 TAMPA, FL According to a permit recently filed by Busch Gardens Tampa, SandSerpent will be enclosed for the 2018 season. The wild mouse style roller coaster in Pantopia will have a building constructed around it, which will also house the queue area of the ride. The coaster is also sometimes listed as Sand Serpent (two words) and was formerly known as Cheetah Chase until Cheetah Hunt opened in 2011. The permit and related paperwork call for a 64 foot tall building that will be greater than 5,000 square feet, and be rated for occupancy of greater than 500 people. Testing around the site, including four boring locations, was completed in the last several weeks. It appears from paperwork filed with the permit application that the site can support the structure being built around the roller coaster. A map included with the inspection report shows the four borehole locations. FULL STORY
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Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has been awarded the prestigious Liseberg Applause Award from the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) at the opening ceremony of the 2016 IAAPA Attractions Expo in Orlando, Florida. Since 1980, the Applause Award is presented by an international committee of theme park and amusement industry professionals, honoring an amusement park “whose management, operations and creative accomplishments have inspired the industry with their foresight, originality and sound business development.” “We are honored to be recognized by the Liseberg Board of Governors and by the members of IAAPA for the prestigious Applause Award. The unique and unparalleled combination of world-class thrill rides and impressive animal collection continues to position Busch Gardens Tampa Bay as a leading family destination,” said Jim Dean, president and general manager of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. “We share this award with all of our hardworking park ambassadors.” Previous winners of the global Liseberg Applause Award include domestic theme parks Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom and Epcot, Universal’s Islands of Adventure, Cedar Point, and Opryland, among others. International honors have been awarded to Ocean Park, Hong Kong, Puy du Fou, France, EuropaPark, Germany, Efteling, the Netherlands and Xetulul, Guatemala. IAAPA represents nearly 5,000 amusement industry members, located in 99 countries worldwide, and represents all styles of location-based entertainment facilities including amusement parks, theme parks, family entertainment centers, museums, water parks, aquariums, science centers, zoos, and resorts. wazi, the popular wooden roller coaster at Busch Gardens, made its final ascent Sunday, as its passengers clapped and chanted: “Gwa-zee! Gwa-zee! Gwa-zee!”
The clackety-clack of cars was complimented by a soft breeze and a bird’s eye view of sparse traffic on Busch Boulevard. One rider, who had never previously ridden the rickety roller coaster, got nervous and wondered aloud how fast Gwazi would go. “Fifty-five miles an hour,” came a voice from the last car. FULL ARTICLE The anticipation of what was going to be coming to Busch Gardens Tampa has been accumulating for months. The park has been throwing out hint after hint and most amusement park lovers and enthusiasts were expecting a tower type ride like the one that opened in Williamsburg. Today Busch Gardens in Tampa announced the arrival of Falcon's Fury. Guests are in for a treat as it will be the first of its kind drop tower. The drop tower will be the tallest freestanding tower ride in North America.
According to the release, the park's new thrill ride is supposed to mimic a falcon swooping down at massive speeds to prey on some small animal for its meal. The ride will raise you over 300 feet and then what happens next is something that will excite even the bravest of enthusiasts. The tower train will then tilt 90 degrees where you will be face down toward the ground. The train will then drop and you will free fall toward earth at 60 MPH in a death defying position. The ride is expected to be built this off-season and be open for 2014 season. The ride will be located in the Timbuktu region Its officially "official"; Busch Gardens Africa will indeed release a brand new coaster in 2011. Dubbed Cheetah Hunt, this ride will propel riders forward with LSM technology at three separate launch zones. Also included in the expansion will be a brand new, completely immersive animal encounter exhibit, Cheetah Run.
The coaster, designed by Intamin AG, will be only the third installment by that company to feature Linear Synchronous Motors as a means of propulsion. But these magnetic boosters are needed to rocket riders up to their maximum speed of 60 mph before soaring to the top of a 110 ft hill. From that dizzying height, riders will then plummet a whopping 130 ft, thanks to one of many subterranean trenches throughout the ride. In addition to those impressive heights and speeds, Cheetah Hunt will feature a "heartline roll" inversion, a 0-g parabolic hump, and an awesome set of s-turns nestled into the old Rhino Rally canyon. When this attraction opens next spring it will be sure to please everyone, animal lovers and thrill seekers alike. So if you're in the Tampa area next year, check out Cheetah Hunt, a new breed of speed. Details concerning Busch Gardens Africa's new ride have found their way out a little early.
The coaster, to be named Cheetaka with the slogan "Feel the Spirit. Feel the Speed.", will combine exploration of a lot of the animals at Bush Gardens Africa with the thrill of a coaster, according to vice president of zoology Mike Boos. The layout of the coaster will be very extensive due to the supposed theme, and will be the longest coaster at Busch Gardens Africa. Most of the construction of the coaster is expected to occur thoughout early 2011, with an early summer opening. A teaser photo released a few weeks ago looks to be of a piece of Intamin-like track. The ride is rumored to feature multiple launch sections and stay low to the ground, much like the proposed coaster for Busch Gardens Europe in Williamsburg. A teaser video has also been released featuring park president Jim Dean, which showcases some of the early construction. Despite Busch continuing to keep details under wraps, they have announced a new Winter show Cirque Dreams Jungle Fantasy, which according to Busch's blog, allows guests to "experience this exotic encounter inspired by nature’s unpredictable creations" that are "brought to life by an international cast of soaring aerialists, spine-bending contortionists, acrobats, musicians and spectacular costumes beyond your wildest imagination." SheiKra, Busch Gardens Africa newest roller coaster open in May 2005, and was America’s first dive machine style roller coaster. Now just two years after it’s opening, Busch Gardens Africa has decided to make a major modification, which will enhance SheiKra’s ride experience.
This new modification will be the installation of new floorless trains, and they will replace SheiKra’s current trains, which have a standard floor. SheiKra’s new cars will continue to hold eight riders across and each train will still be three rows deep. SheiKra’s track will remain unchanged, but the station will have to have a retractable floor and handrails installed to accommodate for these new floorless trains. The retractable floor will rise and fill the gaps across the loading platform so riders will be able to board the trains. These new floorless trains will let passengers enjoy SheiKra while having nothing but open air around them and a shoulder harness holding them in. SheiKra will close beginning Memorial Day, May 28, so the installation process for the new floorless trains can begin. This dive machine, created by Bolliger & Mabillard, will remain closed for approximately three weeks so these modifications can be made. SheiKra is planned to reopen with its new trains on June 16. Busch Gardens Africa’s northern counterpart, Busch Gardens Europe, will be opening the Griffon this spring. The Griffon will be a dive machine very similar to SheiKra, and the Griffon will also have floorless trains. SheiKra features a 200-foot vertical drop at a 90-degree angle, and now with the addition of these floorless trains, Busch Gardens Africa hopes to make this highly rated roller coaster even better than it already is.  Today, Busch Gardens Tampa unveiled a much anticipated coaster to its collection of world class thrills. SheiKra, a B&M Dive Machine, offers an intense layout, bringing it up 200 feet in the sky boasting an immelman, 2 vertical drops, and a water splash finale.
SheiKra has ended up becoming one of 2005's most anticipated coasters such as Hydra The Revenge at Dorney Park and Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure. SheiKra is themed to an African bird and is a part of many improvements to the park's Stanleyville section. No official word is when to open in 2005, but most rumors point to May 2005. You can read more and see concept art of SheiKra HERE Wild Maus, which is being removed from Busch Gardens Williamsburg to make way for a new ride in 2004, is heading South to Busch Gardens Tampa.
Today, the new name of this coaster and specific location were announced. Wild Maus will now be called Cheetah Chase to fit in with the African-themed animal park. "It's a family coaster," said Busch spokesman Gerard Hoeppner, confirming the ride will be set up near the Ubanga-Banga bumper cars in Timbuktu. "We think it will have a broader appeal than the ride it replaces." To make way for Cheetah Chase, the Crazy Camel, a small kiddie ride, is headed for storage after a 24-year run. |
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