After a new 2 year delay due to the Covid, Busch Garden's Iron Gwazi coaster is finally opening this weekend. The hybrid steel coaster features a 206 foot tall 91° barrel roll down drop, zero-g stall and huge overbanked curve - all while reaching speeds up to 76 mph along 4,075 feet of track. it's the fastest and steepest of it's kind in the world. This is the 10th roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. According to Fox 13 "Pass Members will have special privileges to begin riding the Iron Gwazi this weekend. The ride officially opens to all park guests on March 11th."
In a recent poll, Busch Garden's Tampa Bay was voted the #6 best amusement park in America. From the looks of this monster, BG Tampa may be moving up on the list.
This video is shot at 5K / 60 frames per second and if your monitor is big enough, about as close to VR as you're going to get without putting on a headset. There's no screams, no people talking, just pure POV video shot from the front seat. You ready?
I'd love to be able to slap on a pair of VR goggles or better yet, jump in the front seat and ride this coaster. The IG coaster looks to be worth the wait.
SeaWorld Orlando got more votes than any of the Disney Parks, and more votes than any of the Universal parks. In a USA Today 10 Best Poll, Sea World in Orlando beat out all the rest to claim the Best Amusement Park in the United States. According to USA Today, what set SeaWorld ahead of all the competitors was "Most famous as a marine zoological park, SeaWorld Orlando has made a name for itself in the world of high-octane thrill rides as well, including Manta – one of the only coasters of its kind in the world – and Mako, a hyper coaster with deep dives, high speeds and thrills aplenty. Young visitors can now walk down Sesame Street and interact with their favorite furry friends."
Their polling methodology was for the editors to create a list of great amusement parks and then let their readers choose their favorite. It was no surprise to see 3 Florida parks on the list, but one suspicious omission. Universal Orlando did not make the top 10. And in other amusement park news, SeaWorld may look to further dominate the top 10. SeaWorld already owns the Busch Gardens parks on this list and just last week (2/1/2022) SeaWorld made an offer to buy Cedar Fair who own such parks as King's Island near Cincinnati, and Cedar Point in Sandusky. Both of those parks also made this list of Top 10.
Here's the 10 that made it. I've been to 6 of these on the list. How many for you?
10. Knott's Berry Farm - Buena Park, Calif.
9. Disney's Magic Kingdom - Orlando
8. Hersheypark - Hershey, Penn.
7. Cedar Point - Sandusky, Ohio
6. Busch Gardens Tampa - Tampa
5. Dollywood - Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
4. Busch Gardens Williamsburg - Williamsburg
3. Kings Island - Mason, Ohio
2. Silver Dollar City - Branson, Mo.
1. SeaWorld Orlando - Orlando
