Is Busch Gardens Closing Early Today

Busch Gardens Tampa
Tampa, FL
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment

----    THE LATEST BUZZ    ----
    (10/29/21) Christmas Town To Return Early This Year (MORE...)
    (10/16/21) Iron Gwazi Team Tests and Adventure Island Adding Two New Experiences
    (10/9/21) Cheetah Hunt To Get Repainted
    (10/2/21) Upcoming Coaster Refurbs You'll Want To Know About (MORE...)
    (9/20/21) Screamscape Previews Howl-O-Scream 2021 (MORE...)

Ride Rehabs - The following information is not guaranteed to be 100% accurate, refurbishments are subject to change.
Cheetah Hunt - NOW CLOSED through Dec. 17
Falcon's Fury - NOW CLOSED - through TBD
Stanley Falls Flume - NOW CLOSED through TBD
Skyride - NOW CLOSED through TBD
Slimey's Saraha Sand - Closed Until Further Notice
Treetop Trails & Jungala Play Areas - Closed Until Further Notice

General Park News - (10/29/21) Busch Gardens Tampa has announced that Christmas Town is returning early, will millions of holiday lights, a spectacular Holiday in the Sky fireworks show, the new Santa's North Pole experience with Storytime with Mrs. Claus. The "Christmas Town" celebration will begin Nov. 12 and run daily through to Jan. 2, 2022. Visit the official website for all the information.

(10/9/21) According to a tweet from Busch Gardens Tampa, Cheetah Hunt's upcoming closure will see the coaster get a full repaint.

All good things must... eventually get repainted?? Enjoy a ride (or five) on Cheetah Hunt now through Sunday, then come back later this year when she's all shiny and new! pic.twitter.com/CD4PFJmehK
— Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (@BuschGardens) October 7, 2021

(10/2/21) A few quick notes regarding upcoming ride refurbishments added to the calendar at Busch Gardens Tampa. SheiKra will close for a brief two-day rehab next week, Oct. 4 and Oct. 5th. But the really big and kinda unexpected rehab will be for Cheetah Hunt, which is now listed as closing Oct. 11th and will remain closed through to Dec. 17, 2021. When I scanned through the rehab list about a week ago, it was not listed at that time, so interesting to see such a lengthy rehab added suddenly.

(9/17/21) Busch Gardens Tampa has announced that Cirque X-Scream will begin performing in the park's Stanleyville Theater starting Sept. 17, 2021. The returning show will have a new steampunk theme and feature all-new acts. Look for the shows to take place only on Friday - Sundays at the park, with several shows each day.
On Saturdays and Sundays in October the park will also host Sesame Street Kids Weekends events inside the park's Sesame Street Safari of Fun area.

(9/12/21) Busch Gardens has announced that the Adventure Island waterpark will now be open year-round after the park along with the addition of heaters to keep guests warm on the colder days. This week the waterpark has also opened the new Hang Ten Tiki Bar, offering a tropical menu of delights, signature cocktails, small bites and an assortment of TVs for sports fans to catch up on the latest scores.

(9/8/21) Busch Gardens Tampa is now offering 2022 Annual Passes that come with an assortment of benefits like no blackout dates, up to six free guest tickets, access to passholder exclusive preview events, including a preview of the long awaited Iron Gwazi roller coaster opening in March. Hit up the official site for all the details.

(7/3/21) A couple of interesting items were sent my way this week regarding Busch Gardens Tampa. AmusementInsider sent out a tweet with a screen capture showing that the park's Bengal Bistro restaurant location will soon be converted into a Chick-Fil-A location. While I'm not going to get into the "political" issues some have with Chick-Fil-A, I will say that I'm not a fan of theme parks bringing in off-the-street fast-food chains locations as in-park restaurants. After all, you can get fast-food in minutes from any drive-through fast food location you want OUTSIDE the park, why would you want it INSIDE the park? While I don't doubt the popularity of Chick-Fil-A they also come with an unfortunate operational consequence as well. Just like their real world locations, Theme Park based Chick-Fil-A locations are also never open on Sundays. As weekends are the most busy days for theme parks, it still boggles my mind why any park would be willing to sign such a deal unless the sales for the rest of the week more than make up for it.
In other park news, a new tweet from Midway Mayhem from July 1st caught Iron Gwazi testing several times with employee riders aboard. They speculate that it was members of operations, management, maintenance and even some corporate officers taking it for a test ride. This doesn't mean they're ready to open it just yet, but it does seem that they may be in the position to pull the trigger as soon as they are ready to do so.

Howl-O-Scream 2021 - (9/21/21) After a few days rest, I finally got to finish putting together footage shot by a local rep who attended Howl-O-Scream 2021 at Busch Gardens Tampa for us. Check out the video below for a little preview of the event, with a look at the scare zones, haunts, rides and shows.

(8/13/21) Howl-O-Scream in Tampa has announced another haunt for this year's event called 'Witch of the Woods". Something wicked this way haunts…an ominous legend summons guests with her inescapable curse. Curiosity has brought many travelers into this dark forest, but only bone-chilling stories and dying screams make their way out. With each step deeper into the woods, the prospect of survival quickly fades as demonic disciples hunt wandering intruders through their abandoned village. Human sacrifices are chased to the witch's altar, where dark fates are sealed with more than spells.
This will be the third ALL-NEW haunt for this year's event along with the previously announced "The Forgotten" and "Cell Block Zombies". The park has also confirmed three all new scare zones: Voodoo, Skeleton Crew and In the Shadows.

(8/2/21) Busch Gardens Tampa has announced two more haunt for this year's Howl-O-Scream. Enter "Death Water Bayou: Blood Moon" and go deep into the bayou where the werewolves reign supreme. The other haunts already confirmed for this year include The Forgotten and Cell Block Zombies, with two more to be announced.

HOUSE REVEALED - death water bayou: blood moon?? something new is lurking in the bayou... under a moonlit sky, ravenous werewolves stalk the swamp on the hunt for human flesh. will you outrun the pack? pic.twitter.com/F5Ds2ivKv7
— Howl-O-Scream (@howloscream) July 28, 2021

(7/17/21) Busch Gardens Tampa has revealed the first new haunt for this year's Howl-O-Scream event, to be called: The Forgotten. "Victims will be drawn into a hidden world beyond the rubble and rocks of an unsuspecting quarry, where dark secrets lurk in the shadows. Just beyond a hidden gutter entrance, the legend of the human uprising is revealed as a swarm of starving vampires plot their imminent revenge. Will those who enter return to the world of the living or are they destined to become the newest minion of the Forgotten army?"

    (6/4/21) Busch Gardens Tampa has confirmed that Howl-O-Scream will be back "with a vengeance" this fall for the park's longest Haunt event ever. Howl-O-Scream will take place across 28 select nights between Sept. 10 and Oct. 31, 2021.
    "Fear returns to its most immersive form as guests are invited back inside iconic haunted houses, including two ALL-NEW horror-filled houses at Busch Gardens Howl-O-Scream, Tampa Bay's BIGGEST haunt event. Park guests will find nowhere to hide as zombies, deranged clowns, werewolves and more stalk their prey throughout eight scare zones while unpredictable roaming hordes lurk in the darkness. Beyond the haunts, killer entertainment can be found on stage with "Fiends!" returning to the Festival Field and last year's best-kept-secret "The Rolling Bones" performing electrifying rock covers at Dragon Fire Grill."
    As for the haunts… as we said there will be two all new haunts, three returning fan-favorite haunts that will have received some upgrades, 8 scare zones and "three unpredictable hordes" of roaming terrors that could strike at any time, in any place.
    Discount tickets are on sale now at the official website as well, so don't miss out.

2022 - Iron Gwazi - (10/16/21) If you've seen the reports online, they are true. Busch Gardens Tampa team members were seen taking test rides on the new Iron Gwazi coaster over the past week. So far we haven't heard any first-hand reviews, but I can only imagine that the experience is an amazing one. Even better, while the coaster won't be ready to officially open to the public until early 2022, this is a clear sign that it is entirely finished and ready to go. Who knows… you neve know if they might quietly open the gate to let some guests enjoy a test as we get closer to the official opening date.
Watching the video footage shot by Midway Mayhem below doesn't disappoint, as that train is flying through the course like an absolute rocket! Very impressive!

(8/25/21) Busch Gardens Tampa confirmed to the world that Iron Gwazi is now slated to open in March 2022, about two years after it was originally planned to open in Spring 2022 before the COVID pandemic saw all theme parks shut down just as Iron Gwazi had begun testing.

Thank you to our fans for your patience! We're excited to announce that Iron Gwazi will open March 2022?????
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Keep up with ALL the thrills when you buy a 2022 Fun Card! Buy now, get the rest of 2021 FREE! Learn more at https://t.co/Uf8fz7Rw1S pic.twitter.com/0OVNuu5Slc
— Busch Gardens Tampa Bay (@BuschGardens) August 23, 2021

(6/13/21) It has been quite some time since any official information has been released about Iron Gwazi, but a few tidbits did come out over the weekend. A clip showing a park rep speaking at the ACE Thrill Seekers Event confirmed while they don't have an opening date for Iron Gwazi, they did bring in a couple of workers on Friday to perform some needed work on the track.

     (5/22/21) Please don't kill the messenger, but the latest rumor sent my way about the plans for Iron Gwazi aren't going to make anyone happy if they are true. According to a Screamscape source, nothing much is going on with Iron Gwazi for a couple of reasons, but mainly because the park has no intention of opening it this Summer. RMC workers who were apparently back on site to finish things up earlier this year have all left the area to finish up other various projects for the company.
    Again, this is all rumor, but as the story goes, upon checking out of their accommodations near the park, someone noticed the RMC logo and asked if Iron Gwazi was ready to open soon. The reply basically implied that the coaster was ready, but the park had no plan to open it until either the very end of the year, or possibly not until 2022. Pent up demand is keeping the park busy now as they seek to move back to a more normal operations schedule, and with all other future plans on hold, they apparently intend to keep Iron Gwazi on the shelf as incentive to get guests to return to the park again in the future.
    The unfortunate thing is that in many ways, we've been quietly hearing that the same intentions may be planned for the chains three other big coasters, all standing, waiting and ready to go: Emperor at SeaWorld San Diego, Ice Breaker at SeaWorld Orlando, and Pantheon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The later of which is also experiencing some severe staffing shortage problems as well it seems, so they may also be waiting for those problems to resolve themselves before they invite huge crowds to the park to try out the new roller coaster.

(11/16/20) For the entire coaster enthusiast world who has been waiting for this forever, Busch Gardens Tampa has released the official POV video of Iron Gwazi in all its glory. Check it out below!

(9/13/19) Iron Gwazi will be the name of the new coaster coming to Busch Gardens Tampa in 2020, built off the remains of the old Gwazi coaster, though this one will feature a reptile theme for the mythical Gwazi creature instead of being a big-cat hybrid. Iron Gwazi will be promoted as being North America's tallest hybrid coaster, as well as the fastest and steepest hybrid in the world.
Iron Gwazi will be 206 feet tall, hit 76 mph, and feature a 91� beyond-vertical first drop with an overall length of 4,075 feet, through three inversions and 12 "airtime features". Iron Gwazi will also have two train operations and be available to all riders at least 48" tall.

2022 - Rapids Racer & Wahoo! Remix for Adventure Island - (10/16/21) Adventure Island has confirmed two new additions to the waterpark for the 2022 season. The first is a confirmation of the rumored new slide we previously mentioned, now named Rapids Racer. Rapids Racers will put guests in two-person rafts and let them race through 600 feet feet of slide to the finish line at the bottom. Much like the Riptide Race slice at Aquatica, the slide will feature a few sections of open slide with low walls so the racers can see who is winning. Unlike Riptide Race however, the race course will send slides through the world's first "dueling saucers" along with the high-speed turns, tunnels and more that you would expect.
The second addition will actually be a refurbishment to the old Wahoo Run, which will now be called "Wahoo! Remix". The old slide is getting a high-tech upgrade and will now feature synchronized light and sound effects, transforming the once dark enclosed tunnels into a new visual and audible experience like no other.

     (8/31/21) Screamscape sources have sent us an image of a new waterslide project planned to take over the location of the park's original body slides. This appears to be a pair of launched side-by-side racing slides, not unlike the Cheetah Chase slides that opened at Holiday World's Splashin Safari earlier this year in Indiana.
     The really interesting thing is that according to the image the park appears to not only be planning to reuse some existing pump/mechanical rooms to power the new slide, but the new slide will also launch off the same slide tower as the existing Wahoo Run slide. The existing tower will be modified to accommodate a second separate set of stairs for the new attraction half-way up the tower, while still allowing access to the Wahoo Run slide at the top of the tower.
    Early permits have already been filed in Tampa for the project, one of which refers to it as the "Adventure Island Tower Replacement" project and another refers to it as "Project F1".

(2/10/21) According to a post a Touring Central Florida, Adventure Island appears to have filed for permits to demolish the park's Runaway Rapids slides. According to the permit the demolition will include the five slides and the fake mountain rockwork surrounding them all. As I recall these were some of the waterpark's original slides from when it first opened. As possibly the oldest slides in the park currently, it makes sense that eventually they would have to either be retired or completely renovated, and looks like they have opted to just remove them and reclaim the site for future use.
The article also mentions that the Runaway Rapids slides did not open in 2020 when the rest of the park opened, and the nearby but much newer Wahoo Run slide did not open either. Currently neither Runaway Rapids or Wahoo Run are currently listed on the park's website either, so either Wahoo Run will remain closed to allow easy access for the demolition team, or perhaps its time in the park may be cut short as well. Anyone know more?

???? - New Ride - Rumor - (3/4/20) I'm told that construction work has started at Busch Gardens Tampa on the former Rhino Rally load/unload site. According to the report sent in, much of the site has been dug up and demolished, with trenches dug in the area presumably to install new underground utilities. From the look of things, they may be working on water lines here, as I've been told that the old water reservoir under the section of Cheetah Hunt here has been dry for over a year or more, so perhaps they are working to establish some kind of new water feature here to service the new rumored attraction (S&S Screamin' Swing) in development as well as get the water flowing under Cheetah Hunt again. The same contractor doing work here was also spotted scouting out some sites to the north of the Rhino Rally area in the Serengeti, again possibly for underground utilities and water supply line work.

     (1/14/20) Early plans for what Busch Gardens Tampa is planning for 2021 are being rumored, along with the leaked location pulled from documents filed with the city. What what I'm seeing the park's 2021 attraction will be installed in the general area where the former Rhino Rally loading station was located.
    All we know so far about the new ride is that it wont be a coaster and is expected to be some kind of new flat ride able to toss riders about in the air to make up for the closure of the Phoenix which has never reopened. Making an educated assumption, based on projects installed at other parks in the chain, Busch Gardens Williamsburg actually just installed a ride that perfectly fits the bill last year called Finnegan's Flyer, an S&S Screamin' Swing ride. These are typically quick to reload and have a decent capacity when installed with two swinging arms that run at the same time, and is generally a well liked ride by most. The Screamin' Swing takes the concept of what it feels like to be a small child ahead, and getting pushed higher and higher on a swing set in a playground… except this swing set stands about 100 feet tall and you get pushed back and forth at up to 45mph in each direction. Click here to check out the S&S stat sheet on the Screamin' Swing if you've never seen one in real life.
    Now, other than the location, this is just speculation and rumor… so take it with a grain of salt until we learn a little more, because 2021 is still many months away and the park will be busy finishing up Iron Gwazi for 2020 before they begin any serious work on this new project.