#sand serpent

One month later, I have finally mustered the energy to write this trip report. After months of anticipation, I finally got to visit Busch Gardens Tampa and SeaWorld Orlando. This was my first time to BGT. I went to SWO in 2011, but I have only very foggy memories of that trip. I was in Florida from the evening of Friday 2/10 to the afternoon of Monday 2/13. I did BGT Friday evening, all day Sunday, and Monday morning/afternoon. I did SWO all day Saturday. I was able to ride all the coasters, except Scorpion at BGT, which was closed the whole time I was there. Here are my thoughts and rankings!!!!

1) Iron Gwazi - 10 rides, including 3 night rides. MY NEW NUMBER ONE!!!! When I say that this is a life-changing coaster, I do not exaggerate. I have hyped this ride up in my mind for so long, and it still exceeded all my expectations. I expected it to be more intense than most of the other RMCs I have ridden, but my mind was still blown by the intensity after my first ride. I expected it to be ejector airtime city on this thing, but there is a greater quantity of airtime and more aggressive airtime than I could have imagined. I was flung out of my seat on the first drop and on that beautiful outerbanked hill following the drop every time. The barrel roll down drop is taken from such a height and at such a speed that it blows the one on Twisted Timbers, which I love with all my heart, out of the water. I hear people talking about sideways airtime on Fury, and I just think they’re insane. The wave turn on IG actually gives crazy sideways EJECTOR airtime. The stall on IG lasts longer than the one on Steel Vengeance, but surprisingly, isn’t as whippy. You get another great airtime pop on that last drop, then absolutely slam into the brakes. If you have ridden Steel Vengeance, you almost have no choice but to compare the two, and for my money, Iron Gwazi wins. If you have two similar rides, and one has a midcourse brake run and the other does not, the one without the midcourse brakes will usually win for me. Iron Gwazi is shorter, but its pacing is better. You are thrown from one element to the next in rapid-fire succession without a second to catch your breath, and that is one of the most appealing characteristics in a roller coaster to me. I cannot say enough good things about this coaster, and the fact that it is 9.5 hours away from me is eating me up inside. I cannot wait to get back on it. 

2) Montu -- 3 rides. I am a B&M invert freak, so this was my second most-anticipated ride of this trip. Again, it did not disappoint. I am so obsessed with this layout. Carowinds is my home park and Afterburn is one of the great loves of my life. Montu and Afterburn have nearly the same layout, so of course I am comparing them. Montu provides all of the positive Gs I love in an invert, with the gray-out-inducing first vertical loop, the foot-ripping batwing, and the whippy corkscrew. But it also throws in that nice, floaty zero-g roll for some variety. I appreciate the extra height that Montu has on the first drop, as well as the additional ride time you get from the second vertical loop, which is still intense and forceful despite coming after the midcourse brake run. But here we are, back to the “two similar rides, one with a midcourse and one without” issue. As a result, I think Afterburn still sits atop the B&M invert throne. It just feels a little better paced and a little more intense to me. But the rides are so similar, I can hardly even separate the two. I love both more than I can adequately describe.

3) Manta -- 3 rides, including 2 night rides. Manta was the second major thrill coaster I ever rode, with my first ride occurring in 2011. I remembered liking it, but now being 12 years older and an insane enthusiast, I am in love. After riding Nighthawk countless times, this B&M flyer is like a dream. This coaster has an excellent blend of intensity and gracefulness. I am obsessed with the pretzel loop. I love positive Gs, and being exposed to them while lying down is a whole different sensation that sort of blows the mind. Also, the inline twists and corkscrew are floaty and buttery smooth. This coaster also has fantastic interactions with the terrain/surroundings, including the dive off the midcourse toward the water (which results in a little splash if you are in the correct seat) and the following bit where the train flies right by the waterfall. I love everything about this ride, except being left hanging on the brake run for minutes on end when operations are slow.

4) Mako -- 6 rides, including 5 night rides. Now THIS is a B&M hyper!!!!!! The first drop gives excellent airtime, especially in the back row. The overbank following the first drop is nice and intense. But that first hill??? It is the most perfect floater airtime hill ever constructed. I don’t think that’s even debatable. It literally gives 5 to 6 solid seconds of airtime. I’ve never experienced anything else like it. The hills on the return run continue to provide good airtime, lifting you out of your seat for a second or two. The ending bit around the fountain provides a couple of fairly steeply banked turns that actually have the slightest bit of whip to them. This is simply a fantastic ride.

5) Kumba -- 3 rides, including 1 true night ride, with the other 2 being evening/almost-dark rides. Oh. My. God. My mind has been blown. Kumba is the prime example of the forcefulness and intensity that I love in a 90s B&M. The pacing is absolutely amazing. It is an inversion-packed layout that never lets up for a second. And every inversion delivers for me. Awesome positives from the vertical loop and dive loop, a super whippy zero-g roll, a nice cobra roll. The mid-course brakes do not hinder the intensity at all, as the second-half corkscrews still have great force to them. And I love the tunnel at the end, especially at night. This is a relatively smooth, well-maintained coaster as well. What a ride!!!!!!

6) SheiKra -- 2 rides, including 1 night ride. I liked SheiKra far more than I  expected I would after my disappointing experience with Valravn. Despite having a shorter drop and two fewer inversions, SheiKra is a much better ride, owing largely to the over-the-shoulder restraints, which actually allow for some airtime on the dives and don’t make me feel like I am going to suffocate. The 200-foot first drop is awesome, providing some good airtime on the way down. The Immelman gives good positive Gs. I particularly like the second drop into the tunnel. The splashdown at the end is a nice touch as well.

7) Kraken -- 2 rides. Kraken is very similar to Kumba, as it is also incredibly intense and well-paced with nonstop, back-to-back inversions. Additionally, Kraken's sequence of elements is almost identical to Kumba's, with the exception of a second vertical loop replacing one of Kumba’s corkscrews. Kraken gives great positives throughout, with all the loops, but especially the second vertical loop that goes down into a trench. There are several trenches on this ride, offering a lot of low-to-the-ground moments that add to the forcefulness. One of my favorite moments comes at the end, when you barrel through the tunnel and come flying out into that whippy corkscrew. It sort of depresses me to put Kraken below SheiKra, but I feel that I should for one reason. I hear enthusiasts bitching about a nonexistent "rattle" on B&Ms all the time, and to that I say, you haven't felt a rattle until you've been on Kraken in 2023. It holds this otherwise amazing ride back so much, it's depressing.

8) Cheetah Hunt -- 2 rides, including 1 night ride. After riding Maverick, I think it’s impossible not to be underwhelmed by Cheetah Hunt. With a bit more force in the launches and more whip in the heartline roll and banked turns, this would be an excellent ride. But as it is, the ride is still very fun. The three launches are fun (and necessary to keep the speed up as much as possible). The layout is interesting, with the big drop not coming at the very beginning of the ride. The heartline roll gives some hangtime, which is not really my favorite thing -- the lack of whip there is a real bummer. The banked turns that weave through the rocks and over the water are the best part of the ride. The hill after the third launch gives some decent airtime. Overall, the ride also makes great use of the terrain and surroundings.

9) Ice Breaker -- 1 ride. This ride is short, but still packs in some good elements. I like the backwards drop you get with the swing launch, although the vertical spike is extremely unimpressive and does not feel beyond-vertical, especially if you are sitting toward the front of the train. The best and most unexpected part of this ride is the surprisingly powerful ejector airtime, especially on the small hill just before the tophat, but also going over the tophat and on the small hills in the second half. I know everyone says it, but in this case, that's because it's true -- the comfort collars are garbage and really hold the airtime and the ride overall back. But this is still a good ride that I liked more than I thought I would.

10) Tigris -- 1 night ride. This is also a very short ride. Like Ice Breaker, Tigris provides that backwards dropping aspect, which is unique and fun. The slow heartline roll gives good hangtime, which again, isn't my favorite thing in the world. Going from the force of the launch that gets the ride up to max speed to the slow crawl at which the train takes the heartline roll is a weird transition. Nevertheless, the first half of the ride is pretty fun. The rest doesn't do much for me. Additionally, the comfort collar is even more obnoxious here than it is on Ice Breaker. It genuinely ruins the ride for me.

11) Cobra’s Curse -- 1 ride. Although this coaster obviously and purposely lacks in thrill, it is very enjoyable. I like the novelty of the elevator lift, and the spinning of the trains, although very tame and controlled, is a lot of fun. I wish the spinning lasted for the entire ride, rather than just the final third. The ride also provides really good views of the giraffes.