SheiKra @ BGT - Sighted "Swooping Down" on 1st test run!

Another (local Fla. based) board out there has a post on it that says SheiKra @ BGT was sighted "Swooping Down" on it's FIRST test run yesterday 4/1/5!

I don't believe it's a joke ... I personally know a few Park Employees @ BGT, and one of them (she), said it happened.

For what's worth ... I have no reason NOT to believe her.

Maybe some PICs or VIDs will show up very soon! Media Day is (only 47 days away ... and counting!) on May 19th!

Wow, talk about a close call!

I have a trip planned to Florida to meet a buddy down there for about a week. I am going to be down there just the week after Media Day.

So far, I have it planned to go two days, both the 24th and 25th which will be Tuesday and Wednesday hoping that the crowds won't be as bad.

Being a new coaster is opening though it will probably be pretty crowded even on weekdays.

I figure, might as well make it two days instead of one because for a slight amount of extra money, you can buy a season pass over a one-day pass... Seems like Busch Gardens is "giving away the gate" moreso than Six Flags is in that respect.

Wait what do you mean by "swooping down" ? Am I missing something or are you just saying it had a test run?

Apparently it had it's first test runs sometime last night, after dark, yes, that is what they are saying...

That surprises me. I can't remember where I saw them (from the Florida Coaster Club, perhaps?), but it didn't look as if the ride was ready to be tested yet, with lots of electrical stuff not yet in place.

The news comes from BGT Guide where they have many recent pictures of the coaster including several of the train on the track, NOT TESTING, but the train is either on the brake run or the transfer track and not just in the storage house. The site hasn't been updated since yesterday, but they assure us that it is NOT an April Fools day joke and that they will have new pictures of the ride testing sometime this weekend, granted that there is more testing this weekend. They cite the reason they don't have pictures of it testing yesterday is because it was too dark to get a good enough quality picture. *** Edited 4/2/2005 10:09:56 PM UTC by Coaster Lover***

I just read about it here: http://bgtguide.com/

Well ...

- MikeMir87: The "Swooping Down" reference I was refering to was that -- The Ride is named after an African Hawk Species -- and that is also why the Ride has an African Theme. Plus it's fits in well with the Parks name -- Busch Gardens Tampa Bay: The Dark Continent.

- Jeff: Yep ... The FLCC Message Boards is where I first read the info on the test run. We (the FLCC Web site) also had first right priviledges for posting up the (up close and personal) PICs from the latest Media Construction Tour that was held on March 23rd.

- CoasterLover: No ... BGTGuide wasn't the Fla site that I was referring to although, they also had some info on the test run.

Am I the only person who noticed the convenient date of the claim in question?

No joke, go to the link posted above.

I have actual photos. The ride did its first run successfully. Busch is on top of everything.

Yep ... it's true ... again!

Second day of April and a Second Day of Testing. Two 4 Two ... BGTGuide has posted a short (and relatively dark) VID, but it *is* SheiKra!

VID #2 up at http://www.bgtguide.com -- this one features the First plunge!

*** Edited 4/3/2005 11:45:58 AM UTC by Coaster Cruiser***

When a coaster goes up, in my opinion, there are five landmark points: 1) the first footer, 2) the first piece of track installed, 3) the last piece of track installed, 4) the first test run, and 5) opening day. Seeing SheiKra on one of it's first test runs just makes me smile. There are relatively few coasters going up in the US this year, so this is one of those coasters that I've watched from day one of construction. It's like watching your baby grow up! BGT should have a real winner on their hands with this one. Here's to opening day!

Well, that showed me and my skepticism, didn't it? ;)

Wow, that brought shivers down my spine seeing first video of Sheikra running. It just looks incredible, I can't wait to get a first ride on it!

I think we are seeing a lot of new coasters opening this year. With tourism showing signs of coming back in 2002 and 2003 parks started to plan new big things. 2004 saw fewer coasters than this year. SheiKra is the most orginal coaster opening this year, no doubt. Kingda Ka is just a bigger and sightly better version of TTD.

SheiKra looks amazing, CP needs a dive machine. I can't afford a trip to Florida.

I downloaded the videos hoping to see some good test run footage. What I got was some bad nighttime footage with a brief glimpses of the trains on the course, but not much else.

Worst. Video. Ever. Show me the ride operating in the day and I'll get excited.

What were you expecting?

I'll take a bad night video over no video if means an earlier look at the ride in action! Seriously, are the people that conribute to BGTguide living inside the park or what? Who has time for all that documentation anyways? Either way, I appreciate what they do, saves me a hellish drive on I-4 to get a closer look :).

I wonder how much the water splash effect will slow the train down...

Moosh
Quote: SheiKra tested again tonight and we have two small videos of it. They are not the greatest quality because it was very dark, but it shows the ride in motion.

What were you expecting?