Busch Gardens Tampa is the best coaster park in all of Florida. This massive amusement park
just opened their 10th roller coaster in Iron Gwazi, which fills out an already stacked lineup.
The park also has plenty of animal exhibits and quite a few attractions that interact with them.
I recently made it back to the park for the shiny new RMC and rerode many of my favorites,
so in this video, I will countdown the top 15 rides at Busch Gardens Tampa.
This list will not include any animal exhibits, but you pass
iconic animals such as giraffes and elephants as you make your way through the park. This makes
the walks in between attractions super pleasant. 15) Sand Serpent- This Mack wild mouse originally
ran at the Williamsburg park, but it moved to the Tampa park nearly 2 decades ago. The first
half has the usually good laterals on the hairpin turns, but the second half is severely neutered
by some harsh trim brakes so you don’t get the pops of airtime like other clones out there.
14) Phoenix- This Intamin looping starship is often closed,
but when it’s open, it offers some glorious hangtime as you slowly invert over the top.
13) Stanley Falls Flume- This Arrow log flume has an interesting layout. A good chunk of it is
blocked by bushes and trees. And then a lot of the ride is elevated high above the ground. You have
two ok drops and this one can get you pretty wet, which is a good thing in the hot Florida sun.
12) Congo River Rapids- This is a decent Intamin river rapids ride.
The ride has a nice setting with lush landscaping beside it.
You have some small jets at the start and mostly weak rapids, but there are two soaking elements.
First, there’s a massive rapid that drenches a few lucky guests. Second, there’s a large jet
towards the end that pushes the rafts onto the lift and it can go over the walls of the raft.
11) Serengeti Express- This railroad is a fun and leisurely way to get around the park.
The highlight is the stretch when you pass by the plainland animals. It feels similar to a safari
between the narration and proximity. I especially love how close it gets to the giraffes.
10) Sky Ride- This ride has the same perks as the aforementioned train.
One, it’s definitely faster than walking. Two, it has outstanding views. You get some neat
views of Pantopia and Cheetah Hunt plus it’s a pseudo safari since you travel over and through
some animal exhibits. This ride does tend to be closed often due to wind or staffing though.
9) Cobra’s Curse- This is a weird Mack spinning coaster.
The first third has no spinning. The second third is mostly a slow helix going backwards.
But the final 3rd is quite nice as the vehicles start to spin freely as you navigate these
horseshoe turns and dive through trenches. Along with the ride that gets progressively stronger,
you have some nice theming between the giant cobra and projection mapping in the queue line.
8) Scorpion- This classic Schwarzkopf coaster may be a dwarf compared to the parks newer loopers,
but it still gives a solid ride. You have just lap bars and the ride is very smooth.
The ride has some nice laterals on the first drop, a very forceful vertical loop,
and a super abrupt turn afterwards. Then the second half has two more helixes with some power.
7) Tigris- This Premier mutli-launch coaster is one of the better clones out there.
This one does have comfort collars. They’re a pain to get in and out of, but they don’t
impact the ride experience too much for me. I still like the decent launches, the powerful
burst of airtime ascending the tower, the crazy hangtime on the barrel roll high above the ground,
and the airtime and lateral combination on the main descent. I may not ride this often at
Busch Gardens Tampa since I have a clone nearby in Phobia, but it’s still a nice supporting coaster.
6) SheiKra- This B&M dive machine has two awesome drops. Both the initial one and the one off the
mid-course brake run deliver sustained floater airtime. Those two drops carry the ride as the
rest of the layout isn’t too eventful. This was a drawback to the earlier dive coasters.
It offers some great visuals and is smooth, which is a theme with the park’s top coasters.
5) Cheetah Hunt- This original Intamin multi-launch coaster in Florida, Cheetah Hunt is a
scenic and sprawling attraction. The ride travels over and under midways, past animal exhibits,
and over water. This isn’t the most extreme coaster, but it has a diverse range of elements
and is just pure fun. You have three decent launches, some good pops of airtime particularly
on the windcatcher tower, and great hangtime on the heartline roll. I have a separate review
going into more detail if you want to hear more. 4) Falcon’s Fury- This Intamin drop tower is one
of the scariest ones in the world. Not only is it incredibly tall at 335 feet or 102 meters, but the
seats rotate 90 degrees at the top, forcing you to stare at the ground. It’s one of the most surreal
views of any attraction. Then you plummet towards the earth. The start of the drop has no warning
and the plunge has some float. The drop doesn’t have the same force as other drop towers, but the
visual of zooming towards a rapidly approaching ground is breathtaking.
3) Kumba- The first B&M sit-down coaster is a tour de force. The sustained positive Gs on the large
inversions is incredible and I start to greyout on a few of them. They you have some great snap
on the cobra roll and final two corkscrews. But the best inversion is the vicious zero-G roll that
has unbelievable whip. The ride is still pretty smooth too and the ride is nicely landscaped,
highlighted by that tunnel in the second half. 2) Montu- America’s best inverted coaster may
also be the most forceful one in the world. All 7 inversions are extremely snappy and many pull
intense positive Gs with the highlight being that powerful batwing. It’s one of the best inversions
on any coaster between the force and tunnel. Montu also has some cool trenches peppered throughout
and the ride is still glass smooth after 2.5 decades of operation. And if you want
to hear more, I have its own review. 1) Iron Gwazi- The newest RMC creation
may have been delayed two years, but the ride absolutely delivered. America’s tallest hybrid
coaster is incredibly well-paced. This ride has zero dead spots and hauls through the layout.
It’s just one awesome element after another. The beyond vertical drop is has oodles of
ejector airtime. As do the outward banked turn and the reverse wave turn over the station.
Then you also have one of the best inversions in the world in death roll.
This high-speed downwards barrel roll drop has viscous whip combined with strong airtime
and laterals. Then the ride has countless other powerful pops of ejector airtime as well. And this
is also one of the most intense RMCs between its sequencing and inclusion of strong positive Gs. I
have a separate review on this ride, but it has a claim as one of the world’s best roller coasters.
So those are the top 15 rides at Busch Gardens Tampa. What is your favorite
ride at Busch Gardens Tampa? Let me know your thoughts on any of the rides I mentioned
or any you think I missed down in the comments. If you enjoyed this countdown, I’d appreciate it if
you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a lot more
roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!