Falcon's Fury

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Falcon's Fury

(Top) Logo for Falcon's Fury, (Bottom) Concept art of the ride
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
AreaPantopia
StatusUnder construction
Opening dateSpring 2014 (2014)
ReplacedSandstorm
General statistics
Attraction type Drop tower
Manufacturer Intamin
Theme Falcon
Height 335 ft (102 m)
Drop 300 ft (91 m)
Speed 60 mph (97 km/h)
Site area 3,600 sq ft (330 m2)
G-force 3.5
Vehicles 1
Riders per vehicle 32
Duration 2:00

Falcon's Fury is a 335-foot (102 m) drop tower under construction as of 2013 at the Busch Gardens Tampa Bay amusement park in Tampa, Florida, United States. The ride will be North America's tallest free standing drop tower and the first drop tower to feature 90-degree titling seats (facing riders straight down). Falcon's Fury is manufactured by Intamin and is scheduled to open in Spring 2014.

History

Construction of the Falcon's Fury drop tower at Busch Gardens Tampa in July 2013.
Falcon's Fury tower during construction in December 2013.
Falcon's Fury at its final height of 335 ft as of February 2014

Planning for Falcon's Fury began shortly after Cheetah Hunt opened at the park in 2011. After testing the soil in the Timbuktu area (will be known as Pantopia in 2014[1]) found "interesting soil conditions", several steel beams and concrete were determined to be needed in order to reinforce the ground.[2]

Rumors of Sandstorm being replaced by a 200-foot (61 m) drop tower coming to Busch Gardens Tampa first surfaced in the Fall of 2011 after its sister park, Busch Gardens Williamsburg, opened Mäch Tower in August 2011.[3] Survey work was also spotted taking place in January 2012.[3] Two months later, plans were filed with the city to build a drop tower possibly for the 2013 season.[4] Speculation on the name for the new attraction began when SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the owners of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay,[5] filed trademark applications for the names Desert Dive and Falcon's Fury on May 2, 2012, and July 11, 2012, respectively, and also when the DesertDive.com domain name was bought.[6][7][8] In November 2012, rumours that the seats would tilt forward emerged after the decision was made to not build a clone of Mäch Tower.[3][8]

On May 31, 2013, it was announced that Sandstorm would close on June 2, 2013 to make way for a new attraction.[9] Almost two weeks later, on June 11, 2013, Busch Gardens Tampa announced Falcon's Fury.[10][11][12]

On September 20, the tower for Falcon's Fury was shipped from Spain in nine sections and arrived at Tampa near the end of October. Smaller parts of the ride were delivered before hand from several other countries in Europe.[13][14][15] It was planned that one of the nine tower pieces would be erected every other night and take approximately two weeks to complete.[2] The erection of the structure is being handled by Adena Corporation.[16] After, the tower will be painted to look like a sunset which will take three weeks.[13] Testing is scheduled to begin sometime in February 2014.[2]

On November 22, the park announced that the Timbuktu area of the park would be renamed Pantopia to mark the opening of Falcon's Fury.[1][17]

The first tower piece was erected on November 18, followed by the second piece being installed on December 2, 2013.[18][19] Two more pieces were installed by December 6.[20][21] The fifth section was placed by December 21 and the sixth was erected by New Years Day.[22][23] The seventh and eighth tower pieces were installed by January 3, 2014 and January 5, respectively, reaching a height of approximately 300 feet (91 m).[24][25][26] The gondola for the ride was spotted at the park on January 12.[27] The counterweight was installed on January 22.[28] Falcon's Fury was topped off during the weekend of February 1.[29]

Ride experience

Once riders are seated, the gondola will rise to the top of the tower at a slow speed. Though the tower will stand at 335 feet (102 m), the gondola will stop 25 feet (7.6 m) lower. Then, the seats will tilt 90-degrees forwards, facing riders straight down towards the ground. Then, a computer will randomize the wait time at the top anywhere from one to five seconds. When the time is reached, the seats will be released into a five second free-fall reaching a maximum speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h). As riders drop, they will also experience approximately 3.5 Gs.[10][12][30][31][2] At approximately half way down the tower, the seats will begin to rotate back to the horizontal position.[13] After coming to a stop (with the use of magnetic brakes[32][13]) riders will disembark.

Characteristics

Both the tower and gondola are being manufactured by Intamin.[31]

Tower

Falcon's Fury's tower will be 335 feet (102 m) tall, the tallest free standing drop tower in North America.[12][33] Magnetic brakes will be placed around the tower in order to slow the gondola down.[32][13][2] Each piece of the tower weighs approximately 75 to 95 tons with the entire structure weighing a total of 519 tons. The foundation for the tower reaches a depth of 205 feet (62 m).[14][15][2] Inside the tower, there is a 68 ton counterweight made up of hundreds of lead weights to pull the gondola up the structure.[34] The tower will be painted yellow, aqua and burnt red with a second red color to be painted at a later time.[2]

Gondola

Falcon's Fury's one gondola will have 32 seats placed around the central tower. It will only reach a height of 310 feet (94 m); 25 feet (7.6 m) lower from the top of the tower. When it is at the top, the seats will tilt 90-degrees facing riders towards the ground. This feature will be the first ever used on a drop tower.[12][30][31]

Reception

Initial reception following the announcement of the ride was positive. Theme park enthusiasts such as Lance Hart from Screamscape said, "Instead of selling your picture [...] they should sell baby wipes and clean underwear at the exit", and that the ride could be the most frightening drop tower in the world.[35][36][37] Robb Alvey from Theme Park Review mentioned that the ride can easily be the world's best drop tower.[38] Also, Brady MacDonald from the Los Angeles Times ranked the ride as the seventh most anticipated ride for 2014.[39]

See also

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Busch Gardens' Timbuktu becomes Pantopia". The Tampa Tribune. November 22, 2013. Archived from the original on November 24, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2013. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 Fais, Scott (November 13, 2013). "Fury Rising: Busch Gardens ready to assemble Florida's tallest thrill". Bay News 9. Archived from the original on November 20, 2013. Retrieved November 14, 2013. 
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 "Busch Gardens Tampa (Screamscape)". Screamscape. Archived from the original on January 15, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013. 
  4. ↑ "Plans Confirm Drop Tower for Busch Gardens Tampa in 2013". Park Rumors. March 5, 2012. Archived from the original on August 15, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013. 
  5. ↑ "SheiKra". Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Archived from the original on January 31, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013. 
  6. ↑ "Desert Dive". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved June 12, 2013. 
  7. ↑ "Falcon's Fury". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved June 12, 2013. 
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Rudie, Preston (May 31, 2013). "Drop tower could be next Busch Gardens thrill ride". WTSP. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved June 11, 2013. 
  9. ↑ "Sandstorm Ride at Busch Gardens Closes". ABC News. Associated Press. June 3, 2013. Archived from the original on June 7, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013. 
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 "Busch Gardens in Tampa announces Falcon’s Fury; new drop ride will be tallest in North America". The Washington Post (The Washington Post Company). Associated Press. June 12, 2013. Archived from the original on June 13, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013. 
  11. ↑ "Falcon’s Fury, world’s first face-down drop ride, coming to Busch Gardens in 2014". Attractions Magazine. June 11, 2013. Archived from the original on August 17, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013. 
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Thurston, Susan (June 11, 2013). "Busch Gardens announces plans for Falcon's Fury, a 335-foot 'drop tower'". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved June 12, 2013. 
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Thurston, Susan (November 1, 2013). "Thrill ride raises the bar for Busch Gardens". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on November 2, 2013. Retrieved November 10, 2013. 
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Thurston, Susan (October 29, 2013). "Busch Gardens takes delivery of tower parts for new Falcon's Fury ride". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013. 
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Bevil, Dewayne (October 29, 2013). "Busch Gardens: Big pieces for big-drop ride arrive". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved October 30, 2013. 
  16. ↑ "Adena Corporation Homepage". Adena Corporation. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2014. 
  17. ↑ "Busch Gardens unveils plans for new 'Pantopia' section". My Fox Tampa. November 22, 2013. Archived from the original on November 24, 2013. Retrieved November 24, 2013. 
  18. ↑ "BREAKING: First Falcon’s Fury Tower Section Installed". BGT Fans. November 18, 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  19. ↑ "BREAKING: Second Falcon’s Fury Tower Section Installed". BGT Fans. December 2, 2013. Retrieved December 2, 2013. 
  20. ↑ "Third Falcon’s Fury Section Installed". BGT Fans. December 4, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013. 
  21. ↑ "Fourth Falcon’s Fury Tower Section Installed". BGT Fans. December 6, 2013. Retrieved December 11, 2013. 
  22. ↑ "Fifth Falcon’s Fury Tower Section Installed". BGT Fans. December 21, 2013. Retrieved January 20, 2014. 
  23. ↑ "Sixth Falcon’s Fury Section Installed". BGT Fans. January 1, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2014. 
  24. ↑ "Seventh Falcon’s Fury Section Installed". BGT Fans. January 3, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2014. 
  25. ↑ "Eighth Falcon’s Fury Tower Section Installed". BGT Fans. January 5, 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2014. 
  26. ↑ Tribou, Richard (January 9, 2014). "Nice drop: Busch Gardens videos simulate new ride as if you were in Orlando, Miami". Orlando Sentinel. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2014. 
  27. ↑ "Falcon’s Fury Carriage Sections Have Arrived". BGT Fans. January 12, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014. 
  28. ↑ "Busch Gardens Tampa Twitter Counterweight Update". Busch Gardens Tampa/Twitter. January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 24, 2014. 
  29. ↑ "Falcon’s Fury Topped Off". BGT Fans. February 3, 2014. Retrieved February 3, 2014. 
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "Tampa Bay Times - June 12, 2013 Cover". Tampa Bay Times. June 12, 2013. Archived from the original on June 28, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2013. 
  31. ↑ 31.0 31.1 31.2 Thurston, Susan (June 12, 2013). "MORE TO SCREAM ABOUT: Busch Gardens' next big ride plans 310-foot drop". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on June 29, 2013. Retrieved June 28, 2013. 
  32. ↑ 32.0 32.1 Levine, Arthur (June 13, 2013). "Busch Gardens Tampa Falcon's Fury". About.com. Archived from the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013. 
  33. ↑ "World's most daring drop tower?". Park World Magazine: 18. July 2013. 
  34. ↑ "Construction continues on Falcon's Fury at Busch Gardens". 10 News. January 22, 2014. Archived from the original on January 22, 2014. Retrieved January 22, 2014. 
  35. ↑ Blumenau, Kurt (December 24, 2006). 't%2520saying. "Up in the air? ** Old-style roller coaster fans hope the rumors are true and Dorney is planning a new wooden ride. Park officials aren't saying.". The Morning Call. Archived from 't+saying.&pqatl=google the original on October 30, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013. 
  36. ↑ "Screamscape Twitter Post #1". Screamscape / Twitter. June 11, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013. 
  37. ↑ "Screamscape Twitter Post #2". Screamscape / Twitter. June 11, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013. 
  38. ↑ "Theme Park Review Twitter Post". Theme Park Review / Twitter. June 11, 2013. Retrieved June 13, 2013. 
  39. ↑ MacDonald, Brady (July 7, 2013). "Top 14 theme park rides for 2014: Most anticipated new rides". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 6, 2014. Retrieved July 14, 2013. 

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