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Same old story - try to arrive at the parks early to ensure you get to do everything, because despite these being the lesser known parks and not being as packed, they are still full of things to do. Anheuser-Busch Theme Parks |
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It's not just a theme park though, you could also consider it to be a safari park, and as with all of the other parks, it is split into themed segments or areas. They are as follows :- Morocco There are no rides here, but there are plenty of shops in a Moroccan bazaar, and in the lavish Moroccan Palace Theatre there is the award winning World Rhythms on Ice show. Myombe Reserve Opposite the aforementioned Moroccan Palace theatre, this is a walkthrough attraction where you will come face to face with real gorillas and chimpanzees in a tropical rainforest. Nairobi Home to several animal nurseries and enclosures, including snakes and lizards and, bizarrely, Asian elephants (bearing in mind this is an African themed park). One of the newest rides is also in this area (there used to be no rides in Nairobi) and that is Rhino Rally, a safari for which you have to queue forever, and I'm not sure it's worth it. It has the typical "something goes wrong" aspect to it, but it's a bit tame and dull. Timbuktu One of the largest areas, so it's surprising that none of the attractions here are the "stand out" attractions, but there are a lot of them. The Scorpion is a small roller coaster with one loop, Sandstorm is a pretty basic fairground kind of ride and the Phoenix is a pirate ship which goes upside down. Other than the rides there is the Dolphin Theatre, where two dolphins perform and the pre-show attraction is the rather funny mime. If you want to avoid his abuse, take to your seat early. Congo The first area with some really good rides. The Congo River Rapids are a must if you want to cool off on a hot Florida day, as you are guaranteed to be soaked wherever you sit, and the onlookers can shoot you with water cannons for 25 cents. The Kumba was the first big roller coaster to hit Busch Gardens, Tampa. The Python is a small coaster similar to the old Corkscrew at Alton Towers if you are familiar with that, and then there's the Ubanga-Banga Bumper Cars, which are self-explanatory. Stanleyville Sheikra, the newest attraction, is the park's biggest hit right now. It is the first of it's kind in North America, in that it has TWO near vertical drops. Much like Alton Towers' Oblivion ride, but bigger and better. Other than that there are two "log flume" style rides - Stanley Falls, which supplies very limited thrills, and Tanganyika Tidal Wave, which has a great drop at the end and guarantees everyone gets a good soaking. Land of the Dragons Designed for children, this area has a small log flume and a theatre with shows for the kids. Bird Gardens Believe it or not, this area is full of birds. There are bird exhibits, with birds ranging from Eagles to Flamingos, and there is an exotic bird show. The only ride in this area is the huge wooden monster Gwazi. Two tracks, "lion and tiger", race against each other in a frantic battle. It's a good one, especially given the fact that it is made of wood. Crown Colony There's a restaurant here where you can eat your meal whilst looking over the animals roaming wild in the African Savannah. There is also a simulated tour of Egypt called Akbar's Adventures. May sound dull, but it's presented by comedian Martin Short and is a good laugh. Edge of Africa This area is a walking tour where you will get to see a whole host of Africa's animals, including crocodiles, hippopotamus', baboons, vultures and lions. Egypt The formidable Montu roller coaster can be found here, it's an inverted coaster which still holds it's own as one of the best in Florida, despite not being one of the most recently built. Tut's Tomb can also be found here, it is a walkthrough attraction taking you through the burial chamber of Tutenkhamun. |
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 Montu |
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Busch Gardens never seems to get as busy as the parks in Orlando. It's never dead, but never absolutely packed, and the queues are often very short, even for the big rides - sometimes you can just walk straight on. Must see/do attractions : Sheikra, Kumba, Montu, Gwazi, Congo River Rapids, Tanganyika Tidal Wave. Overall park rating : 4/5 Busch Gardens is a great day out. It's fantastically themed and contains thrill rides to die for. Thousands of animal species to view first hand as well. Good park and never that busy. |
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Believe it or not, Sea World is themed around sea life and the sea in general. Unlike some of the other parks, it doesn't have distinct themed areas, so I will just split the attractions in to two categories, as follows :- Rides Kraken is one of Florida's best roller coasters. Unique in the fact that it is a "floorless" coaster, your legs hang like on Montu at Busch Gardens, but the track is located several feet below you, this gives a sort of flying sensation. Based around the mythical sea beast of the same name, Kraken is one hell of a ride. Then there's Journey to Atlantis. It's a flume ride in the same mould as Disney's Splash Mountain and Islands of Adventure's Ripsaw Falls, and it may just outdo them both. Once you think it's allover, there's a twist and you go back for more. Wild Arctic is a simulator based on a helicopter journey to the arctic. Not quite as good as Florida's other major simulators, but you may as well go on it if you're there. |
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 Kraken |
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Other Sea World Attractions The world famous Shamu show is fantastic. For those not already in the know, Shamu is a trained killer whale, capable of fantastic tricks, who performs a show with very caring, talented and conscientious trainers. Some of the tricks in this show are fantastic. Don't sit too near the front though, unless you want Shamu to give you a soaking. Odyssea is a very unconventional circus style performance based around the ocean, with fantastic talents including a contortionist who does unbelievable things. The special effects are great and there is some comedy to boot. Good show. Blue horizons is a unique show in that it combines the talents of creatures from both the sea and air. Dolphins, whales and birds all show off their talents here. Pets Ahoy! is a great show too. Dogs, cats, birds, rats, skunks, pot-belly pigs as well as several other animals perform tricks here. What is amazing is that Sea World rescued a lot of these animals from shelters before training them to perform here. Not very sea-based I know, but good fun. And rest assured all the animals are treated impeccably. Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island is one for the kids and adults alike. It's a swashbuckling adventure of corny one liners, cheesy comedy and genuine skilled performances from the animals on show. Clyde is a Sea World animal trainer and Seamore, a sea lion, is his first mate in this adventure. Other animals get involved too in this fun packed show where the set is very unique and imaginative. There are several basic animal exhibits to view at Sea World as well, including Manatee Rescue. Manatees are an endangered species, and Sea World prides it self on protecting them. Stingray Lagoon lets you touch live stingrays, if you wish. I did, and I thought they felt like mushrooms! Terrors of the Deep is not for the claustrophobic, as you journey into a glass tunnel underwater, surrounded by sharks and other scary looking creatures. Penguin Encounter takes you through an artificial penguin habitat where you can view them behaving naturally while standing on a moving platform. Other animal exhibits allow you to see turtles, dolphins, sea lions and, bizarrely, Shire horses. Sea World is a good day out and a good way to acclimatise to Florida, so I'd recommend it for your first day, as it isn't as intense to walk around as the other parks. Queues for rides are never that long, and there is always a show going on to keep you entertained. Must see/do attractions : Kraken, Shamu, Clyde and Seamore Take Pirate Island, Journey to Atlantis, Odyssea. Overall park rating : 3.5/5 Very enjoyable park but the kids may get a bit bored sitting around all day watching shows if they are too small for the thrill rides and not big fans of sea life. Great rides, though, and the skills of the animals and trainers alike are amazing to see. |
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Picture the scene, you're surrounded by acres of lush greenery and crystal clear water with reefs and lagoons. It's like being in paradise, and there's not a queue in site as you can pre-book everything. Discovery Cove offers various packages - The All-Inclusive package where you get everything from the dolphin swim to free snacks and drinks all day, The Non-Dolphin Swim package where you get just about everything but the dolphin swim, Trainer for a Day package where you get a training encounter as well as lots more, and the Dolphin Lover's Sleepover package, where you will get lots of luxuries as well as the chance to sleep in Eureka tents next to the dolphin lagoon. Other attractions apart from the dolphin swim include the coral reef, where you can swim in an artificial reef with live creatures, the tropical river swim, the ray lagoon where you can personally interact with stingrays, the Aviary is a tropical paradise for you to mingle with various species of birds, and the resort pool which is a heated swimming pool. I'm not going to list any "must-see" attractions, because you can easily fit everything in in one day. However, swimming with dolphins isn't an opportunity that arises every day. Overall park rating : 4/5 It's certainly different, and can serve as a relaxing respite from the hustle and bustle of the other parks. Back to Orlando Main Page |
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