Central Florida has several popular theme parks that each offers something a bit different from the others. Walt Disney World (DIS) - Get Free Report and Universal Studios (CMCSA) - Get Free Report are not far from each other in the Orlando area and then about 75 miles away sits SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment's (SEAS) - Get Free Report Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay.
The three park operators all offer great fun, but Busch Gardens is more of an amusement park with 10 roller coaster rides, while Disney World theme parks have only a few such rides. Many of Disney World's rides are geared more toward younger guests, and Universal Studios parks have some roller coaster rides for fans who are looking for those adrenaline highs.
Imagine, if you will, a tween theme park that isn't for the little littles and not so much for the adult seeking thrillist, and you have Busch Gardens.
While all theme parks work to help theme park guests plan their vacations, learning about closures can sometimes happen with little to no notice to visitors, and this can be quite distressful.
All theme parks are in constant states of reinventing themselves, After roughly 20 years, Busch Gardens in Tampa, will turn off its SandSerpent roller coaster for a final time. The coaster's last day of operation will be July 9, according to the Busch Gardens website. The SandSerpent closure will make way for Busch Gardens to add a new attraction to the theme park, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
The SandSerpent has a unique history. The coaster was originally located in Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va., but the coaster was called Izzy and the Wilde Maus. The coaster moved to Tampa and was rethemed as Cheetah Chase, and it was again rethemed into SandSerpent in 2011. Thankfully Busch Gardens is responding to its fanbase of the closure of the SandSerpent by offering early morning rides for its annual passholders from June 30 until July 4.
The SandSerpent is a "wild-mouse" style roller coaster, "For grown-ups, Wild Mouse coasters are the "bait and switch" of theme park coasters. They're mild little fun coasters for little kids who barely meet the height restriction that gradually become white-knuckle horror buckets as you grow older and taller, according to Theme Park Insider editor, Robert Niles.
As the news travels through social media and the internet, more and more theme park lovers are voicing their thoughts and hopes about what could come as the replacement for Busch Garden's SandSerpent.
While not all people feel the same way about the retiring ride, one thing is certain, bringing something new to the park is exciting. Comments from Theme Park Insider followers speculate about what Busch Gardens could be up to next.
"Busch Gardens Tampa will finally retire its most pain-inducing ride," per Creative Loafing Tampa Bay. Claiming that the ride for anyone under the height of 5 feet leaves them walking away from the ride feeling like they were just in a fight and got their butt kicked! Guests have stated that the ride was just jerky and painful and "one of the worst rides at Busch Gardens Tampa."
"Seriously, this plot plus the swinging ship gives them just about the perfect amount of room for the station, brake run, and lift hill out towards the back part of the property for something on the scale of Fury 325, complete with an L-shaped layout through the undeveloped land behind Kumba. I know this has been rumored for like a decade but I think it's actually possible," from Theme Park Insider follower @evanweston.
"Don't get your hopes up just yet @evanweston. While Pantopia would be the perfect spot to place a station for a giga running along the northern perimeter of the park, I wouldn't be surprised to see the park add its own Intamin straddle coaster (maybe with indoor and outdoor sections utilizing the adjacent and underutilized Pantopia theater), especially if SWO's 2024 attraction in Antarctica is NOT like SWSD's Arctic Rescue (recent rumors have it being similar to Pantheon/Velocicoaster),"counters Theme Park Insider follower @Russell Meyer.
Only time will tell what will replace the SandSerpent, and until then coaster fans will continue to guess as to what comes next.