Busch Gardens: The Dark Continent
June 16th-18th, 1999
| Busch Gardens: The Dark Continent June 16th-18th, 1999 |
Getting ready to rummmmmble Michael Buffer, looking natty in a powder blue tuxedo, introduced Busch Gardens executive vice president and general manager Robin Carson, Gwazi designer Mark Rose and American Coaster Enthusiasts president Bill Linkenheimer to the sparse media crowd. Then, with trademarked cool and slickness--Buffer introduced the mythical beast that is Gwazi: half lion, half tiger, all angry and divided against itself. Buffer lowered his voice after the introductions of the blue and yellow sides and challenged the waiting crowd with a hearty "are you ready to rummmmble!" before we charged the station, indicating that we were indeed. Choose wisely A coaster taste-test Gwazi Tiger takes the same graceful first drop, but from there, it's a whole other animal. Blessed with agility and strength, this beast dashes from side to side, bounding against gravity and taking you on a wild ride filled with soaring drops and tightly knit "S" curves. Lion may be faster, but Tiger makes you feel like you've been thrown off of a cliff. Two distinctively different personalities wrapped up in one beautiful layout, complete with African theming.
It's a curious billing that the Southeast's newest thrill gets. As far as I can tell, it's the only wooden coaster in the state of Florida and that makes it a precious gem indeed. 1.25 million board feet of southern yellow pine was used to create this delightful double threat which is actually two coasters in one. That's over 7,000 feet of track, fifteen drops, dozens of high-speed turns and a race to the finish that is absolutely heart-stopping. But we're getting ahead of ourselves here.
It started in the early morning in the media center. 8:00 a.m. is mighty early to be up and about for some people, but the crew set up equipment on top of the employee parking garage directly across from the mammoth wooden structure. Empty trains began cycling past, brightly colored cars of blue and yellow with day-glo confetti decorations all around.
A graceful ballet to observe as the two sides square off against one another at the top of twin 94 foot hills and then dive down to meet somewhere at the base of gnarled and twisted brown timbers. A world's first, and so brand spanking new that many of the park's employees hadn't even been on yet. 
We chose to hit the lion side first, known for cunning and speed. Upon brake release, both trains creep forward and storm into an initial confrontation at the front of the authentically designed Gwazi village station. Circling each other warily, the two trains drop down into tunnels and zip up a speed bump before beginning the lift climb opposite the sides from where they started. It's an exciting start to the journey, but you'll soon forget it as the coiled, twisting, snarling track layout greets your eye. Which track is which? There, across the chasm of your jagged future is the other train, Gwazi Tiger--curling around the very same curve that we're curling around--the trains pause a bit before angling down into that first yawning drop and the air-time starts, unrelenting, and so is our angle of descent and approach--heading directly towards the other plummeting train. 
Only at the last minute do both tracks veer away crazily into a half-helix, boards clattering noisily, mixing with the wide-eyed screams of passing riders. With each train zipping along at 50 m.p.h., there's a combined whooshing of 100 m.p.h. happening there and you feel just about every mile of it. Here's the difference between steel and wood--steel stays put. On a wooden coaster, when you slam down into the bottom of a dip, you feel the floor cave in and then snap back at you. Crashing through the helix and up into a tight upwards spiral, I was vaguely aware of a fanned canopy of track that we were speeding through, it was the latticework of the other track's first drop. 
Gathering speed and hurtling into a tight drop and curve combo--the blue train comes into view again and the angle becomes sharp as another fly-by occurs and the positive G's press hard against us. A deliriously angled bunny-hop provides strangely lateral air-time before heading into the woods again, dashing past shuddering wooden beams and whooshing by the other train again as we buzz the station. Lion side has a nice, loping sort of feel to it and some more camel backs ensue before we creep back into the station.
The immediate feeling was to run around and try out the Gwazi Tiger, since that side came in whooping and hollering like maniacs. Lion surely was exciting, but we felt there was something more to be discovered. As it turned out, we were right.
Standing outside in the main plaza, we took a good look at the thatched roof huts that are spread throughout the area. Zulu craftsmen from the Kwazulu-Natal region of South Africa came in and used long-honored traditions to create the thatching, adding a uniquely cultural flavor to the ride. The distant roar of the two-headed beast is a call to come play with the big cats. It's truly a case of choosing wisely for those who don't know the moods of each fierce feline. Everyone should ride a wooden coaster at least once, and if you're bound to try this experience--you might want to start with Gwazi Lion. Isn't it nice that Busch gives you a choice?