Tigris (roller coaster)

Python was a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay theme park in Tampa, Florida. Built by Arrow Development and opened on July 1, 1976, it was the first roller coaster at Busch Gardens since the park opened in 1959. The roller coaster was located in the Congo section of the park near Stanley Falls Flume and later the Congo River Rapids. After 30 years of operation, Python closed on October 31, 2006 and was eventually replaced by Jungala, a family section of the park. Python was one of several Corkscrew models built by Arrow Development, imaged after the likes of Corkscrew at Knott's Berry Farm. The roller coaster reached a maximum height of 72 feet (22 m), with a maximum speed of 40 miles per hour (64 km/h), and reached a length of 1,200 feet (370 m). Upon opening, the roller coaster was received well by critics and guests.

SheiKra (, SHEE-krə) is a steel Dive Coaster roller coaster at the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay amusement park in Tampa, Florida, United States. The roller coaster was proposed by Mark Rose, vice-president of design and engineering for the park, and designed by Bolliger & Mabillard. The ride was planned to be 160 feet (49 m) high, but the park's executives rejected this and the height was changed to 200 feet (61 m). SheiKra reaches a maximum speed of 70 miles per hour (110 km/h) and has a total track length of 3,188 feet (972 m). It first opened on May 21, 2005, and was converted to a floorless roller coaster on June 16, 2007, following the opening of its sister Dive Coaster Griffon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg that year. SheiKra was the first Dive Coaster to be constructed in North America; its track includes a splashdown and an Immelmann loop, both a first for its kind. It broke the records for the world's longest, tallest, and fastest Dive Coaster, but lost these records when Griffon in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States and Dive Coaster at Chimelong Paradise in Guangzhou, China opened. The name SheiKra is derived from the word "shikra", an Asian-African hawk that is known to dive vertically for its prey. In 2005, Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards voted it the fourth-best new steel roller coaster of that year in a three-way tie and the 28th-best steel roller coaster. It was voted the 38th-best steel roller coaster in 2014.

Scorpion is a steel roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. Built by Anton Schwarzkopf and designed by Werner Stengel, it opened on May 16, 1980, as the second roller coaster at the park. The roller coaster was added as part of the newly constructed Timbuktu section during the second-phased opening, being surrounded by the Congo and Nairobi sections. The roller coaster reaches a maximum height of 60.7 feet (18.5 m), with a maximum speed of 41 miles per hour (66 km/h), and a total length of 1,817.6 feet (554.0 m). Scorpion is one of three Silver Arrow models produced by Anton Schwarzkopf, being the only one supported on a permanent structure. Upon opening, the roller coaster received generally positive reviews and with the closure of Python in 2006, Scorpion became the oldest roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

Falcon's Fury is a free-standing Sky Jump drop tower attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay amusement park in Tampa, Florida, United States. Manufactured by Intamin subsidiary Intaride, the ride reaches a maximum height of 335 feet (102 m), making it North America's second (Orlando Freefall is 430 ft) tallest free-standing drop tower. Riders experience about five seconds of free fall, reaching a speed of 60 miles per hour (100 km/h). The ride's name was chosen to invoke a falcon's ability to dive steeply at high speed to capture prey.The project was originally planned to begin in 2012 with the ride opening in 2013, but it was delayed by one year. Construction began in 2013 with a scheduled opening date of May 1, 2014; however, the opening was delayed due to mechanical and technical issues. Following a preview opening to park employees in early August and a soft opening on August 16, 2014, Falcon's Fury officially opened to the public on September 2, 2014. Public response to the ride has been positive, with reviewers praising the height of the tower and the drop experience.

Sand Serpent is a Wild Mouse roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. The ride originally operated at sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia as Wild Izzy in 1996 and later as Wilde Maus from 1997 to 2003. When the roller coaster relocated to the current park, it was renamed Cheetah Chase from 2004 to 2011 before coming into its current name. Sand Serpent was manufactured by Mack Rides and designed by Werner Stengel. The roller coaster reaches a maximum height of 45.9 feet (14.0 m), with a maximum speed of 28 miles per hour (45 km/h), and a total length of 1,213.9 feet (370.0 m). Upon opening at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the roller coaster was received generally well by the public, though its relocation at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay was minimally covered.

Phoenix Rising is a family inverted roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida, United States. The roller coaster was manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), and officially opened on July 21, 2024 as the park's tenth roller coaster. Phoenix Rising mimics the sensation of the legendary phoenix taking flight. The roller coaster reaches a height of 80 feet (24 m), and has a maximum speed of 44 mph (71 km/h) during a 1-minute 26 second duration. Phoenix Rising is located in the Pantopia section of the park next to Falcon's Fury, Carousel Caravan, and Scorpion before its closure in September 2024. The trains contain on-board audio with echoing “caws” being heard during the experience, with four distinct thematic options, each representing a different phoenix. It is the most recent expansion and attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.

Kumba is a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened in 1993. It stands 143 feet (44 m) tall and has a top speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). Kumba features a total of seven inversions across the 3-minute ride.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a 335-acre (136 ha) animal theme park located in Tampa, Florida, United States, with the entire park landscaped and designed around themes of Africa and Asia. Owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the park opened on June 1, 1959. The park has an annual attendance consistently exceeding 4 million, often ranking second among SeaWorld parks behind SeaWorld Orlando. The park features many roller coasters and thrill rides, including a Dive Coaster called SheiKra, a "family-style" thrill coaster themed around cheetahs called Cheetah Hunt, a launched roller coaster called Tigris, a classic seated steel roller coaster called Kumba, a wood-steel hybrid hypercoaster called Iron Gwazi, Falcon's Fury (the second-tallest free-standing drop tower in North America, and one of few to tilt and face riders towards the ground), and Montu, which was the tallest and fastest inverted roller coaster in the world when it opened. The park also features several rides and attractions aimed for children under the age of nine, as well as two water rides — a river rafting ride and a classic log flume.

Rhino Rally was a safari-themed attraction located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, a theme park located in Tampa, Florida. The ride was opened on May 23, 2001, in the Nairobi section of the park and lasts between 5 and 6 minutes. The ride was closed on September 1, 2014, due to consistent maintenance issues. The pretense of the attraction was that guests are going on a normal safari ride which turns into a search for a lost driver named Scooter Roberts.

Iron Gwazi (formerly Gwazi) is a steel-track hybrid roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, a theme park in Tampa, Florida, United States. The ride, named after a fabled creature with a tiger's head and a lion's body, was built by Great Coasters International (GCI) as Gwazi, a wooden dueling roller coaster with two separate tracks. It opened to the public on June 18, 1999. The two tracks, named Lion and Tiger, were 3,508 ft (1,069 m) long and 105.4 ft (32.1 m) high. Trains reached a maximum speed of 51 mph (82 km/h). Gwazi replaced the former Anheuser-Busch brewery that was located in the middle of the park. Gwazi operated both tracks until 2012, with the closure of the tiger side. Following rising maintenance costs and declining ridership, the remaining side was closed in 2015. Following the closure, the wooden structure sat dormant for several years. Replacement attractions were considered by the park, including a remodeled roller coaster, an amphitheater, and a new attraction. In 2018, the park announced plans to refurbish the Gwazi structure, with Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) listed as the roller coaster manufacturer in city applications. Site preparation began in late 2018. In 2019, plans to refurbish the ride into Iron Gwazi, a steel-tracked coaster, were announced. RMC was hired to retrofit the existing layout with I-Box track using a portion of the original structure. The refurbished attraction was marketed as the tallest, steepest, and fastest hybrid roller coaster in North America. It was originally scheduled to open in 2020 but that was delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues. Iron Gwazi soft-opened to passholder members on February 13, 2022, and to the general public on March 11, 2022. It is 206 ft (63 m) high, 4,075 ft (1,242 m) long and has a maximum speed of 76 mph (122 km/h).

Cheetah Hunt is a steel launched roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. The roller coaster was manufactured by Intamin and designed in collaboration with Mark Rose. Cheetah Hunt opened to the public on May 27, 2011, alongside a cheetah exhibit called Cheetah Run. Cheetah Hunt features three linear synchronous motor (LSM) launches and a single inversion. The roller coaster reaches a height of 102 feet (31 m), with a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) and a total track length of 4,429 feet (1,350 m). Cheetah Hunt is located in the Edge of Africa section of the park and navigates through the Serengeti Plain section. The Cheetah Run exhibit replaced the Budweiser Clydesdales stable area with an 11,000-square-foot (1,000 m2) space and a 220-foot (67 m) sprint track. The roller coaster utilizes the former monorail station and Rhino Rally water section for its track. Upon opening, Cheetah Hunt received positive acclaim from the public, and ranked as the 2nd Best New Ride of 2011 by the Golden Ticket Awards.

Montu is an inverted roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. Designed by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, it is the park's second roller coaster designed by that company following the success of Kumba, which opened 3 years prior. When the ride opened on May 16, 1996, it was the world's tallest and fastest inverted roller coaster, a title it has since conceded to Alpengeist at sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The ride stands 150 feet (46 m) tall and reaches speeds of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h).