Falcon's Fury

[Cheezbat]

I hate drop towers...and love the Sandstorm. If they axe that ride for some crappy drop tower I'm going to be pissed. They should just relocate Sandstorm.

 

[KRAKENvsMANTA]

I hear Sandstorm is being relocated to BGW or Sesame Street Place. That sucks! I wonder if the Gwazi removal rumor had anything to do with this. Sandstorm's new home in BGT was supposed to be near Gwazi. Now with Gwazi on the chopping block, perhaps that location is no longer available. The rumors speculate an Intamin/B&M hyper or maybe even a WingRider. It's possible that the new project will utilize the spot were the Sandstorm was supposed to go, and hence the reason why it's being relocated to another park. Just my guess.

Regarding the drop tower, as said months ago, I hope this thing is somehow unique(tilting seats) and very tall(300 ft+).

 

[PWT]

Will be announced June 11th at 10 AM.

Logo filename for the invitation sent to media is "BGT-Drop-Tower."

via Inside The Magic.

 

[Hatetofly]

Thanks for the heads up! I'm gonna guess 227ft tall with onboard audio and tilting seats.

 

[Brian G.]

Yup. Park Pres Jim Dean will be announcing "The biggest news that's been dropped in years.".

 

[Octobers Fade]

Doesn't do anything for me. The one at BGW at least had a view.

 

[Brian G.]

From Busch:

This Sunday, June 2 will be the last day Busch Gardens Tampa guests will be able to ride the Sandstorm. Located in the Timbuktu area of the park, the Sandstorm opened in December 1979. Following the Sandstorm’s departure, Busch Gardens Tampa will announce future plans for Timbuktu.

 

[hildyp0824]

This makes me so sad. Sandstorm was my daughter's favorite ride growing up. It's a great ride for those kids that are still too young for coasters but like a little bit of thrill. May have to make a trip out to BG tomorrow.

 

[KRAKENvsMANTA]

From Busch:

This Sunday, June 2 will be the last day Busch Gardens Tampa guests will be able to ride the Sandstorm. Located in the Timbuktu area of the park, the Sandstorm opened in December 1979. Following the Sandstorm’s departure, Busch Gardens Tampa will announce future plans for Timbuktu.

This sucks. I'm going to BG in two weeks; just missing a chance to say goodbye to The Sandstorm. Had some fun memories. A great flat ride that will be missed.

On another note, at least I'll be able to say goodbye to Gwazi.

 

[TylerDurden]

I've heard it'll be called Desert Dive. And I'm guessing it won't be taller than 200 feet :thumbs:

 

[Hatetofly]

I've heard it'll be called Desert Dive. And I'm guessing it won't be taller than 200 feet :thumbs:

They filed for that name in May 2012, and there's reports of it being 330' tall!

 

[maxairmike]

I haven't paid too close of attention to this thread, so I may have missed it, but are we talking an Intamin free fall tower or an S&S tower complex?

 

[Hatetofly]

I haven't paid too close of attention to this thread, so I may have missed it, but are we talking an Intamin free fall tower or an S&S tower complex?

I'm pretty sure were talking Intamin Gyro tower

 

[maxairmike]

A little less excited, then, as I prefer S&S towers. Those gyro drops do make me nervous, for some odd reason. I'm fine on S&S towers, even Lex Luthor, but something about the gyro drop really had me regretting my decision to ride all the way up the tower until it finally dropped...then I was good (Drop Zone...excuse me, Tower, at Kings Island).

 

[TylerDurden]

They filed for that name in May 2012, and there's reports of it being 330' tall!

That would be awesome. But isn't there some kind of strict height regulation in Tampa? Maybe it's because it's close to an airport or something? I might be way off here but I'm pretty sure I heard about some kind of restriction on Busch Gardens making roller coasters over 200 feet tall.

 

[StarTrekGeek]

That would be awesome. But isn't there some kind of strict height regulation in Tampa? Maybe it's because it's close to an airport or something? I might be way off here but I'm pretty sure I heard about some kind of restriction on Busch Gardens making roller coasters over 200 feet tall.

Well as far as I know, the only restriction is that any building taller than 200 ft must have a red beacon, and that's for any Florida building (I believe). I'm not aware of any other restrictions.

330 ft Intamin Gyro? My god, I love this project already!

 

[ParkRumors]

The only restriction is that structures over 200' tall must have aircraft warning lights on them, and depending on the property's proximity to an airport, all structures are subject to approval by the FAA.

Busch applied for and received approval to build a 330' monopole amusement park attraction early last year:
http://parkrumors.com/busch-gardens-drop-tower-to-be-330ft-tall/

Here's a direct link to the FAA approval document:
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=157759707

 

[TylerDurden]

The only restriction is that structures over 200' tall must have aircraft warning lights on them, and depending on the property's proximity to an airport, all structures are subject to approval by the FAA.

Busch applied for and received approval to build a 330' monopole amusement park attraction early last year:
http://parkrumors.com/busch-gardens-drop-tower-to-be-330ft-tall/

Here's a direct link to the FAA approval document:
https://oeaaa.faa.gov/oeaaa/external/searchAction.jsp?action=displayOECase&oeCaseID=157759707

ok, thought it was a bit more complicated than that but I guess I was wrong. Thanks :thumbs:

 

[Felipe]

Thanks for the info and documents ParkRumors! :thumbs:

 

[ynnoj]

Just looked up an Intamin Gyro. At 330' tall, this thing will be balls scary.