Busch Gardens Tampa is putting a new spin on family thrills. This week, the park announced their newest coaster, Cobra’s Curse, which will be a new take on the spinning coaster genre. The new ride will be in the Egypt section of the park and has an archeological excavation theme.

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Once riders reach the top of the 70-foot elevator lift, they’ll come face to face with the snake icon of the ride’s namesake. The ride vehicles will also spin 180 degrees during portions of the ride. Each coaster train will seat 8 passengers and they will be able to run up to 8 trains at once.

Busch Gardens President, Jim Dean
Busch Gardens President, Jim Dean

 

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Lots of concept art was on display

 

Here is a video the park released announcing Cobra’s Curse:

The coaster will contain more than 2,100 feet of track, reach speeds over 40 mph, and ride time will be more than 3 and 1/2 minutes. The park estimates this ride will have a capacity of just over 1,000 riders per hour.

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Panorama of the Cobra's Curse construction site
Panorama of the Cobra’s Curse construction site

 

Construction on Cobra’s Curse started in January 2015 and the ride will debut sometime in 2016. Once Busch Gardens announces an opening date, we’ll be sure to share it with you!

Are you looking forward to Cobra’s Curse? Let us know below in the comments!

Amy VandenBoogert
Amy is lucky to live in beautiful Tampa Bay, Florida and frequently visits the Busch Gardens theme park in that city. You can find Amy's updates on Busch Gardens and other Central Florida attractions in MiceChat's Orlando Parkhopper columns.