Scorpion (roller coaster)

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Scorpion
Scorpion on its Vertical Loop element.
Location	Busch Gardens Africa
Type	Steel
Status	Open
Opened	May 16, 1980
Designer	Anton Schwarzkopf
Model	Silverarrow
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	60 feet (18.3 m)
Length	1,817 feet (553.8 m)
Max speed	41 mile per hour (66 km/h)
Inversions	1
Duration	2:15
Max G force	3.5
Height Restriction	42 inches (106.7 cm)
Scorpion at RCDB
Pictures of Scorpion at RCDB

Scorpion is a steel looping roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Africa in Tampa, Florida, United States. It opened in 1980 as a part of the newly added Timbuktu section that gave the park a complete circuit, linking the Congo section to the Narobi section of the park. Scorpion, to this day, remains to be one of the most popular rides in the Timbuktu section. In 2004, as a part of the park's Timbuktu renovation, Scorpion was repainted from Orange/Black to Orange/Blue.

The ride was designed by Anton Schwarzkopf as one of his Silverarrow model looping coasters. Only three of these exist today, this coaster, Twist N' Shout at Loudoun Castle in Scotland, and the other said to be in a traveling carnival overseas.

[edit] Layout

Scorpion has a fairly simple and twisted layout involving a single Vertical Loop as the signature element. After the train is carried 60 feet into the air, riders twist down a drop and pass through the single Vertical Loop element. Following the loop, the train goes through a pretzel turnaround and threads the vertical loop. The train circles around a 900° helix and enters the brake run.