Busch Gardens’ newest thrill attraction, Tempesto™, officially opened Saturday, April 25 to the thrill of guests eagerly anticipating their first ride.
Following a brief opening ceremony, I was fortunate to be among the first to experience this thrilling new launch coaster.
It was truly unique and packed a lot of punch into every single second – definitely exceeded my expectations! It sits on a small footprint, which led me to underestimate this dare devil of a ride. It is exciting from the first moment and doesn’t give you a single pause to catch your breath. Tempesto doesn’t offer the typical tickety-tick-tick up a long, slow ramp with that moment of terror before you sail down the first hill. No – Tempesto shoots you right out the of the loading station at full speed (more than 60 mph). Then backwards through the station at full speed and forward again through the rest of the coaster. And the only second that I felt a slow down in speed was at the height of the ride (154 feet in the air) when I was upside down. I actually felt myself raise out of the my seat.
You can experience my ride in the video below. They made me promise not to scream any obscenities on camera and I’m pretty sure I kept my promise. But you will hear screaming! I rode with fellow Thrill Chaser, Jenny from Holdin Holden.
[youtube]http://youtu.be/tUae6kdl6xM[/youtube]
Tempesto is located in the Festa Italia area of Busch Gardens and offers an exiting new reason to visit this section. I think it’s a great upgrade to an area of the park that we’ve never spent a ton of time in during the summer season. We do love the decorations in Festa Italia during Christmas Town though. This gives a good reason to stop here, ride Tempesto and grab a gelato!
Guests who want to experience Tempesto for themselves can purchase one-year passes starting at $11 per month with Busch Gardens’ EZpay Price Lock Guarantee. Annual passes include free parking, discounts on in-park food and merchandise and other great benefits. And anyone that knows me knows that I’m a big fan of the Preschool Pass, which allows the under 6 crowd to enjoy Busch Gardens AND Water Country for FREE! You have until the end of May to get a pass for your little ones! Visit www.buschgardens.com to learn more about the benefits of becoming a pass member.
Day passes were provided by Busch Gardens Williamsburg and all opinions and screams are my own.
