usrentacar.co.uk ® Car Hire USA Blog

Hi all,

Day 3 of my personal favourite Thrill rides and roller coasters in Florida. At present I’ve covered Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit and Manta, today’s coaster is Busch Gardens adrenaline boosting SheiKra, a drop coaster that you’ll never forget.

SheiKra at Busch Gardens, Tampa

SheiKra was actually the last coaster I rode on my trip around Florida, and it turned out to be one I’d never forget.

The unique selling point of SheiKra is the 200 ft delayed drop. Let me explain…

After getting on board and leaving the station, you begin to climb a 47 degree 200-foot lift hill. SkeiKra is in no rush to get you to the top so you get a great look round the park while at the same time building the suspense. The train then makes a U-turn and approaches the holding brake, which suspends the train for about 3–5 seconds on the precipice of the sheer 90-degree drop, now I’m quite confident in stating that at this point I have never been on a ride that produces so many screams from its riders. At the height of these screams you are released and plummet down and into a loop.

The ride does continue on from this point but not for long and to be honest I was so taken back by the drop I can’t remember much after it.

Ride Facts

• 200-foot 45-degree chain lift hill
• 195-foot 90° drop
• 140-foot-tall Immelmann
• 138-foot 81° drop
• Top speed 70 mph.

The very obvious talking point of this ride and one I still mention today is the 3-5 second delay, it really builds the suspension. Top tip, if you don’t like screaming wear ear plugs!!!

usrentacar.co.uk offer great rates of Florida attraction tickets the Orlando Flex Ticket or the Bonus  tickets get you entry in to Busch Gardens for up to 14 days.

What’s your favourite Theme Park Ride?

regards,

James

Hi guys,

I know, I know Halloween is miles off…. however Busch Gardens have just given us details of this years Howl-O-Scream!!!!

What happens at Howl-O-Scream?

Admission is granted at 4.30pm to those customers who have pre-purchased a Howl-O-Scream ticket, they will be free to enjoy the whole park through until 6pm. Guests with H-O-S tickets will then be directed towards the Stanleyville and Timbuktu areas at the rear of the park.

Once here, the Howl-O-Scream guests will be identified and given a wrist band that should be worn throughout the night. They will be free to explore the attractions within Stanleyville and Timbuktu, which include SheiKra, Kumba and Congo River Rapids. The Zambia Smokehouse will also be open at this time for guest dining.

The park reopens at 7.30pm for Howl-O-Scream and from this time not only will the guests be allowed to explore the various Haunted Houses, Scare Zones and shows on offer throughout the park, but they will also be able to ride the coasters in the dark – a unique element to Halloween at Busch Gardens.

Howl-O-Scream Event Dates and Times

Howl-O-Scream runs for select dates through October. The special Howl-O-Scream Shuttle Express service (detailed below) has been laid on for Friday and Saturday nights only –

Howl-O-Scream Busch Gardens Shuttle Express

A free transportation service for those customers purchasing the Howl-O-Scream ticket product will be available for the dates identified above. Details are as follows;

Outbound

Pick-Up Location:             Crab House – 8291 International Drive, Orlando, Florida, 32819

Pick-Up Time:                    3.00pm

Drop-Off Location:          Busch Gardens bus drop off

Drop-Off Time:                 Approximately 4.30pm

Upon arrival, guests will need to make their way to Guest Services, where after showing their Howl-O-Scream ticket or voucher they will be issued with their return ticket back to Orlando.

Return

Pick-Up Location:             Busch Gardens bus drop off

Pick-Up Time:                    12am (midnight)

Drop-Off Location:          Crab House – 8291 International Drive, Orlando, Florida, 32819

Drop-Off Time:                 Approximately 1.30am

Reservations are essential for this service; guests should call 1-800-221-1339 once in resort to reserve their seat and to reconfirm the pick-up location and times as the service is subject to change.

Friday 7^th October & Saturday 8^th October

Friday 14^th October & Saturday 15^th October

Friday 21^st October & Saturday 22^nd October

Friday 28^th October & Saturday 29^th October

Friday = 7.30pm – 01.00am

Saturday = 7.30pm – 02.00am

Cost

Price per ticket is £25.00 and can be purchased by calling 0845 226 8523.

regards,

James

Hi all,

Not only do we offer amazingly cheap florida car hire but we are now offering you a better deal on your theme park tickets.

At the moment and for a limited time, usrentacar.co.uk is offering the popular  3-Park SeaWorld®, Aquatica® and Busch Gardens Ticket for an incredible £71.00 per adult and £65.00 per child.

The ticket offers 14 days unlimited admission to Aquatica®, Busch Gardens and SeaWorld® offering truly great value.

Not only are we offering these tickets at a great price we promise not to add on any nasty extra’s like credit card charges or delivery charges.

So don’t delay, book today by calling usrentacar.co.uk on 0845 226 8523.

regards,

James

Hi all,

If you happen to be in Florida between 7th and 10th of April 2011, you might like to take the opportunity to visit the 8th annual Celebration Exotic Car Festival children’s charity event.

This four-day event showcases North America’s largest collection of exotic cars, race cars and iconic Hollywood movie cars, coming together to help children with life threatening medical conditions. Experience the legendary Sebring Raceway, meet the country’s most renowned celebrity chefs at the Jetport Food and Wine Party; enjoy the world class exotic car concours set along the waterfront of Celebration, participate in the acclaimed road rally and more!

Here is the 2009 highlights video of this great spectacular.

Directions to the event can be found here – http://www.celebrationexoticcars.com/2011/directions.php

regards,

James

Hi all,

One of my more popular series of posts mentioned vehicles that our customers were actually collecting – SUV’s , Convertibles and Minivans.

I thought I’d revisit these posts and offer an idea of the car rentals being collected in March 2011

Sports Utility Vehicles

The Sports Utility Vehicle has been a big seller in 2011, with the intermediate SUV being the pick of the bunch.

Mrs K Horsefield collected an Intermediate SUV from Orlando International Airport with Dollar Rent A Car on the 11/03/11 and got a Ford Escape.

Mr J Hyde collected a Standard SUV from Las Vegas International Airport again with Dollar Rent A Car on the 15/03/11 and got a Grand Jeep Cherokee.

Mr M Ding collected a 7str SUV from Washington Dulles Airport with Alamo Rent A Car on the 14/03/11 and got a Ford Expedition.

Convertibles

Our customers love convertibles, especially the Ford Mustang So you’ll be happy to know that the first 3 customers I checked all received Ford Mustangs.

Mr I Prideaux collected a Ford Mustang from Kissimmee with Dollar Rent A Car on the 05/03/11.

Mr N Foxall collected a Ford Mustang from Orlando International Airport with Dollar Rent A Car on the 15/03/11.

Mr C Beckett completed his rental of a Ford Mustang at Miami International Airport with Budget Rent A Car on the 15/03/11

Minivans

Large families and groups take advantage of these larger vehicles.

Mr R Tooby collected a 12 str minivan from Fort Lauderdale with Dollar Rent A Car on the 06/03/11 and got a Ford E350.

Mr S Carver collected a 7 Seater Minivan from Sanford Airport with Budget Rent A Car on the 15/03/11 and got a Dodge Caravan.

Mrs L Young collected an 8 Seater minivan from Tampa International Airport with Alamo Rent A Car and got a Toyota Sienna.

I hope you find this usual. If there is a category of vehicle you would like me to check or a specific pick up location please let me know by commenting below.

Regards,

James

Hi all,

As many of you know Busch Gardens will be opening a new theme park ride in late May called Cheetah Hunt.

Part of the new ride will be an innovative new habitat opening alongside the Cheetah Hunt launch coaster that will bring guests face to face with the cheetahs.

Well Busch Gardens Tampa animal care took delivery of this little chap yesterday,

the 4-week-old baby cheetah has to be fed regularly and pack on a few more pounds before it joins others at the park’s Cheetah Run habitat.

Vet’s at Busch Gardens have been caring and hand-raising the cub since its mother could not care for it, the feline was born in the Jacksonville Zoo and Gardens and had trouble gaining weight.

Jacksonville zoo officials recommended the baby cheetah be raised in Busch Gardens in the Tampa, the Busch Gardens blog said.

The cub now weighs about 2 pounds and is eating well.. Once the cub is old enough, he will be introduced into the Cheetah Run habitat.

The cub may also become a part of a breeding program to boost the population of the endangered species. About 12,400 cheetahs remain in the wild, according to Busch Gardens.

How CUTE!!!

regards

James

Hi all,

Going to Orlando or Tampa? Want to visit some of the best theme parks inFlorida? usrentacar.co.uk is offering the very popular 3 Parks Ticket including SeaWorld – the world’s best loved marine park, Aquatica - is Orlando’s whimsical, one-of-a-kind water park that could only come from SeaWorld and Busch Gardens – the extraordinary African themed park at a great low price.

The 3 Parks Ticket is valid for 14 consecutive days of unlimited admission to all three parks.

Price

3-Parks for the price of 2 ADULT tickets – £71.00 per ticket.

3-Parks for the price of 2 CHILD (3-9) tickets – £65.00 per ticket.

• NO Credit Card Charges
• NO Postage

To Book

You can either book online at the same time you are making your Orlando car hire booking or alternatively you can call our reservations department on  0845 226 8523 and our reservation staff will happily book them up for you.

regards.

James

Hi all,

Cheetah Hunt is due to officially open on the 27/05/11 so I thought I’d take this opportunity to post up some of the construction pictures doing the rounds.

What do you think of Busch Gardens new ride?

Will you be going to Busch Gardens to ride it?

regards,

James

Hi all,

This post is as much for me as it is for you guys. I generally have to call different parts of the U.S. at least 10 times a day and I can never remember the time difference between the UK and varies parts of America. So this blog will list major locations and the time difference.

Pacific Zone

State                              City

Washington                  Seattle

Oregon                           Portland

Nevada                           Las Vegas

California                      San Francisco

Time Difference – GMT minus 8 hrs

Mountain Time Zone

State                              City

Montana                         Billings

Idaho                               Boise

Wyoming                        Jackson Hole

Utah                                  Salt Lake City

Colorado                         Denver

Arizona                            Phoenix

New Mexico                   Santa Fe

Time Difference – GMT minus 7 hrs

Central Time Zone

State                              City

North Dakota               Grand Forks

South Dakota                Sioux Falls

Minneapolis                  Minnesota

Wisconsin                      Milwaukee

Nebraska                        Grand Island

Iowa                                 Cedar Rapids

Illinois                             Chicago

Oklahoma                        Tulsa

Missouri                          St. Louis

Arkansas                         Little Rock

Tennessee                       Memphis

Texas                                Dallas

Louisiana                        New Orleans

Mississippi                      Jackson

Alabama                          Huntsville

Time Difference – GMT minus 6 hrs

Eastern Time Zone

State                              City

Michigan                        Detroit

Maine                               Portland

New Hampshire           Manchester

Vermont                         Burlington

Massachusetts              Boston

Rhode Island                 Providence

New York                        New York

Indiana                            Indianapolis

Ohio                                   Cleveland

Pennsylvania                 Philidephia

New Jersey                     Newark

Connecticut                    Hartford

Kentucky                          Cincinnati

West Virginia                  Lewisburg

Washington DC               Washington

Maryland                           Baltimore

Delaware                           Wilmington

Virginia                              Richmond

North Carolina                Charlotte

South Carolina                Myrtle Beach

Georgia                               Atlanta

Florida                                Orlando

Time Difference – GMT minus 5 hrs

Alaska is 9  hrs behind the UK and Hawaii 10 hrs behind.

I hope you find this useful.

Kind regards,

James

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Hi all,

Today’s blog is about driving times from Orlando to other Florida Cities and Towns. Apparently Florida isn’t just about theme parks!!!

All the numbers are in miles

Orlando to

Boca Raton 192

Bradenton 114

Clearwater 106

Cocoa Beach 47

Daytona Beach 54

Fort Lauderdale 209

Fort Myers 153

Fort Pierce 114

Gainesville 109

Jacksonville  134

Key West 371

Kissimmee 18

Lakeland 54

Melbourne 67

Miami 228

Naples 187

Ocala 72

Panama City 336

Pensacola 438

St Augustine 98

St Petersburg 104

Sarasota 130

Sebring 86

Tallahassee 243

Tampa 84

West Palm Beach 171

Remember all our rentals include unlimited mileage, so you are free to explore as many of these locations are you wish, if someone could drive to Sebring for me and tell me what  happens there I’d appreciate it

Happy driving.

James