Trip Report I Did NOT Get Locked Out of the Hotel Room Naked at Busch Gardens! (Sorry. It would have made for good drama!) COMPLETED!

So.....I tried to negotiate another trip to Disney this year with Philmonster, but I knew it was a fool's folly before I even plead my case. He absolutely refuses. "Not until Star Wars opens". GRRRRR. As if we will be able to get near the place once that happens. Or afford it, etc.

BUT...........

I got him to agree to do a Tampa/St. Pete trip toward the end of April. Errr....hurray? Annnyway......

QUESTION:

Are you guys interested in a Busch Gardens trip report during their version of food and wine? If not, no worries, but if you want more insane misadventures from the Thomas party, I'm happy to post them.

Lemme know.

PS - How far is Tampa from WDW? Two or three hours? Maybe I can ditch the monster and take a bus to the mouse one day during the trip.

 

[LeighM]

Glad you're back! I've never been to BG Tampa only BG Williamsburg since I live in the area. I would love to compare Tampa and Williamsburg's Food and Wine event. The one in Wburg had good menus last year but none of the guests seemed to stop at the kiosks. I wondered how much of the food went to waste.

 

[Rista1313]

but since it has been so long, is anyone still interested in this?

Um.. yeah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Glad you are back for our entertainment pleasure! As I said... I love St. Pete Beach... we will be there the week of Thanksgiving, and hubby has talked ME into driving up to go to Disney Springs for one day... (Thanksgiving week... ewe.. so many people!)

 

[BuddyThomas]

Part Two - In which we check in to Embassy Suites Tampa and do some Busch Gardens

So, my problem with this trip report is that since I didn't think I was gonna post it, I didn't take that many pictures and deleted a lot of the ones I did take. But I'll try to figure out how to make this interesting as we move along.

So......we were supposed to land in Tampa at about 2:30 PM. The only problem was that for some reason, Busch Gardens was closing at 6PM that day (a Friday). The next day, Saturday, it was closing at 10PM, and then Sunday, it as closing at 9PM. So it looked like we might not have anything to do on our arrival day. We talked about going to the Hard Rock Casino and a few other things, but then our plane landed about a half our early and so we decided to head to Busch Gardens and just do a couple of hours. We bought a year long pass, because it was only ten bucks more than a day pass. Whhhhhhhaaaaaaat??????? If we go back again this year, I will be surprised, but it allowed us to go to the park all weekend for one price.

But first we had to get to the hotel, and after a $60.00 cab ride (ugh), we arrived at Embassy Suites!

See that van in front? That was our best friend for this stay. They provide complimentary shuttle service to and from the hotel for anything within three miles. The drivers were awesome and they not only made dinner recommendations, they took us there! And here's inside the hotel:

It's a little generic - every Embassy Suites I've ever stayed at looks exactly like this, but it was clean and everyone was friendly, and the beds were comfortable. What more do ya want?

Well anyway, let's get to the park! It closes in 2 hours!!!

It was nice and cool, and it was pretty empty as well! Except for these guys who were all up in a tree having a fabulous party on a Friday afternoon!

I loved these birds. They were always all up at the top of these trees. I can think of worse ways to live. But annnyway.......

Turtle, you in danger, girl.

Phil Monster was getting impatient and wanting to go on coasters, and so....time for Montu. But first let's make sure we fit in the seats!

Oh my God, those pictures are horrifying. I think we need to concentrate more on beauty sleep.

And here is Phil in front of Montu after we rode it, looking very pleased with himself for not falling out.

I am being told that I have posted as many pictures as I am allowed to on this, and so I will be back to you shortly with more.

 

[BuddyThomas]

Part Two - continued

Now remember, this is Busch Gardens, so beer is everywhere, even though on this particular Friday, they were not having food and wine. They only do that on Saturdays and Sundays. So even though I didn't get any pictures, rest assured that Phil Monster and I are cocktailing all over the place. And when Phil started getting a little silly, I thought it was a good idea to put him in this hurricane machine I found, where for five dollars, you supposedly experience a category five hurricane. I have my doubts, but here is Phil in the wind. I kept hoping it would blow him away to the land of Oz or something and then I would get on a bus and head to Orlando.

Yup. Beauty sleep. Need beauty sleep.

Anyway, next we went on an extremely cool ride that is one of the only ones at Busch Gardens that comes close to Disney level theming - Cobra's Curse. They say it is a family coaster, but it's a little scary!

Here is the ride itself (not my video):


Well, that thing will drive a person to drink!

Anyway, time for a skyride! Remember when Disney used to have one of these?

Yeeeeessshhhhh. Well, look, we did not have very much sleep the previous night. And I forgot to put on my turkey neck cream, dammit!

And as for him, he's just drunk.

What's next? Oh yeah, another ride.

This ride is VERY bossy!! But not as bossy as this ride:

Holy crap. It's a good thing I left my prosthetic legs at home!!

I didn't even ride this one. Phil did it by himself, because the ride attendant basically convinced me that my phone would fly away to the Virgin Islands if I went on the ride with it. If you care, here is this insane Kumba thing (again, not my video):



I think I only have one or two more pics until I get cut off again, so let's close with Phil on the log flume right before we both got soaked.

Hey it's no Splash Mountain, but there is a certain charm in a good old fashioned log flume ride.

All in all, we were able to get on a bunch of rides in two hours that afternoon, which is a good thing, because tomorrow (Saturday) will be mobbed and two hour waits for almost everything. We didn't know that as we were getting covered in log flume water, but we'd find out soon enough.

Next up, we discover an amazing Jamaican restaurant for dinner, and we discover that there is a high school having prom at our hotel (!!!) Back to you soon.

 

[MinnieM123]

I was very impressed to read about the generous van service they provided at your hotel! (That really is a big perk.)

So jealous of the skyride!! I miss the one at MK. And man, they have some serious coasters at Busch Gardens, too. (Never been down there, but know that the park has added a number of attractions since it originally opened.)

How was the weather by the way? (And, did you have good a/c in the hotel?)

P.S.: I love Phil's t-shirt in the last photo!

 

[DisSplash]

Just found this report, so it was a bit of a roller coaster for me at first, as the report was on, then it (And you) were off, but then it (And you) were on again, so whew! Thank goodness for that last thrill because here we all are. .
My kid is a coaster fiend and is simply pining to get to BGT, but it is so hard to leave the Disney (or Universal) bubble! We are pass holders at BGW, so that will have to do for now. As for your Philmonster, it looks like he is having a blast! Perhaps if you plied him with enough drinks, he wouldn’t know whether he was in BGT, or WDW ... missed opportunity there
It looks like your getaway weekend is off to a great, if not bossy, start - cannot wait to hear more! I am thinking about this Jamaican restaurant now....

 

[Tuvalu]

Busch Gardens looks completely different from my last visit.......in the early 80s.

 

[ajrwdwgirl]

Busch Gardens looks completely different from my last visit.......in the early 80s.

I was thinking that too. I last went in 1987. I remember that there was a brewery there, my Dad was VERY interested in that. . Is the brewery still there Buddy?

 

[krause]

Holy crap. It's a good thing I left my prosthetic legs at home!!

I had the guy beside me on RRR at Universal remove his prosthetic leg and pass it to one of the workers before the ride could get going. Who knew?

 

[Rista1313]

I was thinking that too. I last went in 1987. I remember that there was a brewery there, my Dad was VERY interested in that. . Is the brewery still there Buddy?

I think 1993/4 was the last time I was there, it still had the brewery back then...

I'm interested in this Jamaican restaurant Buddy... do tell!

 

[build_it]

This trip report may be the best part of my day!

And I would read a trip report of Buddy running down to his local playground and riding a swing.... because with his luck Sutton Foster would be there and sing to him while serving him margaritas... with Nick Adams.

 

[BuddyThomas]

Unfortunately, I don't think I'll be able to get to the next part until
Monday, because we have a crazy packed weekend. For some reason, everything on Long Island is scheduled this weekend: The Long Island Strawberry Festival (in wine country), the Belmont Stakes, Long Island Pride, a big Greek festival down the street from us, and the Tony Awards on Sunday night. Plus we're gonna try to find a space to slip in that new horror movie, Hereditary, which has received amazing reviews. Back to you ASAP! Have a great weekend!

 

[MySmallWorldof4]

Part Two - continued

Now remember, this is Busch Gardens, so beer is everywhere, even though on this particular Friday, they were not having food and wine. They only do that on Saturdays and Sundays. So even though I didn't get any pictures, rest assured that Phil Monster and I are cocktailing all over the place. And when Phil started getting a little silly, I thought it was a good idea to put him in this hurricane machine I found, where for five dollars, you supposedly experience a category five hurricane. I have my doubts, but here is Phil in the wind. I kept hoping it would blow him away to the land of Oz or something and then I would get on a bus and head to Orlando.

View attachment 288597
Yup. Beauty sleep. Need beauty sleep.

Anyway, next we went on an extremely cool ride that is one of the only ones at Busch Gardens that comes close to Disney level theming - Cobra's Curse. They say it is a family coaster, but it's a little scary!
View attachment 288602
View attachment 288603
Here is the ride itself (not my video):


Well, that thing will drive a person to drink!

View attachment 288604

Anyway, time for a skyride! Remember when Disney used to have one of these?
View attachment 288605
Yeeeeessshhhhh. Well, look, we did not have very much sleep the previous night. And I forgot to put on my turkey neck cream, dammit!
View attachment 288606
And as for him, he's just drunk.

What's next? Oh yeah, another ride.

View attachment 288607

This ride is VERY bossy!! But not as bossy as this ride:

View attachment 288608

Holy crap. It's a good thing I left my prosthetic legs at home!!

I didn't even ride this one. Phil did it by himself, because the ride attendant basically convinced me that my phone would fly away to the Virgin Islands if I went on the ride with it. If you care, here is this insane Kumba thing (again, not my video):



I think I only have one or two more pics until I get cut off again, so let's close with Phil on the log flume right before we both got soaked.

View attachment 288609

Hey it's no Splash Mountain, but there is a certain charm in a good old fashioned log flume ride.

All in all, we were able to get on a bunch of rides in two hours that afternoon, which is a good thing, because tomorrow (Saturday) will be mobbed and two hour waits for almost everything. We didn't know that as we were getting covered in log flume water, but we'd find out soon enough.

Next up, we discover an amazing Jamaican restaurant for dinner, and we discover that there is a high school having prom at our hotel (!!!) Back to you soon.

Apparently I rode Kumba back in '96. Dh said so anyway. I must have blocked it out, cause I don't remember it.

 

[draybook]

@BuddyThomas you know dang well that we're all going to be on the edge of our seats for one of your TR's! Glad to see you posting this. We're thinking about making the trek over to BG. Glad you guys had a great time, it looks really nice!

 

[BuddyThomas]

Part Three - A visit to a jerk hut


Ohhh wait, how did this get here? A blast from my past and apparently, I have always been an insane lunatic. Although I think I was only trying to recreate the bottle dance from Fiddler on the Roof, which I had gotten kicked out of in college because I could not do a dance step without dropping the bottle off my pumpkin shaped head.

Annnnyway.....moving on.....from my wild twenties to my milder fift----I mean...err...older than twenties.

Where were we? Busch Gardens log flume, soaked, park closing, time to go back to the hotel. Embassy Suites shuttle picked us up and not only took us back to the hotel but the driver gave us a dinner recommendation and said he would drive us to it later -The Jerk Hut! The best Jamaican food in town!

Well, I'm sold! And Phil will get to go to his appropriate environment: a jerk hut! And through the magic of the internet, we are here!

Let's eat!! And drink!

Fun, right?

The drink menu is extensive. I forgot to take a picture of it, but from their website's description, this is what we decided to have:

RHUM RUNNER $8
Meyer's Rum, Light Rum, Blackberry Brandy, Banana Liqueur, Grenadine, with lime and pineapple juice.

Okay, so some people on the main board are complaining that WDW is selling drinks (wine, beer) for $7.00 in the Magic Kingdom restaurants, and how dare they sell them at all. Well, eight bucks for this is a bargain. It would be $15.00 in NYC. Anyway, Cheers!!!

I'm such a goof ball. Or something. And Phil Monster is having fun too.

Well, we ate jerk chicken and jerk pork and all sorts of fritters and plantains and enough Scotch Bonnet sauce to give us a lifetime of acid reflux syndrome, and we drank about 500 Rhum Runners (why do they spell it like that?) because we didn't have to drive and because we are insane, and then it was time to go.

So we called the Embassy Suites complimentary van, who said he would be there in ten minutes, which means, time to get a picture or two of a Monster in front of a Waffle House!

Awwwww........now that he has had 500 cocktails, he is happy. How sweet.

And don't think that we didn't consider running over to that Waffle House while we were waiting for the shuttle bus to get some scattered, smothered, covered and chunked hashed browns and a couple dozen waffles too.....but because we wanted to live to see another day, we refrained. And the shuttle driver came, and as we got in, he said "Do you know they are having a prom at your hotel tomorrow?"

Annnnd scene!

Back to you soon with more about the prom (no we did not crash it!) and a very crowded Busch Gardens Saturday.

 

[Gabe1]

Welll.........as some of you know, they refused to delete my account, and I still get regular notifications from WDW Magic.

Today I got one about the gay wedding cake Supreme Court thing, of course from the political thread, which is why I left here to begin with. But this post was something that I could not ignore without responding. So, I held my breath and dived back into the pool.

Anyway, if I'm posting on the political thread, I guess I owe it to you guys to post this Busch Gardens trip report already, but since it has been so long, is anyone still interested in this? Let me know, and if so, I'll go ahead and post it in the next few days.

Missed you.

Prom??? Dear Lord. Disney does not do Prom.

 

[Rista1313]

Part Three - A visit to a jerk hut


Ohhh wait, how did this get here? A blast from my past and apparently, I have always been an insane lunatic. Although I think I was only trying to recreate the bottle dance from Fiddler on the Roof, which I had gotten kicked out of in college because I could not do a dance step without dropping the bottle off my pumpkin shaped head.
View attachment 289578

Annnnyway.....moving on.....from my wild twenties to my milder fift----I mean...err...older than twenties.

Where were we? Busch Gardens log flume, soaked, park closing, time to go back to the hotel. Embassy Suites shuttle picked us up and not only took us back to the hotel but the driver gave us a dinner recommendation and said he would drive us to it later -The Jerk Hut! The best Jamaican food in town!

Well, I'm sold! And Phil will get to go to his appropriate environment: a jerk hut! And through the magic of the internet, we are here!View attachment 289580
Let's eat!! And drink!

View attachment 289581
Fun, right?

The drink menu is extensive. I forgot to take a picture of it, but from their website's description, this is what we decided to have:

RHUM RUNNER $8
Meyer's Rum, Light Rum, Blackberry Brandy, Banana Liqueur, Grenadine, with lime and pineapple juice.

Okay, so some people on the main board are complaining that WDW is selling drinks (wine, beer) for $7.00 in the Magic Kingdom restaurants, and how dare they sell them at all. Well, eight bucks for this is a bargain. It would be $15.00 in NYC. Anyway, Cheers!!!
View attachment 289582
I'm such a goof ball. Or something. And Phil Monster is having fun too.

View attachment 289585

Well, we ate jerk chicken and jerk pork and all sorts of fritters and plantains and enough Scotch Bonnet sauce to give us a lifetime of acid reflux syndrome, and we drank about 500 Rhum Runners (why do they spell it like that?) because we didn't have to drive and because we are insane, and then it was time to go.

So we called the Embassy Suites complimentary van, who said he would be there in ten minutes, which means, time to get a picture or two of a Monster in front of a Waffle House!

View attachment 289586View attachment 289587
Awwwww........now that he has had 500 cocktails, he is happy. How sweet.

And don't think that we didn't consider running over to that Waffle House while we were waiting for the shuttle bus to get some scattered, smothered, covered and chunked hashed browns and a couple dozen waffles too.....but because we wanted to live to see another day, we refrained. And the shuttle driver came, and as we got in, he said "Do you know they are having a prom at your hotel tomorrow?"

Annnnd scene!

Back to you soon with more about the prom (no we did not crash it!) and a very crowded Busch Gardens Saturday.

Oh I do love me some jamaican food, (hubby and I were married there!) maybe when we are there in November, we should take the drive. (45 minutes) Which location did you go to?

 

[build_it]

I think you are proving you never age with the first picture of your bottle dance...

 

[LeighM]

Missed you.

Prom??? Dear Lord. Disney does not do Prom.

I saw posts on FB recently about a school having their prom at Coronado Springs. I was jealous. Our prom was at a volunteer fire house space lol.

 

[melmel89]

So glad you decided to stay! Things would get awfully dull around here without you