Busch Gardens Tampa Skyride reopens and becomes an upcharge attraction

wahoo skipper:

How many places in the world can you soar over a zoo?

This seems like a strange justification. Amusement/theme parks everywhere are full of attractions that you can't do anywhere else. Riding a bucket over some wildlife doesn't seem high on the totem-pole of unique things worth an upcharge.

Hasn't SeaWorld San Diego always charged for their skyride? I believe it was $6 for non-passholders as of my visit in October.

I wouldn’t pay to ride it. But I’m sure plenty would. These rides have become nostalgia rides now.

feels like a slippery slope though. How much longer until parks start having separate up charges just to ride a big coaster?

Was the old Rhino Rally an upcharge when it first opened? I know it wasn't later on in its run the one I rode it, but I vaguely remember a reason why I didn't do it when I visited the park shortly after it opened. But I don't remember now if it was because it was an upcharge or because of an obscenely long wait.

The_Orient_of_Express:

How much longer until parks start having separate up charges just to ride a big coaster?

https://disneyworld.disney....ning-lane/

Ha! Yes. Forgot about the Disney Fastlanes or whatever they called them.

paid $100 to ride TRON past summer.

damn you Disney!!!!

I remember when the Busch parks were often seen as the gold standard for customer service and in park dining.

Well when you are no longer a pet project for one of the wealthiest families in the US, and now a public company pet project for a bunch of ex Blackrock execs what do you expect.

Kinda sucks, personally not a fan of up-charges or pay-to-cut. At least they didn't just tear it down. These are total classic rides, we need more "Transport Rides"!

Skyride was closed when I visited last week...would it even be worth the $5 to ride?

It's one of the better skyrides I've been on, but in my experience it's rarely open (although the last time I was there was 12 years ago, but apparently that hasn't changed). I can't see myself paying to ride it, though.

It’s a good ride. It’s got length to it, it turns the corner, you can see animals from above as well as some exciting views of Cheetah Hunt. And it’s a swell way to get from the back of the park to the front without that loooong walk around. And that would be worth 5 bucks to a lot of people.

I'm dumb. I was referring to Williamsburg's skyride, forgetting this thread was about Tampa's. Haven't been to Busch Tampa but once, 24 years ago. I don't even remember if I rode the skyride. Probably didn't.

Your spelling has improved, at least.

The Skyride and the Skytower at Seaworld San Diego were always an up charge. I know that they blew the wad when the had to have a new cabin for the Skytower built. They had a Japanese firm build the new one as Von Roll had changed ownership and no longer supported either ride. That was grandfathered in with the Coastal Commission and it's existence has allowed them to build the new coasters there.

I think it stems back to the days when the parks (both Sea World and the various Busch Gardens around the country) weren’t actual amusement parks. The Busch parks were built around the breweries and offered views of wildlife as they promoted their products. Busch Tampa had their famous Bird Gardens and I remember we made a visit in the mid sixties when I was a kid. The safari area was new and visitors could view it from the large raised patio in the rear of the Crown Colony House restaurant. For an up charge you could ride a suspended monorail that went out over the plains for a closer look. With admission to the gardens and brewery tour being free the up charge attractions made sense and that notion continues, apparently. Sea World came into being when regional theme parks were built but the emphasis wasn’t on rides for a number of years.

Has the Skytower at SWSD always been upcharge? I know I rode it in 2015 and I can’t imagine ever paying for it.

I think it has. That the rides are upcharges at SWSD is not a surprise; it's almost more surprising that the other rides are included in the POP, just based on the history of that park.

BGT is different, though. From the first time I visited there as a wee child, all of the rides, including the Sky Ride were included in the POP.

Also, yes, Von Roll has changed ownership a few times, and I can understand that they might not support the tower cabin, particularly since, assuming it's like the one at Cedar Point, Von Roll didn't build the cabin...the cabins were built by Carosserie-Werke Aarburg, which...oh. Is now owned by Doppelmayr, which is also the company that owns the remains of the Von Roll ropeway business. So if Doppelmayr is no longer supporting the Von Roll 101 ropeways, then why is it that during Winter Chill Out 2013 there were Doppelmayr branded pallets stacked around the GateKeeper train parts with new or refurbished suspension arms, trolleys, and grip mechanisms for the Sky Ride? Yes, admittedly, a lot can happen in ten years, but still, there are enough Von Roll 101 ropeways out there that Doppelmayer at least did offer some support for them.

(I know I have a photo of that somewhere, but I can't access it right now. Qnza you, Apple!)

--Dave Althoff, Jr.

To be honest the last time the misses and I were at SWSD was when they opened Manta. This was the second coaster type ride installed there. Both it and Journey to Atlantis were included in the admission. They sold an upgrade package deal for the Skyride and the Skytower at that time. Haven't been back there since, and since we're back in Western PA now, it's not likely we will be going back there in the near future.

It was open for around 2 weeks ago and back to the closed rides list again.

https://buschgardens.com/ta...-schedule/