In 2011 Busch Gardens Tampa opened the multi-launch coaster, Cheetah Hunt. It was the last major ride that the park opened, and is still getting huge lines amd rave reviews. Today the park let it drop that they will be “dropping” a huge announcement. While it hasn’t been confirmed to be an all new ride, the timing seems right to “drop” a new ride into the park. The big question that towers over the park, is what next?
Tuesday June 11th, the Moroccan Theater, home to the latest show Iceploration, will be host to the huge announcement of what is coming next to the park that is best known for it’s animal attractions and most importantly, coasters.
Of course the big clue points to a drop tower. In 2011, sister Park Busch Gardens Williamsburg installed be troubled yet popular Mach tower. Mach Tower stands at 246′ feet and is the tallest structure in the park, even surpassing the park’s tallest coaster, Griffon by 41 feet. The two parks have a history of doing twin projects, dating all the way back to the park’s first coasters. In 2011 Busch Gardens Tampa opened the multi-launched Cheetah Hunt, while in 2012 Busch Gardens Williamsburg opened the multi-launch Verbolten.
While it’s a pretty good bet that BGT will be getting a drop tower, rumors say that the park bought Kennywood’s Pit Fall in 2011 to revamp and reinstall at Busch Gardens Tampa. While the ride system doesn’t handle very many people, it’s not out of the ordinary for a park to buy an existing tower ride and redo or repurpose it. The main structure remains the same, while the parts and pieces change out to newer, more efficient parts. This has not been confirmed, and is merely a rumor at this point.
The other rumor is that the park will add the new tower to the Timbuktu area, which will lose a few kids rides, and receive new shops and eateries, in a complete revamp of the area, which will open in 2014. The other big rumor is that this tower will not be your average tower, and will feature show elements both before and after the drop. Mach Tower has a rotating drop base with chairs that vibrate. It would be interesting if Busch Gardens took the tower and made it into a dark ride of sorts, playing on the theme of some dark desert spirit. Again, only rumors and speculation. Unless it’s confirmed by the park, take it with a grain of salt.
