Kumba (Busch Gardens Tampa)

Kumba
Statistics
Location	Busch Gardens Tampa
Opened	1993
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Capacity	1,700 Riders per hour
Height	143 feet
Top speed	60 mph
Length	3,978 feet
Inversions	7
Maximum G-Force	3.8G

Kumba is a steel Roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa in Tampa, Florida. Kumba, at the time of its opening, was said to have "set the industry standards". It had the record for the most inversions on a roller coaster until 1995, when Dragon Khan opened at PortAventura Park.

Design

• Kumba features a Pre-Drop, a small drop found designed by B&M to reduce strain on the Lift Chain.
• Kumba contains the first Dive Loop and Interlocking Corkscrews ever to appear on a B&M coaster.
• The Lift Chain goes through the middle of the loop.

Trains

4 trains with 8 cars per train. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train or 1700 riders per hour.

Name

Kumba means Roar in the African Congo Language. When the train traverses the track, it makes a really loud roaring sound. It is unknown if this has anything to do with the name. This is caused by the hollow square shaped track.

Awards

Golden Ticket Awards: Best Steel Coaster
Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Ranking	7	13		22	22	22	21	21	27	27	24 (tie)	31

Drachen Fire

Kumba was to be part of a two-coaster project for Busch Entertainment. The company had contacted B&M to build two sit-down coasters at its Busch Gardens parks, one in Florida (which became Kumba), the other in Williamsburg, Virginia. B&M, a young company at the time, could deliver on the one for the Florida park but not the Williamsburg park. Busch understood and handed the contract for the Williamsburg coaster to Arrow Dynamics. In 1992, a year before Kumba opened at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg unveiled its Arrow creation, the ill-fated Drachen Fire, which closed in 1998 and was demolished in 2002.