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Old 3 Aug 16, 08:00 AM  
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SMAX
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Cobra's Curse - the ride experience from a reserved Brit.

inline imageIn case you missed the first article in this series about the four SeaWorld theme parks and the rides and attractions within, I will recap.

I went on a short trip to Florida where theDIBB was given exclusive access to the rides and also members of staff at the various parks to give interviews on video.

There were no scripts. No rehearsed questions and no professional recording equipment. We just used GoPros and a hand-held video camera without external microphones.

Being a reserved British gentleman (although my wife disputes the gentleman part ) I am not your over enthusiastic, arm waving, screaming, hyped up person that you normally see on these videos. But hopefully you will appreciate the time and effort that went into these days.



Busch Gardens - Cobra's Curse
An early start from Orlando in an Uber to Tampa, led us to the staff entrance around 7am. We were met there by Elizabeth, senior PR at Busch Gardens. I must say Elizabeth was absolutely lovely and had organised a whirlwind tour of the park before it opened to the guests that morning and continued to accompany us all day. I had a bit of an entourage following me around along with a photographer to get shots on the rides and arrange POV video on Cobra's Curse and Falcon's Fury. I will cover the other attractions in a separate article later on.

We walked over to Cobra's Curse to see the track layout and theming of the ride area. The sun had barely risen by then so I was treated to some dramatic scenes of the ride being tested with the sun rising in the background.





When I first saw the design for Cobra's Curse I was a bit sceptical about the ride due to the small footprint it sits in. But when you actually see it in reality it works very well in the Egypt park area. Nestled up against Montu at the front of the park, you can't really miss that huge Cobra's head rising 80ft from the ground.

The first thing that intrigued me was the lift element of the ride. To achieve the best ride in the compact footprint they needed to get the cars to the top of the track in the smallest area possible. For this they used an elevator system to load the cars at ground level and then transport them to the top of the track as quickly as possible in the shortest distance.



Using a counter balance, one car is transported up as another car loader returns to pick up the next ride vehicle. It works very well. It is smooth and fast and a fun part of the ride in itself.



From the top you come face to face with the Cobra! This is where you start the first part of the journey forwards, down the first drop. The ride is split into 3 stages. Forwards, backwards and then finally the spinning part where you are free to rotate randomly around the twists and turns of the track.

Reaching speeds of 40mph along the 2,100 feet of track it can whisk up to 1,000 riders per hour in up to 8 cars on track at anyone time. It is a great ride for families too with only a 42" height requirement if the child is accompanied by adults. They can ride alone from 48 inches in height too. There is the usual try before you ride seat outside so you can check you are happy with the fit before queuing.



To borrow a line from a famous movie... Snakes! Why does it have to be snakes?

I know some people have expressed their distaste of snakes saying they will not to be able to ride this because of the queuing area and snake exhibit. But in reality you could quite easily miss seeing the live snakes. There is only one place where you can encounter live snakes. The enclosure is behind glass obviously and you really have to search out the snakes as they do blend into the exhibit. There are 4 snake varieties in there. Angolan Python, Gaboon Viper, Jameson’s Mambas and Rhinoceros Vipers. Once you are safely pass this, non-snake lovers can totally relax and enjoy the experience.

You enter the queue line as if you were entering a dig site in the Egyptian desert. Complete with scaffolding and various props, it does remind you of certain movie scenes.





Onwards into the line you are reminded there might be snakes ahead...



It then darkens down into the main area that holds the snake exhibit. As I mentioned this could easily be missed. If you don't like snakes then just don't look. You would really have to look for them in there anyway.



There are also various other theme elements from the dig site you should stop and take in as someone has put a lot of time and effort into the theming of this attraction.



You now go into another room with a small pre-show with a large screen with a back story about the curse of the cobra.



Exiting the pre-show onto the ride platform to board the cars.



I thought the theming of this area was also well thought out. Take a look around you and notice how they have built it and then distressed it to look old and broken. Some of the wall art has pieces knocked off just as you would see in the ancient Egyptian finds from centuries ago.

I met up with Mark Rose, Senior Vice President of Design and Engineering at Busch Gardens. Who took me on the ride and explained various aspects of the design. Mark has been at Busch Gardens for 35 years and was responsible for a lot of the attractions you now see there. He was also involved with the theming of the gift shops and rest rooms, which complement the whole experience of each land.



I actually loved this ride. There are some great rides at Busch Gardens and this certainly is one of the best. It has elements of the ride that none of the others have and although it could be considered tame by comparison to rides such as SheiKra, it is fun and entertaining. A big thumbs up from me.



Thanks also to Victoria, my traveling companion from the UK PR team, who you will probably see a lot of in the videos. She was an absolute gem during the 5 days I was there. Along with Bradley (SeaWorld, Aquatica and Discovery Cove PR) and Elizabeth (Busch Gardens PR). Sorry this isn't an Oscar winner's speech but some people do deserve credit in helping arrange the days.
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Old 3 Aug 16, 08:20 AM  
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Megandllsmum
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Another great report and video... we missed this with holidaying in April but thought what we saw looked impressive.
Busch gardens was one of our favourite parks this trip and we went twice... a lot of prople write it off but I think the new ride will make it busier again.
PS if every there's a vacancy in your PR department...let me know
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Old 3 Aug 16, 09:03 AM  
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Kasalic
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Looks like a good addition to the park, may have to sneak a ride as I think we may do Busch Gardens as there is plenty to see and do without the coasters.
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Old 3 Aug 16, 09:09 AM  
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Alien
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we may add SeaWorld & Bush Gardens to our 2017 trip
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Old 4 Aug 16, 10:19 AM  
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FloridaFairy
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Ooo exciting... looking forward to that... should be on it this time next week. I think we planned Busch gardens for Thursday of our first week!

We love Busch gardens as we LOVE the big coasters!

xx FF xX
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Old 4 Aug 16, 10:39 AM  
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Omg that looks amazing can't wait to try this ride sooooo excited 😀
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Old 4 Aug 16, 11:18 AM  
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Can I just ask...does it go upside down? Or maybe you're not allowed to say? I'm trying to judge whether or not I can manage it
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Old 4 Aug 16, 11:23 AM  
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SMAX
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No it doesn't go upside down.
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Old 4 Aug 16, 11:25 AM  
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Originally Posted by SMAX View Post
No it doesn't go upside down.
Ooh! Good. Thank you!
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Old 5 Aug 16, 01:34 PM  
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Looks great!
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