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Sky’s the Limit at Cirque Vertigo at Busch Gardens

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If you missed Cirque Vertigo last week at Busch Gardens’ Real Music Series during the park’s 60th Anniversary, don’t panic! It is coming back at the end of the Real Music series. This highly popular limited engagement was a packed house at each show. For those who miss the touring Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus for all its death-defying acrobatics, then you are in for a treat! Returning for the final week of Real Music Real Masters series, Cirque Vertigo featuring the famous Wallenda Duo March 11-16. As none of the Real Music Real Masters shows run on Sunday, for those of us whom work Monday-Friday, make sure you catch the show on Saturday at either 11:30 or 1:30. Seriously, this show fills up faster than Fantasmic at Disney’s Hollywood Studios. And with good reason. It’s a limited run and is an absolutely spectacular extravaganza.

I cannot mention enough the importance of picking up a FREE show ticket (that essentially means you have A seat) before the show. The show WILL FILL UP. I imagine that the second run of the show will be even more popular because of all the Twitter and Instagram activity during the first run. So, you have a few weeks to plan your next visit.

At approximately 45-minutes, this is a long theme park show, but it is high impact the whole time. Cirque Vertigo has it all–comedy, acrobatics, audience interaction, and adrenaline pumping music! The show opens with a hilarious monologue and giant ball-spinning act by the emcee. This is a great transition from arriving at the theatre to the show because some tensions were high with the chaotic loading of the theatre. Comedy is a great way to calm down those who may be frustrated that they didn’t get the seat they hoped they would get. Throughout the show, the emcee proves audiences with some laughs between the balancing and acrobatic acts. Although much of his humor is self-deprecating, there is no question that he has some great talent for balancing large objects, Chinese yoyo tricks, and more.

The first act involves spinning lights lots of mindblowing balancing acts. All are fascinating to watch! As the lights fly by, the trail left behind the lights displays the Real Music series logo. This act is a combination of light spinning and gymnastics. Following the light spinning, another acrobat brings out a huge wire frame cube and spins and balances it. Pretty sure that cube was taller than the performer. By far the most impressive routine in the opening was the balancing act on the silver cylindrical shapes. As I am not a circus performer, I am not certain of the proper name for those elements of the act.

The second act takes extreme hula hooping to the next level! I have difficulty just hula-ing with one hoop let alone dozens! The first part of the routine involves juggling hula hoops in a fantastically choreographed routine followed by hula-ing dozens and dozens of hula-hoops.

The third act takes you to the sky as the silks falls from the ceiling and the acrobat ascends! Silk routines are among my favorite at Cirque or Circus shows. There is an incredible beauty to how the acrobat moves up and down the silks. It is clear where the show got its name because of all the vertically aligned acts that reach for the sky. More so than the other acts, this one stands out as aerial interpretive dancing–an experimental ballet suspended above the stage.

Act four starts on the ground, then towers to the rafters. The same acrobat that balanced the giant cube before is back with a different geometric shape. This time, he impresses the audience with incredible feats of balance and movement with the ring. There is literally nothing that this guy can do with the ring. Personally, my favorite routine was spinning on the round and rolling around the stage in it. Following the ring routine, the next acrobat stacks chairs more than 30ft in the air (maybe even higher) and does a handstand! Phenomenal! Such a magnificent display of acrobatic prowess.

The fifth and final act before the finale features the Wallenda Duo! I’ve seen trapeze routines, high-wire acts, and other circus staples, but I’ve never seen a circus act like this one before. With a vertically aligned bar suspended from the trusses, the Wallenda Duo mesmerizes the audience with a gravity-defying routine act that will hold you in suspense as death-defying acts are on display before your very eyes. No CGI, no fly system, no safety net–just world-class acrobats that are (if I remember correctly) fourth generation circus performers.

You do not want to miss a single epic moment of Cirque Vertigo!

Visit the Busch Gardens website for more information on this and the other exciting acts coming to the Real Music Real Masters series!

Howl-O-Scream 2018 Full Review

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Howl-O-Scream is here, and there is #NowhereToHide from the hoards of zombies, killer toys, sociopathic butchers, and more! Opening this past weekend, Busch Gardens’ annual Halloween event kicked off with thunderous applause from all  the fiends that dared face the horrors of the six houses and scare zones. With some new additions to the HOS lineup, this year was screamtastic! From coasters with zombies to great food and drinks, Busch Gardens provides the best value for a large scale haunted event. Enter if you dare, but be warned that there are terrors around every corner and where you least expect them to be, including on Busch Gardens’ heart-heart-pounding coasters! Might just find yourself riding next to a vomit-inducing zombie. In her encore year, HOS also bids the queen of Death Water Bayou a ghoulish farewell. Select night from now until October 27th, you don’t want to miss a single epic moment of Howl-O-Scream 2018 at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

The frights begin even before you enter the from gate. Wandering hoards of a variety of all that goes bump in the night will be your personal poltergeist. In order to make sure you make the most of your time at HOS, I highly recommend the front-of-the-line pass. Fortunately, my friend and I had them on opening night, and it allowed us to move about casually about the event. Even if you do not elect to get the front-of-the-line pass, you will most likely make it to all the houses if you begin right at start time. But, the best way to experience HOS is every night of the event with the season pass. With general admission prices well below Halloween Horror Nights, Howl-O-Scream provides park guests with the most band for your buck. I am often asked by my followers on Twitter which event is more fun or to compare the two, and I often reply with the cliche analogy of apples and oranges because both are fruit, yet unique. Whereas HHN has a much higher production quality, HOS has the better scares. At least, that rings true for my friends and me who attend both these events every year. We go to HHN for the familiar IPs and to HOS to get scared. After all these years, it is getting more and more difficult to startle or scare me. So scare factor is important when I attend a theme park or local haunt.

Entering the park from the Nairobi Gate (for the media event), I found myself in the Dia De Los Muertos (Day of the Dead) scare zone. The costumes were brilliant! Between the Mexican themed food, music, and the projections on the Moroccan Palace, it was truly an immersive scare zone to kick the opening night festivities off in a superb fashion. After celebrating the Day of the Dead with the inhabitants of that scare zone, my friend Dani and fellow Tweep Off of the Go were on our way to checkin to one of this year’s new houses Insomnia. Insomnia is in the location where Zombie Containment Unit used to be, and it’s a HUGE upgrade. In fact, Insomnia is in the running to be the most popular this year. In the Insomnia house, you are walking through a disturbing psychiatric hospital of the most bizarre nature. While touring this sinister place, you will encounter unimaginable terror around every corner. You’ll not only want to watch out for deadly patients but what lurks in the walls and ceilings. If you can make it out alive, you’ll have more to worry about than Freddy Krueger next time you go to sleep. Maybe it’s best if you never sleep again.

One of my favorite parts of Howl-O-Scream every year is the annual Fiends show!! Consistently irreverent and hilariously funny, this show is the highlight of my experience each year. I was especially excited for it this year because Universal canceled the Bill and Ted’s Excellent Halloween Adventure show. As much as I enjoy the macabre nature of the houses and scare zones, Fiends provides park guests an opportunity to laugh! This laughter is both immensely entertaining and it cleanses the pallet for continued enjoyment of the horrifying attractions. Join Dr. Freakenstein, Igor, their sexy pink nurses and all the rest of the fiends as they celebrate Dr. Freakenstein’s birthday number 666. The jokes are funnier, lewder, racier than ever—it’s the honor comedy show not to be missed. Fiends consistently delivers an incredible show that will hold your attention and cause you to possibly engage in uncontrollable laughter the entire time. Whoever writes the show, must have an amazingly fun time doing so! Dr. Freakenstein and Igor are equal opportunity offenders. No one is safe from their riffs and banter. Especially a certain orange-skinned individual with a terrible combover. So much eye candy at the show. Whether you’re looking for sexy pink female nurses, mesmerizingly beautiful vampires, hot shirtless male dancers, or totally rad mummies that can breakdance like no one’s business, you will find them in Dr. Freakenstein’s Castle.

Next door to Fiends is The Black Spot pirate themed haunted maze. Likely in its final year, this is a house returning from the last few years  that invites park guests to enter into a treacherous land of pirates, sea creatures, treasure, and curses. One of my favorite things about this house is entering in through a pirate ship and encountering a massive rock skull. It may not be one of my favorite houses this year, but I do enjoy the themed design. The scares could use a little work, but the production design is solid. Personally, I prefer Dead Fall, which was in this location prior to Black Spot. Once we disembarked the pirate ship, we needed to head for our hotel—motel, rather. The journey would not be as simple as hailing a taxi or requesting an Uber. We had to make the journey on foot through the Deadly Toys scare zone. There is little more terrifying and creepy than that which is otherwise innocent, being twisted into something truly sinister. Chainsaw wielding teddy bears, possessed dolls, killer clowns, and more. Even the toy boxes are enough to strike fear in your mind. Once we escaped the clutches of the dolls, bears, and clowns, we arrived at our destination

Motel Hell is still my favorite house at HOS. Of all the houses, it is the most detailed and elaborate. If there was any one house at HOS that was of an HHN original house quality, it is Motel Hell. I feel that it is the strongest house for effective and consistent theming that works to transport you from a theme park to a rundown motel from the 1950s. Every room in this motel has something terrifying to offer the residents. And yes, it’s complete with that 1940s scratchy high pitched record music too. Something straight out of Insidious. Even though each room is unique, there is still a great deal of coherency in the design. You never feel that you have been taken out of the story. Underneath beds, in bath tubs, in dark corners, and behind the walls, it will feel that there is no way out of this hell. Just when you think it’s over, that’s when the scar actors will get you. In addition to being the best in design, it’s also the most fun house. Lots of horror tropes here!

Located across from Motel Hell is Busch Gardens’ first area to be recommended for 17 years of age and up. With no one checking IDs, I am not sure how this is monitored but I imagine that if someone under the age of 17 wonders in, they have been warned that this is a disturbing area. After all, you are in a meat market. Animals and humans too. There are elements of this scare zone that are not for the faint of heart. If you’re looking to get a great HOS photo, then the photo opportunities in Meat Market are for you. With several to choose from, there is a setting for every fiend. Simon’s Slaughterhouse is a new house for HOS this year that is recommended for those who are 17 years of age and older because of the disturbing and intense material. In this house, you may be separated from your group at the front entrance, which alone can increase the terror level. As you navigate this claustrophobic maze through a sinister slaughterhouse, you will encounter the sounds of meat being harvested, and I am not just talking animals.

If you emerge mostly unscathed from Simon’s Slaughterhouse, you’ll want to make your way to visit the excavation at Unearthed. Returning this year, Unearthed’s maze is modified and additional props are used. Instead of entering the house from the Gwazi platform and walking past that amazing animatronic tree that I’ve always found impressive, you enter in from the basement, so to speak. In order to find your way through the maze, you are given a flashlight. A nice touch! My friend Dani carried the flashlight for us so I could take pictures. Speaking of which, unless you have a lens with a wide-open aperture, photos in side the houses are actually difficult to take. Other than the entrance, the house is largely unchanged. Like Motel Hell, I find that this one has a solid production design, full of details. One of the things that I feel is missing from this house, that cold improve it, is a coherent story. When it was first revealed a few years ago, it has more of a story than it does now. Bringing that back, can assist in the over all experience of this house.

Standing between you and the park’s exit is the Hell on Wheels scare zone. I hope you’re not hungry or thirsty when approaching this scare zone. You see, a notorious gang has staked claim to the food and water supplies after an apocalyptic event. You cannot outrun these bad ass motorcycle gang members, and with #NowhereToHide, you are going to be on the run of your life. Lots of sliders in this area, and those sliders’ scares are always effective. Although we found ourselves in the front of the park, we still wanted to visit the Camp DOA scare zone in the back of the park. Dani and I also had a few scareactors that we wanted to find! We were also craving a pretzel dog from Pantopia. Dani has a friend who’s one of the scareactors in the Maniac Midway, and we missed her earlier when we rode Falcon’s Fury.

Since we arrived in Pantopia before her friend came out, we took a moment to grab our pretzel dogs from that dope quick service location near Falcon’s Fury. I greatly appreciate Busch Garden’s for doing their best to include so many local horror enthusiast and actors who just want to have fun scaring and creeping out HOS guests. No matter if someone may not have the range of physical abilities as others. If you show an enthusiasm for a desire to scare the HOS guests, then Busch Gardens will do their best to accommodate and include you. After spending a moment getting scared by Dani’s friend who was hiding in the shadows in order to startle those who venture into the midway overrun by maniac clowns. Next we made our way over to Sheikra to catch one of my new friends I’ve met on Twitter (MisfitsUnmanaged) who is playing a cider smoking chain-saw wielding clown. But before we can get to Sheikra, we must pass through the Camp DOA scare zone. Located where the Wasteland scare zone used to be, this scare zone is a great interpretation of summer camp slasher horror movies. I love this quick story because it just goes to show how social media can provide an opportunity to connect with like-minded individuals! Fortunately, the timing worked so that MisfitsUnmanaged was going to be coming out as Dani and I were in the Sheikra area. Lastly, I needed to see another friend of mine that I figure skate with who was playing a ghost-like zombie in the front of the park. Timing was perfect, we got to get our picture together!

Well, there you have it! A comprehensive review of Howl-O-Scream 2018 at Busch Gardens!  Although opening weekend has come and gone, you still have many more weekends to enjoy this event! With tickets starting at $39, it’s a fantastic value that gives you the most bank for your buck. I need to return to ride Cheetah Hunt and Skeikra with scareactors, but that just gives me even more reason to get the season pass so I can go back time and time again.

 

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Full Theme Park Review of Bier Fest at Busch Gardens

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The thrills are on tap at Busch Gardens Bier Fest! If you’re looking for delicious tavern fare and refreshing craft beer, then come on out to Busch Gardens first annual Bier Fest taking place on weekends now through September 16th, including Labor Day! The combinations and pairings are nearly endless. The best way to experience the delectable event is with a sampler lanyard. Unlike some food and wine/beer festivals that seem to never have enough hightop tables and shade, Busch Gardens has made sure that there are plenty of places to gather around with your friends and family to enjoy the bountiful bier and food.

With so many taverns to choose from, the most difficult part about the experience is just knowing where to begin. Late august early September tends to be a slow time in the parks, so the event was developed as a way to bridge the gap between Summer Nights and Howl-O-Scream. And the decision has been a hit! Nestled in the area of the park that is largely seen as a pass through to the Australia and Sesame areas, the layout of the taverns provides a quaint feel that gives it that quintessential festival ambiance that creates an incredibly inviting atmosphere. Complete with Instagram Walls, you’ll find plenty of opportunities to take memorable photos as well. I encourage you to head out to Busch Gardens to experience it yourself!

The festival grounds begin just before you arrive at the old Gwazi courtyard and continues to Australia and up to the back entrance to Gwazi field. Greeted by some fun Instagram walls, a giant menu of all the beer, and friendly welcome center, you have all the tools necessary to plan your time at Bier Fest. Between the handy festival guide and large print menus at the taverns, you’ll never find yourself wondering where something is or feel overwhelmed because the guides make the info easy to digest, if you will. In addition to the tavern fare and craft beer, you’ll also be able to enjoy bourbon and wine tasting! I recommend the Angel’s Envy!

In order to take a break from the Florida sun and humidity, I highly recommend cooling off at the “hottest show on ice” Turn It Up! With several showtimes during the event, you’ll certainly have time to make your way over to the Moroccan Palace Theatre for this award-winning show.

Here are my recommendations for tasty pairings:

Cheese Curds with Truffles & Pilsner lager

Pretzel Bratwurst & Oktoberfest beer

Chicken Kabob & Pineapple Coconut hard water

All Beef Slider & Vibin’ lager

Grilled Lamb Kefta & Rose Cider

Fish ‘n Chips & Cucumber weisse

For all the event has going for it and has brilliantly executed, there are a few items of mention that I think would be great modifications and additions for next year. One thing I noticed is that the food taverns only offered commercial beer (Bud, Miller, Coors, ec). So, I found myself going from a food tavern across the festival grounds to a craft beer tavern. Although I understand the importance and strategy behind consolidating the craft beers to their respective taverns, I think that at least one craft beer option should be at each food tavern. Even though you don’t typically think of sweets at an event that is all about the savory, I would like to see a few dessert options available for purchase. The frozen drinks do hit the sweet spot, but even a couple sweet items amongst the variety of savory would be great.

You’ll definitely enjoy the live entertainment and atmospheric music from the speakers. Busch Gardens offers a variety of live music guests and house music of chill covers of some of your favorite songs. Even Cyndi Lauper’s timeless classic Time After Time  gets a male vocal cover that pairs nicely with your food and drink. The live entertainers take the stage towards the back of the festival and each one I heard did a great job of interacting with the park guests.

I had so much fun, and I know that you will too! For the best way to experience the festival, you’ll want to purchase a sampler lanyard. There are two affordable options, and a special offering for Annual Pass Holders. Aside from the financial savings, the sampler lanyard also allows you to save time and increase the convenience of ordering your food and beer. I’ve used the sampler lanyard at other Busch Gardens festivals, and have always enjoyed it!

Cheers!

For festival details, please visit the Busch Gardens website

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#VowToVanish | Full Review of Vanish Point at Adventure Island

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#VowToVanish at Adventure Island’s newest thrill ride Vanish Point! Opening tomorrow, this is an incredibly exhilarating waterpark attraction that is guaranteed to reach epic levels of suspense as you anticipate the moment the trap door flies open and you plummet to the watery depths of sheer adventure!

Along with many other bloggers and legacy media professionals covering the themed entertainment industry, I was invited to be among the first to experience Vanish Point. Towering more than 70ft in the air, Vanish Point is part of a unique breed of water coasters that combines the concept of a freefall with a traditional tube style slide. My guide Michelle was exceptional! A real testament to the quality of hospitality Adventure Islands extends to their media guests. She made my afternoon incredibly pleasant and was always attentive to my needs as I was there solo.

Along with many other bloggers and legacy media professionals covering the themed entertainment industry, I was invited to be among the first to experience Vanish Point. Towering more than 70ft in the air, Vanish Point is part of a unique breed of water coasters that combines the concept of a freefall with a traditional tube style slide. My guide Michelle was exceptional! A real testament to the quality of hospitality Adventure Islands extends to their media guests. She made my afternoon incredibly pleasant and was always attentive to my needs as I was there solo.

Even before I began the climb to the top of the tower, I passed a screen on the ride sign that shows footage from inside the launch capsule. While many in the media community seemed to simply pass it by, that element of the queue design caught my attention. It’s no secret that we are a highly mediated society (meaning interacting with and passively watching some form of media), so this was a brilliant way to integrate social media into the attraction. Whereas this feature may not be traditional social media, it embodies the idea of the vicarious experience that inspires or dares you to also take part in the thrill of Vanish Point in order to socialize with fellow enthusiasts or guests such as yourself. The idea of bonding through a screen works fabulously with this attraction. And for those who are traveling with someone who is unable to experience the attraction, your friend or family member can watch your face as you prepare for the drop!

Once you’ve climbed to the top of the tower, you are ushered over to one of two capsules. The ride attendant places you inside the tube and closes the door. To quote a favorite attraction of mine “there’s no turning back now.” Though it’s only a few seconds, time seems to stand still as you await the inevitable drop. I’m reminded of that great scene from Emperor’s New Groove in which Yzma commands Kronk to “pull the lever, Kronk…” then the trap door opens and Yzma plummets to the river below whilst exclaiming “…wrong lever!” Just before the trap door opens, there is a countdown 3…2…1…but there is a moment between the one and when it opens. It was probably less than a second but felt so much longer. Then WOOSH! You race down the water slide, turning, twisting, falling until you finally hit the bottom of the slide. What an adrenaline rush! I’ve never experienced a water a water attraction quite like this one. It was immensely exciting, and I know you will enjoy it WHEN you visit Adventure Island beginning tomorrow, March 9th.

After the experience on Vanish Point, I was walked around the park by my wonderful guide, and given a brief tour of the parks various offerings. I also found out that the food and beverage menu is supposedly changing to include some exclusive treats to Adventure Island. No information on WHAT to expect, but the idea is tasty enough! Looking forward to what Adventure Islands includes in their seasonal food. There is truly something for everyone at Adventure Islands. Whether you prefer it mild or wild, you are sure to find adventure waiting for you in the island oasis.

#CorksAndCoasters: Full Review of Busch Gardens Tampa Food and Wine Festival

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Delightful, delectable, delicious! It’s back, folks! And bigger, better than ever! Though only in its third year, Busch Gardens Tampa’s annual Food and Wine Festival demonstrates measurable growth in excellence in food, wine, brews, and entertainment. The number of kiosks and food and drink selection has increased, and the variety is outstanding. With a wide variety of sweet and savory foods as well as wine and beers from dry to sweet, you are sure to find multiple somethings to satisfy even the most discerning of pallets.

I highly recommend purchasing the punchable lanyard because it will speed up your time at the register and increase the enjoyment level of your experience. There is a sampler lanyard for every budget. Annual Passholders get the 15-item lanyard for the same price as the 12, and that’s what yours truly did. Every item I had last night was delicious! Used 8 of my punches so I can go back another weekend and sample some more. That’s right! If you do not use all your sample punches in one visit, you can bring your lanyard back another time. Pace yourself. There is so much to eat and drink that you’ll not want to overdo it in order to truly allow the unique flavor of every dish and delicacy to dance upon your taste buds.

Strolling along the main festival road in Gwazi Field, you’ll catch enticing aromas from the numerous kiosks aligning the meandering pathway past topiaries and vendors. If you have a question about anything at Food and Wine, incredibly helpful team members are always close by, and are eagerly awaiting to help direct you or offer suggestions to create a memorable experience that will earn your returned business. The printed festival guide makes locating what you want to eat and drink easy! In addition to food and drink listings, there is other helpful entertainment and park information as well. This is my third year at the festival, and I still pick up the guide because I want to make sure that I don’t miss a single opportunity for enjoyment. Since the concert last night was for a group that I am unfamiliar with and was mostly in Spanish (great for Spanish-speaking guests!), I did not take the time to chillax with the live music; however, I headed over to my favorite show at Busch Gardens and favorite theme park show period: Turn It Up: the Hottest Show on Ice.

So, what Food and Wine items did I select last night? I’m happy to share those with you! The first item on my list, which was recommended to me by a helpful team member, was the wine filled chocolate truffles! You heard me right. Two of life’s greatest enjoyments all rolled up into one amazing treat. If you love chocolate and wine like I do, you will not want to pass this item up. Following the chocolate truffles with wine, I went for the beef brisket on a spiced corn waffle with Amerbock BBQ sauce and paired that with Trapiche Oak Cask Malbec. Couldn’t ask for a better pairing of food and wine. I suppose I could’ve had the chocolate truffled filled with wine for dessert, but I just had to get those as soon as I found out about them.

Returning again this year is the wildly popular bison bacon sliders on a toasted brioche bun! Typically served with sriracha ketchup and a pickle, I don’t care for sriracha nor pickles, so the chefs in the food cabin were happy to modify my slider. I paired the slider with an Alexander Valley Merlot. After I finished my delicious bison slider, I headed over to the Moroccan Palace for Turn It Up! After the show, I made my way back over to the festival grounds to tickle my taste buds some more. For my final meal at the festival (for this visit anyway), I selected the Grilled Cheesecake Sandwich with raspberry drizzle and Short Rib and Brie grilled cheese on house-made brioche. Paired this savory and sweet offering with the William Hill Estate pinot noir. Scrumptious! Every item I selected during my first visit to the festival was a sheer pleasure!

I am looking forward to my next visit–I have 7 more punches on my sampler lanyard, after all. But will likely make a few more visits during the nearly two-month run of #CorksAndCoasters. If you are looking for some tips to enhance your experience, the festival is generally less crowded on Sunday than Saturday; however, the concerts can affect this. With the park hours extended until 9pm during the festival, you will have plenty of time for Busch Gardens’ famous coasters.