Iron Gwazi is the record-breaking hybrid coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa.
Rocky Mountain Construction transformed the former Gwazi wooden roller coaster into North
America’s tallest and steepest hybrid coaster.
While the ride may have been delayed several times, the wait was well worth it.
Iron Gwazi immediately takes the title as Florida’s best roller coaster and one of
the best creations from RMC.
Find out why in this review!
The story begins back in 1999 with Gwazi.
Wanting to differentiate itself from the steel coasters being erected in Orlando, Busch Gardens
opened a dueling wooden roller coaster.
Built by Great Coasters International, this attraction received praise in its early years
but it became rough over the next decade.
Busch Gardens tried retracking the coaster and replacing the original PTC trains with
Millennium Flyers around 2010, but these measures were just band-aids.
I never rode the original Gwazi, but I heard it rode like Hershey’s Wildcat in its final
years.
Gwazi was not long for this world and the coaster was closed in early 2015.
But Gwazi continued to have a presence in the park.
It’s twisted wooden structure sat idle for years, looming over the midway named after
it.
Around the same time Busch Gardens tried fixing Gwazi, a new manufacturer burst onto the coaster
scene.
Rocky Mountain Construction revolutionized the industry with their I-box steel track
and their ability to renovate old wooden roller coasters into smooth, intense, and enjoyable
hybrid coasters.
As chains like Six Flags and Cedar Fair RMCed a handful of their coasters, enthusiasts dreamed
what RMC could do with Gwazi.
Late in 2018, Busch Gardens held a press conference announcing their new-for-2019 roller coaster
in Tigris, an off-the-shelf Premier Rides Sky Rocket II.
But as the park said, it was a hybrid announcement.
After stating Gwazi had a rocky history, the park said something new would be placed on
that ride’s site for the 2020 season.
With all signs pointing to an RMC refresh of Gwazi, enthusiasts expected a dueling experience
similar to Twisted Colossus.
But what we got was much different.
We would receive just a single track that stood over twice as tall as the original Gwazi.
Iron Gwazi is easily the hybrid conversion with the least resemblance to its original
form.
On March 2019, Busch Gardens Tampa announced they would be building the tallest hybrid
coaster in North America.
Iron Gwazi would stand just a smidge shorter than Energylandia’s Zadra at 206 feet or
63 meters tall.
But it would claim the record as the world’s fastest hybrid coaster with a top speed of
76 mph or 122 kph and the world’s steepest hybrid coaster with a beyond-vertical, 91
degree first drop.
Anticipation mounted for the newest RMC hybrid, especially as it began testing.
The ride was marching towards a March 2020 opening date, but we all know something else
that happened that month.
The covid-19 pandemic.
This halted testing on Iron Gwazi and shut the park down for nearly 3 months.
Unlike some chains like Cedar Fair that chose to open their new rides anyway in 2020, SeaWorld
decided to postpone all of the chain’s attractions until 2021.
Iron Gwazi had a new expected opening date of Spring 2021.
But SeaWorld quietly changed the opening dates for all their new attractions from Spring
2021 to Anticipated 2021.
That verbiage was not a good sign and SeaWorld ultimately postponed all their new rides yet
again until 2022, presumably to maximize the return on investment on their newest attractions.
While this was a bummer as a consumer, especially for people who bought 2020 or 2021 season
passes primarily for these new attractions, all sins have seemingly been forgiven ever
since Iron Gwazi opened.
Well…previewed.
Iron Gwazi has been open to annual passholders for the past few weeks.
The ride officially opens on March 11.
Until then, it’s hard to get a grasp how long this line may be once it opens.
But I suspect it may draw crowds similar to Cheetah Hunt (i.e. 60-90 minute waits most
days) for a few reasons.
One, Iron Gwazi has a similarly prominent location towards the front of the park.
It’s one of the first rides you encounter at Busch Gardens.
Two, Iron Gwazi has an equally low height restriction of just 48”.
Most of the park’s major roller coasters have 54” height requirements.
Three, Iron Gwazi may have a comparable capacity.
Cheetah Hunt with both stations and all trains In use definitely has a higher capacity, but
this hasn’t happened in my past few visits to Busch Gardens Tampa.
Like most of SeaWorld’s new attractions, Iron Gwazi won’t be offered on most Quick
Queues.
You can only get it as a pricey one-time option on the highest level Quick Queue.
So most people will be waiting in the standby queue initially.
Iron Gwazi’s queue line starts with some switchbacks below the station.
Then you have this rounded ramp up to the station, followed by more switchbacks.
Sans Quick Queue, the wait takes approximately 30 minutes if all the station switchbacks
are full.
Now let’s talk about Gwazi’s theme.
The original Gwazi was themed to a mythical beast with the heads of both a lion and a
tiger.
So people were confused when the new Gwazi was themed to crocodiles.
So I don’t really know what Gwazi means, but it’s fun to say.
The station has a jungle vibe and the crocodile themed lead car looks incredible.
It’s one of the best lead cars on any attraction.
Then the wait offers some fun views of the pre-lift and has a series of information signs
on alligators and crocodiles.
And most importantly, you have the music.
Iron Gwazi has an epic soundtrack with jungle beats.
It’s pretty easy to hear while the trains are loading, but it’s tricky to hear the
dispatch sound over the ride itself.
The rest of Iron Gwazi is unthemed, which is understandable given the ride’s intensity.
But the ride doesn’t need it.
Iron Gwazi’s ride experience stands on its own and it looks super imposing with its hulking
structure and vibrant purple track.
When you reach the end of the queue line, there is a grouper but you’re able to request
any row you’d like.
The front and back rows have an extended queue line that can sometimes take an extra 10-15
minutes.
I preferred Iron Gwazi in the back car.
I found the very back and second-to-back equally as amazing, so I typically rode Iron Gwazi
in the latter because it saved some time.
The restraints are similar to other RMCs.
You have a seatbelt with a lap bar and shin guards.
I’ve never found these restraints uncomfortable.
They don’t inhibit my ability to experience the ride’s airtime.
However, I know taller riders have had issues with the shin guards on other RMCs.
Others have found the lap bar uncomfortable during a rapid-fire series of airtime hills.
I’ll talk about this later, but this part isn’t much of an issue with Gwazi.
Now if you’re a larger guest, Iron Gwazi can be tricky.
It’s probably the least accommodating roller coaster in Florida.
RMCs aren’t the most accommodating rides in the world and this one may be a little
trickier to fit on based on some stories I’ve heard.
The one thing I know is that the test seat is harder to fit in than the vehicle itself.
So if you’re on the edge, keep that in mind.
Once dispatched, you slowly roll out of the station.
RMC has developed a penchant for crazy pre-lifts, but Gwazi’s isn’t too crazy.
You just have this abrupt dip down and to the left.
It doesn’t do much up front, but it does jerk you forwards in the back.
I personally wasn’t a fan of this element and found it a little uncomfortable, but that’s
the only negative I have to say about Iron Gwazi.
You then ascend the towering lift hill, getting awesome views of both the park and Tampa.
At the top, the lift slows down similar to what Iron Rattler used to do.
This causes the front to lean over the edge similar to a dive coaster.
Now I was skeptical if the extra 1 degree would make a difference on the first drop,
but I thought it did.
Iron Gwazi’s first drop has more power than similarly sized hybrids like Steel Vengenace
or Zadra.
In the back, you get several seconds of very strong and sustained ejector airtime.
I know there were a few moments later in the ride that others preferred, but this was my
favorite element on Gwazi.
It’s the best drop in Florida without a doubt.
And the drop is pretty good up front too, as it gives floater airtime up front.
This was more than I got on the other hyper hybrids, which is why I think that extra 1
degree may help.
The pullout is pretty exciting on this coaster too.
First, you have some scary headchoppers with steel beams.
And these will not be the last headchoppers either.
Second, it is very forceful.
I greyed out on all my rides from the positive Gs and I know plenty of other coaster enthusiasts
who did as well.
And there were plenty more positive Gs to follow too.
The second element is this massive outer banked turn.
But this one rides differently than the one on Steel Vengeance.
The flip outwards doesn’t occur until you’re near the apex of the element.
So I’d describe it as having the violent burst of airtime at the start like the outward
bank on Wicked Cyclone, but you remain out of your seat like the one on Steel Vengeance.
I found the ejector airtime a little more sustained in the back.
And the descent is pretty darn wild between how it sharply yanks you downwards and also
banks sideways, so you get some good laterals with all that airtime.
The second pullout is nearly as intense as the first and I would start to see some grey
here as well.
And you also have a few more headchoppers.
Iron Gwazi then curls upwards- maintaining the positive Gs for a bit- and then you reach
the ride’s most anticipated element- the death roll.
Named after a predatorial move by a crocodile, this is essentially one of RMC’s barrel
roll drops.
Except you enter this one with a full head of speed.
So it rides far differently.
You get the same headchoppers as the prior ones, but instead of being gracefully levitated
out of your seat, you basically get sustained fl-jector to ejector airtime.
And the violence of the twist results in crazy laterals simultaneously.
I saw some early reviews state the death roll wasn’t quite as good as they anticipated,
but it was everything I could have dreamed of.
It’s easily one of the best inversions on the planet.
And it may even be better than Velocicoaster’s famed Mosasaurus Roll.
The death roll reminded me of the intensity of a barrel roll on one of those Gerstlauer
sky rollers while also getting sustained airtime.
The next element is considered an inversion by the park.
It’s somewhere in between an overbank and cutback.
The train flies through this element.
It’s quite snappy and also has some laterals.
And if you’re in the back, you’ll also get a faint pop of airtime on the descent.
It’s probably the weakest airtime moment on the ride, but Gwazi follows up with one
of its strongest.
You then careen over the reverse wave turn over the station.
This element delivers sustained sideways ejector airtime.
The element’s power reminded me of the wave turn on Twisted Cyclone, but it’s more sustained
on Iron Gwazi.
And you have a whole lot more speed through it.
Making the moment even wilder is the surprise headchopper with the lift hill.
You cannot see it coming and it will make most people flinch.
Everything up to this point is what I consider to be Iron Gwazi’s first half.
And it may have the best first half of any RMC.
The second half grew on me with each ride.
After that reverse wave turn, you shoot into a turnaround comprised of half a camelback,
a wave turn, and a zero-G stall.
The half camelback gives a good ejector pop for all.
The subsequent wave turn is one of the elements that most benefits from Iron Gwazi warming
up.
In general, I thought this ride ran like a bat-out-of-hell.
But this element went from ok floater early in the day to a legit pop of ejector when
warmed up.
The zero-G stall isn’t one of RMC’s best, but it’s still a really nice inversion.
You don’t come out of your seat like the other ones, but you do feel weightless.
And then you have some great headchoppers and an abrupt burst of laterals coming out
of the element.
Iron Gwazi then shoots into another turnaround.
Everyone gets popped out of their seat.
The front always gets ejector airtime.
While the back doesn’t get ejector until the ride is fully warmed up, but they still
will get floater airtime early in the day.
You then cruise over an Asian camelback.
Named after the camel, you have two humps high above the ground.
You get two rapid-fire pops of ejector airtime in most seats.
But those in the back get sustained ejector airtime on the second hump since it has a
sizable drop on the other side.
You then zoom around a surprisingly forceful banked turn and fly over the ride’s final
drop.
Those up front, get a good pop of ejector airtime.
But those in the back get a very powerful burst of ejector airtime.
It’s one heck of a way to end Gwazi.
You then rapidly twist into the brake run, getting a lateral snap.
And then you’re flung forwards from the sudden deceleration.
Some RMCs are criticized for limping into the brake run.
But Iron Gwazi hits those brakes with a full head of steam, similar to Lightning Rod.
There were two concerns I had for Iron Gwazi relative to the other elite RMCs.
First, length.
Iron Gwazi has 4075 feet or 1242 meters of track.
But with all that height and speed, there were some concerns it would feel short.
But the ride experience has a satisfying length to it.
Two, would all those overbanks and turnarounds offer airtime?
Iron Gwazi eliminated that concern after my first ride without fail.
Iron Gwazi’s pacing is phenomenal.
Few RMCs hold its speed like this one.
Iron Gwazi reminded me again of Lightning Rod or Zadra with how it hurtled through the
layout.
There’s no mid-course brakes.
It’s just one element after another.
And most of those elements were exceptional.
Plus, you have more positive Gs than usual peppered throughout the layout.
I highlighted the first two pullouts, but there were a few other turns with positive
Gs as well.
RMCs are usually pretty free of these forces, so it was a nice change.
And like all the other RMC hybrids, Iron Gwazi is super smooth despite the aggressive maneuvers.
So what would I rate Iron Gwazi?
I would give the newest hybrid coaster a 10 out of 10.
Iron Gwazi is incredible.
Between the powerful airtime, memorable inversions, and blistering speed, this coaster does everything
I could have wanted.
Just to put in perspective how great this ride is, I recently spent two days at Busch
Gardens Tampa and on one of those days, I only rode Iron Gwazi.
This is easily the park’s best attraction.
And it was a ride they sorely needed.
Busch Gardens Tampa always had a strong coaster lineup, but it was missing an airtime machine.
Iron Gwazi most certainly fulfills that niche.
And it goes even further.
This is the best coaster in Florda in my opinion, dethroning Velocicoaster.
I rode both rides within 24 hours of each other and it was no contest.
The most interesting debate is how Iron Gwazi compares to other RMCs.
It can’t beat Lightning Rod for me.
And the only other RMC I may prefer is Steel Vengeance.
What Iron Gwazi does may be better than Steel Vengeance.
It just doesn’t have the length.
But that easily makes Iron Gwazi a top 5 coaster for me, which beat my already high expectations.
There were already a ton of great reasons for a theme park enthusiast to visit Florida
and this just adds another reason to the list.
So those are my thoughts on Iron Gwazi, the new-for-2020, the new-for-2021, the new-for-2022
hyper hybrid roller coaster at Busch Gardens.
What are your thoughts on Iron Gwazi?
Have you ridden it?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this ride and how you think it compares to other RMCs.
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