Sand Serpent is a Wild Mouse roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in

Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the 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 the seat of Hillsborough ...

. The ride originally operated 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 Virginia ...

Williamsburg, Virginia Williamsburg is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 15,425. Located on the Virginia Peninsula, Williamsburg is in the northern part of the Hampton Roads metropolitan area. It is ...

as Wild Izzy in 1996 and later as Wilde Maus from 1997 to 2003. When the roller coaster relocated to the current park, it was renamed Cheetah Chase from 2004 to 2011 before coming into its current name. Sand Serpent was manufactured by Mack Rides and designed by

Werner Stengel Werner Stengel (born 22 August 1936, in Bochum) is a German roller coaster designer and engineer. Stengel is the founder of Stengel Engineering, also known as Ingenieurbüro Stengel GmbH (or Ingenieurbuero Stengel GmbH). Stengel first worked on a ...

. The roller coaster reaches a maximum height of , with a maximum speed of , and a total length of . Upon opening at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the roller coaster was received generally well by the public, though its relocation at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay was minimally covered.

History

In December 1995,

announced Wild Izzy, a Mack Rides Wild Mouse roller coaster, would be added to the park for the 1996 season in the

Oktoberfest The Oktoberfest (; bar, Wiesn, Oktobafest) is the world's largest Volksfest, featuring a beer festival and a travelling carnival. It is held annually in Munich, Bavaria, Germany. It is a 16- to 18-day folk festival running from mid- or ...

section. It was named after the

mascot A mascot is any human, animal, or object thought to bring luck, or anything used to represent a group with a common public identity, such as a school, professional sports team, society, military unit, or brand name. Mascots are also used as ...

of the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, since

Busch Gardens Busch Gardens is the name of two amusement parks in the United States, owned and operated by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment. The original park is in Tampa, Florida, and the second park is in Williamsburg, Virginia. There were also previously B ...

was a sponsor of the games. Originally in January, it was reported that Wild Izzy would open later in March. Though in March, the roller coaster was announced to open in April. Wild Izzy officially opened on April 12. After the 1996 season, it was given a European theme and renamed to Wilde Maus. In November 2003, filings by the park for a new attraction were uncovered in James City County that would replace the Wilde Maus roller coaster. After seven years of operation at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the roller coaster closed in 2003 where it was removed and replaced with the defunct

dark ride A dark ride or ghost train is an indoor amusement ride on which passengers aboard guided vehicles travel through specially lit scenes that typically contain animation, sound, music and special effects. Appearing as early as the 19th century, su ...

, Curse of DarKastle in 2005. In December 2003, the '' St. Petersburg Times'' reported that the Wilde Maus would be shipped to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in January 2004 and be renamed to Cheetah Chase. The roller coaster opened on February 28, in the Timbuktu section of the park. Cheetah Chase replaced the defunct Crazy Camel

flat ride Amusement rides, sometimes called carnival rides, are mechanical devices or structures that move people especially kids to create fun and enjoyment. Rides are often perceived by many as being scary or more dangerous than they actually are. This ...

that opened up with the Timbuktu section of the park back in 1980. In 2011, the ride was rethemed from Cheetah Chase to Sand Serpent. This was done to reduce confusion with the park's new attraction, Cheetah Hunt. The roller coaster is now situated in the

Pantopia 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 ...

section of the park, which was renamed with the introduction of Falcon's Fury, the park's signature drop tower.

Characteristics

Sand Serpent is a stock Wild Mouse roller coaster model manufactured by Mack Rides and designed by

. Specifically, the ride model is the "Wild Maus", and the "Compact Mobile" version. Originally, the track was green and had yellow supports, with each car featuring colors from the

Olympic rings The International Olympic Committee (IOC) uses icons, flags and symbols to elevate the Olympic Games. These symbols include those commonly used during Olympic competition—such as the flame, fanfare and theme—as well as those used throughout ...

along with lightning bolts and stars. The current iteration features blue track and orange supports, with the cars variously colored solid blue, orange, or red. Sand Serpent reaches a maximum speed of , with the track having a total length of , and is encompassed in a by area. The roller coaster operates with single

cars A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, people in ...

that navigate the layout. The four riders per car are arranged in two rows with two seats across each. Unlike similar Wild Mouse roller coasters produced by Mack Rides, the Sand Serpent model does not feature dips in the track prior to the brake run.

Ride experience

The car exits the station into a left turn and enters the tall

lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from th ...

. Following the lift, the car descends downward and goes into a series of 180-degree turns that run parallel to each other. After the series of turns, the car makes a wider continuous downward turn until it straightens out. The car then heads forward into a hill and two tight left turns. Thereafter the car dips downward and ascends another hill where it takes another two left turns. The car then descends into another drop where the train heads upward into two tight left turns. Following the turn, the car descends into a hill and into the final

brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track meant to slow or stop a roller coaster train. Brake runs may be located anywhere along the circuit of a coaster and may be designed to bring the train to a complete halt or to simply adjust t ...

where it makes a final left turn into the station. One cycle of the roller coaster takes around two minutes to complete.

Reception

Upon its original opening at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, the roller coaster was generally well received by the public. In the '' Daily Press''' coverage, Michael McCary, a musician present, had described the roller coaster jokingly "not for tall people", as the force banged up his knees. Other guests during its opening stated that it was "scarier than you might think", relating it with that of the steel roller coaster

Drachen Fire Drachen Fire was a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia. Manufactured by Arrow Dynamics, the ride opened to the public in 1992. Drachen Fire featured a lift hill, six inversions, and a zero-gravit ...

. In covering the state of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

's amusement parks, writers of ''

The Star Democrat ''The Star Democrat'' is an American newspaper published and mainly distributed in Easton, Maryland, in Talbot County, as well as in the surrounding counties of Caroline, Dorchester, Queen Anne's and Kent. ''The Star Democrat'' is published on ...

'' had described it as "distinctly different" from others because of its "jerky turns and quick dips" that would appeal to everyone. With its relocation to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, the roller coaster was minimally covered by newspapers during its quiet debut in February 2004.

References

External links