The world's tallest Screamin' Swing ride is coming to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in 2023, the park announced this morning.
Serengeti Flyer will swing riders up to 135 feet in the air on twin dueling arms above Busch Gardens' Serengeti Plain. With a 105-foot frame, Serengeti Flyer reach a top speed of 68 miles per hour, making it the fastest of its model, too. (Which should be implied from its record height because, you know, physics and math.) Up to 40 people at a time will be able to ride the attraction, which will have a height requirement of 48 inches.
"We believe that Serengeti Flyer will be the perfect high-thrill addition to our world-class portfolio of attractions," Park President Neal Thurman said.
Serengeti Flyer follows the 2019 installation of another S&S Screamin' Swing, Finnegan’s Flyer, at sister Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia. [Read Russell Meyer's review: Finnegan's Flyer opens at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.] That installation reaches a swing height of just 80 feet with a top speed of 45 mph, so Florida definitely gets the "bigger little brother" here. Serengeti Flyer matches the specs of the recently installed Tidal Surge at SeaWorld San Antonio, since SeaWorld increasingly appears to be buying in bulk when it orders new attractions.
Here's a look at the construction progress for Serengeti Flyer.
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We were just there yesterday, and the ride is at the old Rhino Rally load station, so it shouldn’t cause any issues with the animal habitats:
How is this record-breaking when it matches the stats for Tidal Surge at SeaWorld San Antonio?
https://seaworld.com/san-antonio/rides/tidal-surge/
As for noise, you can hear Falcon's Fury way across the street at Adventure Island, and given Serengeti Flyer will be at the old Rhino Rally load station, I don't see it causing any additional issues.
This ride is just a couple feet taller and a couple MPH faster than Skyhawk at Cedar Point... which is a great ride, so it should be a fine addition to the BGT lineup.
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Considering how loud these rides are it seems strange they would put it in the Serengeti are where so many of the large mammals are. I would like to think they figured this out beforehand, but this is modern Sea World we are talking about, it's entirely plausible to me that they are throwing this up with no thought whatsoever.