SHEIKRA

Busch Gardens Tampa

This was to some extent déjà vu, as I knew that SheiKra was very similar in design to Griffon, another dive coaster, at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.   Still, it was a different coaster and a new experience, one well worth having.  Whereas Griffon consists of 3 rows that seat 10 across, SheiKra consists of 3 rows that seat 8 across.   As the ride is dispatched, the floor drops out, the train makes a right turn to the 200-foot lift hill and at the top of the  hill, makes a U-turn to the first drop.   It hangs the riders over the drop for some very suspenseful seconds – and like Griffon, affords a breathtaking view of the park – before abruptly dropping them 200 feet at a 90-degree angle.   Awesome!  Although I’d been through this drill twice before, hanging over a precipice and going almost straight down is always a thrill.   This is followed by a 140-foot Immelmann loop and a second drop of 138 feet.  At the second drop, the riders once again hang over the edge before plunging into a tunnel.    I thought that the tunnel was a nice touch.  The splashdown after a turnaround is more like a splash-up, as the water sprays out as the train reaches the bottom of the turn and goes up into a helix.  The riders don’t get wet but anyone standing outside the ride close to the track had better watch out!  SheiKra is a thrilling coaster with an unusual twist.  4 ½ out of 5 stars.  For more information about rides a Busch Gardens Tampa, visit seaworldparks.com/buschgardens-tampa

CHEETAH HUNT

Busch Gardens Tampa

Cheetah Hunt is a linear synchronous motor launch coaster with an unusual twist.  Unlike the other LSM/LIM coasters I’ve ridden – Maverick and Volcano, The Blast Coaster – which are stationary on a launch track prior to the launch, Cheetah Hunt seems to be actually in motion at the time of the launches, at least for the second and third.   I could be mistaken about this but that was my perception and the fact that there are no brake runs before the second and third launches tends to support my theory.  Anyway, the ride begins with a launch out of the station at a modest speed and shortly thereafter launches the riders to the maximum speed of 60mph, just before a 102-foot hill.   The third launch takes place toward the end of the ride.   In the meantime, riders are taken through overbanked turns and helixes, and dropped into a subterranean trench.   Among the best moments of the ride, apart from the launches, are those in which the train makes abrupt changes of direction and those in which it seems dangerously close to the ground.  The ride features only one inversion, a heartline roll, but the heartline roll is enough to really knock you for a loop, sorry about the mixed metaphor.  And 4 g’s ain’t bad, baby.   There’s an interesting figure-8 layout at the top of the ride, displayed in one of the photographs.   I knew nothing about this coaster before riding it so had no idea that it was a launch coaster.    Was I ever surprised!   The sudden, unexpected acceleration makes for a thrilling ride.  I thought that this coaster was nicely themed, and the sudden bursts of speed very much in character with cheetah on the hunt.  Cheetah Hunt is a lot of fun, one of the most entertaining coasters I’ve ridden.  It’s easy to see why the ride is so popular and the queue to get on it is so long.  4  out of 5 stars.   First photograph by Martin Lewison, with kind permission of the author.  (As you can see, my own photographs are less than optimal because they were taken at dusk and in one I accidentally caught an unsuspecting passerby in the foreground.)   For more information about rides at Busch Gardens Tampa, visit seaworldparks.com/buschgardens-tampa/

GWAZI

Busch Gardens Tampa

I was pleasantly surprised to discover that Busch Gardens in Tampa actually has a wooden coaster.  (Busch Gardens in Williamsburg does not.)  In fact, Gwazi turned out to be the one big surprise of my visit to this park.    Although I expected the steel coasters to be good because I knew a little about them by reputation, my expectations of this one were low because it clearly wasn’t in the same class as El Toro or The Voyage.  However, and this is what was so surprising, it far exceeded my expectations.  It contains all the elements of a good wooden coaster.   After making a right turn from the loading area, the train drops into a tunnel before ascending the lift hill and dropping 91 feet.  Not a big drop but one that can be appreciated for its airtime.   Although the coaster is not particularly fast (51 mph), because of the succession of banked turns and length of the ride (2:30) at a steady clip, my perception was that it was going faster than it actually was.  One of the highlights of the ride was a plunge into total darkness.  I rode at night and this greatly enhanced the experience.   You get a lot of ride on this coaster because of the substantial length of the track.  And because the old trains were replaced some time in 2011, the ride is not nearly as rough as it purportedly was with the old trains.  I should point out that until recently Gwazi was a duelling coaster, with separate entrances for the Lion and Tiger side.  The Tiger side was closed, I gather permanently, so I can’t conceive of what this ride would be like with two trains operating, but the Lion side stands well on its own.   Gwazi is a gem of a coaster, in my opinion superior to some that are consistently rated higher, such as Lightning Racer.  4 out of 5 stars.   Photograph  by ClaudiaTampa39, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.  (I couldn’t use my own photograph because I can’t get clear images with my camera after dark.)  For more information about rides at Busch Gardens Tampa, visit seaworldparks.com/buschgardens-tampa/

MONTU

Busch Gardens Tampa

Montu has done more to enhance my appreciation of suspended looping coasters than any other coaster I have ridden.  (Although I hated Alpengeist, which features similar elements, I suspect that I would like it now that I have come to appreciate multiple inversions.)   From start to finish, the ride is replete with thrills.   After making a left turn out of the loading area, the train climbs 150 feet, plummets 151 feet on a curve and rockets the riders into a 104-foot vertical loop.   The ride features a total of 7 inversions, including 2 vertical loops, Immelmann loop, zero-g roll, Batwing and corkscrew.   The inversions are intense, especially the Batwing, the airtime insane. (Although the maximum g-force is 3.8, less than that on some other coasters I’ve ridden, it feels like more.)  As to the Batwing – a double rollover sort of like a cobra roll in reverse – I loved it, loved it,  loved it!  Another high point of the ride was the low point, when the train was travelling at 65 mph close to the ground.   For this type of coaster, Montu is probably about as good as it gets.  4  out of 5 stars.  First photograph taken by Suedepop, courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.  (As you can see, my own photograph is less than optimal because it was taken at dusk.)   For more information about rides at Busch Gardens Tampa, visit seaworldparks.com/buschgardens-tampa/