Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcon's Fury Now Open

Busch Gardens Tampa Officially Opens "Falcon's Fury".

 Good News, Busch Gardens Tampa did make their "Summer 2014" deadline with Falcon's Fury.

 The new and unique drop tower attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa has been deemed officially open to the public. While the park seems to have opted not to reschedule the rides media day event, guests can experience the new ride during the parks normal operating hours.

 The ride has been is 'soft open' for a little over three weeks, allowing the park to work out any problems.

Falcon's Fury at Busch Gardens Tampa Surprises Guests with a Soft Open Today!

Image courtesy of BGTfans.com

It looks like the wait is finally coming to end for Busch Gardens Tampa fans. There's been a series of delays for their newest drop tower, but it looks like all the kinks have finally been worked out. It might be National Roller Coaster Day, but that's not stopping the park from doing a soft open for it's latest mad creation, Falcon's Fury.

First GP riders! Image via @mist3rm4tt on Twitter

Guests at the park today have spotted Falcon's Fury taking it's first general public riders on it's death defying plunge. Earlier this week there were reports of increased employee testing going on and it looks like the official full opening won't be too much more of a wait.

So, for all you drop tower adrenaline junkies out there, keep an eye out as it seems you could get lucky and score a ride before the ride officially opens what's likely to be the within the next week or so. Of course, with any soft open, the ride will open and close at random, so you'll have to be quick!

Curious as to what those lucky riders are experiencing? Here's the official POV!

Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcon's Fury Testing with Employees

Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcon's Fury Finally Testing, with Employees!

 Good News for fans of Busch Gardens Tampa and Drop Towers!

 It appears from reports from BGTFans that 'Falcon's Fury' is finally doing some employee testing. While right now the testing appears to only involve senior park members and not the general staff but this could be a good sign that the drop tower may finally have it's issues sorted out.

 The ride still has no official opening date, just an estimation, but the park did tell BGTFans “We are ride testing with specific safety and operations team members, but we do not have any updates on when park employees, or the general public, will be able to ride.”. Which we can hope is good news and may allow the park to open the ride before the current estimated "Late Summer 2014". 

 Stay Tuned for more updates!

(Top Image also from BGTFans)

World's Tallest Drop Ride - Zoomanjaro: Drop of Doom - Opening Announced!

After a bit of a delay, the folks at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey have announced that their record breaking drop ride, Zoomanjaro, will open this coming weekend!

Yep, that's right, for those brave enough to take the 415ft plunge at speeds of 90mph, your wait is almost over.

On Friday, July 3rd, the ride will be open for a preview event that is limited to Season Passholders. Then, on July 4th, it'll be open for everyone to experience the insanity of it all.

The ride, attached to the support structure for the world's tallest and fastest roller-coaster, Kingda Ka, should definitely be one helluva experience for all those who are brave enough. Here's to hoping that high winds don't keep this one closed like they can Kingda Ka at times.

Curious of what it'll be like? We got ya covered. Here's POV from one of the recent test runs that Six Flags Great Adventure!


While we're not sure if we'll be making it to Six Flags Great Adventure this year, we'd love to hear of your experience on Zoomanjaro if you do go. Comment and let us know what you think of it and of your ride if you do go!

Official Statement from Busch Gardens Tampa on Falcon's Fury Delays Released

Last night, the folks at Busch Gardens Tampa finally came out with an official statement regarding the delays surrounding their newest ride, Falcon's Fury.

The ride has experienced several setbacks since construction started, but overall things seemed to be going fairly well with testing and getting things finalized for opening. However, now it looks like the innovated drop tower won't be opening in the near future like many had hoped.

Citing that parts are needed to be manufactured for the ride still might be unsettling for some, but these unique rides don't have warehouses full if something were to break. Maybe this is just the park wanting to have spares on hand and they need to be fabricated in enough quantity.

Anyway, here's the official announcement that Busch Gardens posted on their Facebook page:

Busch Gardens’ new thrill ride Falcon’s Fury includes first-of-its kind design elements, systems and parts. Due to a delay in the fabrication of key component parts, neither the manufacturer nor Busch Gardens are able to complete the lengthy testing processes needed to open the ride to the public. The safety of our guests and team members remains Busch Gardens’ top priority and none of these delays involve safety systems. The ride has been safely operated in the initial stages of the testing process, and all other elements of the park’s newest re-imagined land Pantopia are now open to guests. Busch Gardens will provide updates on the ride opening as events warrant. We are committed to delivering world-class thrills and the best possible ride experience, and we look forward to the launch of Falcon’s Fury, North America’s tallest freestanding drop tower, later this summer.

Again, since the ride has been testing and things seem to be working properly, I can't imagine it's anything too serious. If anything, something may have had to be refabricated or reengineered to meet stresses that were seen during the testing. Given the unique nature of this ride, really can't blame them for wanting to be 100% on every piece of it either.

While there's no opening date indicated anywhere, that could just be the park's desire to avoid another situation similar to Mach Tower, which kept getting pushed back and was a big PR debacle for both the park and Intamin. Hopefully the wait won't be too long for those wanting to ride and they get things sorted out soon.

Either way, we'll keep you updated on the latest from the park as the opening of this one of a kind drop tower gets closer.

Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcon's Fury Update and Rumors

 Falcon's Fury Updates and Rumors from Busch Gardens Tampa.

 While we're still waiting on final word about an opening day regarding Falcon's Fury, the newest attraction to Busch Gardens Tampa, we do have some good news as well as a few rumors to pass around.

 The ride is testing again and has been for the last several days. From all accounts (including the great folks at BGT Fans) the ride is working and testing normally and any problems seem to have been sorted out in recent time.

 An interesting rumor, which I also heard for chatting with BGT Fans on Twitter, the ride wasn't the main delay. Most of the delays regarding Falcon's Fury are construction related outside of the ride, such as the Pantopia are and Queue Line involved in the direct vicinity of the ride. Since I consider BGT Fans to be a pretty damn reliable source, I'm inclined to believe that they have, in fact, been behind on construction since December. This is what's causing the majority of the delays and not problems with the ride.

 However, there is still no hint or rumor of a possible opening date for Falcon's Fury. I'm sure it will open sometime in Summer of 2014 but we have nothing about a date yet.

 More updates when available!

Six Flags Great Adventure- Zumanjaro Delays Kingda Ka Opening

Zumanjaro Delays Kingda Ka Opening at Six Flags Great Adventure.

Image from Great Adventure Online

 In not overly surprising news, it seems that the construction on Zumanjaro, the newest drop ride which it attached to Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure, has also delayed the opening of the roller coaster this season.

 Originally these signs said the coaster wouldn't open until Memorial Day Weekend. The signs have changed, now stating the coaster won't open until "late spring". Which is a problem with a coaster that is already plagued with delays and closures to begin with (mostly to due wind).

 "Late Spring" will likely delay the opening of the ride another month, giving the park more time to complete the project which up until last month was deemed to be 'on time' construction wise.

 More info when we hear it!

Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcon's Fury Still Having Issues

 Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcon's Fury Still Having Technical Issues.

 The opening of the newest attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa, Falcon's Fury, is still delayed and currently doesn't have a projected "opening date".

 The problems, with any such a complex and original ride generally tend to be many. They also do take some time to sort out and correct. Things that work great on paper don't always prove to be excellent in testing, so parks make adjustments all the time. This isn't unusual, it's much more common than you think!

 Falcon's Fury is the first of it's kind when it comes to drop towers, with those rotating seats it was bound to encounter some issues in testing. Again, not really unusual for any new ride.

 It seems the park is having issues with the hydraulics of the attraction. These are the parks which control the seat movement and rotation, which it's the rides key element and the park which makes it unique among drop towers. They seem to be coming loose and shearing off, likely do to the forces and speed which they have to work under. This is the item which is likely causing the ride delay as the park works to correct the issue and replace the broken items.

 Again, not entirely unusual. However, we found some great video which shows the problem that Falcon's Fury is currently having from Journey though Coasters. You can clearly see the hydraulic actuators which control the seat rotation coming loose from the ride.  Don't worry though, Busch Gardens has an excellent safety record and great mechanics, they'll get the problem solved soon!

Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcon's Fury Delayed

 Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcon's Fury Opening Day Delayed.


 For unknown reasons, today Busch Gardens Tampa announced that the opening of their new drop tower attraction, Falcon's Fury, will be delayed.

 This is currently no word or timeline on when the ride will be opened. The park is currently saying the delay is due to construction issues. However, the ride was seen testing just days ago doing "slow drops". Rumors are flying all over the place, the most current one states that the ride wasn't dropping correctly and was making some form of "screeching" noise.

 The new attraction was suppose to open on May1st. Fans are in an uproar of the sudden announcement and even more since there hasn't been another date given yet.  We will update with more news when it comes.

Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcon's Fury Opening Date

Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcon's Fury Opening Date Announced!

 The opening day for the much anticipated drop tower attraction coming to Busch Gardens Tampa, Falcon's Fury, will open on May 1st, 2014. The ride will open just in time for the beginnings of the summer rush in the Tampa area theme park.  Just to spice things up, Busch Gardens has released a great little video which features some really nice construction footage of the ride.

Six Flags Great Adventure- Kingda Ka gets more support

Image from NotesPlusNews

Six Flags Great Adventure add heavier supports to Kingda Ka.

 Six Flags Great Adventure is getting prepared for their new drop ride which will be attached to the Kingda Ka roller coaster.

 While causing the death of Rolling Thunder, Zumanjaro is moving along in progress. This new drop ride is causing Six Flags to adding some heavier, additional supports to the Kingda Ka tower track.

 While these types of roller coasters are often plagued by wind speed closures perhaps these new supports will add in keeping both Kingda Ka and Zumanjaro open longer in the future.

 Zumanjaro will have a total of three drop tracks running the length of the Kingda Ka tower. In the image you can see the track for Zumanjaro and it appears ready to go into place.

Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcons Fury reaches 300 feet

 Busch Gardens Tampa- Falcons Fury Reaches 300 Feet

 Progress at Busch Gardens Tampa for their new Drop Tower attraction, Falcons Fury has reached a big milestone this week. 

 The tower finally topped over 300 feet tall, leaving just the last section to be completed, the tower cone. Which will top the ride off at a rather staggering 335 feet tall. This will allow riders to drop a staggering 315 while facing the ground.

 Yes, facing the group. The ride carriage or 'gondola' for Falcons Fury will rotate riders to 90 degrees, facing the ground before they proceed to drop you on what I can imagine will feel like your face!  This ride is the first time ever this feature has been used on a drop tower. With this new addition and new technology, I've heard some fans rumbling and wondering if Falcons Fury will face the same issues that Mach Tower at Busch Gardens Williamsburg has had issue with. 

 The ride is slated to open in Spring of 2014. No word yet on if the rides gondola has arrived at Busch Gardens Tampa. 

 Well, let's wait and see while hoping for the smoothest opening possible!  Personally I'm not a fan of drop tower style rides but with the unique (and likely scary as hell) view Falcon's Fury will give, I may have ride it.. once. 

Falcon's Fury- Drop Tower Pieces Arrive in Tampa

Image from Orlando Sentinel

 The nine large pieces of the new "Falcon's Fury" drop tower attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa arrived. After a month long trans-Atlantic trip, the body of the tower arrived via semi-trucks to the park. Over two days the pieces moved from Port of Tampa to Busch Gardens.

 Each section can weight up to 95 tons, the total weight of the tower pieces is 519 tons, stated Busch Gardens Tampa. Smaller parts of Falcons Fury have already arrived from several countries around Europe.

 Falcon's Fury is set to open to the public in Spring of 2014.

Six Flags Great Adventure- Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom for 2014

 Well, Six Flags Great Adventure located in Jackson, New Jersey has gone completely batty. It seems today all of the 2014 projects for all the Six Flags amusement parks have gone live and Great Adventure isn't to be left out.

Coming in 2014, they are sticking not one but THREE drop tower cars to the Kingda Ka track. Sitting at 415 feet tall with a top speed of 90 miles per hour, 'Zumanjaro' will plummet riders straight down the structure of the Kingda Ka Coaster.

At which point they claim "Kingda Ka will zoom around you as you drop". I assume that means they expect the giant lawn-ornament to run more in the 2014 season. Although I admit, I'm wondering a lot of this new and massive addition to the structure will also be subject to random closures during windy periods of time? This is often what close's down Kingda Ka.

Image from Coaster-net.com

Sadly, this new drop ride is coming with a very steep price. The classic wooden coaster "Rolling Thunder" (often called 'Rotting Lumber' as Six Flags has willfully neglected this ride for years now) will be removed to make room for this addition.  Honestly, I'd rather they put the money into fixing Rolling Thunder then put a Drop Tower onto the lawn ornament.  Rolling Thunder was and is a great ride, it has just always need a lot more love and affection then Six Flags has ever shown it.

The last day of operations for the classic wooden coaster will be September 8th, not giving fans much time to say their goodbyes. So I suggest you head over there quickly and get your last rides in now.