This past week, Erik and I went to Busch Gardens Tampa for their Roller Coaster Insider tour of Montu. Rather than a card, chocolate, and a rose, I got a roller coaster tour for my Valentine’s Day present! Best ever.. for a coaster nerd!
The tour base price per person is $24.95. It’s a 45 minute tour of their B&M Inverted coaster, Montu. On the tour, you get ERT (Exclusive Ride Time), a chance to see the “sleeping” trains in the Maintenance area where you can view a replica set of wheels. You learn about the breaking system of the ride and how the wheels work. After you spend time in the maintenance area with wheels and trains, you venture into the pathway to the Block Breaks. On this pathway, there are amazing views of Montu where you’re pretty close to the track! Great photo opportunities! You’re then taken to the 5th platform of their Block Breaks (sadly, you’re unable to go up to the 6th for safety precautions).
I’ve got to give the parks MAJOR props for this tour. I’ll admit, I’m a complete coaster nerd and coaster buff. I learned a lot of things about coasters that I didn’t know before (mainly about how the breaking systems work). These tours can accommodate pretty good sized groups, however we were the only people on the tour. I had an awesome time and we got some great one-on-one time talking about coasters. Can anyone else say they’ve been given the chance to unlock a row of harnesses? It was a great feeling.
Montu was an excellent pick for this tour as it has pathways around the ride, giving it great accessibility. We were able to get some great shots of the coaster running. When you’re standing on the stairs to the block breaks and a train goes by, you can just feel the rumble of the coaster. At first it sounds extremely scary, but it’s not. You can just feel the power of the ride.
We had two tour guides, one being a park manager, and the other was fairly new to the coaster tours. Our tour guides were extremely flexable and knowledagble about Montu and Sheikra. I truly felt like a good friend of theirs on the tour. Again, props to Busch Gardens Tampa for the great tour and a great experience.
If you’re a hardcore coaster nerd, or just someone who enjoys the thrills every once and a while, I highly recommend this tour. Not only is it informational and fun, but it’s got a great price too.
Check out some of the pictures from our tour.
