Busch Gardens: Roller Coaster Rundown

Busch Gardens is Florida’s roller coaster kind with 8 major coasters, 1 medium coaster and 1 children’s coaster. Let’s take a look.

Tigris

The Tigris is the latest addition to Busch Garden’s rollercoaster lineup. New for 2019, I’ve been able to ride it a few times now and it is like no other roller coaster I have ever been on, as the coaster carts actually use parts of the track several times, going forward and backward.

From the BG website:

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay brings a new level of excitement with FLORIDA’S TALLEST LAUNCH COASTER. An innovative experience, Tigris will catapult riders through an exhilarating array of looping twists with forward and backward motion, breath-taking drops, a 150-foot skyward surge, and an inverted heartline roll, all at more than 60 miles per hour. Tigris will race riders along more than 1,800 feet of steel track designed to mimic the awe-inspiring agility of the world’s largest and most powerful cat –the tiger.

Cheetah Hunt

Cheetah Hunt is my wife’s favorite coaster, along with a whole lot of other people. This coaster usually has the longest line in the park. It is a triple launch coaster that stretches 4,400 feet, almost stretching the length of the park. I recommend sitting in the front.

SheiKra

The highlight of this coaster is the 90 degree drop. But it’s not just a drop, the coaster stops right at the edge of the drop and dangles you over the 200ft drop edge. You also get to fly through an underground tunnel and shoot up sprays of water into the air to splash people walking around on the ground.

Montu

This is my favorite roller coaster of all-time, since 1996 when it first opened. This is an inverted roller coaster, meaning the track is above your head and your feet dangle from your seat over open air. Riding the Montu feels a bit like being in a fighter jet with it’s twists, turns and loops. This is also my mom’s favorite roller coaster, just in case anybody was wondering.

Cobra’s Curse

Cobra’s Curse is a “family spin-coaster.” They call it that because pretty much all of BG’s other major coasters are not for the faint of heart or for families. But this one is! The extra fun thing about Cobra’s Curse is that no two rides are the same. The cart spins around in random directions based on the weight distribution. Also, this is the first time that BG built up an interesting queue area that makes it feel like you are in an ancient dig site. There is air-conditioning too!

Kumba

Kumba is often the favorite of the coaster-enthusiast and swears by the back row. Opened in 1993, this coaster is still going strong. It is intentionally designed to make that loud roaring noise (you’ll know what I mean when you go). This is one of the park’s more intense coasters. I also love it because there is always a short line. The coaster is located at the farthest back point in the park and I guess people are discouraged to walk there (or maybe they are just too scared!) This is the coaster that graces the cover of my definitive guidebook to Busch Gardens.

Scorpion

A classic coaster from back in the day and one of BG’s first coasters. This coaster used to be mass-produced. There are only 3 in existence now.

Sand Serpent

This ride was formerly called Cheetah Chase, but the current name was adapted when Cheetah Hunt came to BG. A “wild mouse” style roller coaster, this 5 story tall ride will leave you laughing as you get whipped around each sharp turn. This is the most hilarious ride at BG and many people pass it up because it looks like a little kiddie ride. But don’t do that! Give this ride a whirl at your next BG visit.

Air Grover

Air Grover is a children’s coaster found in the Sesame Street section of BG. Adults can ride this one too. My son once rode this one about a dozen times in a row when there was no line. A fun little coaster for the kids.

Iron Gwazi

Gwazi rises again. Gwazi was an excellent wooden coaster that was actually two coasters in one. I loved it; however, the ride got a bumper and bumper over the years and I heard the maintenance coast was astronomical and eventually the ride was mothballed, which was a shame…but the ride is coming back–bigger, better, faster, taller, scarier.

Here is the description from the BG:

Iron Gwazi takes thrills to new heights, plunging riders from a 206 foot-tall peak into a 91-degree drop and reaching top speeds of 76 miles per hour. Riders on Iron Gwazi will experience a dozen airtime moments, including three inversions, as they sink their teeth into crocodile-inspired thrills.

Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction, the newest addition at Busch Gardens will be a wood and steel hybrid coaster design, featuring a maximum height of more than 200 feet tall. The ride will feature all-new thrill elements, as well as restored elements of Gwazi.

I can’t wait.

Former Busch Gardens Coasters

Gwazi

2 wooden roller coasters in one. There was the Lion track and the Tiger track. A coaster trains on each track would take off at the same time, which would cause the exhilarating experience of having the illusion that the coaster trains would crash into each other throughout the ride, turning away at the last moment. I miss the old girl.

Python

The first BG roller coaster, similar to the Scorpion. The Python’s trademark was it’s corkscrew. I have been fortunate enough ride this coaster a number of times in the past. It was located where present day Jungala now stands.

Make sure to grab a copy of my book The Florida Explorer’s Guide To Busch Gardens Tampa Bay so that you can tour the park like a regular and save yourself time, money and stress.

(updated 09/23/2019)