Iron Gwazi is an upcoming hybrid roller coaster under construction at Busch Gardens Tampa Bayamusement park in Tampa, Florida. Being built and designed by Rocky Mountain Construction, it will feature RMC's patented I-Box Track technology. Iron Gwazi will reuse a large portion of the wooden structure that existed when the roller coaster was known as Gwazi, making it a hybrid roller coaster that utilizes a combination of steel and wood. It will become the tallest hybrid roller coaster in North America when it opens, as well as being the joint tallest hybrid coaster alongside Zadra at Energylandia which shares a similar layout. It will also be the steepest and fastest hybrid roller coaster in the world. It was originally intended to open in 2020, however due to the COVID-19 Pandemic, the opening was pushed to 2021. Originally built as a wooden, dueling roller coaster with two separate tracks, Gwazi first opened to the public on June 18, 1999. It was constructed by Great Coasters International and was named after a fabled creature with the head of a tiger and the body of a lion. Accordingly, the two sides of the roller coaster's track were named "Lion" and "Tiger". The roller coaster reached a maximum speed of and stretched over when taking both tracks into account. There were minor differences between the tracks.
History
Gwazi
On June 16, 1998, Busch Entertainment filed a trademark with the United States Patent and Trademark Office for the name "Gwazi." The coaster was constructed on a portion of the land that was formerly occupied by the Busch Brewery. The brewery closed in 1995 and was subsequently demolished, freeing up land in the middle of the park. The ride opened on June 18, 1999, as Florida's first dueling wooden roller coaster. Gwazi was constructed by Great Coasters International, Inc. and was supplied with six Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters trains, although only four could operate at a time. According to designer Mike Boodley, brand newMillennium Flyer trains were offered, but Busch was unwilling to take a chance on an unproven train design. Gwazi was the last GCI coaster to open with PTC trains. In 1999, Florida was home to two dueling roller coasters: the Dueling Dragonsinverted roller coaster, at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure and Gwazi; the two coasters opened just a month apart. The two tracks were commonly known as "yellow" and "blue", with yellow being the primary color of the Lion trains and blue being the primary color of the Tiger trains. Despite continued maintenance, Gwazi developed a reputation for delivering a rough ride. The Lion side of the ride was retracked in 2009 followed by the Tiger side in 2010. The final component of the overhaul was the installation of four new 12-car GCI designed Millennium Flyer trains to replace the ride's original rolling stock. Even with the retracking and new trains, Gwazi remained difficult to maintain and ridership continued to decrease. At the end of the 2012 season the Tiger side of Gwazi closed. Soon after the closing of the Tiger side, a bridge was built across the Tiger side's loading platform and one of the Tiger's trains was relocated onto the Lion side's track. Later, Busch Gardens confirmed that Gwazi's Lion track would officially close on February 1, 2015 due to low ride attendance, operating costs and guest feedback. After 15 years of operation, the roller coaster's last train was dispatched on February 1, 2015 and Gwazi closed indefinitely.
Iron Gwazi
Gwazi's trains were reused for InvadR, another wooden roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. In addition, wood planks from the ride were also reused in other SeaWorld Entertainment Parks including SeaWorld Orlando and in Busch Gardens Tampa itself. During a conference held on September 12, 2018 for the announcement of the parks ninth roller coaster, Busch Gardens officials hinted that there were future construction plans involving Gwazi slated for 2020. In December 2018, construction applications sent to the city of Tampa listed Rocky Mountain Construction as the ride manufacturer for an upcoming attraction in the Gwazi area. On-site preparations were also started in late 2018 for the code name of a ride entitled "BGT 2020". Busch Gardens Tampa reported that more information about a new attraction was to be announced on March 1, 2019 after the completion on track work for Tigris. On March 1, Busch Gardens Tampa announced Gwazi's replacement as a hybrid roller coaster conversion by Rocky Mountain Construction. The ride was touted as being the steepest and fastest hybrid roller coaster, as well as the tallest hybrid roller coaster in North America. Permits uncovered in March 2019 report that the ride would be around 210 feet tall. On September 12, 2019, Busch Gardens Tampa announced the name for the ride, "Iron Gwazi". Iron Gwazi was announced to be with a 91 degree drop, and speeds up to. Iron Gwazi was originally scheduled for a spring 2020 debut, and testing for the coaster began in March 2020. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Florida-related park closure, the initial opening date was missed and construction was halted at the initial testing phase. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment owes $3.5 million to Rocky Mountain Construction for the $9 million cost of Iron Gwazi, indefinitely delaying further construction.
Characteristics
Incidents
In 2006, a 52-year-old Palm Springs, Florida resident collapsed and died hours after riding Gwazi. It was determined that the ride had aggravated an existing condition of high blood pressure.
Records
Gwazi held the record for most fly-bys on a dueling roller coaster, with six. A fly-by is where the two roller coasters pass each other in opposite directions at high speeds, giving the impression that the two will collide. At the time, Gwazi was the largest and fastest dueling wooden roller coaster in the Southeastern United States.
Awards
Prior to its closure, Gwazi had received numerous placements from Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards.
