2016 Is A Big Year For Busch Gardens Tampa
Busch Gardens Tampa is off to an amazing start in 2016 bringing coaster fans an all new roller coaster called Cobra’s Curse! If you don’t already know, Cobra’s Curse is the newest attraction currently being installed at Busch Gardens Tampa. The new ride combines the free-spinning dizziness of a Tilt-A-Whirl with the ups and downs of a traditional roller coaster.
Rather than going up a traditional lift hill, vehicles will be raised vertically to the 70-foot level with a unique elevator style lift. Once at the top guests will go face to face with with snake king Venymyss!
“There is nothing else like this in the world,” said Mike Denniger, a senior director for rides and engineering with SeaWorld parks, the parent company of Busch Gardens. “It’s been a significant investment for Busch Gardens, and been in the works for multiple years.”
A model of the new ride was released at the IAAPA attractions expo in November. We attended the unveiling and shot some video. Check out all the details in the video below that shows off the model with an interview from creative director Brian Morrow.
Last month, we visited the park to check out the construction progress and the new state of the art ride vehicles!
We are now officially into the 2016 theme park season, with Cobra’s Curse opening in a little over a month. The final pieces have been installed, and the ride is receiving the final touches before initial testing. Testing is scheduled to begin in mid April, with employees being able to ride in mid May, and finally a grand opening by Memorial Day weekend. There will also be an special pass member preview for all season pass and platinum pass holders before opening the ride to the general public.
Montu, being located next to Cobra’s Curse, was closed for nearly two months at the beginning of 2016 to receive a full fresh coat of paint. It’s open now and looks brand new, and is flying very fast. Montu has had a couple of other days when it’s been closed during Cobra’s Curse construction, but those days should be over, and it will be open daily for the foreseeable future.
Aside from the new roller coaster, the parks annual Food and Wine is in full swing, with concerts happening daily on Saturdays and Sundays now until April 24.
So far the most popular concert was Huey Lewis and the News on March 6. The concert expected to have the most crowds is the All American Rejects on April 10. If you stop in to check out the 2016 food and wine festival, share your photos with us on twitter for a ReTweet! We love to see our fans having fun at the parks!
Aside from all the intense thrills, Lory Landing is another one of our favorite attractions when visiting Busch Tampa. Lory Landing is an open aviary habitat that guests walk around and feed and visit with gliding and flying lorikeets. Purchasing nectar is an optional part of the habitat, however provides a wonderful experience of hand-feeding the birds! We absolutely love feeding all the lorikeets and look forward to it every visit! This aviary is getting a fresh look for 2016. Check out some of their progress in the video below.
The best way to experience Busch Gardens is to purchase an annual pass. Guests can visit Busch Gardens Tampa as many times as they want for $168 which includes parking and discounts. Pass members receive 30% off the Animal Care Center tour in the month of April, a free game card in May, and Cobra’s Curse merchandise and the preview in June.
If you live in Florida, guests could instead purchase a Platinum pass for $336.00, which includes admission and parking to 10 SeaWorld Entertainment parks. (Yes. Busch and SeaWorld are the same company). If you don’t live in Florida, the Platinum pass can be purchased cheaper at Sesame Place in PA ($233.00), or at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia for $216.00. No matter which park you purchase the pass from, the pass must be redeemed at that park for it’s first use. Some of the perks are slightly different depending which park is considered your “home park”. For example in 2016 Busch Williamsburg is offering their Platinum pass holders one free friend ticket per season (spring, summer and fall) with active membership. Visit the official Busch Gardens Websites to compare the perks by clicking here.
For tickets, and more information about Busch Gardens, visit the official website by clicking here.
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