When Kumba opened in April 1993, it transformed Busch Gardens Tampa Bay from a respected zoological park with a few thrill rides into an elite coaster destination. Designed by the then-fledgling Swiss engineering firm Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), Kumba was an absolute tour de force: a 143-foot lift hill, a 135-foot drop, speeds touching 60 mph, and seven intense inversions, including a first-of-its-kind diving loop and interlocking corkscrews. Its un-sand-filled steel supports generated an unmistakable, thunderous roar that became synonymous with the park’s identity.
Kumba also set the gold standard for ride smoothness and pacing, laying the groundwork for subsequent B&M masterpieces in the park. Without Kumba's commercial triumph, Busch Gardens likely never greenlights Montu in 1996, the inverted coaster classic, or SheiKra in 2005, America's first floorless dive coaster. For over three decades, Kumba anchored the park's thrill lineage alongside multi-launch attractions like Cheetah Hunt, the family-focused spinning coaster Cobra's Curse, and the record-shattering hybrid Iron Gwazi. Yet, operating an aggressive, high-g-force steel coaster year-round in Central Florida comes with an inevitable expiration date.
