Tigris is a

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

launched roller coaster The launched roller coaster is a modern form of roller coaster. A launched coaster initiates a ride with high amounts of acceleration via one or a series of linear induction motors (LIM), linear synchronous motors (LSM), catapults, tires, chains ...

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is a animal theme park located in Tampa, Florida, United States, with the entire park landscaped and designed around themes of Africa and Asia. Owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, the park opened on Ju ...

theme park in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...

, United States. Built on the former Tanganyika Tidal Wave water ride, Tigris officially opened on April 19, 2019 as the park's ninth roller coaster. Tigris is located within the Stanleyville section of the park. The roller coaster and surrounding area re-uses previous infrastructure and landscaping of the former attraction. Manufactured by

Premier Rides Premier Rides is an amusement ride manufacturer based in the United States. The company was the first to use Linear Induction Motors (LIMs) on their roller coasters. Jim Seay has been the sole owner and company president since 1996. The first r ...

, the roller coaster is one of ten

Sky Rocket II Sky Rocket II is a steel roller coaster model made by American manufacturer Premier Rides. The first Sky Rocket II was Superman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, which opened on June 30, 2012, and the latest is Sky Loop at Riyadh Wi ...

models built. Tigris utilizes a

linear synchronous motor A linear motor is an electric motor that has had its stator and rotor "unrolled", thus, instead of producing a torque (rotation), it produces a linear force along its length. However, linear motors are not necessarily straight. Characteristicall ...

(LSM) system to propel the train through three launches. The roller coaster reaches a maximum height of , a maximum speed of , and has a total track length of , though riders traverse around of track. Upon opening, the roller coaster received positive reviews from critics.

History

The

Tanganyika Tidal Wave Tanganyika may refer to: Places * Tanganyika Territory (1916–1961), a former British territory which preceded the sovereign state * Tanganyika (1961–1964), a sovereign state, comprising the mainland part of present-day Tanzania * Tanzania Main ...

, an African-themed shoot the chutes water ride, closed in April 2016. In March 2018,

SeaWorld Entertainment SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is an American theme park and entertainment company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. and owns and operates thirteen recreational destinations in the Unit ...

(owner of

) filed trademarks with the

United States Patent and Trademark Office The United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) is an agency in the U.S. Department of Commerce that serves as the national patent office and trademark registration authority for the United States. The USPTO's headquarters are in Alexa ...

for the name "Tigris", in addition to "Twisted Tiger" and "Uproar". In April 2018, demolition permits were filed for the water ride's deconstruction. Demolition of the former water ride began in June 2018. An environmental resource permit was submitted on June 26, 2018, to the

Southwest Florida Water Management District The Southwest Florida Water Management District (or SWFWMD, pronounced as "swiftmud" based on the word acronym), is one of five regional agencies directed by Florida State law (United States), state law to protect and preserve water resources. Es ...

revealing the location of a new attraction to be within the confines of the

tiger The tiger (''Panthera tigris'') is the largest living cat species and a member of the genus '' Panthera''. It is most recognisable for its dark vertical stripes on orange fur with a white underside. An apex predator, it primarily preys on u ...

exhibit and section of Jungala. The documents and permits, reported in July, discussed upcoming developments on the site of the prior water ride under the working title "Project TEEL". The project proposed to construct a building within a area consisting of the attraction and paths and to remove within the existing area. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay announced Tigris, a

, model on September 12, 2018. The announcement revealed the roller coaster would be themed to the tiger and open in 2019 along with a development for a Gwazi area attraction in 2020. In October 2018, the concrete footers for the roller coaster were completed and the first construction updates by the park were published. During the

International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions (IAAPA) represents over 6,000 amusement-industry members in more than 100 countries worldwide and operates several global attractions-industry trade shows. Its annual IAAPA Expo in ...

(IAAPA) exposition in November 2018, the design of Tigris's cars were revealed by Premier Rides in the form of a cake. The roller coaster's track began arriving at the park on November 29, 2018, with vertical construction of the track pieces taking place on December 3, 2018. The park detailed the support structure of Tigris was around three-fifths complete by January 2019, with construction of the roller coaster complete by February. The train for Tigris was observed being lifted onto the track on February 20. Busch Gardens announced a media event to present the roller coaster's car alongside additional information on the Gwazi attraction. The train for the roller coaster was publicly displayed for parkgoers beginning on March 1. The roller coaster's opening date was announced by the park on April 4, with Tigris soft opening on April 16, 2019, and officially opening on April 19.

Ride experience

Queue

The

queue area Queue areas are places in which people queue (first-come, first-served) for goods or services. Such a group of people is known as a ''queue'' (British usage) or ''line'' (American usage), and the people are said to be waiting or standing ''in ...

of the ride was repurposed from the previous attraction, Tanganyika Tidal Wave, though the water rides station was not reused. The roller coaster's queue uses a part of the water ride's pathway with landscaping in tact from the previous layout. The queue of the ride features educational pieces of the tiger's living conditions in the wild and actions

wildlife conservation Wildlife conservation refers to the practice of protecting wild species and their habitats in order to maintain healthy wildlife species or populations and to restore, protect or enhance natural ecosystems. Major threats to wildlife include habita ...

ists 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 forward into the station and riders are accelerated to a top speed of . It then travels up to a height of where it completes a half-loop and a

heartline roll Roller coaster elements are the individual parts of roller coaster design and operation, such as a track, hill, loop, or turn. Variations in normal track movement that add thrill or excitement to the ride are often called "thrill elements". Com ...

before exiting in a second non-inverting half-loop. It then enters a full non-inverting loop before returning to the station.

Characteristics

Tigris operates within a small footprint of the former attraction and is located within the Stanleyville section of the park. For the construction of the roller coaster, existing infrastructure in the land was reused for the purpose of the ride. The landscape was preserved with recycled materials from the previous Tanganyika Tidal Wave water ride and other byproducts from the construction of

Falcon's Fury Falcon's Fury is a free-standing Sky Jump drop tower attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay amusement park in Tampa, Florida, United States. Manufactured by Intamin subsidiary Intaride, the ride reaches a maximum height of , making it North Amer ...

and Cobra's Curse attractions. Tigris was the third Sky Rocket II model to be constructed at

SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment is an American theme park and entertainment company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company is a subsidiary of SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. and owns and operates thirteen recreational destinations in the Unite ...

-owned theme parks, the first being

Tempesto Tempesto is a steel roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg amusement park located in Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Built and manufactured by Premier Rides, Tempesto opened on April 25, 2015. History On October 7, 2013, Busch Garde ...

at sister park

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Busch Gardens Williamsburg (formerly known as Busch Gardens Europe and Busch Gardens: The Old Country) is a amusement park located in James City County near Williamsburg, Virginia, United States. Located approximately northwest of Virgini ...

and the second,

Electric Eel The electric eels are a genus, ''Electrophorus'', of neotropical freshwater fish from South America in the family Gymnotidae. They are known for their ability to stun their prey by generating electricity, delivering shocks at up to 860 volts ...

, at

SeaWorld San Diego SeaWorld San Diego is an animal theme park, oceanarium, outside aquarium and marine mammal park, in San Diego, California, United States, inside Mission Bay Park. It is owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. SeaWorld San Diego ...

. The roller coaster is one of ten Sky Rocket II models built by Premier Rides. Tigris was the ninth roller coaster built at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in operation. The roller coaster features black-gray supports with bright orange track. The roller coaster uses a

(LSM) launch system that adjusts the speed of each launch by timing the train's position through sensors. The LSM launch system is cooled by air blowers beneath the track. The roller coaster has a total track length of , though riders traverse around of track because of the forward and backward launches. Tigris operates one train featuring three cars, with each car having a row of two seats across in three rows for a total of eighteen riders per train. The cars have a lap bar and over the shoulder restraint system. The roller coaster train features an orange color scheme with tiger print.

Reception

Upon opening, Tigris received positive review from critics. A writer for the ''

Tampa Bay Times The ''Tampa Bay Times'', previously named the ''St. Petersburg Times'' until 2011, is an American newspaper published in St. Petersburg, Florida, United States. It has won fourteen Pulitzer Prizes since 1964, and in 2009, won two in a single y ...

'', Daniel Figueroa IV, enthusiastically remarked about the roller coaster's overall intensity and its "visually impressive" speed. Figueroa IV further commented that any seat on the roller coaster had favorable moments to experience, with the front being more visually notable and the back for more intensity. A writer for the ''

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by parent company, '' Tribune P ...

'', Dewayne Bevil, noted overall about the thrilling experience of the roller coaster, being both "confusing and...exciting". Bevil also remarked about the ride experiences from different seating position and the restraint system having positive and negative aspects. Haley Coomes of

WKMG-TV WKMG-TV (channel 6) is a television station in Orlando, Florida, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Graham Media Group. The station's studios are located on John Young Parkway ( SR 423) in Orlando, and its transmitter is located i ...

described the "good first impression" the roller coaster operations left on her experience and personally added it earned "a top approval rating" between "the other Busch Gardens coaster giants". Andrew Stilwell of ''Coaster101'' categorized Tigris as a mid-tier attraction for "thrill seekers" among other Busch Gardens roller coasters while praising its overall speed and different seating experiences.

References

External links

* {{BGT Coasters Roller coasters in Florida Roller coasters in Tampa, Florida Busch Gardens Tampa Bay Roller coasters operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment 2019 establishments in Florida