Nick: It’s no secret that Busch Gardens Tampa is planning on revamping Gwazi into a new attraction for 2020, but up until now we’ve only had some not-so-subtle hints from September’s Tigris announcement that suggested the ride would receive an RMC makeover.
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In case you missed the hints from the Tigris announcement, the exact quotes were:
We wanted to make this a little bit of a hybrid attraction announcement…
and
Through Gwazi’s existence, it’s always been a little bit of a rocky ride, so we decided we’re going to go ahead and revamp Gwazi into a new attraction.
Since then, the Internet has been buzzing with excitement about the possibility of RMC Gwazi. Even though it wasn’t explicitly announced by Busch Gardens, this kind of coy teasing isn’t unprecedented. Kings Dominion teased “There’s Really More Coming” and Cedar Point held a funeral for Mean Streak with the last rites given by Richard. Michael. Crosby – both over a year before their RMC conversions were officially announced.
On October 23rd, a permit was filed with the City of Tampa for the “Demolition of selected portions of an existing site structure, selected buildings, and portions of buildings” – this was speculated to be the first permit for RMC Gwazi, but it wasn’t until December 21st that the permit was finally updated with the glorious details we’d all been waiting for – the licensed professional that would be completing the work: Rocky Mountain Construction!
So there you have it – if there was any doubt left in your mind at all, we now know for for certain that RMC will be converting Gwazi into one of their amazing hybrid coasters in 2020! Of course there’s still plenty left to speculate on – Will we get two distinct layouts? Will it still be a dueling coaster with two stations? Will it be a modified möbius loop layout like Twisted Colossus? Only time will tell, and we definitely can’t wait to see what RMC does with this massive ride!
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Hurry up , can’t wait
These “glorious” details are “hideous” details to me. Thanks to RMC (Ruins Many Classics), another wooden coaster is going to be executed. Pathetic.
Oh get out of here with that “pathetic” and “hideous” nonsense. Gwazi was horrible, and a wooden coaster in Busch Garden’s location wasn’t good idea in the first place. RMC is literally doing only good in this scenario.
RMC is doing bad to me.
Traditional wooden coasters have been dropping like flies in the last decade and RMC’s steel conversions are a huge part of that.
I’m quite looking forward to this. RMC gives a rebirth to traditional coasters and saves them from being torn down completely. Think of it as the coaster rising again like a phoenix, even better than it was. Gwazi will get to see her true form
Keep in mind Gwazi had already been closed anyway, and in the three years since it has surely gotten much worse than the already remarkably rough shape it was in before. Even ignoring the fact it’s in an unfavorable climate for wooden roller coasters, there was really no future for this ride except as a hybrid roller coaster. The “glorious details” I’d like to know, however, are what they’re going to do with the station and surrounding area, which are both in serious need of a theming upgrade. I want to see those carnival games wiped off the face of this Earth, and that flat ride should either be completely redone to fit into some Gwazi theme or moved to another area. That would leave plenty of room for some new animal exhbits and theme elements.
Yet the Starliner lasted for more than 40 years in the hot climate. Other rides were closed for more than a decade before they were restored as they were. Like the Giant Dipper at Belmont Park and Rampage at Alabama Adventure. The ride could have gotten a complete GCI renovation but Busch Gardens like so many parks don’t care about their wooden coasters anymore so they opt to demolish them or turn them into steel (despite the fact that traditional wooden coasters are dropping like flies with the exception of rides like Mystic Timbers, Invadr, and Oscar’s Wacky Taxi.
You say that traditional wooden coasters are dropping like flies, but then you immediately follow that up by mentioning rides like Mystic Timbers, InvadR, and Oscar’s Wacky Taxi.
The fact that those coasters even exist proves that your argument is bogus.
I live 3 hours from BGT so I’m very excited for 2020. I love parks that focus on quality over quantity because they don’t have a bad coaster. I’ve been to parks with 15+ coasters and only 1 or 2 of them stand out while the rest are meh. BGT has an amazing lineup with Kumba, Scorpion, Montu, SheiKra, Cheetah Hunt, Cobra’s Curse, and Tigris in 2019. And RMC Gwazi will only add to an already great collection. Even SeaWorld with only 3 big B&Ms, they’re fantastic and worth the trip there alone (Mako is my favorite in FL but we’ll see if RMC Gwazi changes that). Right now, the closest RMC to me is Twisted Cyclone and that’s twice as far from me, plus of the 5 RMCs I’ve ridden, it ranks lowest but still a great ride. I’m crossing my fingers for a Twisted Colossus of the east coast but 2 separate credits, making it truly duel.
Gwazi has always been a terrible ride. I love wooden coasters, even some fairly rough ones. But Gwazi just had little redeeming value. Even new trains couldn’t save it. I have mixed feelings about RMC rides. But I think this one could only be an improvement!