Tampa was hit by Hurricane Milton not too long before our trip, and we spent a couple weeks wondering if the famed Iron Gwazi roller coaster would reopen in time for our stay. We didn't have high hopes since it was still closed the day before we visited, but to our great delight it was open when we arrived! It's just a 48 inch requirement, meaning Allison could ride it too. It was our first ride, and everyone loved it.
We also got to do Cobra's Curse which was closed when we arrived but reopened later. That was another one that had been closed since Hurricane Milton hit. Initially it said it was a 20 minute wait, but the line moves slowly, and it ended up taking 50 minutes. The elevator that takes you up on Cobra's Curse was neat, and I enjoyed seeing the giraffes and the rest of the Sahara area at the top of it, but otherwise it was just a standard coaster. It's fun, but not worth a 50 minute wait.
We're thrilled with the rides that were open, but we were a bit sad that the Serengeti Flyer was all boarded up. We'd really enjoyed Tidal Surge at Sea World San Antonio and had hoped to ride the similar flyer at Busch Gardens. Falcon's Fury and Phoenix Rising said temporarily down but they never opened. The train and Skyride were also down all day. On future trips we were able to ride everything except the train and the Serengeti Flyer.
After we ate Allison and Oscar went to the Cheetah encounter while Tyler and I went to ride coasters. They weren't allowed to take pictures, but they saw 8 or 9 Cheetahs up close and had a good time.
Tyler and I rode Montu, which I'd been a bit afraid of since I don't care for forceful B&M floorless coasters. I expected to hate Montu, but I was willing to do it for the coaster credit. I still had some of the tingly feeling in my feet I don't like, but it wasn't too bad, and there were a lot of really unique aspects to it, plus a nice drop for me at the beginning. I liked it more than I was expecting to. Next we rode Kumba. I didn't hate or love it. It was alright. I wouldn't repeat it unless I was with someone who really wanted to do it. Rumor has it it may not be around much longer.
We then took the Sky Ride over to the other side of the park.
We also saw a cute cockatoo and a large iguana.
We then went to the animal show and the kids rode the bumper cars.
Oscar and Tyler grabbed food while Allison and I checked in for our Safari. They brought the food to us, and an extremely social squirrel climbed up on Oscar.
We saw wildebeests and several other savanna animals.
And we got to feed lettuce to the giraffes. We've done this at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, but it'd been over a year, and Allison was happy to enjoy the experience again.
And here's the scenery as we headed out. It's just so fascinating to see this safari with giant roller coasters in the background.
The animal themed ice skating show was absolutely mind-blowing. These incredible performers deserved a better audience than what a Monday in the off season brings in. I was nearly in tears it was so beautiful.
Oscar and Tyler had done Iron Gwazi twice while we were on our Safari, so they got in one last ride on Cheetah Hunt after the show. Allison and I went for a few more rides on Iron Gwazi. The boys preferred the back, but it was a bit rough for us. We preferred as close to the front as possible, but we never bothered to take the extra time to wait for the very front. Maybe next time.
On Saturday we came back for our final trip mainly to do the Halloween Harvest stuff. The Halloween Harvest didn't start until 12:00pm, and the shuttle arrived around 10:30am, so we still had time for a few rides. It was more crowded of course, and the kids opted out of riding Iron Gwazi since it was a 30 minute wait. At first we just looked at animals. I had to take a picture of Tyler in his Cheetah shirt with the cheetahs in the background.
We figured we probably wouldn't ride any rides since the crowds would be so much bigger on a Saturday than on a weekday. The boys stopped to get food with the meal plan, but Allison chose walking up half the park to see if Phoenix Rising was open, even though it'd been closed both of the other days we were here. She really wanted that new coaster credit, and she hadn't done a flying coaster since riding "The Bat" at Lagoon over 4 years ago. To her complete delight, it was open, and there was no line yet. She rode it once with me, then I rode Falcon's Fury (which had also been closed on both of our previous visits) while she got in line to ride it again. I finished Falcon's Fury just in time to get these great pictures and video of her on her 2nd ride.
Falcon's Fury wasn't nearly as terrifying as I thought it would be. They raise you up most of the way sitting, then they turn you face down while they raise you a little more, then you drop. The only terrifying part was when they turn you and continue raising you up slowly. You have to have complete faith in your safety restraints. The actual plunge down didn't feel different to me than any other drop ride. If anything it was a less scary plunge since you don't get that stomach drop feeling as you go. Oscar and Tyler refused to do it in spite of my telling them it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Maybe Allison will do it with me when she's tall enough.
At noon we went over to the family friendly Halloween Harvest. There weren't as many trick or treat spots, nor was it as impressive visually as Sea World's Spooktacular, but they did have a neat Science Show. We also liked the foam machine bubbles.
Allison and I went to see the kangaroos and feed the rainbow lorikeets while Tyler did the scavenger hunt. He completed it and earned a sticker.
Allison thoroughly enjoyed feeling the lorikeets, though they seemed more interested in perching on me than on her. I had to coax them into landing on her arms and shoulders.
After that I waited a half hour or so to do Sheikra. Allison waited in line with me for about 10 minutes before Oscar and Tyler arrived. Tyler took her place and she and Oscar went off to ride Phoenix Rising. No one was monitoring the lines, so the front row line got super clogged up, and we had to take the back row again. I really wanted to be in the front. Next time!
As water parks go it's just okay on the whole, but there were a few attractions we really liked. The water was also really cold, but the kids enjoyed the cliff jumping and the obstacle course.
And the family slides were really fun. I especially liked Solar Vortex, which uses the bright sunlight to make these cool patterns that shine through the slide. Like Aquatica we only spent a couple hours there, but without lines that's plenty of time. They closed at 5, so we had plenty of time to change and catch an Uber back to Busch Gardens for the shuttle at 6:15pm. We tried to go back inside, but they were already letting people in for the Hallowscream event, and they wouldn't let us bring our candy with us (even though we'd gotten it at Busch Gardens), so we just stayed outside the park until it was time to catch the shuttle. At that point we were only trying to go back in to grab food since our Busch Gardens meal plan hadn't worked at Adventure Island. Next time we won't purchase it if we're going to visit both parks on the same day.
My next favorite after Iron Gwazi was Sheikra. I just love those steep drops! Next time I want to ride in the front. Afterwards Tyler cooled off in Sheikra's splash.
Tyler and I also rode Tigris and the log flume then met back up with Oscar and Allison hoping to ride Iron Gwazi again. Unfortunately the line was too long for us to make it back in time for the shuttle back to Sea World, so we just hung out while Allison rode the Gwazi Gliders.
The Log Flume line was super slow, and the ride was just okay. Tigris was good except for the restraints. I've done Electric Eel at Sea World San Diego, which is more or less the same ride, and I enjoyed it there, especially the airtime when you're at the top of the coaster. This time when I fell back into my seat after the airtime, the restraints tightened harder right at my gut and made the rest of the ride really uncomfortable. Hopefully some weight loss will make it more enjoyable in the future.
It was a pretty long shuttle ride back thanks to considerable traffic. We made it back late, got some quick food in us, then put the kids to bed. When I kissed Allison goodnight I whispered to her "you got to do Iron Gwazi today!" and she went to bed with a huge smile on her face.
We came back on Monday, and it was just a 5 minute wait for Iron Gwazi. I wore my Safari shirt since Allison and I had a Safari tour planned that day.
As a family we went on Cheetah Hunt and Cobra's Curse. This time Cobra's Curse was a walk on and Cheetah Hunt was a pretty short wait. Cobra's Curse was far more enjoyable without a 50 minute wait!
Allison and I went to see the aviary while the boys went on 54+ inch coasters. We didn't feed the lorikeets then but did when we came back the following Saturday.
We saw some more animals and Allison played in the Sesame Street area while we watched the boys go on Sheikra. They did get to go on the front row this time.
Here we are on the Safari. I had no idea it was going to be standing in the back of an open air truck, but we still had lots of fun.
They told us those goats on the top left were their most endangered animal, and that the reason they're endangered is because they never move when the trucks come by.
We got to see the new baby rhino with its mama.
We got some pictures near Cobra's Curse and Cheetah Hunt before meeting the boys at the ice skating show.
That evening Oscar finished this cute puzzle he'd been working on back at the hotel.
Falcon's Fury wasn't nearly as terrifying as I thought it would be. They raise you up most of the way sitting, then they turn you face down while they raise you a little more, then you drop. The only terrifying part was when they turn you and continue raising you up slowly. You have to have complete faith in your safety restraints. The actual plunge down didn't feel different to me than any other drop ride. If anything it was a less scary plunge since you don't get that stomach drop feeling as you go. Oscar and Tyler refused to do it in spite of my telling them it wasn't as bad as I was expecting. Maybe Allison will do it with me when she's tall enough.
Oscar and Tyler joined us on Phoenix Rising, then Allison got a shoulder pal tiger in the gift shop.
By then the ride lines were getting fairly long and it was really hot, so we decided to hit up Adventure Island water park. We saw a few animals on our walk out before we hailed an Uber.
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