Iron Gwazi Roller Coaster! Intense Beyond Vertical Drop & Zero-G Stall! #rollercoaster #themepark

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. 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 was named after a fabled 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 opened on June 18, 1999, and received positive reviews from critics and the public. 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 remaining side was closed 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-tracked roller coaster. 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. Iron Gwazi soft-opened to passholders on February 13, 2022, and to the public on March 11. The refurbished ride was marketed and 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) over its predecessor. Iron Gwazi debuted to positive reviews from critics, later winning the 2022 Best New Roller Coaster category in the annual Golden Ticket Awards publication from Amusement Today. Source: Wikipedia

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