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Kumba at Busch Gardens Tampa closing August 2nd; "Kumba's Revenge" planned

Well, I'm not doing that one as well - it will have to stay on the spite list. As great as their coaster line-up is, the park is a shambles. I assume Cheetah Hunt is next on the chopping block.

Their post reads like a retrack to me, though I'm intrigued to know how they'd spend 100M on that.
 
Will said:
Well, I'm not doing that one as well - it will have to stay on the spite list. As great as their coaster line-up is, the park is a shambles. I assume Cheetah Hunt is next on the chopping block.

Their post reads like a retrack to me, though I'm intrigued to know how they'd spend 100M on that.
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I f*cking hope it isn't a retrack
 
Is it maybe a funny way of marketing a Nemesis Reborn-style retrack?

It is sad that Kumba is going, though. Of the 4 B&M sit-down/floorless coasters I’ve ridden, I would almost definitely say it was my favourite, and it will probably top Megafobia as my favourite defunct coaster if it really is the permanent end for it.

I may eventually eat these words depending on what Kumba’s Revenge is, however!
 
I don't imagine it being anything else than a retrack/referb, especially with the new name announcement before Kumba has even closed.

I would of liked to have gotten a re-ride this October, but I can't say I'm surprised.
 
This ride makes me nostalgic for an era of coasters I wasn't even around for. Ridiculously iconic and one of the (if not the) best traditional loopers of all time.

Torn as to whether I'd prefer this to be retrack/refresh or not, as I don't really have faith in current BGT nor current B&M to do it justice.
 
With the tone of this announcement it has to be more than just a straight re-track, surely? SeaWorld have been buying so many B&Ms lately I can't see them giving this project to any other manufacturer.

So the question is what could B&M do with it beyond a re-track - they could but Surf trains on it, although with Pipeline Surf Coaster down the road it seems unlikely. Could they turn it into a spinning coaster maybe - it's about time B&M made a spinner?
 
Whilst I'm gutted it's closing, I can't say I'm surprised! It was the prototype B&M sit-down after all. Time is really catching up with the steel coasters of the 90s!

I feel like BGT has expanded faster than it's maintenance department can handle in recent years so something had to give! Hopefully closing 3 of the oldest rides stops the axe from swinging again anytime soon.

The vibe I get from that announcement, including the super short closure timeframe, is a Nemesis-style retrack, but maybe with a layout change. Fingers crossed! The fact that B&M has cut ties with Clermont suggests they're at least aware of the roughness issue, but who knows if they can get it fixed in time?
 
CoasterCrazy said:
The fact that B&M has cut ties with Clermont suggests they're at least aware of the roughness issue, but who knows if they can get it fixed in time?
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The roughness is mostly on B&M rather than on Clermont, so the production site change because their sales have shifted away from the US has nothing to do with it.

It's really weird how they're closing Kumba 1 year after it has been refurbished extensively. So my best guess is that it's gonna be something new entirely. They won't spend 100M on another retracking.
 
Will said:
Their post reads like a retrack to me, though I'm intrigued to know how they'd spend 100M on that.
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bratcurry said:
They won't spend 100M on another retracking.
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The post doesn’t say the Kumba replacement/retrack will cost $100m, it says it’s a part of a $100m investment into the park as a whole. The actual price tag for Kumba’s Revenge is probably a lot less.
 
I think we all knew this day was coming, but it's still really sad to see it officially announced.

I loved Kumba. Such a beautiful, iconic and photogenic coaster.

Softening the blow by announcing a replacement was a good move by the park.
 
Sad to see an iconic old school B&M go. The announcement looks like it was written by AI and the random announcement of a new ride so casually and lazily speaks volumes about how Busch Gardens is ran these days!

I get the vibe it's going to be fully demolished and replaced, would be nice if the replacement had interlocking corkscrews in the same place or something like that.

I imagine the track of Kumba has become fatigued to a point where they need to start replacing full sections of track and that's not what the park wants to do.
 
A good move by any park would be to give more notice but here we are again, and from a repeat offender.
;
This one had signs for a while to ride asap but come on now parks. Think of the life long fans to people born yesterday. Anyone saving up or worried about the cost as Florida is mega expensive. Doing trips in a logical order with all the known information, perhaps waiting for other things to open. Those how need to try again after being spited. Many landing in a months time for the haunt season.

Silver Dollar City, IOA, Wild Waves, Space World, even SF America gave enough notice for people to pivot, and that's the same company with the Ka incident.
 
Kumba was the first rollercoaster I ever rode in the USA when I visited in 2004. I rushed passed Gwazi straight to Kumba because, back then, the appeal of a B&M was strong and I had fallen in love with THAT imagine that everybody takes of the corkscrew. Although it dislodged my spinal cord every time (that’s joke btw, and probably a reflection on my fitness level) in recent years, Kumba was a must ride for me on every visit due to nostalgia and because I actually quite liked it. Shame to see it go, but looking forward to see what comes next. I hope it’s not a like-for-like retrack, I’d rather see some added spice than modern day B&M.
 
There were rumours like 10 years ago that Kumba was on it's way out. It's been one of those lingering OAPs for a while. I felt lucky to ride it a couple years ago - I guess maybe some people see it as one of those forever attractions because it has been around and been reasonably iconic for so long, but you are kind of a fool if this announcement infuriates you unless you've been spited. Sure maybe they could've announced it a month earlier or waited to close it til the end of the season, but it's hardly an attraction that warrants a trip in the same way that arieforce does.
 
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