Busch Garden Tampa Bay

Well, I think I have found the best amusement park so far. Busch Gardens at Tampa Bay, about an hour away from Kissimee. They four great coasters - a wooden one that shakes your bones and mixes up your brain a little. There are two tracks with two competing trains. One is the Lion and the other the Tiger. Tiger is faster and rougher than the lion, but both will shake the dentures right out of your mouth.

The best is Sheikra. I rode it 3 times. It's the one with the 2oo foot 90 degree drop. It is so out there that when you go down the drop, you freefall and your butt is off the chair. I suppose it would be a bit like parachuting. There is another vertical drop but not so high and a big splash. The carriage sits eight people across and the two outer seats on the left and right have nothing beneath them - nothing but air. I was in the outer seat in the fron row and the last row. The ride blew my mind away and definitely worth the trip over.

Busch Garden is also a working zoo and they have several rides that incorporate the live animals, gorillas, crocodiles, chimpanzes and elephants. The park is also a beautifully manicured garden, so the oldies have something to look at. Even though this park is a bit out of the way, I would say it is better than Universal and Disney for thrills. There are no express passes, but the lines aren't that long and you get on a rollercoaster within 20 minutes. Busch Garden also has a park in Williamsburg, which has the same coaster. It's a little south of Washington, which is where I am heading off to tommorrow by train.

Cheers
Stephen