What's next for Busch Gardens Tampa??

I don't necessarily think the park needs a new family coaster immediately, but more family rides especially flat rides, a transport ride, a dark ride or a flying theater. Something other than a coaster, but yes, down the line I think a new family coaster would be welcomed. I certainly agree though, a giga being the major coaster after IG seems like a great way to balance out the lineup of major thrills. It doesn't seem like IG is going to have a huge focus on airtime, so an airtime filled coaster would be a good addition.

They certainly have the space to do so in the Jungala area, it can go alongside the ponds they have behind Jungala, similar to how Mako goes over the water. If they really wanted to, they could fit an entire new area (Asian or Indian themed) in the area behind Tigris over where the Black Spot house is used for HOS. But that's a little bit of stretch right now.

I think if the next five years after IG could look something like this, the park would be a lot more diverse.
2021: S&S Screamin' Swing in Jungala (at the very least also have Phoniex back up and running)
2022: Replace Turn it Up! with a new show (one actually themed to the nature/animal theme of the park)
2023: Indoor Flying Theater
2024: B&M Giga
2025: Some kind of leisure ride, like a boat ride

 

I know that when the engineers went and rode the wing coasters they weren’t impressed so I wouldn’t hold out on one of those showing up at BGT.

 

Not to mention that we already have three B&M looping coasters in the park.

I believe that SWE's new strategy is to open a new ride every year at all of the parks, and they're already making plans for the next big coaster. So I'd say that the B&M Giga is probably on the horizon or an Intamin hyper/giga since that would be different than Mako at SWO. Coming in 2022.

 

I rode the one at Dollywood and loved it... it was more like flying than being on a coaster though.

 

Seeing as the two Busch parks tend to get similar rides, I’d expect the next coaster to be similar to whatever Williamsburg is building in 2021 (which, at the moment, seems like a large shuttle coaster).

 

I doubt it. The parks seem to be moving away from that kind of thing.

 

Oops, never mind.

 

He’s referring to the Giga not Pantheon

 

Oh duh, 2021, I read through that too fast.

 

A Giga would be expensive for the park...I think if they can build momentum with Iron Gwazi we may get something big

If Iron Gwazi under delivers then we may only get something small

 

This is the same company that opened Mako when SWO was struggling and is in the middle of a coaster spree with SWSD. I think we'll be fine.

 

I could see,

2020 Iron Gwazi
2021 Screaming Swing
2022 B&M Giga

 

I have a hard time seeing BG opening up a Giga just two years after IG. That would seriously consume a large portion of funds for other attractions at parks that likely need the attention more.

It is certainly possible, but I'm iffy.

 

Well 2 large coasters and a flat ride in 3 years is what BGW has done, so it's possible.

2019: Finnegan's Flyer
2020: Pantheon
2021: New huge coaster

 

Correction-- TALL new coaster. The size aside from height may be a disappointment.

 

Yes, its possible, but the strategy SW is doing right now is not conducive to building a large B&M Giga. Fury 325 cost $30 mill, meanwhile a ride like IG is probably gonna be around a third of that. Right now they seem to be doing rides that are around $10 million or less, and have shorter layouts. Not saying it has to be on the scale of Fury 325 or even an expensive B&M, but I presume that is the caliber of giga we would hope for and expect of such an excellent park like BGT.

It definitely is possible, but with their new strategy, it would consume a large portion of a budget for attractions across the board. Least we forget, BGT also got Tigris this year. Which for us may not be the most exciting attraction, but still is marketable as a new coaster.

 

I can second this, ive been seeing ads for Tigris everywhere, including youtube ads.

Do we know how much Pantheon cost?

 

Any new ride is marketable. Being the tallest/fastest/first of it's kind helps, but isn't necessary. Tigris is drawing a lot of interest from the GP, it's only enthusiasts who see it as something old hat.

 

I could see:
2021- Screamin' Swing
2022- Family Flats (similar to what's been added @ SWSD & SWSA in recent years, the flats, not the doomed sub ride)
2023- B&M Giga (Intamin, perhaps, but I would prefer an out & back layout like MF vs. an I-305ish design if so)

With 2021 & 2022 being interchangeable. These are needed long before the next coaster. We all know the park is lacking in flats as is, unless your under 4' tall of course. If they don't start adding more that the family can ride together, they are going to lose lots of return guests who are mostly families since there is nothing new for them to come back for. While I love we are getting Iron Gwazi and it will have a 48" height requirement, it's not exactly a coaster a lot of 4' tall children are going to ride, at least not in majority. There is also going to be a lot of people saying they won't ride it without OTSRs, and I have seen that all over FB and other places already. IG will likely have an initial boost to attendance upon opening, but it likely won't be as significant as many of us would think long-term, as most of the new people coming will be enthusiasts, who make up a small # of people who go to parks in general.

I'd also like to see a frisbee ride come, a Zamperla Giant Discovery would be great. Screamin' Swings are my favorite flat, and frisbees are a close second. A dark ride would be nice, but with their track record in the last decade, I wouldn't hold my breath for anything spectacular in that area, especially if they try and do it in-house.

Who knows though, well I'm sure someone knows but can't speak...lol