Goodbye, Kumba

[DonHelbig]

Kumba is preparing for its final roar at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, with its last day of operation set for August 2 after an unforgettable 33-year run. When it debuted in 1993, the legendary coaster was Florida’s tallest, fastest and longest, while its towering vertical loop and signature roar helped make it one of the most celebrated roller coasters of its era. While fans will say goodbye to a true icon, the story isn’t ending. Busch Gardens has announced Kumba’s Revenge as part of a $100 million investment in the park, ensuring the spirit of Kumba lives on while ushering in a new generation of thrills. 

[SonofBaconator]

I’m just gonna leave this here:

 

[johnjniehaus]

2 hours ago, DonHelbig said:

Kumba’s Revenge as part of a $100 million investment in the park, ensuring the spirit of Kumba lives on while ushering in a new generation of thrills. 

I'm curious what this entails and when will we get more information? 

 

Such a tragedy that Kumba is closing. It's one of their best coasters but it's old and seems to have lower ridership most days I've been there. 

[Browntggrr]

It will be interesting to see what the new ride will be like.

Will it be highly immersive like other coaster additions in the area?  Perhaps an indoor/ outdoor feature a la Tron?

[DJSkyFoxx]

With BG parks having demolished and rehabbed coasters over the years, it will be fun to see what path they choose to take with Kumba. Will it get demolished and a new coaster be put up in it's place or will it get a complete overhaul of the tracks/new trains sort of like what they did for Nessie ( minus new trains on that one )?  A third option of course could be that they keep the existing structure and modify it to be taller/longer/etc. 

I just hope whatever is coming preserves the legacy of this coaster. 

[Losantiville Mining Co.]

I think they've left it very intentionally vague to build hype around it, though I won't be surprised if Kumba's Revenge turns out to be a completely different experience. BGT is in desperate need of a dark ride so I could see something like that using the Kumba theme. I feel like a giga or a (somehow) extended layout is less likely than anything else. 

 

I'll forever be upset that I won't be able to experience Kumba, but in the end it'll be like any other roller coaster whose time has come before I got to ride it.

[jzarley]

I rode Kumba for the first time in ‘94 or ‘95 and at the time thought it was absolutely amazing. Compared to the Arrow multi-loopers it was just so smooth and fast. I rode it for the last time maybe five or six years ago and after I got off I thought “am I more prone to headaches now, or is this thing just really head-bangy anymore?” (Maybe a bit of both…) But I don’t think the old OTSR B&M loopers have kept their allure—I’d say the same thing for Rougarou and Kraken as well.

When I worked for SEA I asked one of the engineers one time why they couldn’t just replace the OTSR restraints on Kraken with the new “vest” type of restraints (like on GateKeeper and other newer B&Ms) because I thought that would make a huge difference in ride comfort. He told me that the restraints couldn’t simply be retrofitted on the existing B&M trains—it would require new trains (and possibly some track modifications for those new trains) and it would be cost prohibitive on an “old” coaster.