Busch Gardens Tampa Bay has announced Tigris, a new triple-launch steel coaster, set to open in Spring 2019.
Once opened, Tigris will be Florida’s tallest launch coaster. The new coaster, manufactured by Premier, will catapult riders forward and backward motion along 1,800 feet of coaster track, through several drops, a 150-foot skyward surge, and an inverted heartline roll; at 60 miles per hour. Unlike other coasters, Tigris will launch within the station each time.
“Tigris will be a strong addition to our family of world-class thrill rides. With three intensely exciting launch points, this ride is unlike anything we have in our coaster collection,” said Stewart Clark, president and general manager of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. “This new attraction is a testament to our continuing investment in the park, and bringing new and innovative experiences to our guests.”
Tigris is well under construction in the Stanleyville area of the theme park in the former home of Tidal Wave – right next to Jungala, which houses the park’s endangered Bengal tigers.
The Tigris queue will include educational content about the plight of tigers in the wild and what conservationists – including the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund – are doing to help save them. In addition, the purchase of any merchandise in the Tigris gift shop will help make a difference, with 5% of the sales price donated to the SeaWorld & Busch Gardens Conservation Fund to protect tigers and their habitat.
Although details were mum, Busch Gardens also revealed that a second new thrill ride will be coming to the Gwazi area of the park in 2020 when they “revamp” Gwazi. Rumors have swirled that RMC (Rocky Mountain Construction), known for their wooden roller coasters, will be a part of the revamp, but until we get a confirmation – we’ll chalk it up to hopeful speculation.
