Iron Gwazi
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Iron Gwazi
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay · US · Rocky Mountain Construction IBox Track (Gwazi conversion)
“Old Gwazi’s timbers found a new iron road in the Tampa heat.”
UNOFFICIAL · NOT PARK-ENDORSED
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Fast facts
- Iron Gwazi is a hybrid coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. buschgardens.com
- Rocky Mountain Construction manufactured the ride, combining steel coaster engineering with a wooden coaster structure. buschgardens.com
- The coaster stands 62.8 metres tall, listed by the park as a 206-foot-tall peak. buschgardens.com
- Iron Gwazi reaches 122 km/h, listed by the park as 76 mph. buschgardens.com
- The ride includes three inversions during its course. buschgardens.com
- Iron Gwazi opened to the public on March 11, 2022. seaworldparks.co.uk
- Amusement Today named Iron Gwazi Best New Roller Coaster in the 2022 Golden Ticket Awards. amusementtoday.com
The story of Iron Gwazi
Before the iron came, there was Gwazi, a wooden coaster that opened in 1999 and closed in 2015. Rocky Mountain Construction’s new work kept portions of that old wooden structure, giving Busch Gardens Tampa Bay a ride that looked backward as well as forward. cdaedc.org
The rebuilding was an Idaho achievement set down in Florida soil. Rocky Mountain Construction brought its patented IBox steel track to the former Gwazi frame, remaking the course as a taller and faster hybrid coaster for the palms and warm afternoons of Tampa. cdaedc.org
Its arrival was delayed by the difficult months of 2020 and 2021. Busch Gardens later acknowledged the two-year delay, while contemporary reporting recorded construction liens and unpaid work connected with Iron Gwazi during the pandemic shutdown. prnewswire.com· themeparktribune.com
At last, the gates opened on March 11, 2022. By the autumn of that same year, Iron Gwazi had carried Tampa’s name to the Golden Ticket Awards, where Amusement Today named it Best New Roller Coaster of 2022. seaworldparks.co.uk· amusementtoday.com
Sources
- buschgardens.com Acceptable source
- seaworldparks.co.uk Acceptable source
- amusementtoday.com Acceptable source
- cdaedc.org Acceptable source
- prnewswire.com Acceptable source
- themeparktribune.com Acceptable source
This background is AI-drafted from public sources and human-reviewed before publishing — approved 20 August 2026.