Scared of Rollercoasters?

It is currently 11:40pm. I am in some hotel in Lake City, FL and extremely exhausted. I woke up this morning and said goodbye to Brandi who was hosting me last night, I decided that I would allow her to concentrate on her work and just be on my way rather than imposing on her parents for a second night.

My plan for today... go to Busch Gardens in Tampa. On my way there I could not quite figure out why I was going. I have never been one to get excited about rollercoasters. I worked at Geauga Lake in high school and it was not until then that I started riding rollercoasters. The last time I remember riding one was when my buddy Drew took me and his girlfriend from Yale to Cedar Point over 6 years ago. It was something that Rima and I had never done together. But I understood that BG (Busch Gardens) is more than just rollercoasters, they have quite an assortment of animals and other attractions. So i figured if anything, I would at least be able to take a few photos.

I got there around 11am and paid the 9 dollars to park then another 50 or so to get in. I did not pick up a map at the gate, I figured that I would just find my way around, but halfway into the day I wound up with a map just because the place is pretty confusing. The first coaster I came to was a wooden one called Gwazi. I figured that since my first one at Geauga Lake was the Big Dipper (another wooden coaster) I would start off with that one at BG. The wait was about half an hour and the ride was shaky but bearable. In between rides, I would come across some animals and took a few photos of them. The next coaster I came across was the Python. There was no wait for this ride. It was corkscrew style the ride was nice and smooth and very short. But that was the one that got me really warmed up for the bigger coasters. The next was Kumba, I waited for one car to board in front of me. This one is very similar to the Python in that the cars where the kind where passengers are sitting in the car, but the thing that stood out about this one was the ride was much longer and intricate. Instead of just twisting, there was also loops and some spins. I found this ride to be quite enjoyable and road it twice in a row. I had locked my stuff at the Python so I went back and rode it once again before picking my stuff up. I made my way all the way across the park to Montu. This coaster is of the style in which the ridders legs dangle. It has quite a few loops and twists and there are many times when I felt as though my legs were rather close to getting chopped off. I rode this one twice in a row as well with no wait for either ride. I made my way back to Gwazi and rode it again with no wait this time. I did not enjoy it as much as I was the metal coasters. From the time of my first ride on Gwazi I saw a coaster that had a 90 degree drop after the first lift. I told myself that I would not be getting on that ride. One interesting thing about that ride is that after some loops and a second drop of similar degrees the car goes through a pool and though the passengers never really get wet, anyone standing in that area gets soaked. I made a decision that my coaster enjoyment would not be complete without riding it at least once. And ride it once I did. This ride is of the style where the passengers are sitting on top but not in cars, they are pretty much open seats with the restraint coming over from the back. For the rest of the day I had no wait on any of the rides. I finished it off with another ride on Kumba and two more on Montu.