The Final Roar: Kumba Closes at Busch Gardens Tampa on August 2 — What’s Next for the Legend?

After 33 years of rattling through the Congo and delivering one of Florida’s most iconic rides, Kumba is officially closing.

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay announced that the legendary Bolliger & Mabillard sit-down coaster will operate for the last time on Sunday, August 2, 2026. Annual Pass members will get an exclusive early window the day before, but once the final train rolls into the station that Sunday, the roar that has defined the park for more than three decades will fall silent.

A Brief History of a Florida Icon

Kumba opened on April 21, 1993, as part of a major expansion of the Congo section. At the time, it was a complete game-changer for Florida theme parks:

• Florida’s tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster
• The world’s tallest vertical loop (114 feet)
• One of the earliest (and still one of the best) B&M sit-down coasters ever built

Designed by Werner Stengel and built by Bolliger & Mabillard, Kumba featured a layout that still feels ambitious today. The ride climbs a 143-foot lift hill, drops 135 feet into a massive vertical loop that wraps around the lift, then throws riders through a dive loop, a zero-g roll, a cobra roll, and a pair of interlocking corkscrews before finishing with a helix. Top speed: 60 mph. Track length: 3,978 feet. Inversions: seven.

When it opened, Kumba helped push Busch Gardens Tampa’s attendance significantly higher and quickly earned a reputation as one of the smoothest and most intense rides in the state. Even as newer coasters arrived (Montu in 1996, SheiKra, Falcon’s Fury, Iron Gwazi), Kumba remained a consistent favorite and a regular presence in Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket rankings for decades.

Its distinctive “roar” — the hollow, vibrating sound created by the track and trains — became part of the park’s soundtrack.

The Closing

On July 14, 2026, the park confirmed what many enthusiasts had been quietly dreading for years. After more than three decades of operation, Kumba’s track and structure have reached the end of their practical service life. Rather than invest in a full retrack, Busch Gardens has chosen to retire the original coaster.

Guests have until August 2 to experience it one last time. If you’ve never ridden it (or haven’t ridden it in years), this is the final window.

What’s Replacing It: Kumba’s Revenge

The good news? The name isn’t disappearing completely.

Alongside the closure announcement, Busch Gardens revealed that a new attraction called Kumba’s Revenge is coming as part of a $100 million investment aimed at elevating the park as “Florida’s thrill leader.”

Official details remain scarce. The park has described it as a “next-generation” evolution of the Kumba experience that will “honor everything guests loved about the original while delivering an entirely new level of thrills.” No manufacturer, height, inversion count, or opening timeline has been released yet.

Online speculation has already started flying — everything from a modern B&M sit-down or hyper to a full giga coaster taking over the footprint (and possibly more of the surrounding area). For now, all we know for certain is that the park is committing significant money to keeping the spirit of Kumba alive in a new form.

What This Means for Guests

Kumba’s departure marks the end of an era at Busch Gardens Tampa. It was the park’s oldest operating roller coaster and one of the purest examples of early-’90s B&M design left in the country. Rides with this kind of layout and character are becoming rarer every year.

If you’re in the Tampa Bay area (or planning a trip) between now and early August, prioritize a final ride. The lines will likely grow as the closing date approaches, especially on weekends.

Florida Thrills will be following any new developments on Kumba’s Revenge closely. As soon as official concept art, ride type, or construction updates drop, you’ll see them here.

For now, one last roar remains.

Go ride it while you still can.