Iron Gwazi

Gwazi
A view of Gwazi's entrance and the Lion lift hill.
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Park section	Bird Gardens
Coordinates	28°02′02″N 82°25′23″W
Status	Operating
Opening date	June 18, 1999
Cost	$10,000,000 USD
General Statistics
Type	Wood – Dueling
Manufacturer	Great Coasters International
Lift/launch system	Chainlift
	Tiger (Blue)	Lion (Yellow)
Height	105.89 ft (32.3 m)	105.89 ft (32.3 m)
Drop	91.57 ft (27.9 m)	91.57 ft (27.9 m)
Length	3,508 ft (1,069.2 m)	3,508 ft (1,069.2 m)
Speed	51 mph (82.1 km/h)	51 mph (82.1 km/h)
Inversions	0	0
Duration	2:30	2:30
Max vertical angle	50°	50°
G-force	3.5	3.5
Capacity	2880 riders per hour
Gwazi at RCDB Pictures of Gwazi at RCDB

Gwazi is a dueling wooden roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Florida. The name Gwazi originates from a fabled creature with the head of a tiger and the body of a lion. Accordingly, the two sides are named "Lion" and "Tiger". Often, the two tracks are called "yellow" and "blue", (yellow being the primary color of the Lion trains, blue being the primary color of the Tiger trains). It includes almost 7,016 feet of combined track and reaches speeds of 51 m.p.h. Both tracks have similar but nonidentical track layouts.

The roller coaster opened in 1999, a few months after Florida's only other dueling roller coaster, the Dueling Dragons at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure. Gwazi holds the record for most fly-bys on a dueling roller coaster, with six. A fly-by is where the two roller coasters pass each other in opposite directions at high speeds, giving the psychological impression that the two will collide. It is the largest and fastest double wooden roller coaster in the Southeastern U.S.

Due to the Philadelphia Toboggan Company designed trains, which have been known to deliver rough rides on GCI designed coasters, Gwazi was previously known for giving rough (and at some points, painful) rides, similar to ROAR! at Six Flags America. At the beginning of the 2010 season, Gwazi was spotted with what appeared to be Millennium Flyer trains on the track, with water dummies on board. Starting in 2011, the ride has run with the new cars, which were designed to greatly decrease the roughness of the ride.

In 2006, a 52-year-old Palm Springs resident collapsed and died shortly after riding Gwazi. It was determined that the ride (which was functioning properly) had aggravated an existing condition of high blood pressure. See Incidents at SeaWorld parks for more info.

A view of Gwazi from the Skyride. Only the Lion side is operating in this photo.

Awards

• Full Roller Coaster

Golden Ticket Awards: Top Wooden Roller Coasters
Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Ranking	-	-	-	-	-	38	43	46	40	DNC

• Tiger

Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Best Wooden-Tracked Roller Coaster
Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Ranking	30	33	37	40	44	50	51	64	77

• Lion

Mitch Hawker's Internet Poll: Best Wooden-Tracked Roller Coaster
Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Ranking	32	42	41	41	50	51	53	71	79