Featured Story

Universal Orlando Resort: Where to Stay & Play for a Few Days

By

My recent stay at Universal Orlando Resort was so much fun and I’m going to share and highlight my favorite moments with you. First and foremost, I stayed at the Cabana Bay Beach Resort on the property which allowed me early access (one hour) to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter™. It was my first time experiencing Diagon Alley™. I took advantage of the complimentary shuttle service to Universal Studios Florida and was able to … [Read More...]

Life & Style

Navigating Disney World During a Pandemic

By

I recently had an opportunity to visit Walt Disney World as part of my Goofy Getaways FAM Training. It was exciting and I was a bit anxious because even though some restrictions are being lifted, guidelines are more relaxed, and travel is starting to … [Read More...]

Strike a pose at Pose Selfie Studio

By

I recently had an opportunity to visit the NEW Pose Selfie Studio in Raleigh, NC with my daughter and it was so much fun. The great thing about this studio is that you have all the tools you need to capture your perfect photos alone or you can go … [Read More...]

Taste the Flavors of St. Thomas USVI

By

I am excited to be collaborating with my fellow foodie lover Hannah Victoria on this listing of places to eat in St. Thomas USVI whether you are visiting or local to the island. We are giving you our personal opinions based on our dining experiences … [Read More...]

More Top Stories

Tech

Travel

Navigating Disney World During a Pandemic

By

I recently had an opportunity to visit Walt Disney World as part of my Goofy Getaways FAM Training. It was exciting and I was a bit anxious because even though some restrictions are being lifted, guidelines are more relaxed, and travel is starting to … [Read More...]

Taste the Flavors of St. Thomas USVI

By

I am excited to be collaborating with my fellow foodie lover Hannah Victoria on this listing of places to eat in St. Thomas USVI whether you are visiting or local to the island. We are giving you our personal opinions based on our dining experiences … [Read More...]

Food

Rosé All Day at Seasons 52

By

I recently had the opportunity to experience the Seasons 52 Summer Menu paired perfectly with Rose cocktails. The menu changes with the season and I can really appreciate that. My reservation was for 7:00pm and it … [Read More...]

Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa Deserves Way More Hype Than It Gets

Most Australians who plan a Florida holiday tick off Walt Disney World, Universal, and maybe SeaWorld Orlando before they even think about Tampa. That is exactly what my family did on our first American road trip, until a mate from Brisbane who had just come back raved about a roller coaster tucked into the Egypt section of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. She insisted we add an extra day to our itinerary, and I am so glad we listened.

The drive from Orlando to Tampa is roughly 130 kilometres down the I-4, which feels like a quick hop compared to the distances we are used to covering back home between Sydney and the Gold Coast. Tampa itself has this sleepy, sun-bleached charm that reminded me a bit of the Sunshine Coast in winter, minus the surf clubs. When we finally walked through the turnstiles and caught our first glimpse of the park's African-themed plains, I had no idea that one specific steel coaster was about to become the standout memory of our entire trip.

That coaster is Montu, and I have been quietly championing it to anyone who will listen ever since. Out of all the thrill rides I queued for across three American theme parks that holiday, this inverted B&M from 1996 was the one I kept replaying in my head on the long flight home with Qantas. Here is why I think it is the most underrated roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa, and why I am already scheming to get back there.

How I stumbled onto this sleeper hit in the Egypt section

We had spent the morning bouncing between the Serengeti Plain train ride and the drop tower, and my legs were already screaming. The kids wanted to do the Congo River Rapids, but I had read somewhere that the Egypt area holds a quieter, older attraction that enthusiasts rate very highly. Honestly, I nearly talked myself out of walking over because the shade in the Africa section was too good to leave and the queue signs looked longer than I wanted.

What changed my mind was the soundtrack. There is this moody, temple-style music drifting out from the queue line, plus a few scattered obelisks and torch details that felt far more immersive than anything I had seen at Dreamworld or Sea World on the Gold Coast. By the time I rounded the corner and saw the bright orange track twisting overhead, I knew I had made the right call. The ride was running two trains with barely a five-minute wait, which is practically unheard of for a coaster of this calibre anywhere in the world.

What makes Montu feel different from any other coaster I have ridden

The first thing to understand about Montu is that it is an inverted coaster, meaning your legs dangle beneath the rail instead of sitting on top of it. If you have only ridden traditional sit-down coasters at Aussie parks like Movie World or the Tower of Terror at Dreamworld, the sensation is genuinely disorienting for the first few seconds. Your harness lifts, the train rolls out of the station, and suddenly the ground is much closer than your brain expects.

Then comes the lift hill, and the queue structure gives you just enough time to second-guess your entire life. The 45-metre climb is slow and deliberate, and the view across Tampa Bay is unreal on a clear arvo. From the top you can see the surrounding suburbs, the highway snaking back toward Orlando, and the rest of the park laid out below like a model village. That little moment of calm before the drop is, I think, what hooks people who give the ride a fair go.

Why this ride keeps getting overshadowed by its louder neighbours

The honest reason Montu stays underrated is simply Iron Gwazi. Busch Gardens opened that RMC hybrid coaster in 2022, and every coaster nerd on the internet rightly lost their minds about it. Iron Gwazi is spectacular, but it sucks up almost all of the park's marketing oxygen, and casual visitors treat Montu like a backup plan they might do if there is time.

SheiKra gets a lot of attention too, mostly because of that floorless 90-degree drop that photographs beautifully for Instagram. Tigris, the launched coaster, is newer and shinier, so it pulls the queues. Montu has none of those viral moments, even though it arguably delivers a more complete, sustained thrill from start to finish. It is the same trap that older V8 Supercar circuits fall into when a new street track opens in Adelaide or Sydney. The classic still does the job brilliantly; it just stops being the headline.

The layout, broken down moment by moment

After the lift hill and the initial drop, Montu pulls straight into a 104-foot vertical loop that goes through a tunnel. Most coasters ease you into their inversions, but this one fires you through one immediately, and the headchopper effect through the tunnel wall is proper cinematic. From there you hammer into a pair of interlocking corkscrews that feel like they are tying the train in knots.

The mid-course brake run gives you about half a second of relief before the highlight: a huge zero-g roll right over the station. You can actually hear the people loading and unloading below you while you float through the inversion, and that connection between riders and queue is something I have never experienced on any Australian coaster. The finale is a tight, twisting helix back into the brakes that leaves you genuinely grinning. By the time I climbed out, I felt like I had ridden something built by engineers who cared more about flow than bragging rights.

Practical tips if you are flying in from Australia

If you are travelling from Australia, the easiest route is usually Qantas or Virgin Australia via Los Angeles, then a short hop across to Tampa International. Grab a hire car at the airport because the park is about a 20-minute drive and rideshare surge pricing in Tampa can sting worse than a nine-dollar flat white in Melbourne. Aim to arrive at the gate 30 minutes before opening, head straight to Egypt, and ride Montu twice before the line stretches past 20 minutes.

Spring and autumn are the sweet spots weather-wise, since Tampa in summer is a humid beast that makes Brisbane in February feel like a mild day on the Mornington Peninsula. Bring a refillable water bottle, slap on some decent sunscreen, and plan a recovery brekkie somewhere in Tampa afterwards because you will be cooked. If you are building a longer Florida holiday around the park, I wrote up a guide to stress-free Florida Keys planning that lines up nicely with a Busch Gardens stop on the way back up to Orlando.

The reason I keep thinking about Montu long after landing back home

Months after we got home, my daughter still talks about the moment our seats floated upside down over the station. I have ridden plenty of big coasters in my time, including Steel Taipan and the DC Rivals hypercoaster at Movie World, but Montu is the one I measure everything else against. There is a smoothness to the way it carries you through those inversions that no harsh transitions or jerky forces can replicate.

That is the thing about a truly great, underrated ride. It does not need to be the tallest or the newest to leave a mark. Every time I see a Facebook group thread debating whether Iron Gwazi or SheiKra is better, I quietly add a comment about Montu and wait for the small handful of people who already know to reply with a thumbs up. If you find yourself in Tampa with a free morning, skip the headline attractions for once and give this Egyptian beast a go. I promise it will earn a permanent spot in your coaster memories, the same way it earned one in mine.