A theme park-industry-changing Busch Gardens ride is closing FOREVER.
©Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Kumba, the 33-year-old roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, is set for its last day of operations on August 2nd. However, the park has confirmed that a sequel is coming!
First opening in the park’s Congo section in 1993, Kumba was a collaboration of the park and roller coaster manufacturers Bolliger & Mabillard. Spurred by the desire to build a modern thrill coaster to better compete with Disney and Universal, this coaster featured a 114-foot-tall vertical loop (the world’s tallest up to that point), a 135-foot drop, a dive loop, a zero-g roll, a cobra roll, and a pair of interlocking corkscrews.
©Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Upon its opening, Kumba — which translates to “roar” from a Kongo language — was the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster in Florida when it opened, and put the park on the map as a thrill destination. As the park continued to add new coasters, Kumba’s popularity and wait times dwindled. Finally, in 2026, Busch announced that the coaster would be closing just a few months after its 33rd birthday. However, at the time of the closure announcement, Busch Gardens ALSO announced that they would be building a sequel attraction, Kumba’s Revenge.
As part of the announcement, the park said in a statement, “Busch Gardens is dedicated to thrilling the next generation of coaster enthusiasts by continuing the Kumba story. This new attraction is a part of our $100 million investment that will elevate Busch Gardens as Florida’s thrill leader and enhance our guest experience.” The company has yet to provide details on whether Kumba’s Revenge will be a retrack or rebuild of the current Kumba or an entirely new construction.
©Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
After more than 30 years in operation, Kumba’s last operational day is August 2nd. Stay tuned to DFB for updates on Kumba’s Revenge!
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Have you ridden Kumba? Will you miss it? Let us know in the comments below.
