Tigris (roller coaster) facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Tigris |
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| Busch Gardens Tampa | |
| Park section | Stanleyville |
| Coordinates | 28°02′16.5″N 82°25′29.8″W / 28.037917°N 82.424944°WCoordinates: 28°02′16.5″N 82°25′29.8″W / 28.037917°N 82.424944°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Soft opening date | April 16, 2019 |
| Opening date | April 19, 2019 |
| Replaced | Tanganyika Tidal Wave |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Launched |
| Manufacturer | Premier Rides |
| Model | Sky Rocket II |
| Lift/launch system | LSM Launch |
| Height | 150 ft (46 m) |
| Drop | 135 ft (41 m) |
| Length | 863 ft (263 m) |
| Speed | 62 mph (100 km/h) |
| Inversions | 1 |
| Height restriction | 54 in (137 cm) |
| Trains | Single train with 3 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows for a total of 18 riders per train. |
| Tigris at RCDB Pictures of Tigris at RCDB |
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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.
History
The Tanganyika Tidal Wave closed in April 2016. 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". 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.
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.
On September 12, 2018, Busch Gardens Tampa revealed "Tigris", a Premier Rides Sky Rocket II, themed to the tiger to open in 2019 along with a development for a Gwazi area attraction in 2020. By January 2019, the park had the rides towers three-fifths complete. 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. On March 1, the trains for the ride were revealed. The roller coaster's opening date was announced by the park on April 4, 2019, scheduled for mid-April. The roller coaster soft-opened on April 16, 2019, then officially opened on April 19, 2019.
Ride experience
Queue area
The queue area of the ride was repurposed from the previous attraction, Tanganyika Tidal Wave. The queue of the ride features educational pieces of the tigers living conditions in the wild and actions wildlife conservationists take with the species.
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.
Characteristics
For the construction of the roller coaster, existing infrastructure in the land was reused for the purpose of the ride.
Track
The roller coaster features black grey supports with bright orange track.
