Cheetah Hunt

Cheetah Hunt is a steel launched roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. Manufactured by Intamin, it opened to the public on May 27, 2011,[1] alongside a new cheetah exhibit, "Cheetah Run".[2][3]

Cheetah Hunt
An overview of part of Cheetah Hunt
Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
LocationBusch Gardens Tampa Bay
Park sectionCrown Colony Plaza
Coordinates28°2′3″N 82°25′12″W
StatusOperating
Opening dateMay 27, 2011 (2011-05-27)
General statistics
TypeSteel – Launched
ManufacturerIntamin
ModelBlitz Coaster
Lift/launch systemLSM launch
Height102 ft (31 m)
Drop130 ft (40 m)
Length4,429 ft (1,350 m)
Speed60 mph (97 km/h)
Inversions1
G-force4
Height restriction48 in (122 cm)
Trains5 trains with 4 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 16 riders per train.
Launches1. 30 mph (48 km/h) in 1.8 seconds
2. 60 mph (97 km/h) in 2.4 seconds
3. 40 mph (64 km/h) in 2.1 seconds
ReplacedMonorail
WebsiteOfficial website
Quick Queue available
Cheetah Hunt at RCDB
Pictures of Cheetah Hunt at RCDB

History

The concept for the roller coaster, later to be known as Cheetah Hunt, from conceptualization to completion took seven years.[4] Cheetah Hunt was designed by Mark Rose, vice president of design and engineering at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, along with several parks executives.[5] Rose was inspired a scene in the Star Wars series, Return of the Jedi, where the protagonists navigated the forests of Endor on speeder bikes.[4][5] He initially thought of using a lift hill to reach the speed he wanted but after realizing the height of the lift would be too tall, he incorporated the design to include and linear synchronous motor (LSM) system.[5]

In the early planning and construction stages, the roller coaster was initially to be called "Cheetaka" as a trademark was filed on April 18, 2010 for the name by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment.[6] However, after the park realized that the name was too hard to pronounce and didn't describe the ride, the trademark was abandoned as the park searched for a new name.[7] By June 2010, the transportation gondola attraction Skyride was closed for the rumored attraction.[8] Before the ride was officially announced, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay ran a teaser campaign, which slowly revealed details of the attraction across mid-2010. Five teaser videos were released which featured cut scenes of the ride's point-of-view shot video.[9]

On October 12, 2010, the day prior to the announcement of the ride, a second trademark was filed under the name of "Cheetah Hunt".[10] Cheetah Hunt was officially announced on October 13, 2010 by park president, Jim Dean.[3][11] By November 18, some supports for the ride were already in place and vertical construction began.[12] By mid-December, the supports for the 102-foot-tall (31 m) figure 8 element were complete with some pieces of track also installed.[13]

In the beginning of February 2011, the park introduced several of the cheetahs that would be enclosed in the Cheetah Run attraction.[14] On February 17, 2011, the park announced the opening date for the attraction to be in late-May 2011.[15] The roller coaster's trains arrived on February 28, 2011.[16] On March 14, 2011, track work for the roller coaster was completed.[17] Later on March 27, 2011, Attractions Magazine observed that the park was completing "walk-through tests" on the track, a measure to ensure the trains could safely clear obstacles.[18] Cheetah Hunt opened to the public on May 27, 2011.[2]

Ride experience
One of Cheetah Hunt's trains ascending to the figure 8 element

The ride begins with a 30-mile-per-hour (48 km/h) linear synchronous motor (LSM) launch out of the station and around a wide left turn followed by a gradual dip before approaching the second launch. This launch accelerates riders to their top speed of 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) before climbing a 102-foot (31 m) figure-eight element (also known as a Windcatcher Tower[19]). Riders weave through a series of helixes before dropping 130 feet (40 m) into a trench, then proceed over a directional changing airtime hill crossing over the Skyride, before completing the ride's only inversion, a heartline roll. Upon exiting the barrel-roll and its subsequent brake run, the ride remains low to the ground and goes through a series of short banked turns through a rock fixture simulating several "near misses". This leads the ride into its third and final launch which accelerates riders to a speed of 40 miles per hour (64 km/h) to navigate its way back to the station. During the journey back there is airtime and directional changing hills before the final brake run.[2][11][20]

Characteristics

Cheetah Hunt is an Intamin launched steel roller coaster.[2] The ride's station is located in the former monorail station which was decommissioned in the 1990s.[21]

Cheetah Run

This ride is inspired by cheetahs. To go alongside Cheetah Hunt, Busch Gardens Tampa also opened an animal exhibit called Cheetah Run. The exhibit features glass-paneled viewing areas which allow visitors to watch the world's fastest land animal sprinting across plains. In late January 2011, five cheetahs arrived on site in preparation for the opening of the exhibit. Educational touch screen panels complete the exhibit.[3][11][22][23]

Incidents
Main article: Incidents at SeaWorld parks

On February 12, 2014, one of the train's loaded with 16-passengers stopped between the first and second launch on the roller coaster's banked crest. Park officials attempted to move the train backwards onto the launch platform but failed. The Tampa Fire Rescue Department was called thereafter to rescue the passengers with a cherry picker and a ladder during inclement weather. All passengers rescued were not injured.[24][25][26] The roller coaster remained closed the day after the incident for inspection by park maintenance.[27]

Reception

After the original name was changed upon the roller coaster's announcement, many enthusiast's complained the saying "Cheetah Hunt" did not fit the roller coaster, pressing Busch Gardens to revert to "Cheetaka".[7][28] However, Busch Gardens responded saying that the name would not be changed.[7][28]

Cheetah Hunt was mostly well-received from the public and critics. Sean Daly from the Tampa Bay Times said that Cheetah Hunt isn't that scary and compared it to SheiKra and Montu. He was also surprised that the train, "Despite having three head-snapping launches, the ride gets curiously slow at times", but still praised the ride for its final launch, "[It] sends you over a seemingly small parabola, a stomach-flipping surprise ending".[19]

Awards
Golden Ticket Awards: Best New Ride for 2011
Ranking
2[29]
Golden Ticket Awards: Top steel Roller Coasters
Year201120122013201420152016201720182019
Ranking –[30]–[31]–[32]48[33]37[34]39[35]29 (tied)[36]35[37]36[38]

See also
  • 2011 in amusement parks
  • iSpeed, another Intamin Blitz Coaster model located at Mirabilandia
  • Maverick, another Intamin Blitz Coaster model located at Cedar Point
  • Verbolten, a Zierer family launch roller coaster at sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg

References
  1. Albright, Mark (February 18, 2011). "Busch Gardens' Cheetah Hunt coaster in sprint to May 27 completion". St. Petersburg Times. Tampa Bay. Archived from the original on February 21, 2011. Retrieved February 20, 2011.
  2. Marden, Duane. "Cheetah Hunt  (Busch Gardens Tampa)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  3. Garcia, Jason (October 13, 2010). "SeaWorld unveils new reef for Discovery Cove, new coaster for Busch Gardens". Orlando Sentinel. Tribune Company. Archived from the original on January 4, 2013. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  4. "Busch Gardens' Mark Rose: Designing roller coasters is one hell of a ride". Metro. DMG Media. February 17, 2014. Archived from the original on February 19, 2014. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  5. Albright, Mark (April 3, 2011). "Busch Gardens engineer found his calling designing thrills". Tampa Bay Times. Times Publishing Company. Archived from the original on September 13, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2013.
  6. "Cheetaka". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  7. Albright, Mark (October 13, 2010). "Busch Gardens' Cheetah Hunt coaster to launch riders to 60 mph three times". St. Petersburg Times. Times Publishing Company. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved November 19, 2020.
  8. "New Busch Ride To Put Skyride On Hiatus". Tampa Bay Times. Times Publishing Company. June 7, 2010. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  9. Albright, Mark (October 13, 2010). "Busch Gardens' Cheetah Hunt coaster to launch riders to 60 mph three times". St. Petersburg Times. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  10. "Cheetah Hunt". United States Patent and Trademark Office. Retrieved April 10, 2013.
  11. "Busch Gardens Tampa Bay & Discovery Cove in Orlando announce 2011 additions". SeaWorld Parks Blog. October 13, 2010. Archived from the original on October 16, 2010. Retrieved October 14, 2010.
  12. "Insider Update: Cheetah Hunt Has Gone Vertical". SeaWorld Parks Blog. November 18, 2010. Archived from the original on January 19, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  13. "Cheetah Hunt: Construction Update". SeaWorld Parks Blog. December 13, 2010. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  14. "Cheetahs arrive at Busch Gardens in anticipation of new attraction". Attractions Magazine. February 2, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  15. Albright, Mark (February 18, 2011). "Cheetah Coaster Sprints To Finish". Tampa Bay Times. Times Publishing Company. Archived from the original on November 21, 2020. Retrieved November 21, 2020.
  16. "Cheetah Hunt's coaster cars have arrived at Busch Gardens". Attractions Magazine. February 28, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2011.
  17. "Cheetah Hunt roller coaster track is complete, theming continues". Attractions Magazine. March 16, 2011. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  18. Gworek, Don (March 27, 2011). "Cheetah Hunt Update: Vehicle walk-through testing in progress". Attractions Magazine. Retrieved December 31, 2020.
  19. Daly, Sean (May 20, 2011). "Cheetah Hunt review: Busch Gardens coaster is one cool ride". Tampa Bay Times. Archived from the original on April 11, 2012. Retrieved June 20, 2013.
  20. "Upcoming Events Pictures & Videos: Cheetah Hunt Virtual Ride". Video. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Archived from the original on July 8, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  21. Roseboom, Matt (January 28, 2011). "Photo Finds: Construction update for Cheetah Hunt roller coaster at Busch Gardens". Attractions Magazine. Archived from the original on July 7, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  22. Roseboom, Matt (February 2, 2011). "Cheetahs arrive at Busch Gardens in anticipation of new attraction". Attractions Magazine. Archived from the original on October 6, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  23. "Cheetahs arrive at Busch Gardens". St. Petersburg Times. Times Publishing Company. Archived from the original on March 5, 2011. Retrieved February 7, 2011.
  24. Staff (February 13, 2014). "Riders rescued from Cheetah Hunt roller coaster". Tampa Bay Times. Times Publishing Company. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  25. Billi, Charles (February 13, 2014). "16 rescued from stuck roller coaster in Florida". USA Today. Gannett. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  26. "Riders rescued after being stuck on Cheetah Hunt". Tampa Bay Business Journal. American City Business Journals. February 13, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  27. Staff (February 13, 2014). "Cheetah Hunt roller coaster remains closed". Tampa Bay Times. Times Publishing Company. Retrieved November 23, 2020.
  28. Bevil, Dewayne (October 21, 2010). "Busch Gardens out to channel the cheetah". Orlando Sentinel. Tribune Publishing. Retrieved March 1, 2013.
  29. "Amusement Today – Golden Ticket Awards 2011" (PDF). Amusement Today. 15 (6.2): 4, 27B. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  30. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 15 (6.2): 38–39. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  31. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 36–37. September 2012. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  32. "2013 Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 17 (6.2): 34–35. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  33. "2014 Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2): 46–47. September 2014. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  34. "2015 Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (6.2): 49–50. September 2015. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  35. "2016 top 50 steel roller coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  36. "2017 Top 50 Steel Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  37. "2018 Top 50 Steel Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
  38. "2019 Top Steel". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2019. Retrieved December 29, 2016.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.