Yoshi Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 From Screamscape: http://screamscape.com/html/busch_gardens_tampa.htm First they closed the Tiger side and now the Lion side will be closing early next year. Screamscape is reporting it is a budget cut which is a shame considering how much they charge to get into the park and have already closed other attractions in the park for budget reasons like the Egypt walkthrough near Montu. Screamscape is also reporting it will be SBNO rather than demolished. I was not a fan of Gwazi at all and have it ranked as the worst wooden coaster I have ridden even after Hercules but would have liked to have seen it continue to operate if they aren't going to remove it since it would help keep lines shorter for the other rides. I never expected it to be so rough after riding Wildcat and Lightning Racer, and I normally don't find coasters that have reputations of being rough too bad like Rolling Thunder and Scream Machine that I both rarely skipped when going to Great Adventure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chiller Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 I never rode it, but I have a soft spot for wooden coasters, and it is sad to see it go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GAcoaster Posted December 20, 2014 Report Share Posted December 20, 2014 It WAS an awesome coaster when it first opened, but it was a lot like Rolling Thunder where the park never maintained it properly and it became rough and unridable after a while. I'm sad to see it go though because it used to be great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted December 21, 2014 Report Share Posted December 21, 2014 I rode it several years ago and found it pretty rough. Still a shame to close it instead of repairing it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pineracer Posted December 21, 2014 Report Share Posted December 21, 2014 I think the budget cuts and increased admission price are to help fund the sea world park projects...still not 100% sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlumeOp1974 Posted December 22, 2014 Report Share Posted December 22, 2014 Waste of a great coster. Rode it the first year it openned was intense for start to finish..Ther were no brake runs at all! Shame Bush never maintained it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted December 23, 2014 Report Share Posted December 23, 2014 It sad to see Busch parks taking the same type of actions Six Flags did several years ago when their stock was slipping (entertainment cuts, closed and removed rides, reduced hours, etc). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterharrison'98 Posted December 28, 2014 Report Share Posted December 28, 2014 It's a shame... I considered it an ok ride in 2011 after they had added the MFs but it still couldn't fix the terrible matinence they did on it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshi Posted January 22, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 22, 2015 Now Screamscape posted that Travis Clayor who is the park's public relations manager has confirmed that Rhino Rally is closed permanently. I never rode Rhino Rally with the water portion but did get to try it in 2012 and while it wasn't as good as Kilimanjaro Safari or the safari at Great Adventure, it was still fun and a good family ride so it will be a shame to see yet another ride closure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted January 23, 2015 Report Share Posted January 23, 2015 It sounds like the Busch parks are going down the same path that Six Flags chain took years ago just before bankruptcy. Kinda sad. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted January 24, 2015 Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) I rode Rhino Rally when it still had the water portion and it blew away the Kilimanjaro Safari and the GAdv safari. It is sad Busch took such poor care of the ride and kept stripping it down. I think there was another ride, some sort of sim ride with Martin Short that they ran really poorly too. By the time it closed it only had one working cabin left using a rented replacement projector. It seems Busch has a history of this kind of behavior towards some of their rides. Edited January 24, 2015 by The Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoshi Posted January 24, 2015 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2015 (edited) It had a bunch of different names/themes, I rode the simulator in 1996 when it was Questor and remember thinking it was really good. They shut down Europe In The Air simulator ride in Williamsburg in 2013 also to save costs and I think reopened it sometime last year, at least during Hallowscream (or maybe all year too?) Edited January 24, 2015 by Yoshi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 (edited) Looking up Wiki, Questor ran from 1991 to 1998 and was replaced by Akbar's Adventure Tours with Martin Short which ran from 1998 to 2007 in the Eygpt section of the park. They use it as a haunted house for Halloween now. Edited January 25, 2015 by The Master Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cygnus12 Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I remember riding Questor back in 1991. It kind of freaked me out though because I was little wuss back then. lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Master Posted January 25, 2015 Report Share Posted January 25, 2015 I did't get to ride either Questor or Akbar, it was closed by the time I visited Busch Gardens but at least I was able to ride the full Rhino Rally in its heyday. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
29yrswithaGApass Posted January 31, 2015 Report Share Posted January 31, 2015 I recall alot of ACE members being really excited when Busch announced they were building their first wooden coaster. With their record of adding quality steel coasters, the thought of what they could do with wood really got folks thrilled. It is a shame that their first and only wood coaster didn't turn out better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coasterharrison'98 Posted March 31, 2015 Report Share Posted March 31, 2015 Now Screamscape posted that Travis Clayor who is the park's public relations manager has confirmed that Rhino Rally is closed permanently. I never rode Rhino Rally with the water portion but did get to try it in 2012 and while it wasn't as good as Kilimanjaro Safari or the safari at Great Adventure, it was still fun and a good family ride so it will be a shame to see yet another ride closure. About Rhino Rally: we originally rode it when it opened and had a good time the water portion was fun too. It will be missed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Medusa42 Posted September 12, 2018 Report Share Posted September 12, 2018 Busch Gardens Tampa just teased an RMC of Gwazi for 2020 during their 2019 announcement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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