Ah, Busch Gardens. We’d never been before, and I’d always assumed it was just a cheaper version of Animal Kingdom (cheaper in quality, not price, I’m not actually sure which is cheaper in price). But, you good folks on the TA boards kept talking about the awesome coasters, and since Rin and I are coaster junkies, we decided to give it a go this time.
After our experience with SeaWorld, I was worried today would be more of the same, given that they’re both owned by the same company. But, I went in with an open mind, and I figured I’d be happy as long as there were a couple of good coasters. We also had the Endangered Species Safari to look forward to. So, as soon as we arrived, we caught the tram to the park (not as nice as Disney’s Trams, but what can you do), checked in for our Safari and were told when/where to meet up, then we were on our way. Oh the coasters we went on. I can’t remember the exact order, but today was basically just a day of coasters (which I’ve needed, badly), so I’ll do them as a list.
Cheetah Hunt - Busch Gardens’ newest coaster was probably also my least favourite. That’s not to say it wasn’t good, it just wasn’t as good as the others we went on. Yes, the launch at the beginning is cool, but so is the launch on Ro’n’R at HS, or Hulk at IoA. Otherwise, it was a bit tame. Long though, which I liked. I wouldn’t clamour to go back, but if the chance arose, I wouldn’t miss the opportunity to do it again.
SheiKra - “Hey guys, I’ve got an idea. Let’s take people up a 200ft climb, make them think they’re going to drop, then stop as they’re perpendicular to the ground. We’ll just let them dangle for a minute while their lives flash in front of their eyes.” Genius. Pure genius. There’s even another little mini drop of the same type further along. I think we rode this 2 or 3 times, maybe 4, once waiting specifically to be in the front of the car. Rin usually hates the front of the car, so this had to be good to get her to wait to sit in it. Probably my second favourite ride here.
Gwazi - Ah, wooden coasters, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways... I like to consider myself a coaster enthusiast, and while I try not to be biased toward any type of coaster, there’s just something about wooden ones that I can’t help but go “Yeah, you’re better than your steel brothers.” Gwazi was no exception. We did both Lion and Tiger, and I think the consensus was that we preferred Tiger. Lion is more spirals and turns, whereas Tiger is simply built for speed. While we did both several times to be sure, we kept coming away thinking that Tiger had the edge, if just slightly. I have to say though, I don’t like that Busch made the ride ‘smoother’ with new cars. My favourite wooden coaster ever is a tossup between Mighty Canadian Minebuster and Wild Beast, both at Canada’s Wonderland, and both of them beat the crap out of you. It’s part of the joy of a wooden coaster. I’ve actually come off of Minebuster with bruises, and it keeps me going back. Anyway, Gwazi = favourite coaster in Florida.
Kumba - I enjoyed this one, but there wasn’t anything ‘special’ about it for me. Other than the weightless feeling you get on the one loop, it’s probably the longest I’ve felt weitless on any ride other than ones specifically designed to drop you, like Tower of Terror.
Montu - Again, a good coaster, but not one that stands out in my mind.
Scorpion - So as we were getting on this coaster, we thought “Lap bars, how quaint, must not be a very intense ride.” Then we saw the loop. Lap bars with a loop, you say? This is something I’ve never experienced. The Busch website says that Scorpion is only one of three coasters of its kind that still exist. But as far as I can tell, the only other coasters of the same design model have been closed down. Probably due to safety codes. Either way, this was kind of awesome, and the ride itself was really good for having opened in 1980.
So those were the rides we did. Several of them we did multiple times throughout the day, some we did just once, but I don’t think there was a single ride that I was disappointed in. On to lunch!
After reading about Five Guys on TA, I decided I wanted to try it. I told Rin about it, she wanted to try it too. Alas, there are no Five Guys near where we would be in Orlando. But there was one right near Busch, so we figured we’d do it then. So we did. Onto the tram, into the car, off to find Five Guys.
I don’t think it was very far, so we arrived fairly quickly. I have to say, the outside disappointed me a bit. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but this wasn’t it. The inside did the same. Although I do like that they had peanuts out. I know this is an allergy issue for some, but if your kid is allergic to peanuts and he goes to my (non-existent) kid’s school, you’d best not get too attached. My kid will be taking peanut-butter sandwiches to school. I say this having a good friend with a severe peanut allergy, having eaten peanuts around him the whole time we’ve known each other. He’s still alive.
Anyway, back to the review. Although the place wasn’t what I was expecting, it was still nice, clean, and I liked the reviews painted on the walls. Knowing a bit about Five Guys from the helpful posts I’d read about it, we each got a burger, and we shared a thing of fries. I got a Bacon Cheeseburger and Rin got a Cheeseburger. Something to note: if you just order a burger, you get two patties. If you only want one, order a Little burger. I’m pretty sure it states that on the menu, but some people, like Rin, don’t read everything.
I have to say, I’m relatively new to the burger thing (I may have mentioned this on a previous day), but this was probably the best burger I’ve had. Maybe even better than my own bbq’d ones. Rin felt the same way, and was quite glad she had the double patty. The burgers were juicy, the cheese was nicely melted (although some of mine fell of the burger, it was so gooey), the buns were not too big (I hate a high bun to meat ratio), and the fries were probably the best I’ve had outside of New York Fries, who only make fries.
Final Thoughts
Am I Glad I Ate Here? - Yes. It’s the only fast food burger I’ve ever had that was on par if not better than the burgers I make at home. And it was so much better than the meal we had the day before at SeaWorld.
Would I Go Back? - Yes. I really hope that they open one closer to Disney (namely in DTD) since I think our next few trips will be Disney-centric.
Rating: Me - 8/10
Rin - 8/10
Cost - $17.86 (I lost the receipt, so this is an estimate based off of their website)
Back to the park! We still hadn’t finished our fries by this point, nor our drinks (everything was so big!), so we figured we’d eat them on the way in. Turns out there’s no food or drink allowed on the trams, but no one stopped us, so we ate. Bad us, we’ve turned into the people I’m constantly cursing about under my breath.
I honestly can’t remember if we did the Safari before or after lunch, but I’m putting it here. We met up somewhere, I think it was in Timbuktu, but I could be wrong, checked in, sat under a canopy while the wind blew like mad, and waited for our guide. The guide has you put large items (like our camera bag) into a locker, provided free of charge, since the you’ll be in a confined area for the duration of the safari. I was expecting something like the safari vehicles at AK, where there are bench seats, maybe with an open top (no roof). However, these are more like cargo trucks, and you stand for the whole safari. Having worked on boats since I was 8, the movement wasn’t a big deal for me. But it was fun watching some people try to let go of the edge to get a picture. It meant the middle area was nice and open for me though.
You do a tour through the whole savanna area, but the stops are what I’ll focus on. The first stop is to feed the giraffe. There are several of them out there, but only two are generally brave enough to come to the truck. We basically fed them a head or two of lettuce, and you spend a lot of time with them, probably 10-15 minutes. There’s a photographer along for the ride that gets a couple of ‘posed’ pictures for you too, but we didn’t buy them, preferring our own pictures. Honestly, I’d gladly pay the $40ish again just for this. It was really enjoyable.
Next up, rhino. I think we met a white rhino, but I know she was female. Sadly, there’s no actual interaction with the rhino (I wonder why?), so it’s basically a question and answer session with the handlers while the rhino cavorts around. Because it was so windy today, she was very energetic. I guess because she could smell so much more than usual, she was running around trying to figure out where all the smells were coming from. A good time, but again, not much more than a question and answer period, especially if the rhino isn’t as active as she was today.
Finally, cheetahs. This is a new addition to the Endangered Species Safari, and, imo, completely not worth it. You go into a backstage area where the cheetahs are kept in what are essentially large, chain-link dog pens. Again, you meet the handlers, have a bit of a question and answer session, and they get one of the cheetahs to come over to the fence by giving her (him?) some meat, and that’s the extent of it. Don’t get me wrong, the cheetah was beautiful, and I did learn some new stuff, but this part just seemed kind of tacked on, not quite polished.
After that, you tour the savanna a touch more, then back to where you started, a bit of a talk about where your pictures will be available, then you’re back on your own.
Once the end of the day came around, we started back to our car, checked out a couple of shops, snuck on a couple more rides, then we were off to go back to Orlando. We literally got into the car just as the skies opened up and it started pouring. Perfect timing. We drove back in the rain, and it was still going by the time we got back to the hotel. I kept hoping it would stop, since I was headed to HHN later that night.
But first, we were meeting one of Rin’s friends (I’ll call her G), someone she’d known since middle school but never met. Online friends, I suppose most of us know what that’s like. She lives in the area ,and we’d tried to meet for the past two trips, but it just never worked out. Finally, the plans all came together.
We all went out to Outback for supper, and a good time was had.
After our extremely emotional bawl-fest and union (not really a reunion, given we’d never met before...) where tears, giggles, and cellphone pictures abounded (all in the hotel lobby, oh well, who needs propriety?) we were very ready for food. It was raining at this point, as Zife had mentioned. Pouring, actually. I’m not sure if he’d mentioned, but I tend to melt in the rain - like sugar, not like the wicked witch. So I take off for the door while Gi and Zife bond over mocking me.
So glad I could bring them together this way.
There was a short wait inside, and soon we had a booth of our very own.
First, came the bread.
Oh, the bread.
I’m not even sure what kind of bread it is, but it’s one of the reasons I love Outback and go back whenever I can. That, and it’s where Zife and I had our wedding dinner with our families. Sentiment and whatnot. Anyway, the bread is amazing - sweet and warm and then G did something amazing herself. She asked the waiter for this special honey butter. H’oh my God. Mouth watering just thinking about it. Poor Zife, he doesn’t like butter, and so lost out on this amazing experience.
Oh well.
After that, I vaguely remember eating ribs, mainly because I always get ribs at Outback. They were delicious as always. Alex, I believe, had a steak which he quite liked, and G had an entree salad.
The main point of this meal was the company. Zife and I regaled G with tales of the military, G expressed her happiness with my choice of spouse (we have been friends since we were 14, if she didn’t approve I might have had to ditch the poor guy ;) ) and the waiter flirted outrageously with her.
Very funny, actually.
I don’t think we opted for dessert, but headed back to our hotel instead, hanging out a bit longer.
Final Thoughts
Am I Glad I Ate Here? - Yes. I love Outback and there aren’t any in the entire country we live in, not just the province.
Would I Go Back? - Yes. Always, though I wouldn’t pass up an On World restaurant for it.
Rating: Me - 8/10
Rin - 8/10
Cost - $40...ish? We have no idea where the receipt is for this, but I know I got the ribs and I think Zife got the wood fire rib eye, so guesstimation it is.
After supper, it was still raining. But, I decided to brave HHN and see what it was all about. I should have gone the night before, silly me. By the time I got from the car to the park, I was soaked, so I decided to forgo a poncho. Now, this was my first time at HHN, and I have to say, I was disappointed. It’s probably just due to the rain, but it didn’t seem that ‘scary.’ None of the Scare Zones were operating, since then the actors would get wet (although there were a few other park goers hiding in areas and popping out at people), and since most of the lines were outside, it was almost a relief to get into the haunted houses where it was dry.
I wound up only doing two houses - The Forsaken and The In-Between. Both were decent, but The In-Between was definitely better, imo. You get fancy glasses that cause halos and stars around the lights, and distort things a bit, and everything is all blacklit. The people are better hidden as well, since they’re all black on the back, then when they jump out or spin around, they’re coloured on the front, so they just suddenly appear. The Forsaken was good, but it just didn’t seem as well themed.
I also did The Simpsons Ride, which I was thoroughly undewhelmed with. I mean, I’m tired of simulators. I’m sure they’re cheaper to build, and obviously they take up less space than a roller coaster (or other ride), and you can ‘do more,’ but I’d just like to see some more ‘proper’ rides at Universal, and not have them all trapped at IoA.
Oh hey, I’m about to contradict myself. I did do a ‘proper’ ride at Universal too. I went on Hollywood Rip-Ride-Rockit, but again, was underwhelmed. I like the idea of choosing music, although you don’t have much time, and there wasn’t a great selection. I found Daft Punk’s Better Harder Faster Stronger though, which made me happy. But, the ride, not so great. Maybe because I had hit so many awesome coasters at Busch, or maybe because I was wet and tired (and probably a bit grumpy), but, I just didn’t think it was that good. For all of you who’ve been when it was closed, you didn’t miss much.
So, I went back to my hotel where Rin and G were hanging out. Lucky I got there when I did, because Rin was about to change rooms. Turns out ours was leaking. Unfortunately, they didn’t have any more suites left, so they moved us into a basic room. After many phone calls, they eventually gave us the microwave and fridge from our original room, since we still had food in the fridge from earlier in the trip, and the basic rooms have none of those amenities. Plus the room we moved to was smaller, with no wall of windows like the other. Oh well, still a nice room, if not what I paid for. Once we finally had everything moved, G headed out, I finally dried out from my experience at HHN, we went to sleep. Last full day tomorrow, at the park Rin’s been looking forward to most.
