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INSIDE BUSCH GARDENS
Falcon's Fury Arrives at Busch Gardens, Piece by Piece
by Lauren Cresta - Interactive Marketing Manager
Ride Pieces for the Park’s Newest Attraction Make Trek Across the Atlantic Ocean, Arriving through the Port of Tampa
In June, Busch Gardens Tampa announced that it would be taking thrills to new heights with Falcon’s Fury™, North America’s tallest freestanding drop tower, in spring 2014. The construction has been underway ever since then, and the Busch Gardens design and engineering team is almost ready to start putting the pieces together.
While smaller components of the 335-foot drop tower have been arriving from several countries in Europe, including Slovakia, Switzerland and Germany, the cylinder sections arrived last week. The vertical tower is comprised of nine sections, each up to 20 feet in diameter and weighing up to 95 tons, or 190,000 pounds.
The total weight of the tower pieces that were delivered last week was approximately 519 tons, or more than 1 million pounds of steel. The pieces were shipped more than 4,700 nautical miles from the port of Tarragona, Spain and made the month-long trip across the Atlantic Ocean to the Port of Tampa. The ride pieces were then trucked to Busch Gardens over the course of two days, where they are waiting to be installed later this year.
For more than five decades Busch Gardens has delivered some of the world’s most exciting thrills. In spring 2014 Busch Gardens is taking guests’ experiences to new heights with Falcon’s Fury, the first drop tower of its kind in the world. Additionally, with no connecting structures, it will be the tallest freestanding drop tower in North America.
Falcon’s Fury
No bird can match the speed of a falcon in its hunting dive. The falcon is the fastest animal on Earth, reaching speeds of 200 mph. Designers were inspired by this bird of prey during the development of Falcon’s Fury. Falcon’s Fury will stand at 335 feet and take riders soaring 60 mph straight down. Located in the Timbuktu area, Falcon’s Fury will be visible from any location in the park and even across the Tampa Bay area.
At the ride’s highest point Busch Gardens has added an element of surprise. Like its bird of prey namesake, riders will pivot 90 degrees in midair to a face-down dive position. An instant later they'll plunge 60 mph at 3.5 Gs straight down with speed and power like they’ve likely never experienced before.
For more updates about Falcon’s Fury at Busch Gardens Tampa, go to
FalconsFury.com