Busch Gardens - 9/13/08

[SummerInFL]

Needing to get away from the house, my family and I opted for a closer alternative to WDW (I know, its just not the same) but we do live 15 minutes from Busch Gardens. So my mother, my daughter and I piled into the car and hopped on over.

Should you wish to see all the photos I took that day, please visit HERE.

We arrived to discover the signage for Howl-O-Scream has already been put up, was an interesting contrast to the African themed park.

It was a very warm and humid day but the sky was such a pretty blue which made for great photos.

We mainly visited the animal enclosures and took in some "kiddie" rides. So if you're looking for thrill ride photos, you might want to stop reading now.

My mother and I debated for about 2 minutes whether this turtle was sunning himself or just stuck.

He wasn't stuck.

We always stop by the Budweiser Stables to see the horses and the donkey. It's kinda neat knowing these are the animals they use in the commercials.

Today we met Budd.

Next we headed over to the Montu area where they have this really great King Tut exhibit and some fun interactive things.

They do a great job with theming in this area, although there are many places to trip. Then again a woman walking around with a camera who isn't looking at her feet, well that's just a recipe for disaster.

Here's me having a little fun.
This poor man, I wonder if there were ever any fat pharaohs.

Boo!

Into the chamber we go...

And back outside, after they dumped us in a gift shop of course!

Nice cover for the restrooms eh? LOL

Next it was onto the Edge of Africa where we ran into a lot of different animals.

These little guys were so cute and funny.

Uh oh! I think they are being stalked!

Just kidding, different enclosure.

More pretty theming, it's no Disney, but they hold their own.

And they say homes aren't built for hurricanes in Florida...

Great AC!

I love this photo, the hyena is like, "What do you want? I'm sleeping!" LOL Immediately after he flopped down and went back to sleep.

Next we stopped by the hippo enclosure, apparently she had just had a baby this year. Everybody say aww....

I love shade..

Then we took a ride on the Skyway, this is probably my favorite attraction here, it's covered and the views are awesome.

Hey mom!

Next we stopped by Jungala so C could play and have some fun, she got a little wet in the water areas so her shoes were giving her some trouble.

(My mother and C)

I did manage to snag this video of her riding the zip line however.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http:...?v=Yczb40OBI4c

We stopped by the tiger enclosure since my mother hadn't seen it yet. You can tell it's hot when cats go hang out in the water.

Next we took a trip on the Congo River Rapids, I have to say I got more soaked from the people paying .25 to spray passing riders than I did the rapids themselves. LOL

I took a brief video of the fun, you'll have to excuse the abrupt end, I was worried the camera was getting a little too wet. LOL
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=http:...?v=DsboKaUtT0Q

C liked it though.

After that soaking adventure, we decided to huff it over to Timbuktu.

Here we played the ring game that we previously won a HUGE tiger at, wasn't as lucky this time but at least C gets a prize anyway.

To which she promptly took for a ride on the carousel.

Then C wanted to go on Cheetah Chase so while Grandma and I waited for her, we took in the sights.

While waiting we looked down and realized the stuffed tiger decided to get some sun while we weren't looking. LOL

This is the Pheonix, I don't know if I could do this ride again. LOL

Weee!

On the way out we saw some more animals.

These guys looked REALLY bored.

More Hall -O- Scream fun.

My mother trying to escape the Penitentiary, yeah right, if it were real I'd be stopping her from running away and trying to send her back in! LOL

Then we saw this courageous flamingo hanging around some reptiles.

Spooky trails! I love it!

I have no idea what kind of bird this is but it sure was beautiful.

These guys just cracked me up, such faces!

"Doh!"

This guy kept posing for the people walking by, it was funny.

He's like, "I see you over there! Throw me a banana!" lol

Yay for shade!!

Bye Bye Busch Gardens!

The End.

[Olympicnut]

Yay it's a Summer TR!! I love them so. Nice to see BG through your eyes. Or, your camera lens

[WheresMickey]

Nice trip report!

[Xharryb]

Great TR as always Summer!

[OFTEric]

Well I need to get back to Busch Gardens Africa as soon as possible!

[pratt55]

I prefer the term pleasantly plump or rubenesque



When we were in FL I wanted to go Busch Gardens but the boys voted for Sea World. After seeing your pictures I have got make it back to Florida. Great photos and report.

[albino_pygmy]

Great trip report! It's nice to see how much fun you could have without the coasters. Where was the tut's tomb thing located at? I love checking out lesser known areas like that, and either missed it when I last visited there a couple years back, or they just didn't have it open?

[SummerInFL]

Originally Posted by albino_pygmy

Great trip report! It's nice to see how much fun you could have without the coasters. Where was the tut's tomb thing located at? I love checking out lesser known areas like that, and either missed it when I last visited there a couple years back, or they just didn't have it open?

It's right next to Montu, the Egyptian coaster, as you are walking that direction, it's on your left past the statues.

[Ginarella]

I miss Busch Gardens! I love that place.

Fun pictures Summer and C is so cute

[sir clinksalot]

Awesome pics Summer. We'll get to Busch Gardens someday.

[Broadway Guru]

That strange looking bird is an Australian kookaburra. They have a very distinctive call which is often used in movies when they want a nonspecific creepy animal noise. Most people's reaction is, "So that's what animal makes that sound!" Offhand, I know you can hear it in the Haunted Forest scene in "The Wizard of OZ."

[SummerInFL]

^Wow! Thank you so much for that explanation! I love hearing things like this.

[kcnole]

I haven't been to Busch Gardens in over 12 years when I visited with my high school band so I remember nothing about the park. I can't stand more than about one roller coaster or other thrill ride in a day. If you don't like thrilling rides is there enough to do there to make it worth a special trip over there or do you really need to enjoy coasters to enjoy this park?

[mikeland]

What a wonderful TR! I haven't been to Busch Gardens in ages. I'll have to put it back on my places to see list.

[SummerInFL]

Originally Posted by kcnole

I haven't been to Busch Gardens in over 12 years when I visited with my high school band so I remember nothing about the park. I can't stand more than about one roller coaster or other thrill ride in a day. If you don't like thrilling rides is there enough to do there to make it worth a special trip over there or do you really need to enjoy coasters to enjoy this park?

I'm going to be perfectly honest here and unfortunately it's going to come across negative, which I hate being.

If we didn't have an AP that includes BG we probably wouldn't go, we do like animals and it has a great kids play area (that even Disney can't beat IMHO) but overall it's really geared for the thrill seekers.

The animal exhibits you can find at any local zoo but we enjoy them because we are a family that likes animals, so we make the most of our day.

So take that for what you want but that's why we go, it's local, has animals and a great place for my daughter to blow off some energy. LOL