Thoughts on Kumba (1993-2026)

Ever since I was 9 or 10 years old, I have had a love for roller coasters. One of those roller coasters was Kumba, which was manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) and opened at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in 1993. Since its opening, Kumba became known as an iconic coaster not only for Busch Gardens Tampa, but around the world. The park became a destination for thrill seekers thanks to this coaster, which was ridden by millions of riders over its 3 decades (and change) of operation. Recently, it was announced that, after 33 years of operation, the park announced that Kumba would be closing on August 2nd, 2026. In tribute to Kumba, I want to go into detail about this iconic ride. With no further delay, let’s get started.

At the tail end of the 1980s, the world was introduced to a new roller coaster manufacturer. Two guys named Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard, who used to work for a now defunct Swiss manufacturer named Giovanola, founded their namesake manufacturing company “Bolliger & Mabillard” (B&M) in 1988 in the hopes of making a name for themselves in the amusement industry. After their first roller coaster, which was a stand up coaster named “Iron Wolf”, opened in 1990 at Six Flags Great America in Illinois, every major park around the world was hoping to get their own B&M coaster (or multiple). With the advances in technology, the folks over at B&M were able to make sure that each coaster they built would have smooth transitions and inversions that wouldn’t hurt many people’s necks or ears, which is great news for any park wishing to contact B&M for a new coaster. One of those parks was Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, which was looking for a new major attraction that would give it extra attention during a time when Orlando was getting populated with more parks. Once the folks at Busch Gardens Tampa figured out the coaster’s name, the layout, and where it would be located, they proposed it to multiple manufacturers (3, to be exact). In the end, B&M would win the right to build what would be known as “Kumba”. The name “Kumba” (according to park officials at the time) is translated to the word “roar” in the Kongo language. Kumba was announced to the world in November of 1992, with the target opening of Spring 1993. On April 21, 1993, Kumba opened as Florida’s tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster (as well as having the most inversions of any coaster in Florida with 7). From that moment on, millions of riders (including me) were able to ride Kumba in all of its roaring glory. Let’s go over the experience of riding Kumba, shall we?

To get to Kumba from the front entrance of Busch Gardens Tampa, you would have to do a lot of walking as the park is quite a huge one to trek through. As you make your way towards the Congo section of the park, you can hear the roar of Kumba getting louder and louder as you get closer to it. No matter how tempting it is to go on something else, even the bumper cars, the mission is to make it to the roaring Kumba. Once you get to the Congo area, there is a bridge that you walk through to get to the front entrance of Kumba. From the entrance area, you can clearly see most of the blue track and red supports from many angles. If necessary, you may need to put your stuff in a locker. For others, including me, you could be able to bring a fanny pack with you in the queue, as long as the stuff is secure in it. After you go through the queue, you have your choice of 8 rows, with each row having room for 4 seats. Whichever row you choose (preferably the front or back row), you then wait for your opportunity to take your seat on the yellow train. Once you get in your seat and lower your over the shoulder restraint (which was originally colored the same as the track’s color), you wait for the operators to make sure everyone is strapped in and ready to go. Once they give the all clear signal, the train is released onto the coaster cycle. After a turn to the right, the train goes up the 143 foot lift hill. During the climb up, the train goes past the vertical loop that wraps around the lift hill. Once the train gets to the top, it does a little dip before the first drop. After that, the train goes down the twisting first drop that turns to the left and reaches its top speed of 60 miles per hour. Once the drop is over, the coaster goes through the vertical loop that wraps around the lift hill. Following the vertical loop (which was the tallest ever at the time of the coaster’s opening at 108 feet tall), the coaster immediately twists to the left and goes through the dive loop, which is then followed by a zero gravity roll that twists to the left. After a slight turn to the right, the train goes through the cobra roll, which is followed by going up into the mid course brake run. After the brakes, the train twists down to the left and goes through the interlocking corkscrews. After the corkscrews, the train twists down the left into the tunnel, which leads to the closing helix. After the helix, the coaster hits the brakes and makes a slow right turn back towards the station. Once it stops at the station, you’re able to leave the train and head off to either another lap or another attraction at Busch Gardens Tampa.

(Here is a POV video of Kumba, provided by the YouTube channel “AmusementInsider”. Hope you enjoy the virtual ride.)

https://youtu.be/IAWOZi-jzEk?si=V189R-LiPCNopCvJ

I was grateful to have experienced the roar of Kumba numerous times over my years of going to Busch Gardens Tampa with family and friends. My apologies for not having an exact count of my rides on Kumba on here, but I do remember riding it in a multitude of rows. Regardless of what row I enjoyed Kumba on (preferably the front and back rows), I felt the roar every time I went on it. I loved every single element of the ride from start to finish. Going down the twisting drop to the left and going through all of the inversions was always a great time. Every element felt quick and intense with very little room to breathe. Going through the helix at the end was crazy due to how close the train was to the grass. During some trips, I went on Kumba multiple times in the same day thanks to the wait time not being too long, even if I waited for the front row on some rides (which was always worth it). The roar was heard easily whenever I was near it and it was an extremely photogenic coaster. At the entrance of the ride, it was great seeing the views of the lift hill, the vertical loop that went around the lift hill, and (of course) the interlocking corkscrews. Even when I was further away from that area, Kumba was easily identifiable thanks to the lift hill and vertical loop. All of these on-ride and off-ride elements combined to make Kumba one of my favorite roller coasters of all time.

(This next part can be quite emotional for some people, including me.)

With how beloved Kumba was to Busch Gardens Tampa, surely the park would find a way to preserve it for future generations, right? Unfortunately, the park went in another direction, as they announced in mid-July of 2026 that Kumba’s “Final Roar” would be on August 2nd, 2026 before the beast would go to an eternal sleep. When I heard this announcement, I felt saddened that Busch Gardens would decide to close such an iconic coaster that thrilled millions of riders for over 3 decades. Why would they do this? I’m sure one of the factors was due to the age of the coaster. However, despite that age, I thought that they were going to find a way to preserve it for longer than 33 years. Even when the coaster was in a state of “Standing But Not Operating” (SBNO) for nearly a year from November of 2024 to September of 2025, the park was able to get Kumba back up and running for everyone to enjoy. Not even a year after that, though, they went ahead and closed it anyway. Giving people only 2 and a half weeks notice to get their last rides was not the best approach, but at least it got people to making sure they get to Busch Gardens to ride Kumba one last time. I was able to get my last ride on July 26th with my sister in the front row. We planned to do a back row ride as well, but the weather had other ideas. At the end of the day, that front row ride would be the last time that I would experience the ‘Roar” of Kumba before it closed the following Sunday. This is a bad trend that has been the case for the past three years now at Busch Gardens Tampa. In September of 2024, they closed the classic Schwarzkopf coaster named “Scorpion” after 44 years of operation. In September of 2025, they decided to close the classic Stanley Falls Log Flume (manufactured by Arrow Dynamics), which has been at the park for over 5 decades. And on August 2nd, 2026, the park said goodbye to yet another classic in Kumba after 33 years. I understand that theme parks are not immune to change, but certain attractions are so iconic and beloved that they are irreplaceable. All three of the rides I mentioned, especially Kumba, are those irreplaceable attractions for Busch Gardens Tampa. Kumba was the roller coaster that put Busch Gardens on the map and made it a thrill-seeker’s destination for many people. B&M and the folks over at Busch Gardens combined to make a masterpiece of a coaster that is now, sadly, defunct. Busch Gardens will never be the same without that roar in the back. Considering how the park is run nowadays (by the way, screw private equity), I’m worried about what will happen to more classic like Montu and ShieKra.

In the end, I’m eternally grateful that I got to experience the roar of Kumba numerous times over the years. While I will never have that chance again, it will be forever in my heart as one of my all time favorite coasters. Like I said before, both the on-ride and off-ride elements of it made Kumba special to me. Personally, the loss of Kumba will be felt for a long time. It will be extremely tough for me to go to the area of Busch Gardens without that iconic blue track and the B&M roar. Rest In Peace, Kumba. May Roller Coaster Heaven be graced with your presence.

(Here are some pictures of Kumba that I want to share to end this post.)

My sister got to enjoy the "Final Roar" with me.