Busch Gardens Tampa

Tampa, Florida, USA

“Impressive coaster collection, mediocre operations”

All theme park enthusiasts book a trip to Orlando sooner or later, and for good reason. This city in Central Florida offers some of the most amazing theme parks and rides on the planet. Interestingly, America’s theme park capital isn’t home to the state’s leading roller coaster destination. Don’t get me wrong: I’ll never deny that Universal has some brilliant coasters and SeaWorld is increasingly putting itself on the map as a thrill destination. Still, Florida’s largest collection of roller coasters can be found approximately 120 kilometres southwest of Orlando. Busch Gardens Tampa offers more than 8 kilometres of coaster tracks and credit hunters are able to give a serious boost to their counter here. Especially the park’s latest large addition, an RMC hybrid coaster of enormous proportions, manages to give us goosebumps even before arriving at the park.

GETTING THERE

A vacation in the United States almost always requires a rental car. A trip to Orlando is one of the few exceptions, though. Walt Disney World and Universal offer complimentary internal transport and a rideshare between both resorts isn’t overly expensive. Even a day trip to Busch Gardens Tampa is perfectly possible thanks to the park’s daily shuttle service. The service is free of charge for anyone who holds a Busch Gardens ticket. You can board the bus near Universal and at ICON Park, but we opt for the pick-up location at Old Town (a small amusement park within direct proximity to Walt Disney World). Keep in mind that the shuttle usually makes several stops, so the drive to Busch Gardens takes quite some time. We arrived at the park’s entrance at 11.15, over an hour after the park’s official opening time. Huge coaster nerds might experience this as a problem, but we didn’t. We still had plenty of time to explore the park.

ROLLER COASTERS

We started our day with a ride on Busch Gardens’ signature hybrid coasters: Iron Gwazi. Theming is nearly nonexistent, but the ride still features a beautiful station surrounded by exotic greenery. A display at the entrance predicted a wait time of 30 minutes, which obviously isn’t a bad deal for a world-class roller coaster. We quickly put our backpacks in a locker (unfortunately, those lockers aren’t free) and walked through a mostly empty line. Half an hour later, we boarded the train and we started to climb the 63-metre tall lift hill, which makes Iron Gwazi taller than any other roller coaster in Florida. We then plunged down the 91° first drop, which is a true masterpiece in itself. The greatness doesn’t stop there, though. The remainder of the layout is packed with powerful curves and surprising airtime. It seems like Iron Gwazi’s elements are meant to represent the best of RMC: this ride contains everything that makes this American manufacturer so legendary. Especially noteworthy are the first descent and an incredible downhill barrel roll. By the way… Iron Gwazi deserves extra praise after the trains have warmed up. A morning ride is nothing less than spectacular, but the best rides are provided a few hours later. Our sunset ride on Iron Gwazi truly counts as one of the craziest coaster experiences ever.

Despite its central location, Iron Gwazi is virtually invisible from many pathways in the park. I found this unfortunate, especially from a photographic point of view. Fortunately, most other coasters in this park are a lot more photogenic. Cheetah Hunt, for example, races picturesquely through Busch Gardens’ savannah. Cheetah Hunt opened in 2011 and it was quite innovative at the time. After all, there weren’t that many multi-launch coasters back then, and the layout of this ride was rather unusual (even by today’s standards). Its most notable element is the curious-looking tower construction after acceleration number two, but this turned out to be one of the least spectacular moments for riders. The following part of the layout, which winds through the savannah like a cheetah, is considerably punchier. However, keep in mind that Cheetah Hunt shouldn’t be considered as a huge thrill. While this coaster does contain an inversion and it achieves a fairly high speed, it’s mostly an advanced family roller coaster.

Universal and Disney are known for their efficient and fast operations. Unfortunately, Busch Gardens Tampa doesn’t perform on the same level. Despite our Quick Queue passes, we still queued 40 minutes for Montu. This was primarily due to the fact that it was only running one train. And with one departing vehicle every five to six minutes, Montu’s line moved frustratingly slow. On a brighter note: those disappointing operations didn’t affect the actual ride experience, which is still excellent. Montu features a fantastic first drop, spectacular inversions and some forceful curves. Besides, it’s still running exceptionally well after nearly 30 years of operation. And although it certainly isn’t the most stunning Egyptian-themed inverted coaster on Earth, a recent paint job made Montu shine like never before.

Since my previous visit to Busch Gardens Tampa three new credits were added to the lineup. Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to ride them all, as Cobra’s Curse remained closed. This closure wasn’t indicated on the park’s maintenance calendar, so it felt a little disappointing. I would’ve loved to ride this spinning coaster from Mack Rides, as it has a custom layout, a vertical lift and unique trains. In addition, Cobra’s Curse seems to be Busch Gardens Tampa’s best-themed roller coaster. Its eye-catcher is a 20-metre tall, gold-coloured cobra statue.

The exotic Stanleyville is home to two spectacular roller coasters. The first member of this duo is Tigris, which was presented in 2019. The layout looks familiar, as this is a standard model. I already experienced Premier Rides’ Sky Rocket II at Holiday Park and Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and everything felt identical here in Tampa. Tigris consists of three intense accelerations, a 45-metre tall inversion and a non-inverting loop. Although it provides solid thrills, it’s far from extraordinary. A Sky Rocket II could be a fine addition for a medium-sized amusement park, but the ride underwhelms between all those world-class coasters at Busch Gardens Tampa.

We left our personal belongings in the locker, which enabled us to immediately catch a ride on the nearby SheiKra. This Dive Coaster opened in 2005 and it was the first of its kind in the United States. In addition, SheiKra featured an inversion and a second vertical descent, which was innovative at the time. Even today, twenty years later, SheiKra remains an impressive machine. The tracks and vehicles are downright gigantic and the ride experience is still excellent. Brilliant airtime is guaranteed and SheiKra remains just as smooth as it was during its early years. By the way… the trains feature B&M’s old restraint system and that’s a good thing. The new generation of restraints (found on Valravn, for example) gives noticeably less freedom of movement, making the airtime feel less powerful.

Have you even been to Busch Gardens Tampa if you haven’t made a picture of Kumba‘s light blue corkscrews? I didn’t think so. This roller coaster was added in 1993 and it was the prototype of B&M’s Sitting Coaster. By today’s standards, Kumba doesn’t seem very special, but this was obviously different when it opened. And honestly, Kumba still provides a high-quality ride. This is mostly due to its intensity, as Kumba is more powerful than many modern roller coasters. And despite its age, it’s still a smooth and enjoyable experience. Kumba is one of those oldskool B&Ms that simply makes a roller coaster lover happy. And the obligatory picture? Of course i snapped it.

Busch Gardens Tampa’s coaster lineup is completed by Air Grover (a family coaster manufactured by Zierer) and Phoenix Rising, a B&M inverted family coaster. The latter wasn’t there yet during my most recent visit, so I unfortunately haven’t got any photos of it.

OTHER EXPERIENCES

If you love transportation attractions, you’re spoiled in Florida. Walt Disney World has steam trains, ferries, cable cars and monorails, while Universal offers the opportunity to ride the famed Hogwarts Express. Busch Gardens Tampa also has a hidden gem with Serengeti Express. We board this train at the Nairobi station. In real life, the Kenyan capital is the gateway to several wildlife parks. Here in Busch Gardens, Serengeti Express offers a safari-like experience as well. The train crosses the savannah, which covers almost the entire eastern part of the park. The area is just as incredible as the savanna of Kilimanjaro Safaris (Disney’s Animal Kingdom) and the idea behind it is similar. The train treats its passengers to close-up views of giraffes, rhinos, ostriches and a whole bunch of other animals.

Even without a train ride, it’s perfectly possible to spot wildlife at Busch Gardens Tampa. We found cleverly designed habitats with alligators, lions, gorillas and orangutans, scattered throughout the park. Be sure to take a look in the Bird Gardens, a part of the park that deserves more attention than it gets. You’re able to spot some exotic bird species here, but I’m mostly impressed by the tropical vegetation. The adjacent Sesame Street – Safari of Fun also deserves a visit. This children’s land contains a number of family attractions, while staying true to the African theme of Busch Gardens Tampa. We didn’t spend much time there, but families with younger children will absolutely adore this area.

We visited Busch Gardens during a rather chilly day, but Florida’s climate is generally hot and humid. That’s why this is the ideal location for water rides. Stanley Falls Flume was being renovated during our visit, but Congo River Rapids was up and running. This is one of the oldest rapid rivers on the planet, but it’s definitely a spectacular one. American rapid rivers typically have higher waves than their European counterparts and the boats travel right underneath some waterfalls. Be prepared to get totally soaked if you brave this adventure.

WORTH A VISIT?

I’m glad that we escaped Orlando for a day. Although Universal and Walt Disney World offer superior experiences, those parks are incredibly crowded and often require an appropriate strategy to visit them. A day at Busch Gardens Tampa feels more relaxed, as the flow of visitors is much smaller here. Consequently, queues should remain manageable on a weekday outside of school holidays. A trip to Tampa is especially worthwhile for coaster junkies, as Busch Gardens offers some exceptionally great roller coasters. Iron Gwazi is the new crown jewel, but Cheetah Hunt, Montu, SheiKra and Kumba also remain world-class rollercoasters. Thanks to its many animal habitats and Sesame Street area, Busch Gardens even caters to families with children.

Not everything is great, though. During our visit, we regularly met very unmotivated crew members. Operations were often slow and the friendliness of Universal’s and Disney’s staff members wasn’t matched. You may consider that friendliness as a detail (and I admit that the actual rides are ultimately more important), but exactly these things distinguish an outstanding theme park from a mediocre one.

What’s your favourite theme park in Florida? Is Iron Gwazi the best RMC coaster on Earth? And don’t you think that Busch Gardens deserves a dark ride? Share your opinion in the comments section at the bottom of this page.