{"id":350251,"date":"2026-07-23T19:32:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-23T19:32:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/350251\/"},"modified":"2026-07-23T19:32:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-23T19:32:11","slug":"famous-kumba-roller-coaster-at-busch-gardens-tampa-bay-closes-august-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/350251\/","title":{"rendered":"Famous Kumba roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay closes August 2"},"content":{"rendered":"

Roller coaster leaves riders STUCK HANGING<\/a> <\/p>\n

A tense moment at Cedar Point Amusement Park left riders stranded vertically on the Siren’s Curse roller coaster just before a major drop. The incident occurred twice over the weekend, but all riders were safely evacuated, and no injuries were reported.<\/p>\n

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles!\n <\/p>\n

One of Florida’s most iconic roller coasters is preparing for its final ride after more than three decades, sparking a wave of nostalgia among theme-park enthusiasts.<\/p>\n

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay<\/a> recently shared that Kumba will permanently close on Aug. 2 after 33 years in operation, marking the end of one of the park’s best known attractions.<\/p>\n

When it debuted in 1993, Kumba was Florida’s tallest, fastest and longest roller coaster. It also featured the world’s tallest vertical loop and quickly became a favorite among thrill seekers, according to the Busch Gardens announcement on its website.<\/p>\n

BELOVED AMUSEMENT PARK WITH NO GATE FEE TAKES TOP SPOT AHEAD OF THEME PARK GIANTS<\/a><\/p>\n

The nearly three-minute ride takes guests through a 135-foot drop, reaches speeds of 60 mph and features seven inversions.<\/p>\n

While Kumba is retiring, Busch Gardens said on Instagram that it will replace the popular attraction<\/a> with Kumba’s Revenge \u2014 part of a $100 million investment aimed at expanding the park’s lineup of thrill rides.<\/p>\n

\"Kumba <\/p>\n

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay’s Kumba will permanently close on Aug. 2 after 33 years in operation, the venue said.\u00a0 (Alamy Stock Photo)<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital reached out to Busch Gardens for comment.<\/p>\n

The announcement sparked an emotional response from coaster enthusiasts<\/a>, many of whom shared memories of riding Kumba over the years.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR OUR LIFESTYLE NEWSLETTER<\/a><\/p>\n

“So sad to hear of this,” one Reddit user wrote. “Such a classic, legend and masterpiece.”<\/p>\n

Another person called the coaster “an old friend,” adding, “I’ve been lucky enough to have gotten hundreds of rides on it over the decades.”<\/p>\n

\"Kumba <\/p>\n

The nearly three-minute ride takes guests through a 135-foot drop, reaches speeds of 60 mph and features seven inversions. (Alamy Stock Photo)<\/p>\n

Others reflected on childhood memories tied to the attraction.<\/p>\n

“Kumba was pretty much a rite of passage for many Floridian children,” one longtime fan wrote, recalling riding the coaster for the first time during an elementary school field trip<\/a>.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE FOR MORE LIFESTYLE STORIES<\/a><\/p>\n

Many fans also expressed hope that its successor would live up to the original.<\/p>\n

“I just hope that your replacement is worthy of the legendary name,” one user wrote.<\/p>\n

\"Kumba <\/p>\n

The announcement sparked an emotional response from coaster enthusiasts, many of whom shared memories of riding Kumba over the years. (Ann Purcell\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n

Guests have until Aug. 2 to experience what Busch Gardens is calling Kumba’s “Final Roar” before the coaster permanently closes.<\/p>\n

Fox News Digital previously reported that several theme parks and attractions across the country have announced closures, prompting emotional reactions from longtime fans.<\/p>\n

CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE FOX NEWS APP<\/a><\/p>\n

In Washington state, Wild Waves Theme Park is preparing to close permanently after the 2026 season, ending nearly 50 years of operation.<\/p>\n

TEST YOURSELF WITH OUR LATEST LIFESTYLE QUIZ<\/a><\/p>\n

Visitors have flooded the park’s social media pages, sharing childhood memories<\/a> and urging a buyer to step in before the gates close for good.<\/p>\n

Andrea Margolis of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.<\/p>\n

Kelly McGreal is a production assistant with the lifestyle team at Fox News Digital.\u00a0<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Roller coaster leaves riders STUCK HANGING A tense moment at Cedar Point Amusement Park left riders stranded vertically…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350252,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[30076,28,2239,555,135,137,136,2411,107],"class_list":["post-350251","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-family-travel","tag-florida","tag-general","tag-lifestyle","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-theme-parks","tag-travel"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350251","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=350251"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350251\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350252"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350251"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350251"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350251"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}