Kumba (roller coaster)

Ride at Busch Gardens Tampa

Kumba is a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened in 1993. It stands 143 feet (44 m) tall and has a top speed of The ride officially opened to the public on April 21, 1993. When Kumba opened, it featured the world's tallest vertical loop, In 1995, Kumba conceded the title of ride with the world's tallest vertical loop to Dragon Khan at PortAventura Park which features a 118 feet (36 m) vertical loop. In 1996, it conceded Florida's titles of tallest and longest roller coaster to Montu, a B&M inverted coaster in the Egypt section of the park. The vertical loop featured on Kumba wraps around the lift hill. This element was later seen on The Riddler's Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain and Banshee at Kings Island. Kumba was the first ride in the world to feature a number of now common roller coaster elements, including interlocking corkscrews and a dive loop. Riders of Kumba experience up to 3.8 times the force of gravity on the 3 minute ride.

The ride begins with a right hand, 90 degree turn out of the station which then begins to climb the 143 feet (44 m) chain lift hill. After reaching the peak, trains go through a small pre drop. The ride then goes down a 135 feet (41 m) drop to the left into a 114 feet (35 m) vertical loop that wraps around the lift hill. After leaving the vertical loop, the ride rises up into a diving loop, followed by a zero g roll, where riders experience a feeling of weightlessness. A straight section of track and a small hill leads to a Cobra roll. After exiting the cobra roll, the trains rise up into the mid course brake run. The exit from the brake run leads into a pair of interlocking corkscrews. The train then dives into a tunnel and exits into an upward clockwise helix. The train then hits the final brake run, before making a right hand turn and returning to the station.

Kumba has generally been well received. Robb Alvey of Theme Park Review stated Kumba was his favorite ride in the Florida area, describing it as "an old school, intense ride" that he has been on hundreds of times. Dewayne Bevil of the Orlando Sentinel gives Kumba ratings of 4 out of 5 for both thrill and theming. Keith Kohn, also of the Sentinel, described the ride as "an amazing experience". The opening of Kumba had a significant impact on park attendance figures. In its debut year, park attendance increased approximately 15% to an estimated 3.8 million visitors. The park expected that trend to continue into 1994. In Amusement Today annual Golden Ticket Awards, Kumba has consistently ranked highly. It is also one of only seven roller coasters to appear in the top 50 every year since the award's inception in 1998. It debuted at position 4 in 1998, before dropping to a low of 31 in 2011 and rising to 23 the following year.