Busch Gardens Africa
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| Location | Tampa, Florida |
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| Website | http://www.buschgardens.com /buschgardens/fla/default.aspx |
| Owner | Busch Entertainment Corporation |
| Opened | March 31, 1959 |
| Previous names | Busch Gardens Tampa Bay - 1990s-2006
Busch Gardens: The Dark Continent -1976 to 1990s |
| Operating season | Year-round |
| Area | 335 acres |
| Rides | 12 total
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Busch Gardens Africa (formerly known as Busch Gardens Tampa Bay) is a 335-acre 19th century African-themed park located in Tampa, Florida. It opened on March 31, 1959 as an admission-free hospitality facility for the Tampa Anheuser-Busch brewery on the grounds of the manufacturing plant. Visitors could watch animal acts in a tropical setting and before leaving the grounds entered a beer garden offering free Busch beer to drink.
After the manufacturing plant closed down some years later, Busch Gardens focused progressively on its tropical landscape, exotic animals, and amusements to draw visitors. Busch Gardens began charging admission as the entertainment became more complex, with extra fees for the thrill rides, such as the roller coasters for which Busch Gardens is now known.
Currently Busch Gardens Tampa Bay falls into the category of an amusement park and competes with other such parks in Florida and charges comparable fees. Beer is no longer manufactured there. According to the web site of Anheuser-Busch Companies, the parent company focuses on beer, adventure park entertainment, and packaging. Busch Entertainment Corporation is the company subsidiary that runs the Busch entertainment parks and claims that it is one of the largest adventure park operators in the United States.
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[edit] Attractions
- The Serengheti Express (train) runs along the back end of the park and makes stops at the Nairobi, Congo and Stanleyville themed areas.
- The Skyride transports guests between Crown Colony and Stanleyville.
[edit] Morocco
The park's main entrance is home to the Mystic Sheiks of Morocco brass and percussion ensemble. Treats can be purchased at the Sultan's Sweets and the Zagora Cafe. The Moroccan Palace is located here as well as the outdoor Marrakesh Theater.
[edit] Bird Gardens
The original section of the park that opened back in 1959. The area for the most part remains to be mostly gardens and animal exhibits/shows. A staple attraction that once stood in this section was the brewery. However, the brewery closed in 1995 and Gwazi now sits where the brewery was located. Gwazi remains to be the only ride in the section.
- Gwazi, a 90-foot, 50 mph dueling wooden roller coaster named after a mythological creature with the head of a tiger and the body of a lion.
- Hospitality House, offers free Budweiser beer samples for guests 21 and older and home to the Anheuser-Busch Beer School.
[edit] Land of the Dragons
A childrens section filled with scaled down versions of popular thrill rides and a massive treehouse playground. The section opened up in 1995 and replaced the Dwarf Village, a smaller kids area.
[edit] Stanleyville
This section of the park is home to the park's water rides and SheiKra, a roller coaster that holds numerous records. The section opened up in 1973 with the addition of the Stanley Falls Flume. The African Queen Boat Ride opened in 1977 as Busch's version of Disney's Jungle Cruise. In 1989, the African Queen Boat Ride was transformed into Tanganyika Tidal Wave with the addition of a 55-foot drop that generates a giant splash. The section remained untouched until 2005, when SheiKra opened up and the surrounding area was renovated.
- SheiKra, a 200-foot Bolliger & Mabillard diving roller coaster with a 90-degree vertical drop.
- Stanley Falls Flume, a log flume with a 43-foot drop.
- Tanganyika Tidal Wave, a 20 passenger shoot the chutes water ride with a 55-foot drop.
[edit] Congo
This section contains two of the park's more popular rides. As of November 2006, the section is currently undergoing major renovation, which includes the removal of the park's classic Python roller coaster.
- Kumba, meaning roar in an African dialect, is a 143-foot steel sit-down roller coaster with seven inversions. First built in 1993 by Bolliger & Mabillard, it still remains a popular ride today. The ride was recently repainted.
- Congo River Rapids, a water ride that simulates raging whitewater rapids. The ride opened in 1982.
- Ubanga Banga Bumper Cars, a bumper cars ride.
[edit] Timbuktu
A section themed after the malls and bazaars of Africa. This section opened up in May 1980. The Phoenix was built in 1984 and remains a popular ride to this day. The section was renovated in 2003. Important rides added during this facelift included the Timbuktu Theatre, which replaced the park's Dolphin Theatre with an indoor 4-D Movie theatre. In 2004, the park's family friendly Cheetah Chase roller coaster opened up, replacing the Crazy Camel flat ride.
- Scorpion, a steel Schwarzkopf designed sit-down roller coaster with one vertical loop.
- Cheetah Chase, a steel wild mouse roller coaster.
- Phoenix, a looping Egyptian cargo vessel.
- Pirates! 4-D, a "4-D" movie about pirates starring Leslie Nielsen. The show replaced the Haunted Lighthouse 4-D attraction written by R. L. Stine.
- Sandstorm, an orbiter ride with three arms that spins riders around.
[edit] Nairobi
Alligators and crocodiles can be observed here up close. In Curiosity Cavern, guests can view mammal and reptile exhibits. Visitors to Nairobi can view injured or abandoned newborns at the Nairobi Field Station Animal Nursery. The areas also contains Myombe Reserve, a tropical rainforest that is home to Western Lowland Gorillas and Common Chimpanzees. The major ride here is Rhino Rally, an unpredictable off-road safari that ends spiraling its riders down a raging river.
- Rhino Rally, a Vekoma River Adventure ride, Riders board inside modified Land Rovers through the park's Serengeti Plain habitat, interacting with animals and a raging river.
[edit] Crown Colony
Crown Colony is the smallest section of the park. It features only 2 attractions and a restaurant. The Crown Colony House offers both casual and fine dining. The Budweiser Clydesdale Hamlet and posing area are located here along with a Skyride station.
[edit] Egypt
Bedouin tents and authentic handicrafts and art create an Egyptian marketplace feel. Guests can visit a replica of King Tutankhamen's tomb with the excavation in progress. The primary attraction of the Egypt themed area is Montu, an inverted steel coaster.
- Montu, named after the Egyptian God of War, is a 150-foot steel inverted Bolliger & Mabillard roller coaster with seven inversions.
[edit] Animal Exhibits
[edit] The Serengeti Plain
In 1965, the park opened its 29-acre Serengeti Plain animal habitat, the first of its kind to offer animals in a free-roaming environment. It is home to the grevy’s zebra, reticulated giraffe, bongo, addax, addra gazelle, eland, impala ostrich, marabou stork, East African crowned crane and sacred ibis.
[edit] Myombe Reserve
A 3-acre home for six lowland gorillas and nine chimpanzees located in Nairobi, opened in 1992.
[edit] Edge of Africa
Opened in 1997, Edge of Africa is a walk-through attraction where guests can observe African animals. Among the exhibits are meerkats, a pride of lions, a pack of hyenas, a few hippos, and a troop of baboons.
[edit] Curiosity Caverns
This cavern attraction, formerly known as Nocturnal Mountain, contains animals such as bats.
[edit] Past Attractions
- African Queen Boat Ride, a boat ride (similar to Disney's Jungle Cruise attraction) located in what is Tanganyika Tidal Wave today. Most of the theming is still intact from the old ride. The ride was transformed to Tidal Wave in 1989, with new boats and a drop section.
- Akbar's Adventure Tours, A motion simulator experience of a wacky tour of Egypt with Akbar (played by Martin Short), encountering markets, pyramids, and more. The ride opened up in May, 1998 as the first family-oriented attraction in the Egypt section. As of January 2005, the attraction has been SBNO (Standing But Not Operating). Today, most of the building is used for The Show Jumping Hall of Fame exhibit.
- Crazy Camel, a Chance Rides "Trabant" flat ride replaced by Cheetah Chase. It was removed in November, 2003.
- Dwarf Village, a small childrens area that was located in what is now Land of the Dragons.
- Monstrous Mamba, A flat ride that spun riders around as arms raises the cars up and down.
- Python, an Arrow Dynamics designed steel corkscrew roller coaster with two inversions that opened on July 1, 1976 as Florida's first inverting coaster. The ride closed forever on October 31, 2006 after more than thirty years of operation. The ride was demolished throughout November 2006, with the track being scrapped. The trains, however, are being sent to Busch Gardens Europe for use on their Loch Ness Monster roller coaster [citation needed]. It is currently unknown on what Busch is planning on building on the site where Python once stood.
- R.L. Stine's Haunted Lighthouse 4-D, a "4-D" movie about two children spending a night inside a haunted lighthouse. Based on a story written by author R.L. Stine. The attraction opened up in May, 2003 as the first film in the newly redone Timbuktu Theatre (previously Dolphin Theatre).
- Swinging Vines, A wave swinger flat ride that swings its riders around in a circle.
- Veldt Monorail, allowed guests to get up close with animals on the Serengeti Plain. The ride was removed in 1999 due to upkeep cost. [1]
[edit] Golden Ticket Awards
The following is a list of roller coasters at Busch Gardens Africa that have placed on Amusement Today's Top 50 coasters, along with their highest ranking.
| Roller Coaster | Highest Rank |
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| Montu | 3 |
| Kumba | 7 |
| SheiKra | 13 |
| Gwazi | 38 |
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Official site
- Roller Coaster Database entries for Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
- BGTGuide- Unofficial site with pictures and information
- Park Timeline from the Tampa Tribune
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- Satellite image from WikiMapia, Google Maps or Windows Live Local
- Street map from MapQuest or Google Maps
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image from TerraServer-USA
| Roller coasters at Busch Gardens Africa | |
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Current: Cheetah Chase - Gwazi - Kumba - Montu - Scorpion - SheiKra |
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Past: Python |
