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SHEIKRA (BUSCH GARDENS, TAMPA BAY)
Florida Guide > Other Parks
The ride Sheikra is the name of an African hawk and also name to the United States only dive coaster, built in early 2005 at Busch Gardens, Tampa Bay.
The ride carries victims to 200ft in the air and drops them at 90 degrees till they are reaching 70mph, after this the ride is all twists and turns finally ending up with a drop into the darkness. The ride is Florida’s new tallest rollercoaster.
Where this ride sets it apart from all the others in the world is the fact you go through a complete loop after the first 200ft drop, no other coaster in the world has so far done this. When you think of this ride it does bring back thoughts of Oblivion at Alton Towers, but like most things in the USA it is nearly 10 times bigger than its UK counterpart!
When I rode it in early Aug I was amazed at the steepness of the first drop and how high it was. To be honest I am not scared of rollercoaster’s but for some reason I was more nervous than I have ever been. Just standing there watching it made my heart beat faster.
The first time I rode it we queued for the front of the car. While we were waiting we were talking to another couple who had been on the front before and they said that was the best place to experience the huge drops, as you could see everything in the park. When you get to the top (eventually) you can see everything and as Kunba is nearby and 50ft lower down.
For us the first drop was the best as you get the sensation of your stomach ending up in your mouth (a bit like the tower of terror). After this you go straight into the large inverted loop and then loads of banked turns before another loop and then into the final 130 ft drop into the dark.
How would I rate this coaster, well I am a coaster nut and up until then the Hulk was my favourite ride, but I have to day Busch Gardens have got a winner in this ride. It is so impressive just standing near it and the sheer excitement of watching it is good value for money. Like most new rollercoaster the queue was very long, but it seemed to go quickly enough. Overall I would rate it 9 out of 10.
Author: Dominic and Melanie Graham (Villa link: click here)
Other articles by this author: click here We aim to provide acccurate and useful information, but if you feel anything provided here is not accurate or out of date, please email us with the address of the page concerned and any commments so we can amend as necessary. Page added on: 30 August 2005
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