#falconface

This past week I had a chance to revisit Busch Gardens Tampa.  I actually visited them last year too, but I somehow forgot to make a post about it.  I think I had put so much into a previous post about Sea World that I had overlooked a return trip to BGT altogether.  This recent trip was more or less like my previous one, except they now has a new ride open: Falcon's Fury.

This new kind of drop tower is located in the Pantopia section of the park, which saw a colorful makeover last year.  Fury itself is now the one of headline attractions for the park and stands at 335 feet, making it the tallest ride at Busch Gardens, and one of the tallest rides in all of the Southeast.  It's also a very unique kind of drop tower that features technology never used before.  Falcon's Fury was supposed to have a grand open, first rider event, but due to technical problems (i.e. a part of the ride flying off during testing) that event was postponed indefinitely and the ride eventually just saw a soft open.

So what makes this ride so unique?  Like any other drop tower, you start off by getting dragged to the top. Once you reach the top, however, your seats fold backward so that your face and stomach are now staring straight at the ground several hundred feet below you.  You end up hanging there for about 5 seconds, and then you get to experience what it's like to be a human dive bomber.  Before you reach the bottom of the tower, the seats lunge outward again and then your heart rate is able to resume normal patterns.  Strangely enough, many riders report that the drop isn't all that bad, since the feeling of weightlessness is negated by the laws of physics or some garbage like that.  Rather, the anticipation of the drop is what frightens riders the most.

I've been able to successfully persuade two of my friends into riding thus far, although one of those occasions nearly cost me the fingers on my right hand.  If you are planning on tackling this ride, make sure to take someone with you!  If you can come to terms with the fact that the drop isn't so bad, but are still afraid of the height, try closing your eyes for the first time.  The views are pretty amazing though from the top, though.

Busch Gardens has also seen other changes recently with the addition of an African Penguin exhibit.  While not as cuddly looking as emperor penguins, they are still cute in their own right.  Sadly, the Gwazi wooden racer was closed down permanently, and its queue has been re-purposed for BGT's first ever food and wine festival.  The ride still stands, but there are currently no plans to reopen it.  I believe the trains have already been sent elsewhere, too.

On the bright side of things, the park recently announced that a new attraction is coming for 2016.  Many believe it to be a new spinning coaster and the park stated that the Serengetti Express train will see some downtime while they work on this new ride.  I don't know yet if it will be going in Gwazi's place.  I hope that one day Gwazi will be able to re-open, perhaps as a steel hybrid like many of its cousins.  Unfortunately, I don't think BGT really has the funds to undertake a project like that right now.

Busch Gardens is always a nice getaway from the Orlando crazy, and the park has a lot to offer in terms of rides, shows, and animal encounters.  Hopefully the years to come will bring prosperity for this park, and we can expect great additions in its future.