Gwazi had its media event today to show off the brand new Millennium Flyers. The trains are absolutely gorgeous. It soft opened to day time guests after the event was over. So far the reviews are very positive and all have said that the ride is significantly smoother.

Here's the article from tampabay.com and tons of pictures, as well as another video, are up over on TPR. Can't wait to check it out on Saturday!

Rub it in, Captain!

Terp, who WILL get there soon...perhaps sooner than he once thought!

You better let me know when you head this way, Terpy! Would love to share some rides at BGT with ya, its been way to long!

Or something over Atlanta way...yes, indeed, it's time, I suppose....

Terp, who normally prefers California Adventures...well, I did do a Holliwood Night...

About a dozen rollercoaster enthusiasts who blog on the topic obsessively were also invited to the preview, looking like the cast of the next Judd Apatow movie.

While it may be true, did this comment really need to be in the article? Once again a "professional" publication isn't so professional.

I've been meaning to post a little about the new ride experience, as I was able to head down for a few hours Saturday.

* The trains are beautiful....I'm pretty sure the best looking set of Millennium Flyers that are out there, IMHO.

* They have improved the ride TREMENDOUSLY and judging by the people clapping on the brake run....the guest agree

* The Lion side, while significantly smoother than before, is the rougher of the two sides. It had its re-tracking done last winter, so the PTC's have been running over that for about a year now. The Tiger side is quite a bit smoother than Lion and is running slower at this point in time.....new track work, new trains, going to take a little while to break in. Of course, on Saturday, it was 52 degrees with 25mph sustained winds for most of the day....so it was pretty cold.

* The first half on each side, especially Lion, is much faster than before. The trains glide effortlessly, as expected, around the very twisted layout. I was actually pretty surprised, as the first half had quite a punch to it now. It wasn't so much the airtime, all though there is some, but the trains were just really hauling around the track. The last half of the ride, basically where the trains split off and cross over the dueling camel backs is still pretty slow, even on Lion.....both sides saw some more track work during this last period of downtime so we'll see how everything breaks in.

* Overall, AMAZING improvement to the ride. We took 8 laps on Saturday, which is probably more rides than I took on it all last year. Very easy to re-ride. While its not a top ten ride, it is now an incredibly fun ride and very complimentary to the rest of the coaster collection there. It really is like the park just opened a brand new coaster! They were running 2 trains on each side Saturday and dueling every dispatch, which was a VERY refreshing change to see! I hope that continues.

Now that Gwazi is back up and running, time to start looking forward to Cheetah Hunt....which was confirmed by the park at media day as opening in May.

Sounds awesome, Todd!

I really have to get to Orlando/Tampa...WAY past due. Hopefully Spring...

...Of course, on Saturday, it was 52 degrees with 25mph sustained winds for most of the day....so it was pretty cold....

Yep, you've been if Florida for some time now....

Terp who wonders if he will miss cold weather (vague antecedent on porpoise...)

LOVE the looks of those trains. I'm now contemplating how I could make it down to Tampa over Christmas Break this year... BGT officially offers too much to ignore.