Summer Days at Busch Gardens

Here we are, mid-July and I still feel like we have so much good weather left, I can hardly look ahead to the next couple of months! We started our summer off with a trip to Busch Gardens right after the kids got out of school. It was the perfect way to kick off summer vacation!

The boys and I went last year and had so much fun, we wanted to do it with Fred and his kids! It seems that as each year goes by, I want to be the one taking photos while the boys want to do more and more rides. I’m totally down with that! Well, add in Fred and his kids who love the scary rides, and you have GOT to know it was an adventurous day.

We started out at Escape From Pompeii, which is the perfect way to start the day…pretty darn wet! It’s a fun ride that gets stinkin’ hot as you travel through the ruins of Pompeii because it sends out huge blasts of fire above each boat as though you’re experiencing the volcano.

From there, everyone wanted to do Apollo’s Chariot, except Doodle and I. I did it last year, so I know the ride. The big dip is, BIG, and totally freaks me out! hahahaha So, the roller coaster is definitely doing it’s job. If you can get past the first drop, you’re golden.

We all went on The Trade Wind. I remember this being my mom’s favorite ride when I was growing up. One part of the ride that I miss is that they don’t go backwards any more. You used to go around and around, then they’d stop the ride and you’d go around and around backwards. This is more my speed!

Our next stop was the Roman Rapids. We got there at just the right time. It’s probably one of the longest waits we had for any of the park’s rides. We had to go in two different tubes because there were 7 of us. Kgirl brought a friend. Unfortunately, neither of our rides got any of us very wet. We were pretty bummed, but you can’t control where your tube will go.

The Verbolten is what both of my boys were looking forward to the most. Fred’s never been to Busch Gardens before, but his kids have, so they knew the “surprise” of this ride. Yes, I went on this roller coaster, twice. Yes, it scares the stink out of me, but Fred seemed amused by the amount of screaming I was doing!

Aside from Buddy and I, the rest of the crew went through the Curse of DarKastle. We tried asking them about the “ride”, but it seemed like it was hard for them to explain. It’s a 3D ride, and it seems like pretty much anyone can go on it. No one seemed very scared, but the name of the “ride” made me decide to pass. lol

We also headed to another one of my favorite rides, the Le Scoot where we all got pretty good and wet! YAY! The boys and I weren’t interested in going on the Alpengeist, one of those roller coasters where your legs dangle down and you go upside down and all around. While they went on that, my boys and I went to the Le Catapult (aka The Scrambler).

Mboy had convinced Fred to go on the Griffon with him. bahahahaha You will NEVER see me getting on that ride. EVER! The boys and I watched that ride numerous times the first time we went to Busch Gardens and we all agreed that it was NOT a ride for us. Oh my goodness, they loved it. You will HAVE to watch the video on their site and my Instagram to get an idea of what the Griffon is like. You dangle at the top of this roller coaster and then…I’m getting queasy just thinking about it. They went on it TWICE! Crazy!

Doodle wanted to do the Der Autobahn (bumper cars) and Mboy wanted to play a soccer game. We ended by doing Europe in the Air, which was fun because Fred’s kids were leaving a few days later to spend 2 weeks in Europe!

We literally closed down the park. I couldn’t believe it. We left at 10pm. I was really bummed we didn’t get to see the Clydesdales. For some reason, we always go to the left when we walk into the park and miss the animals like Jack Hannah’s Wild Reserve and the wolf areas. I remember (again) last year we saw a herd of sheep being walked through the park. SO cool. Next time we go to the right first!

It was such a good and full day at the park. I wish we weren’t 3+ hours away. I’m pretty sure we could spend our entire summer there if given the opportunity! We’ll be back again in either August or September. Hmmmm maybe we’ll do Water Country USA next time. The boys and I love a good waterpark!

Are you a roller coaster rider?