We woke up at 3 am Saturday morning to drive to the airport to fly to Orlando. We got to Orlando at around 11, and put our bags in our hotel room. Our hotel room was really good, it had a kitchen, 2 bed rooms, 3 tv's, and 2 bathrooms. It also had a good view of Sea World just down the street.
Once we got our stuff put away, we drove a few minutes, and were at Sea World. We immediately went to Kraken and got a backseat ride. I was impressed with Kraken, it had more than I expected, and I didn't expect a lot. The drop had good airtime, and the loop had some hang time. The zero g roll was the best part though, there was a ton of airtime. The rest of the ride was good, nothing too special, but fun.
After our backseat ride it started raining, so we waited it out while watching a dolphin show. After this is started to rain harder, so we waited longer while seeing the sharks, penguins, and then Shamu. Once we saw Shamu the rain had stopped and Kraken opened, so we ran to that and I got a front seat ride. I also got a pov on this ride. After this we went to Journey to Atlantis twice, and left the park.
Sunday -
We got up at around 7, and after eating drove bout 1 1/2 hours to Busch Gardens. We got to the park about 20 minutes after opening, and ran to SheiKra. I got a ride in the front seat, and was very impressed. The ride had a good amount of airtime in the front but the back was much better, I'll explain that later though. After this we went to scorpion twice, and then to Kumba. We were next in line, it was sprinkling, and they closed the ride. We waited about an hour, and finally the rain stopped. I got a front seat ride, which was alright. My shoulders hurt when I got off, but the ride was fun.
Next my sisters rode the wild mouse, ate, and rode the sky ride over to Montu. Montu was a good ride, the twists on the batwing were sharp, but overall it was good. Then we rode the train around the park, but they made us get off half way around because of rain. We waited the rain out in the 4-d Pirate show. Once it was over, it was still raining, so we waited longer. We were just about to leave the park, and the rain stopped. So we went over to Gwazi and rode the Lion side. They dueled the trains, but it was still off by about a second. The ride was rough, but had some airtime in the back seat.
After this we rode SheiKra in the backseat, probably the best ride I've ever gotten. Once I sat down, I lowered my restraint, but kept it loose. The guy let me keep it there, and we left the station. The first drop was amazing, great ejector there. During the pull out I forced my restraint out so it wouldn't lock in tighter so I could get a ton of airtime on the second drop. The Immelmann was good, and had a little floater in the twist. The second drop was incredible though. I was thrown up and out of my seat, so far that it actually felt like I was coming out of the restraint. This is the reason SheiKra made my #1. After this ride we left and drove back to our hotel.
Monday -
Monday we spent most of the day at the beach. Until 6:30, when we left for Sea World. We got to the park and headed to Kraken, to find it down for technical difficulties. We rode Journey to Atlantis once in the back seat, and got a little airtime on the first drop. After that we rode Kraken in the back and the 3rd row, where the ride op noticed my CP shirt. After this I made my family cross the park so I could get my credit on Shamu Express. Then we ran back to Kraken in time for 2 night rides, in the front and back. We left the park, and went back to our hotel.
Tuesday -
We got to the park at about the same time as Sunday, but this time headed to Rhino Rally. We saw some animals, and took the sky ride to SheiKra. We rode SheiKra in the back and the front, then while the rest of my family went to the Wild Mouse, I rode SheiKra second row. The second row was ok, it was less airtime than the back, but more than the front. Then we headed to Jungala and saw some of the small things there. We all rode the mini drop tower, I don't remember what its name was though. It didn't have any out of your seat airtime, but it had a weightless feeling to it. Then we ate, rode SheiKra in the back seat, and got a full ride on the train. It started to rain hard then, so we left the park at around 4:30.
Overall Busch Gardens is a great park. Everywhere you go there are trees and animals, and the rides are all good. It's a park that I'd love to go back to someday, but probably won't for a while. The park's atmosphere has something to it that six flag's parks don't have.
Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday were spent at my Grandparents in St Augustine. They have 3 horses and a pool, so 2 days we spent at there house, and the other touring the city. We left early Saturday morning to fly back to Texas, where I immediately started building my new #1 coaster.
Ride summary/count:
Kraken 9/10: Kraken was a good ride, not very forceful though, just the drop, loop and zero g roll. x6
Shamu Express 5/10: A very short ride, the only thing i liked was the long train. x1
SheiKra 10/10: Amazing ride, incredible airtime. The backseat is the best place to sit because you still get a view with the stadium seating. The front seat is good if you want to look down the drops. x7
Kumba 8/10: An alright ride, the zero g roll had good airtime, but the rest wasn't anything special. I prefer floorless cars over the cars with the floor, still a good ride though. x1
Montu 8/10: The best invert I've ridden, the only bad spot was the top of the batwings. x1
Scorpion 6/10: Circular loop, sharp spot in the drop, and a painful helix. Not a very good ride. x2
Gwazi Lion 7/10: Good airtime in the backseat, but the roughest woodie I've ever ridden. x1
Here's some of the pictures I took on the trip, I have over 150 more if anyone wants them. I'll post the pictures in order by ride and place, with small captions about them above the picture.
Flying in,
Kraken had a sign for the front row,
Journey to Atlantis first drop,
Kraken rain picture,
Shamu!
Manta!
Under the drop,
Kumba rain picture,
Signature Kumba shot,
Cobra roll,
Most of the layout,
Kraken sunset,
Overview of SheiKra,
Water splash,
If anyone wants more pictures, just ask.
