Busch Gardens Tampa - Rollercoaster experts needed!

[busy mom]

My family will be visiting Busch Gardens Tampa in April and I want to know how scary the rollercoasters are? My youngest (10) does not like big drops and I don't want to put him on a ride that may scare him...

Any BG rollercoaster experts out there??? Thanks!

 

[OCEAN LOVE <3]

Well if your child does not like big drops then do not ride sheikra. It has a 200ft. 90 degree straight down drop.

Some roller costers you might try:
Scorpion ( i see kids on it all the time) 42" to ride
Cheetah Chase-42" to ride
Gwazi- the wooden one. It has like a 100 ft drop. Alot of little kids like 8 or 10 like this ride.
Montu- is floorless (my fave) its really smooth 54" to ride
Kumba-54" to ride

Also when you go in April Jungala will probably be open. It is going to be really cool. It is the section of the park with zip lines and a drop tower and like a big play area.

 

[DOOM1001]

Except for the Scorpion and Cheetah Chase all the other coasters are world class coasters way more intense than you'll find at a Disney park.Sheikra's drop is right up there with the most intense drops anywhere and I've been on Cedar Points 300 foot Millenium Force and 400 foot Top Thrill Dragster.Montu is like my all time favorite coaster,intense but very fun.All of their major coasters have pretty good size drops but Sheikra's 90 degree 200 foot drop is a step above.I remember I once did visit Busch Gardens about a year ago with some friends who had a son about 10 years old or so and I being the big coaster guy rode Gwazi with him about 6 times and all of us in the group as well as him rode Montu,He wasn't going to ride Sheikra,didn't ask to either.

 

[figment1986]

In my opinion

Scariest: sheikra (200 feet up... 90 degrees strait down no floor, then a little shorter with a near verticle drop a second time...)

Tamest: scorpion (but it does have a loop but goes by quick, and its drop is short and curved..)

Cheeta chase is strange, some days its heavily braked and some days it is not making the rides feel different. its drops are a mixture so you may want him to look at the attraction before getting in line.

Kumba can be rough and scary, but not as scary as sheikra... though it does have a few big drops.

montu is my favorite.. but can be scary in a sence with being hanging in the seat and doing those inversions... and of course it does have some big drops.

gwazi is rough and scary.. in the sence you might loose some brain cells way. and has some big drops...

It might be best to see what your child would be up to ride upon seeing everything each one, i hated coasters till i went on montu and now I go where I can to experience what I can.

 

[pjlla]

DD (almost 12 at the time) and I were there last May. If your DS is afraid of big drops, I would avoid MOST of the big coasters at BG.

Sheikra is very high with an intense vertical drop. Took me more than a day to work up the couraage to ride it, but I loved it when I did! He will probably take one look at it and say no.

Gwazi... can't comment, didn't ride it as I don't like wooden coasters.

Montu.... my favorite coaster at BG, but again, VERY HIGH!! And lots of drops, corkscrews, inversions. Not the highest coaster, but intense in its own way. Very SMOOOTH.

Kumba..... one ride on this made me VERY queasy (yet multiple rides on the other coasters didn't bother me at all). Can't remember much else about it.

Cheetah Chase and Scorpion.... much milder. I suppose you could use them as a test (i.e.... if he does okay on these, he could try another).

Anyhow, if he hates big drops, I would definitely avoid the big four I previously mentioned. They will still be there when he is older...........P