Our pick for the most anticipated new coaster of 2020 has been Iron Gwazi, the Rocky Mountain Construction makeover of Busch Gardens Tampa's old Gwazi wooden roller coaster. Today, the park invited reporters to go behind the walls for a construction tour.
Park president Stewart Clark and Director of Design and Engineering Andrew Schaffer talked us through the current status of Iron Gwazi, which is on schedule to open later this spring.
After our interviews, we watched some of the workers on the track, which is nearing completion.
There's still some touch-up work to be done in and around the station.
But the trains are here, on the track, look ready to roar up Iron Gwazi's 206-foot lift hill.
No specific opening date yet, just "spring." But if you want to go ahead and shop for discounts on tickets now, visit our travel partner's officially authorized Busch Gardens Tampa tickets page.
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Yeah this looks super fun!
Clark said today that passholders should be getting first dibs on this one.
Thanks for the heads-up Robert.
They did for Tigris, so I'll expect the same for Gwazi.
Ice Breaker may be soft openings as that's the path SWO took with Infinity Falls.
I visited BGT during the Christmas holidays and was impressed by the progress on Iron Gwazi; wished that it had been complete and open. What will probably happen when it does open is that the only way to avoid a long wait is to get Quick Queue Unlimited, which will be good for only one ride. At least that's what the park has been doing with the newest rides; at present, Quick Queue Unlimited is good for one ride on Tigris and unlimited rides on all the other coasters & Falcon's Fury. I wish that they had the same system as Cedar Fair; I got Fast Lane Plus, which entitled me to unlimited rides on Steel Vengeance a couple of months after it opened, and rode it half a dozen times.
Outside of my scheduled trip to Galaxy's Edge in May, stopping by BGT to ride Iron Gwazi is the adventure I am most excited about this year! Can't wait to see how RMC's latest triumph compares to the intense thrills of Steel Vengeance.
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Still can't believe there's going to be an RMC in my back yard .. :) I'm hoping for some soft openings nearer the time.
Pass member previews are usually insane, but if that's going to be the first time I'm able to get on it .... I'll be there.