The big banner is complete as of yesterday. If you look at it, you can see that not much as changed, except that they added the "Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit" symbol under the Fast Forward sign.
The new banner looks better than the old one IMO. The old one looked good too, but the new one's Rockit sign sure looks WICKED!
"Rockit was closed today with a crane by it. Signs at entrance of the park beneath the turnstiles said "Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is currently closed for preventive maintenance." What the heck..."
Dang! Hopefully it will be open on my birthday!
GOOD NEWS:
I said that if they installed the new banner, I'd be satisfied. Daytonaguy responded:
"So do your "Happy Dance". A new banner was installed on Friday!"
WOOT! It's about time it come back. =D Hopefully air holes will be installed to prevent it from ripping again! XD
My classmate rode Rockit in September and he said it is his favorite ride in USF. Last Thanksgiving, he rode it again, but there were technical difficulties with the ride, so he decided to go (he still deems it his favorite ride). It was a 2 and a half long wait and then the ride broke down. Yeah, it happens to some rides that just opened (namely first-of-its-kind types). During their first few weeks, for example, Spider-Man and Revenge of the Mummy had a plethora of technical difficulties as well. Still... I have been hearing stuff such as:
1. The moving walkway has not been working since the ride opened. 2. There have been recent breakdowns with the ride involving music, LEDs, etc. 3. Rough trains have been reported on the coaster as seen in this video posted by dshaytes:
4. Express is not open yet (and might not until next year). 5. I don't know what happened to the CityWalk entrance, but I don't think it is open yet. 6. It valleyed two times after it opened. 7. It did not open during HHN.
Hopefully, they will solve 1-6 (which will automatically solve 7) soon. In the meantime, the coaster is still open (and got its final train last month).
As of now, the only thing left of the Big Bad Wolf roller coaster at BGW is the drop to the Rhine River. Wonder how it will look like when it is all gone...
The top pics show that not much is left of the former Big Bad Wolf roller coaster. The first lift, block brake before second lift, and signature drop are still there (as well as some scattered track). Other than that, the final brake run, the first turns, everything, have been removed.
Yeah, I still remember some pics showing the beginning of the 2009 season celebrating BBW's 25th anniversary. Then in the summer, those nasty rumors came and said that it will be removed. On July 24, 2009, the removal was confirmed. Even Screamscape was upset. On September 7, 2009, Big Bad Wolf was no more. Now, it is almost gone.
Wow, this is a sad time.
RIP Big Bad Wolf 1984-2009
=,(
I will scream in anger when they remove Jimmy Neutron's Nicktoon Blast.
Welcome to Busch Gardens Africa, home to awesome exhibits, exemplary theming, and... THRILLING COASTERS!!!
We first started our day on Montu. This is me and my brother, Charles, in front of it!
Yes, I mean the coaster that is near the tram route.
Montu is a B&M Inverted roller coaster like Dueling Dragons at IOA.
Montu is fun, especially at night. The fact that you nearly touch the ground makes the ride scary! But that is part of the thrill! =)
I found this pic with the train kinda cool.
Ooooohhh... aaaaahhh... nice immelmann loop!
This is a very cool pic here.
OMG! A pharoah with two tiny heads! AHHHH!
Next stop, SheiKra (a B&M Dive Machine). It is the best coaster in the park IMO. From the queue of SheiKra. Watch your step... it's a doozy!
Rhino Rally was fun. Biff, the driver, cracked me up!
Nice view.
Ummm... we are the minions of the Great Grass Tiger!
Make room for the Great Grass Tiger (just make sure he doesn't eat you =P)!
Okay enough tigers! Sesame Street Safari of Fun time!
I went up this treehouse to get a big view of the construction.
I'm assuming that as of now, this part got the axe.
In the main construction area, you can see a foundation for one of the buildings.
Hmmm... rebar (possibly for more footers for the Air Grover roller coaster).
Hey people! Your dragons are leaving for Sesame Street characters!
Take one last look. Soon (by January 2010) this will all be gone...
More rebar.
Hmmm... what is this I see? A station building? I'm assuming it is for Air Grover.
Another look at what may be the station for Air Grover.
Sorry for the blur there.
Another station pic.
One last look at the Sesame Street main construction area.
I'm assuming that part got the axe as well for the Sesame Street conversion.
Now here is something for you coaster enthusiasts! Most may know this, but the support parallel to the lift track is actually for the lift chain. This is Gwazi's.
Another look at the Gwazi lift chain support.
The chain accelerates once the train arrives on the lift hill (what do you know, a train has gone on top). Tiger was closed BTW (retracking). =( Kumba was closed due to technical difficulties but reopened later that night.
Well, that does it for your BGA update. Hopefully you all have had a great Thanksgivng and have enjoyed my update. Next time, I will visit Brazil and after that... UNIVERSAL ORLANDO TO RIDE HOLLYWOOD RIP RIDE ROCKIT!!!!
I will give you my review soon and the list of rides I rode...
My name is Kyle and I am a University of Central Florida alumnus in Digital Media. I have been a long-time roller coaster/park enthusiast; however I used to be afraid of coasters. That all changed after I rode Dragon Challenge for the first time in 2006 (RIP) on the Ice/Hungarian Horntail side. Since then, it's been upward from here; fast forward to today, and I've ridden some of the tallest and fastest coasters in the world. I've also visited parks throughout North America and Europe. And I'm not done yet; in fact, I intend to design a theme park myself!
