WebmasterBarry
DIS Veteran
- Joined
- Aug 20, 1999
I went to Busch Gardens Tampa on 9/23 and I rode the revamped Rhino Rally. Here is the scoop.
I arrived at Busch Gardens at around 9:30. The line to enter stretched past the ticket booths. I was 3/4 of the way in the line. As soon as the gates opened, I headed to Rhino Rally. When I arrived, the line stretched back to the break-off point. I waited about 5 minutes.
The driver of our rover didn't seem very enhuastic. He said "um" a lot and delivered his lines like he was half-asleep! The land part seemed a lot smoother than before. the tight turns are very flat. There were a few more animals there. I'm not sure why it is called Rhino Rally when 1.) you only see 3 rhinos and 2.) the rover goes at 7 mph (I thought a rally would be faster!). The land part isn't too exciting, but you do see animals you can't see anywhere else in the park.
Then the rover went to the water part. Before the rover goes into the water part, the driver can go left or right. A few months ago, the driver asked the navigator which way to go. This time, the driver went left, no asking and no questioning. The water part isn't very thrilling. You can also see some of the "fakeness" of the water part. During the ride, you encounter a rainstorm. Before the rain came, I could hear and see the sprinklers going off. As the rover floats down the river, you can see the track. It seemed like you were floating down Evian water! If this ride did cost $20 million, they could have hid these things much better.
As I got off the ride, the queue was halfway full and it was only 10:30! Later in the day, the ride broke down. Around 1:00, the wait was 45 minutes and the water part broke down. This ride has Test Track Syndrome really bad. It loads slowly and breaks down a lot.
There were some good changes to the ride. Rhino Rally now has a single riders line and Quick Queue. Quick Queue is like Fast Pass. Two people sitting at a table hands out return times.
The ride was disappointing that day. It doesn't live up to the hype. At Kumba, you can see a short computerized video of the ride. The computerized video makes Rhino Rally look more thrilling that it actually is.
I arrived at Busch Gardens at around 9:30. The line to enter stretched past the ticket booths. I was 3/4 of the way in the line. As soon as the gates opened, I headed to Rhino Rally. When I arrived, the line stretched back to the break-off point. I waited about 5 minutes.
The driver of our rover didn't seem very enhuastic. He said "um" a lot and delivered his lines like he was half-asleep! The land part seemed a lot smoother than before. the tight turns are very flat. There were a few more animals there. I'm not sure why it is called Rhino Rally when 1.) you only see 3 rhinos and 2.) the rover goes at 7 mph (I thought a rally would be faster!). The land part isn't too exciting, but you do see animals you can't see anywhere else in the park.
Then the rover went to the water part. Before the rover goes into the water part, the driver can go left or right. A few months ago, the driver asked the navigator which way to go. This time, the driver went left, no asking and no questioning. The water part isn't very thrilling. You can also see some of the "fakeness" of the water part. During the ride, you encounter a rainstorm. Before the rain came, I could hear and see the sprinklers going off. As the rover floats down the river, you can see the track. It seemed like you were floating down Evian water! If this ride did cost $20 million, they could have hid these things much better.
As I got off the ride, the queue was halfway full and it was only 10:30! Later in the day, the ride broke down. Around 1:00, the wait was 45 minutes and the water part broke down. This ride has Test Track Syndrome really bad. It loads slowly and breaks down a lot.
There were some good changes to the ride. Rhino Rally now has a single riders line and Quick Queue. Quick Queue is like Fast Pass. Two people sitting at a table hands out return times.
The ride was disappointing that day. It doesn't live up to the hype. At Kumba, you can see a short computerized video of the ride. The computerized video makes Rhino Rally look more thrilling that it actually is.
