Tigris (roller coaster)

Tigris is a steel roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay theme park in Tampa, Florida, United States. Manufactured by Premier Rides and built by T&G Constructors, Tigris officially opened on April 19, 2019.

Tigris
Busch Gardens Tampa
LocationBusch Gardens Tampa
Park sectionStanleyville
Coordinates28°02′16.5″N 82°25′29.8″W
StatusOperating
Soft opening dateApril 16, 2019 (2019-04-16)
Opening dateApril 19, 2019 (2019-04-19)
ReplacedTanganyika Tidal Wave
General statistics
TypeSteel – Launched
ManufacturerPremier Rides
ModelSky Rocket II
Lift/launch systemLSM Launch
Height150 ft (46 m)
Drop135 ft (41 m)
Length863 ft (263 m)
Speed62 mph (100 km/h)
Inversions1
Height restriction54 in (137 cm)
TrainsSingle train with 3 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows for a total of 18 riders per train.
WebsiteOfficial site
Tigris at RCDB
Pictures of Tigris at RCDB

History

The Tanganyika Tidal Wave closed in April 2016.[1][2] In March 2018, SeaWorld Entertainment (owner of Busch Gardens Tampa) filed trademarks with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the names "Tigris", "Twisted Tiger", and "Uproar".[3][4][5] On June 26, 2018, an environmental resource permit was submitted to the Southwest Florida Water Management District revealing the location of the attraction to be within the confines of the section of Jungala and a tiger exhibit.[6]

In July 2018, documents were reported about upcoming developments where a previous attraction, Tidal Wave, once stood in Busch Gardens Tampa under the working title "Project TEEL". The project was proposed to construct a 3,230 square feet (300 m2) building within a 19,683 square feet (1,828.6 m2) area consisting of the attraction and paths and to remove 40,185 square feet (3,733.3 m2) within the existing area.[6][7]

On September 12, 2018, Busch Gardens Tampa revealed "Tigris", a Premier Rides Sky Rocket II,[8] themed to the tiger to open in 2019 along with a development for a Gwazi area attraction in 2020.[9][10][11] By January 2019, the park had the rides towers three-fifths complete.[12] In February 2019, construction of the roller coaster was completed. Busch Gardens announced a media event to take place on March 1, 2019 to present the ride's vehicles alongside additional information on the Gwazi attraction.[13][14][15] On March 1, the trains for the ride were revealed.[16] The roller coaster's opening date was announced by the park on April 4, 2019, scheduled for mid-April.[17][18] The roller coaster soft-opened on April 16, 2019,[19][20] then officially opened on April 19, 2019.[21][22]

Ride experience

Queue area
View of Tigris from the queue area

The queue area of the ride was repurposed from the previous attraction, Tanganyika Tidal Wave.[23] The queue of the ride features educational pieces of the tigers living conditions in the wild and actions wildlife conservationists take with the species.[24]

Layout

Tigris launches out of the station up into a partial twist. The train then falls back through the station, where it is accelerated backwards into another twist. Once again, the train falls back into the station and riders are accelerated to a top speed of 62 miles per hour (100 km/h). It then travels up to a height of 150 feet (46 m) where it completes a non-inverting half-loop, a heartline roll (ranking it among the tallest inversions in the world) before exiting in a second non-inverting half-loop. It then enters a full non-inverting loop before returning to the station.[8][25][26]

Characteristics

For the construction of the roller coaster, existing infrastructure in the land was reused for the purpose of the ride.[12]

Track

The roller coaster features black grey supports with bright orange track.[27]

See also
  • Tempesto, a Sky Rocket II model located at Busch Garden Tampa's sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg

References
  1. Gregory, John (September 13, 2018). "Tigris coaster opening at Busch Gardens in 2019". Orlando Rising. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  2. Storey, Ken (June 19, 2018). "It really looks like Busch Gardens Tampa will be getting a new roller coaster next year". Orlando Weekly. Euclid Media Group. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  3. "Tigris". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  4. "Twisted Tigers". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  5. "Uproar". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  6. Brezina-Smith, Veronica (July 16, 2018). "Documents hint at new Busch Gardens roller coaster, and here's what and where it would be". Tampa Bay Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  7. Carter, Ashley (July 18, 2018). "Permits hint at new attraction at Busch Gardens". Bay News 9. Retrieved January 26, 2019.
  8. Marden, Duane. "Tigris - Busch Gardens Tampa (Tampa, Florida, USA)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  9. Brezina-Smith, Veronica (September 12, 2018). "Busch Gardens' roaring new roller coaster, Tigris, will feature Florida's tallest launch tower (Video)". Tampa Bay Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  10. Staff (September 12, 2018). "FL's tallest launch coaster coming to BG in 2019". WFTS. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  11. Peralta, Paola (September 12, 2018). "Busch Gardens to build Tigris, Florida's tallest triple-launch roller coaster, in Tampa". Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  12. Brezina-Smith, Veronica (January 22, 2019). "Florida's tallest launch coaster goes vertical at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (Photos) (Video)". Tampa Bay Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  13. Gregory, John (February 14, 2019). "Tigris roller coaster track complete at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay". Orlando Rising. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  14. Tatham, Chelsea (February 14, 2019). "Busch Gardens almost ready to launch newest roller coaster, Tigris". WTSP. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  15. Wayne, Sharon Kennedy (February 14, 2019). "First look: Tigris, Florida's tallest launch coaster, coming to Busch Gardens". Tampa Bay Times. Times Publishing Company. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  16. Brezina-Smith, Veronica (March 4, 2019). "Busch Gardens unveils Tigris ride car alongside Gwazi rendering, Food & Wine Festival items (Photos)". Tampa Bay Business Journal. American City Business Journals. Retrieved March 6, 2019.
  17. Perry, Zack (April 4, 2019). "Florida's tallest launch coaster 'Tigris' will open April 19". WFTS-TV. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  18. Staff (April 4, 2019). "Tigris, Florida's tallest launch roller coaster, opens this month at Busch Gardens". WTVT. Retrieved April 7, 2019.
  19. Wynne, Sharon Kennedy (April 16, 2019). "Here's how you can ride Busch Gardens' Tigris coaster early". Tampa Bay Times. Times Publishing Company. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  20. Wolf, Colin (April 16, 2019). "Busch Gardens' insane triple-launch coaster Tigris just opened". Orlando Weekly. Euclid Media Group. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  21. Staff (April 18, 2019). "Preview: Florida's tallest launch roller coaster, Tigris, opens Friday". WTVT. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  22. Daly, Sean (April 19, 2019). "Triple Launch roller coaster Tigris opens for guests at Busch Gardens Tampa on Friday". WFTS. Retrieved April 21, 2019.
  23. Glenn, Brian (February 15, 2019). "Our construction tour experience on Tigris at Busch Gardens Tampa". Inside Universal. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  24. Gross, Lila (February 14, 2019). "First-look of tallest launch coaster in Florida at Busch Gardens". WFLA. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
  25. Romano, Andrea (September 14, 2018). "Florida's Tallest Launch Roller Coaster Will Fling Riders 150 Feet in the Air, Then Do It Again — Backwards". Travel + Leisure. Meredith Corporation. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  26. Wayne, Sharon Kennedy (September 12, 2018). "Busch Gardens reveals plans for Tigris, Florida's tallest launch roller coaster". Tampa Bay Times. Times Publishing Company. Retrieved December 29, 2018.
  27. Bevil, Dewayne (February 13, 2019). "Tigris roller coaster takes shape at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay". Orlando Sentinel. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved February 15, 2019.
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