One of Florida\u2019s 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\u00a0recently shared that Kumba will permanently close Aug. 2 after 33 years in operation, marking the end of one of the park\u2019s best known attractions.<\/p>\n
When it debuted in 1993, Kumba was Florida\u2019s tallest, fastest and longest roller coaster.<\/p>\n
It also featured the world\u2019s tallest vertical loop and quickly became a favorite among thrill seekers, according to the Busch Gardens announcement on its website.<\/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 it will\u00a0replace the popular attraction\u00a0with Kumba\u2019s Revenge, part of a $100 million investment aimed at expanding the park\u2019s lineup of thrill rides.<\/p>\n
Fox News Digital reached out to Busch Gardens for comment.<\/p>\n
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay\u2019s Kumba will permanently close on Aug. 2 after 33 years in operation, the venue said. SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, Inc.<\/p>\n
The announcement sparked an emotional response from\u00a0coaster enthusiasts, many of whom shared memories of riding Kumba over the years.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo sad to hear of this,\u201d one Reddit user wrote. \u201cSuch a classic, legend and masterpiece.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another person called the coaster \u201can old friend. I\u2019ve been lucky enough to have gotten hundreds of rides on it over the decades.\u201d<\/p>\n
Others reflected on childhood memories tied to the attraction.<\/p>\n
\u201cKumba was pretty much a rite of passage for many Floridian children,\u201d one longtime fan wrote, recalling riding the coaster for the first time during an\u00a0elementary school field trip.<\/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
Many fans also expressed hope that its successor would live up to the original.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just hope that your replacement is worthy of the legendary name,\u201d one user wrote.<\/p>\n
Guests have until Aug. 2 to experience what Busch Gardens is calling Kumba\u2019s \u201cFinal Roar\u201d before the coaster permanently closes.<\/p>\n
The announcement sparked an emotional response from coaster enthusiasts, many of whom shared memories of riding Kumba over the years. Corbis via Getty Images<\/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
In Washington state, Wild Waves Theme Park is preparing to close permanently after the 2026 season, ending nearly 50 years of operation.<\/p>\n
Visitors have flooded the park\u2019s social media pages, sharing\u00a0childhood memories\u00a0and urging a buyer to step in before the gates close for good.<\/p>\n
Andrea Margolis of Fox News Digital contributed reporting.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"One of Florida\u2019s most iconic roller coasters is preparing for its final ride after more than three decades,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":350981,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[28,555,35165,135,137,136,2411],"class_list":["post-350988","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-florida","tag-lifestyle","tag-roller-coasters","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-theme-parks"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350988","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=350988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/350988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/350981"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=350988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=350988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=350988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}