Tigris is officially open Busch Gardens Tampa Bay! The new attraction is Florida’s tallest launch coaster and the ninth coaster in the park’s collection.
Busch Gardens invited us out to ride the new coaster yesterday before it officially opened to the public.
Tigris is located 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. In an effort to reuse and recycle, most of the parts from the old attraction, Tidal Wave, was demoed and recycled to use in the construction of Tigris and surrounding areas. In fact, one of the troughs used in the Tidal Wave attraction is part of the queue experience.
Manufactured by Premier, the coaster catapults riders forward and backward at different speeds, through several drops, a 150-foot skyward surge, and an inverted heartline roll. Unlike other coasters, Tigris will launch within the station each time.
While the ride is short, it packs a tremendous punch, especially as you make your way up backwards on the 2nd launch. The heartline roll at the top is terrifyingly fun. The seats were very comfortable, although getting in the vehicle is a bit awkward due to the setup of the safety harness. Due to the nature of the ride, it will have an extremely low hourly capacity – with a rough guess around 400-500 at the moment.
The coaster is a great addition to the park as all eyes and focus shift to their Gwazi 2020 project. It’s going to be quite a thrilling couple years over at Busch Gardens.
