aug. 16, which also happens to be National Roller Coaster Day.

I would like to see one of those smaller B&M Wing Coasters replace it like the one that just opened at Legoland in Germany.

It looks like it could end up being a really fun coaster. A tamer coaster is needed with all the other coaster arguably thrill coasters except Journey To Atlantis.

I visited Busch Gardens last Thursday. With the heat index getting up to 105 degrees during the day, I only visit parks later in the day until the weather gets cooler. That also allows me to visit with lower crowds since most people are leaving by around 6 - 7 p.m.

The main focus of the trip was to ride Sand Serpent before it closes. I'm going to miss the ride, not only because it's one of the only tamer coasters in the park but also because it reminds me of being back home with it the ride similar to the Wild Mouse coasters at Hershey and Dorney and somewhat similar to the layout of the Dark Knight. I rode 4 times waiting around 5 minutes each time. I saw other people going back for multiple rides either taking advantage of the short wait time or trying to get their final rides in.

Sheikra was next with a 1 train wait. As many times as I have ridden the coaster, the holding brake on the drop is still a little scary especially in the front row.

Iron Gwazi had been closed when I first got to the park but reopened with 1 train running. I used my Quick Queue there and waiting a little less than 15 minutes. The wait time sign had 60 minutes posted with most of the station full. I usually don't get to ride Iron Gwazi later in the day too much and the difference between an early afternoon ride and an night ride is amazing. It feels so much faster at night after it has been running all day.

On the way out, I stopped at the main store to use my $10 in Busch Bucks. They really were generous this month with $10 at SeaWorld and $20 each at Adventure Island and Aquatica plus an extra 10% pass holder discount. My display shelf is starting to look like a Busch Gardens and Sea World gift shop with all the souvenirs I get (but I still have my Nitro and Kingda Ka shot glasses right up front).

The chain link fence has been added sometime in the last few weeks  after some idiot jumped over the lower fence and walked into the alligator enclosure.

I hadn’t heard about the family boomerang. That would be a good fit for the park. 

https://buschgardens.com/tampa/roller-coasters/sandserpent/

I know there have been rumors of a B&M Giga being added to the park. As much as I want to see that added, they really need a new family coaster to replace SandSerpent.
 

That leaves Cobra's Curse as the only coaster that does not have an inversion and has less than a 48" height requirement besides the kiddie coaster.

On 6/10/2023 at 6:19 AM, GAcoaster said:

Having done retail in parks I can tell you going cashless just makes sense. No tills to have to worry about guests or employees stealing from, no having to count drawers when guests claim to have been short changed, no having to worry about cashiers who have no clue how to make change. The SeaWorld parks are converting to cashless as well and offering cash to card conversion kiosks.

 

 

That's a really great point about not having to count the money that I didn't think of. When I worked in retail, I hated having to count the money when someone said they were short changed or at the beginning or end of a shift with the cashier. It was rare for the money to be exactly even.

I know it was a different time and would never happen today but it's really surprising to see that photo and see no fence of anything. Even if someone is watching their kids, a little kid could get away and run right into the ride area.

I tried the trucks one or two times. It was fun for something different but didn't think it was really something I needed to frequently go to. I preferred the boats near Jolly Roger that I usually tried at least once a season.

Great report. When I was reading the report and saw Sky Splash was re-themed, I thought it was a shame that the rubber duckie was no longer at the top of the ride as it really stood out when driving past the park. Then I continued reading and saw that they kept it which is good. When I eventually get back to the area (hopefully in the next 2 - 3 years), I'll probably run in to try Oscar's Wacky Taxi since I have a Platinum Pass.

With the parachutes gone and the Skyride possibly removed, It's getting to the point where there are very few tame rides for almost anyone that aren't kiddie rides. All that is left is Justice League, Carousel, Big Wheel and maybe 1 or 2 other rides.

When you go to the rides page and move the mouse over Super Flight it states:

Quote

Super Flight

Closed for the 2023 season. Stay tuned for an all-new attraction!

https://playland.com/things-to-do/rides-and-attractions/

That is somewhat unclear. Closed for the 2023 season makes it sound like could re-open but then all new attraction sounds like it is being replaced.

19 hours ago, The Master said:

The park is also adding a Build a Bear workshop near the park exit which is weird. 

Anytime I walk past the ones in Busch Gardens Tampa and SeaWorld Orlando, there are usually no customers.

Maybe they will have Looney Tunes characters like the SEAS parks have Sesame Street characters.

Opening Day is June 2nd. They really built the coaster quickly.

On Friday I went to SeaWorld to try Pipeline. The only other stand up coaster I have ridden is Green Lantern. I used to really like the coaster sometimes riding 5 times in 1 day but the last few times I rode it, there was a lot of pressure put on my legs and I decided it wasn't worth the discomfort to ride anymore.

I was optimistic B&M wouldn't bring back the standup coaster if they didn't improve it. The ride area is really nice with a beach theme. The queue doesn't look like it will hold that much of a line. SeaWorld typically doesn't get huge lines for the coasters but with this probably being low capacity and new, I could see it getting a full queue on crowded days.

There was someone at the ride entrance checking to make sure everyone entering the line had a Platinum Pass. There were a lot of disappointed people walking up to the ride and not being allowed on because they either had tickets for admission or a lower level annual pass. It was a posted 30 minute wait but looked a lot less. They were using the Quick Queue line as a single rider line and I only waited 1 train using that line.

The ride operators check each restraint and then lock it with some tag similar to the Parachutes at Great Adventure where they had to put the key on the ride panel for the ride to start. It is also the only B&M coaster other than hyper/giga coasters that I have seen without a seat belt.

The seats moving up and down was definitely different and was a little strange to being lifted up so much but it was fun. It was a lot more comfortable than I was expecting. Like most newer B&M coasters it was not too forceful. I liked that it didn't focus on inversions and had lots of banked turns and helices. I felt a little pressure in my legs but nothing too bad. After the train got back to the station, my restraint wouldn't unlock (that had supposedly been happening during employee previews too) and after a few minutes of no success, they had to call someone else in the station to manually release it. I didn't want to go back for a second ride right away after that and thought about trying the coaster on the way out of the park.

I'd probably rank it as my 4th or 5th favorite ride in the park either right above or below Ice Breaker.

For a weekday the park was really crowded with school groups. Ice Breaker had a posted 2 hour wait. Journey to Atlantis was showing a 35 minute wait but that wasn't even close to accurate with a completely full queue. With Quick Queue it was just under 10 minutes. Unfortunately, the family in the last 2 rows was obnoxious. They tried to take my row and someone else's row. They had their light on the phone the whole time, taking flash pictures and refused to put their phone away. The ride stopped multiple times because they kept the phone out. The kids kept putting their hands in the water and splashing everyone in the boat. I am a very non confrontational person but I was seriously considering yelling at them.

I was hoping security would have been waiting to eject them. I went up to the person at the Quick Queue entrance and told them how the ride was ruined for me and if I could ride again. They said yes and the same family used Quick Queue again but they went to the other boat. I saw them again trying to take a different row. The unload area was also not being used which slowed down dispatches.

Kraken was closed for maintenance and someone asked if it would be open at all that day and were told no. With Mako closed for repainting that only left Ice Breaker, Manta and Journey to Atlantis for coasters open to the public.

Pipeline had also broken down and at that point I decided to leave and go to the Magic Kingdom. Crowds weren't too bad but there were annoying visitors there too. I got the back row on Big Thunder Mountain and someone left their assigned row to sit next to me. I don't like riding with strangers on that coaster with no seat divider and a shared lap bar.

It was becoming very annoying dealing with other people in the park. Thankfully 1 thing helped make the day a lot better. Space Mountain had been closed for the first few hours I was there but reopened at around 8:45. With most people waiting for fireworks, the wait time was posted at 30 minutes but that didn't seem right. It was a complete walk on to the loading area and I ended up getting my own rocket. I rarely get the front row and never had ridden Space Mountain with all the other seats in the train empty. I walked around and had the same thing happen again.

I'll probably return to SeaWorld once Mako reopens.

I liked the entrance sign

On Sunday I went to both SeaWorld and Magic Kingdom. Knowing that Mako and Journey to Atlantis were closed for refurbishment (my 2 favorite rides in the park) I didn't plan to spend too much time at SeaWorld.

Ice Breaker without the comfort collars is a big improvement. You can enjoy the air time without being lifted into the straps of the comfort collars. Instead there is a seat belt. Only 1 train is running with the updated restraints and with it being a weekend, it was a posted 60 minute wait but looked worse. With Quick Queue it was a 3 train wait that took around 20 minutes because the ride stopped for over 10 minutes thanks to some idiot having their phone out. I was hoping they would be removed from the park but they didn't get in trouble at all.

I was considering going to Kraken but saw it was closed along with Manta. I decided to just get my 2 free food sample items at the Seven Seas Food Festival, use my SeaWorld bucks and leave. The festival crowds were more like what you see at Epcot compare to Busch Gardens where there aren't nearly as many people waiting at the booths.

Magic Kingdom wasn't really crowded at all. Walking in just after 3:30 I was really surprised to see that Tron boarding groups were still available. I later saw they ran out about a minute after I scanned into the park and got in the virtual queue.

Even some of the more popular rides like Big Thunder Mountain Railroad were only a 20 minute wait in the late afternoon. During the fireworks, almost every ride except Peter Pan's Flight and Seven Dwarfs Mine Train becomes a walk on and even those rides were a 10 minute and 15 minute wait before people walked back into the lands after the fireworks.

At 10:00, my boarding group was called. I was really looking forward to a night ride and got assigned the front row. It's definitely cooler to ride at night with the lights on the canopy and on the bikes but I don't think it's as big of a deal as it was made out to be to the point return times are being enforced because supposedly so many people want to ride at night. After Tron, there was time for another Space Mountain ride. Disney over inflates the wait times near closing and it was only a 15 minute wait.

If Tron boarding times last for hours after the 1:00 virtual queue opens, I will probably get to ride the coaster a lot more than I was expecting to.

After Serengeti Flyer only had a 2 or 3 days or previews, I was wondering if there were going to be weeks of previews like Ice Breaker and Iron Gwazi had. I'm going to try to get there after the 15th so I can use the SeaWorld Bucks on the same trip.

Thank you.

I enjoy Fun Spot but it’s probably not somewhere to spend more than 2-3 hours. White Lightning is great but after that and Freedom Flyer, there isn’t a whole lot besides the go karts unless you want to ride a lot of flat rides. You can get a wristband good for both the Orlando and Kissimmee parks for an extra $10 over buying the wristband for 1 park but Mine Blower at Kissimmee is closed for some retracking from RMC. Also if it’s a weekday, they usually don’t open until 2 pm except during school breaks and summer. 
 

They also offer pay per ride but I only suggest that if you just wanted to stop in and ride 1 or 2 things as it is expensive. $12 per ride for the coasters, go karts and larger flat rides. $7 per ride for everything else.

I would have also suggested SeaWorld with their $66 ticket sale if you already aren’t going there but Mako and Journey to Atlantis are closed for refurbishment. 
 

The only other attractions I have done besides the main parks in Orlando since moving to FL is mini golf at Disney and some of the water parks (both Disney water parks and Aquatica). The golf is fun but only takes around an hour and probably isn’t worth the trouble if going there from the Universal area just for that.

Opening in May. I hope they announce annual pass preview dates soon.

I’m thrilled about this. The layout is great but the ride is so painful that I only ride it once a visit. I’ll be visiting the Kissimmee park a lot more (plus having the only flying scooters in FL doesn’t hurt either).

https://www.worldsoffun.com/code-of-conduct

Worlds of Fun adds a chaperone policy

Quote

For decades, Worlds of Fun has been a place where families and friends come together to enjoy our one-of-a-kind park. Millions of guests have counted on us for their daily dose of wholesome family fun, and we’re committed to keeping that promise going forward.

 

As part of that commitment, the park will implement a chaperone policy beginning Saturday, April 15, 2023.

 

Under this policy, all guests ages 15 years old or younger must be accompanied by a chaperone who is at least 21 years old to be admitted to, or remain in, the park after 4:00 p.m. The chaperone must present a valid government-issued photo identification with date of birth at ticket entry. In addition, the chaperone must accompany their party during entry, remain inside the park during their visit, and be available by phone throughout their stay.

$35 for Genie Plus, $20 for Tron Individual Lightning Lane (if you can get it), 7DMT is I think $11, if the cost wasn't raised for this week. That's $66 a person. 

Waits look bad but not horrible for this time of year, 40 minutes for Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, 45 for Haunted Mansion, 65 for Space Mountain that wouldn't seem like Genie + should be so expensive given the crowds and wait times and that's not even factoring in the usually over inflated wait times.

Very disappointing to see. I can understand them keeping Tango and Macho Nacho closed along with El Toro since not many people are going to go into Plaza Del Carnaval with El Toro closed but to have all of Frontier Adventures closed plus the Skyway is too much.

I miss the days when almost everything was open on opening weekend. I remember opening weekend 2010 when it was in the 30's on Saturday and 40's on Sunday and rides that you would expect to be closed like the log flume were still open.