Before leaving Busch Gardens (and no, we didn’t sample the free beer) we took one more ride on the skyway. I also rode Montu again, since coasters that good are truly rare. At first we wondered whether the park was even worth the drive, but in the end we had a great day. We saw many beautiful animals, rode some thrilling rides and had a lot of laughs. Mission complete!
We’ve been on so many ‘4D’ attractions these past few days they tend to run together. ‘Pirates’, here at Busch Gardens was memorable for one reason: it’s utter hatefulness. A 3D film starring Leslie Nielson and Eric Idle, this was neither funny nor interesting nor thrilling in any way. It was cinematic effluvia; its only virtue being that the theatre in which it ran was air conditioned.
Kumba is the first truly thrillian coaster I ever rode. It has 7 inversions, and at just shy of 70 mph is the fastest at the park. I still find it technically beautiful, but I have to be honest and say compared to the newer, smoother coasters it’s starting to show its age. In other words, a bit of a bone rattler! The landscaping also has a perhaps unexpected effect – hiding how far the rider is from the ground. Therefore any height-based thrill is lessened. A good coaster, but no longer a great one.
Much like this cheerful and healthy ape I am feeling a lot better! KLS theorizes that the coasters I rode centrifuged the sick right out of me! By the way kudos to her for patiently waiting while I rode them all. Luckily the lines today were nonexistent – I literally walked right onto mose rides, including in one case the front car!
Despite being small, shorter and with only one inversion, the Scorpion was much more intense than Montu or Sheikra. I blame this on pre-computer aided design. The thing shook me around like a sackboy. and wasn’t pleasant at all! Only one coaster left to ride – Kumba!
