While not on the same thrill scale as its amazing next door neighbor Montu, Cobra’s Curse does what it can to provide an enjoyable family coaster expe...
While not on the same thrill scale as its amazing next door neighbor Montu, Cobra’s Curse does what it can to provide an enjoyable family coaster experience. While I can imagine the queue is not fun on crowded days, I enjoyed its tight, winding passages that evoke feelings of being inside an old Egyptian tomb. I didn’t get to watch much of the preshow, as my wait was only around 5 minutes, but what I could see was an interesting projection sequence of dramatic music and blinking lights. The ride operators kept capacity up for sure; as when I got to the station, there was constant movement! Whether it be the creatively engineered dual elevator lift, moving station or even a train whizzing over our heads, Cobra’s Curse never seemed to stop and breathe. Before the elevator lift, there’s a clever show scene that is making reference to “reawakening him” and rows of statues with glowing red eyes. At the top of the elevator, the train tips out towards the Cobra statue but quickly dives down and takes a turn into a helix. This part had a bit of a rattle to it, unfortunately, but it all comes to a head as you hit a mid-course brake run that turns the train backwards! Another helix ensues, this time with some bunny hops injected into the curvature; and then, you hit the zippy second lift hill. This part is definitely my favorite segment of Cobra’s Curse, as the constant slalom-style overbanked turns made for an oddly satisfying, repetitive sensation — but it ends all too soon as the train dives under the train tracks and hops into the final brake run. All in all, Cobra’s Curse is a very solid family coaster. It has some great theming with an in-depth backstory, great interaction with the railroad and surrounding pathways, and the ending section was so much fun; however, I can’t help but point out that when Cobra’s Curse was announced I expected it to have a more twisted and long layout than it actually ended up being. This is a good coaster for everyone in the family, as it’s not too intense like Montu, Kumba or SheiKra are but provides a decent enough thrill to warrant children begging their parents for another re-ride.
SheiKra was one of the first coasters I ever rode as an official enthusiast, just the visit after I braved my fears of going upside down on Kumba. I r...
SheiKra was one of the first coasters I ever rode as an official enthusiast, just the visit after I braved my fears of going upside down on Kumba. I rode Griffon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg just the month before; and while I slightly prefer Griffon due to its great location along the Rhine coupled with more airtime, SheiKra is still a very good ride. SheiKra’s iconic first drop never ceases to thrill me, giving quite a lot of good floater air; the rise up into the Immelmann and swoop around into the mid-course is certainly an exciting yet more relaxed manuever; and the mid-course brake run provides a nice pause just before that great second drop into the tunnel. From the lift hill, my eyes were constantly on the humongous structure of RMC Gwazi, watching for any sort of movement or maybe that photographed purple track from a few weeks ago. I pointed out to my best friend (who was at the park with me, also riding SheiKra) that “There’s RMC Gwazi,” and it turns out that a coaster enthusiast from New Jersey was sitting right next to me. We struck up a conversation about Rocky Mountain Construction during the lift hill, and on the final brake run we began discussing Intamin — interestingly enough, he was a ride operator for Kingda Ka so this guy mentioned quite a bit about the unreliability of their creations — but, I’m getting ahead of myself. After the tunnel dive, the train soars right over the Zambia Smokehouse — a place I’d had meals at during a few of my many Busch Gardens Tampa visits when I used to live in the area — and hits the splashdown. I may or may not have gotten hit by a few droplets of water at this time. After a large rise, the train spiraled into the final helix. It was here that I caught a distinct view of RMC Gwazi’s purple track with my own eyes, albeit for a split second as we hit the final brake run.
SheiKra is definitely the 3rd best coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa, merely behind the sheer greatness of Kumba and Montu but ahead of Cheetah Hunt, Scorpion, Cobra’s Curse and Sand Serpent. It is a thrilling ride with some great views and good floater airtime. It’s definitely worth your time, if you happen to be at Busch Gardens Tampa.
Admittedly, I used to loathe this ride very much. This is because I thought it was very overrated for a long time; I still do, but to a lesser extent....
Admittedly, I used to loathe this ride very much. This is because I thought it was very overrated for a long time; I still do, but to a lesser extent. Cheetah Hunt is a pretty good launch coaster, albeit lacking the snappy transitions, wild airtime and insane G’s of its Ohioan cousin (Maverick, my 3rd favorite coaster). The first boost of acceleration into that overbanked turn is nothing much, merely a slight kick to start things off. The dive into the second launch provides some laterals and then you are pushed back into your seat, only to be lifted out of it at the top of that figure-8 hill. I remembered floater airtime being there, but I got some pretty substantially sustained airtime at that part of Cheetah Hunt to my surprise. The winding part at the top of the hill gives a nice panoramic view of Busch Garden Tampa, but you are lifted out of your seat once more as the train dives into a trench. An awkward straight section ensues as Cheetah Hunt clears the railroad tracks, followed by a gently twisting airtime hill over the skyride. The heartline roll provides a split second of hangtime, but it is interrupted by a mid course brake run. You’re whipped to the side as the train dives into the quarry that Rhino Rally — As a young one, this was my favorite ride at Busch Gardens; it was a jeep tour ride with an awesome collapsing bridge scene and enjoyable narrative — used to travel through. After some trim brakes and a sharp turn, Cheetah Hunt zigzags between the rocks in a thrilling series of back-and-forth S-curves — my personal favorite moment on the ride — and curves around into the third and final launch. The Maverick-esque airtime hill immediately following it provides a great pop of ejector airtime, followed up by another awkward section — a series of S-curve hills with no reminiscence of force, airtime or whip whatsoever. And at long last, Cheetah Hunt ends with a hop into the final brake run.
All in all, Cheetah Hunt is a very solid ride. It straddles the line between a family-thrill coaster and an all-out thrill machine carefully, meaning that this coaster has much inconsistence in its layout — some moments, like the rise up the first hill with sustained floater airtime, heartline roll, S-curves in the rockwork and sharp airtime hill after the third launch are flat-out awesome, and more what you’d expect from an amazing ride like Maverick or Storm Runner — however, other parts of Cheetah Hunt appear much more tailored to the families; some that come to mind are the figure-8 element at the top of the first hill, the pointless meandering sections just before the second launch and final brake run, as well as the gently twisted hill that hops over the skyride. Cheetah Hunt is definitely far from being a bad coaster; however, when one inevitably associates it with top-tier Intamin rides like Maverick, Storm Runner, Skyrush and Intimidator 305, it pales in comparison.
Autosled is a solid family coaster that provides some great and close interactions to other attractions at Galaxyland — the new for 2018 HAVOC, Galaxy...
Autosled is a solid family coaster that provides some great and close interactions to other attractions at Galaxyland — the new for 2018 HAVOC, Galaxy Orbiter, the kid’s play area and even the park’s train ride! This coaster can be somewhat jerky at points, most notably the part just after the lift hill; however, it delivers a mostly smooth and very relaxing experience that families will love. Autosled is the only Zierer Tivoli I have ever ridden.
The layout and interaction with the terrain is fun, but there is not a moment of airtime. The tunnel after the second drop I felt that my head was ext...
The layout and interaction with the terrain is fun, but there is not a moment of airtime. The tunnel after the second drop I felt that my head was extremely close to the wall and could easily take my hand off if I was in the mood to lose an appendage.
This ride has a special place in my heart for being one of my first coasters I ever went on. The interactions with the Congo river rapids in the tunne...
This ride has a special place in my heart for being one of my first coasters I ever went on. The interactions with the Congo river rapids in the tunnel are brilliant!! You are treated to two laps and sometimes three! Choo Choo!!
