Iron Gwazi
| Iron Gwazi | |
|---|---|
| Previously known as Gwazi (1999–2015) | |
Iron Gwazi's lift hill and barrel roll downdrop | |
| Busch Gardens Tampa Bay | |
| Location | Busch Gardens Tampa Bay |
| Coordinates | 28°02′02″N 82°25′23″W / 28.03389°N 82.42306°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Soft opening date | February 13, 2022 |
| Opening date | March 11, 2022 |
| Replaced | Gwazi |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Hybrid |
| Manufacturer | Rocky Mountain Construction |
| Designer | Alan Schilke |
| Model | I-Box track |
| Track layout | Twister |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 206 ft (63 m) |
| Drop | 206 ft (63 m) |
| Length | 4,075 ft (1,242 m) |
| Speed | 76 mph (122 km/h) |
| Inversions | 2 |
| Duration | 1:50 |
| Max vertical angle | 91° |
| Trains | 2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train. |
| Theme | Crocodile |
Quick Queue available | |
| Iron Gwazi at RCDB | |
Iron Gwazi (formerly called Gwazi) is a steel-track hybrid roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, a theme park in Tampa, Florida, United States. The renovated ride opened to the public on March 11, 2022, following a passholder soft-opening a month earlier on February 13. Development of the original Gwazi began in July 1998, when Busch Gardens announced that it would build a wooden roller coaster on land formerly occupied by the Anheuser-Busch brewery. Great Coasters International (GCI) built Gwazi, a wooden dueling roller coaster with two separate tracks. The ride's name refers to a mythical creature with a tiger's head and a lion's body. Trains riding on both tracks, respectively named Lion and Tiger, reached a height of 105.4 feet (32.1 m) and a maximum speed of 51 mph (82 km/h).
Gwazi received positive reviews from critics and the public when it opened on June 18, 1999. Over time, the wooden roller coaster became difficult to maintain, resulting in the Tiger side closing in 2012. Following rising maintenance costs and declining ridership, the Lion side was closed as well in 2015. The wooden structure sat dormant for several years, and the park considered several replacement attractions, including a remodeled roller coaster, an amphitheater, and a new attraction. The park indicated it would refurbish the wooden structure, and site preparation began in late 2018.
In 2019, Busch Gardens announced the replacement as Iron Gwazi, a steel version of the original with a single track. The park hired Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) to retrofit the original wooden structure's layout. It was initially scheduled to open in 2020 but was delayed several times due to the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues. The refurbished ride opened as North America's tallest, steepest, and fastest hybrid roller coaster, featuring a height of 206 feet (63 m), a maximum speed of 76 mph (122 km/h), and a track length increase of 567 feet (173 m). Like its predecessor, Iron Gwazi debuted to positive reviews from critics, and it later won the 2022 Best New Roller Coaster category in Amusement Today magazine's annual Golden Ticket Awards.