Gwazi

Gwazi

A view of Gwazi's entrance and the Lion lift hill.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Park section Morocco
Coordinates 28°02′02″N 82°25′23″W / 28.03389°N 82.42306°W / 28.03389; -82.42306Coordinates: 28°02′02″N 82°25′23″W / 28.03389°N 82.42306°W / 28.03389; -82.42306
Status Standing but not operating (SBNO)
Opening date June 18, 1999
Closing date February 1, 2015
Cost $10,000,000 USD
General Statistics
Type Wood – Dueling
Manufacturer Great Coasters International
Designer GCI
Track layout Wood
Lift/launch system Chain Lift
  Tiger (Blue) Lion (Yellow)
Height 105.4 ft (32.1 m) 105.4 ft (32.1 m)
Drop 91.8 ft (28.0 m) 91.8 ft (28.0 m)
Length 3,508 ft (1,069.2 m) 3,508 ft (1,069.2 m)
Speed 51 mph (82.1 km/h) 51 mph (82.1 km/h)
Inversions 0 0
Duration 2:30 2:30
Max vertical angle 50° 50°
G-force 3.5 3.5
Capacity 2880 riders per hour
Height restriction 48 in (122 cm)
Trains 4 trains with 12 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in a single row for a total of 24 riders per train.
Quick Queue available
Gwazi at RCDB
Pictures of Gwazi at RCDB

Gwazi was a dueling wooden roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Florida. The name Gwazi originates from a fabled creature with the head of a tiger and the body of a lion. Accordingly, the two sides are named "Lion" and "Tiger".[1] Often, the two tracks are called "yellow" and "blue", (yellow being the primary color of the Lion trains and blue being the primary color of the Tiger trains).[2] It included almost 7,016 feet of combined track and reached speeds of 51 miles per hour. Both tracks have similar but nonidentical track layouts.[3]

History

Gwazi began construction sometime after the closure of the Busch Brewery which closed in 1995.[4] Gwazi soon after opened on June 18, 1999 as Florida's first dueling wooden roller coaster constructed by Great Coasters International (GCI) and operated with Philadelphia Toboggan Coaster's trains starting with six of them.[5] At the time the Dueling Dragons (now Dragon Challenge) at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure and Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay were the only dueling coasters in Florida just opening a month apart.

A view of Gwazi from the Skyride. Only the Lion side is operating in this photo.

Due to the Philadelphia Toboggan Company designed trains and other aspects, which have been known to deliver rough rides on GCI designed coasters, Gwazi was known for giving rough rides which was a problem since it first opened.[6] At the beginning of the 2010 season, Gwazi was spotted with what appeared to be Millennium Flyer trains on the track, with water dummies on board.[7] In 2011, the rides Philadelphia Toboggan Company's trains were subsequently removed with Great Coasters International's Millennium Flyer trains in order to make Gwazi smoother from its notorious roughness.[8]

At the end of the summer season during 2012, the Tiger side of Gwazi closed due to budget purposes. Soon after the closing of the Tiger side, a bridge was built across the loading platform and one of the Tiger trains was relocated onto the Lion track.[9] However Busch Gardens later confirmed that Gwazi would officially close on February 1, 2015.[10] After 15 years of operation, the attraction's last train was dispatched around 6:00PM (EST) and Gwazi closed permanently February 1, 2015.[11][12] Busch Gardens has not confirmed what will go in place of Gwazi yet, and as of its closure, the roller coaster remains SBNO.[13]

Incidents

In 2006, a 52-year-old from Palm Springs, Florida resident collapsed and died hours after riding Gwazi. It was determined that the ride (which was functioning properly) had aggravated an existing condition of high blood pressure.[14][15] See Incidents at SeaWorld parks for more info.

Records

Gwazi holds the record for most fly-bys on a dueling roller coaster, with six.[16] A fly-by is where the two roller coasters pass each other in opposite directions at high speeds, giving the psychological impression that the two will collide. At the time, Gwazi was the largest and fastest double wooden roller coaster in the Southeastern United States.

Awards

Gwazi has received numerous placements from Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards and Mitch Hawkers Best Roller Coaster Poll being in the top 50 wooden roller coasters from both lists.

Amusement Today's: Golden Ticket Awards[17][18]
Top Wooden Roller Coasters
Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Ranking - - - - - 38 43 46 40 - - 46 - - - -
Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Wooden-Tracked Roller Coaster[19][20][21]
Tiger (Blue)
Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Ranking 30 33 37 40 44 50 51 64 77 88 116 105 87 96 121 -
Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Wooden-Tracked Roller Coaster[19][20][21]
Lion (Yellow)
Year 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014
Ranking 32 42 41 41 50 51 53 71 79 89 118 103 98 101 132 -

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Gwazi - Busch Gardens Tampa (Tampa, Florida, USA)". rcdb.com. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  2. ↑ "Busch Gardens' Gwazi roller coaster's final run Sunday (w/video)". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  3. ↑ "Great Coasters International | Gwazi". www.greatcoasters.com. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  4. ↑ "Busch Gardens History". www.tampapix.com. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  5. ↑ "Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa – 1999-2015 – The Last Ride | Pixels At The Parks". Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  6. ↑ "http://www.pixelsattheparks.com/2015/01/06/gwazi-at-busch-gardens-tampa-1999-2015-the-last-ride/". www.pixelsattheparks.com. Retrieved 2015-09-15. External link in |title= (help)
  7. ↑ "Busch Gardens Tampa Bay invites thrill seeks to try out new, faster Gwazi roller coaster trains". Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  8. ↑ Sehlinger, Bob (2013-08-20). The Unofficial Guide to Walt Disney World 2014. Unofficial Guides. p. 103. ISBN 1628090006.
  9. ↑ "Busch Gardens' Gwazi roller coaster's final run Sunday (w/video)". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  10. ↑ "Gwazi officially closes Feb. 1 at Busch Gardens". Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  11. ↑ "Busch Gardens' Gwazi roller coaster's clickety-clack goes silent (w/video)". Tampa Bay Times. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  12. ↑ "Last ride ever on Gwazi Rollercoaster: Busch Gardens Tampa". Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  13. ↑ Sentinel, Orlando. "The end of Gwazi: A look at notable wooden coasters around the U.S.". Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  14. ↑ "Hillsborough: Man dies after roller coaster ride". www.sptimes.com. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  15. ↑ "Behind the Thrills | Busch Gardens Tampa confirms Gwazi to close soon". behindthethrills.com. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  16. ↑ "Busch Gardens Tampa's Gwazi to Close February 1". Coaster101. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  17. ↑ "Issue Archive | The Golden Ticket Awards | Presented by Amusement Today". goldenticketawards.com. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  18. ↑ "Golden Ticket Awards Coaster Grotto". Coaster Grotto. Retrieved 2015-09-21.
  19. 1 2 "Wooden Roller Coaster Poll 18 Year Results Table (1994 - 2011)". www.ushsho.com. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  20. 1 2 "Detailed Wooden Roller Coaster Poll Results 2012". ushsho.com. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
  21. 1 2 "Detailed Wooden Roller Coaster Poll Results 2013". ushsho.com. Retrieved 2015-09-15.
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