Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a 335-acre, 19th century African-themed animal theme park located in the city of Tampa, Florida. It opened on March 31, 1959 as an admission-free hospitality facility for Tampa Anheuser-Busch; in addition to various beer tastings they had, a bird garden and the Stairway to the Stars which was an escalator that took guests to the roof of the brewery.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is divided into themed areas. The Serengeti Express (a replica steam train) runs along the back end of the park and makes stops at the Nairobi, Congo and Stanleyville themed areas. The Skyride transports guests between Crown Colony and Stanleyville.
Morocco
The park’s main entrance is home to the Mystic Sheiks of Morocco brass and percussion ensemble. Treats can be purchased at the Sultan’s Sweets and the Zagora Cafe. The Moroccan Palace, a 1,200 seat indoor theatre is located here, as well as the outdoor Marrakesh Theater. Gwazi is the major ride in this area. Gwazi, a 105-foot , 50 mph dueling wooden roller coaster named after a mythological creature with the head of a tiger and the body of a lion opened. The dueling sides consist of a lion side and a tiger side, which cross paths seven times.
Bird Gardens
This area is mostly gardens and animal exhibits and shows. “Walkabout Way” is themed as an Australian outpost. This area which is the Bird Gardens give guests the chance to see and hand-feed kangaroos and wallabies. In addition this area is home a kookaburra, magpie geese and Australian black swans. This experience is open to all guests 5 years of age or older.
Stanleyville
This section of the park is home to the park’s water rides and SheiKra, a Dive Coaster. The Stanley Falls Flume and Tanganyika Tidal Wave is also located in Stanleyville.
Congo
This section contains two of the park’s more popular rides. Kumba, meaning roar in Swahili, is a 143-foot steel sit-down roller coaster with seven inversions. It still remains a popular ride today. Other rides in the Congo include The Congo River Rapids, a water ride that simulates raging whitewater rapids, and Ubanga Banga Bumper Cars, a bumper cars ride.
Jungala
Jungala is a 4-acrefamily attraction featuring up-close animal encounters, rope bridges to explore three stories of jungle life, and a water-play area for children. Also located in this area are two family attractions: Jungle Flyers, a zip line that offers three different flight patterns above the treetops of the new area, and Wild Surge, a shot tower that launches guests above a waterfall. Another attraction is Tiger Trail, which is a walkthrough with tigers where there is also a glass turret where you can look out right in the middle of the tiger enclosure. Stiltwalkers perform and interact with guests in the heart of Jungala during several parts of the day.
Timbuktu
Timbuktu is a section themed after the malls and bazaars of Africa. Attractions here include Timbuktu Theater, The Desert Grill, and the park’s family-friendly Sand Serpent wild mouse roller coaster. Rides include the Scorpion, a sit-down roller coaster with one vertical loop, Sand Serpent, a steel wild mouse roller coaster, Phoenix, a looping starship themed as an Egyptian cargo vessel. Other attractions include Sesame Street Film Festival, and Caravan Carousel, a carousel with horses, camels, and chariots
Nairobi
Alligators and crocodiles can be observed here up close. In Curiosity Cavern, guests can view mammal and reptile exhibits. Visitors to Nairobi can view injured or abandoned newborns at the Nairobi Field Station Animal Nursery. The area also contains Myombe Reserve, a tropical rainforest that is home to Western Lowland Gorillas and Common Chimpanzees. The major ride here is Rhino Rally, an unpredictable off-road safari. Rhino Rally, a River Adventure ride, where riders board inside modified Land Rovers through the park’s Serengeti Plain habitat, interacting with animals.
Crown Colony Plaza
Crown Colony is the smallest section of the park. It features a restaurant, the Cheetah Hunt roller coaster, and the Skyride station.
Egypt
Bedouin tents and authentic handicrafts and art create an Egyptian marketplace feel. Guests can visit a replica of King Tutankhamen’s tomb with the excavation in progress. The primary attraction of the Egypt themed area is Montu, an inverted steel coaster. Montu, named after the Egyptian Falcon God of War, is a 150-foot steel inverted roller coaster with seven inversions.
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This article uses material from the Wikipedia article Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0
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