1959: March 31st- Busch Gardens Tampa opens as an admission-free beer hospitality facility for the Tampa Anheuser-Busch brewery. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1966: September- the monorail ride, a one-half mile inner-veldt trip, opens. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1971: May- the exciting two-mile Trans Veldt Railway is added. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1973: June- Stanley Falls, a log flume ride, opens. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1974: May- the three-story Skyride opens, providing an eagle-eye view of the Serengeti Plain. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1975: April- Marrakesh, the Moroccan Village, opens. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1976: July, the Python, Florida’s ultimate thrill ride, opens. Monstrous Mamba and also Congo area open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1977: September- the African Queen Boat Ride, Claw Island, the Swinging Vines, and Vivi Storehouse Restaurant open and complete the Congo area. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1980: January- Timbuktu opens, featuring a German Festhaus, Dolphin Theater, rides, games, and crafts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1981: Scorpion- the single looping steel roller coaster opens. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1982: May- Congo River Rapids opens; June- a pair of rare white Bengal tigers are added to Claw Island in the Congo area. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1983: August-Dwarf Village, a children's play area, opens. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1984: June- the Phoenix, an ancient Egyptian cargo vessel ride, opens. The pendulum-like thriller swings riders aboard a suspended boat through a series of loops, reaching a height of sixty feet. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1986: April- a new one-acre elephant display opens; August- the 1,200 seat Moroccan Palace Theater opens; December- the Nairobi Field Station Animal Nursery opens. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1987: Birth of the first Asian elephant in November; Two giant pandas, on loan from the People’s Republic of China, are on display for one year. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1988: April- three white Bengal tiger cubs are born. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1989: March- Busch Gardens celebrates its 30th Anniversary; June- the Tanganyika Tidal Wave and the Clydesdale Hamlet open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1990: The Crown Colony House, the beautiful full-service restaurant and hospitality center, overlooking the Serengeti Plain, opens. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1991: The Questor, a simulator that takes you on a journey though the earth, opens. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1992: The Myombe Reserve, a three-acre home for six lowland gorillas and nine chimpanzees, opens. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1993: April- Kumba, the largest steel roller coaster in the southeast, opens. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1995: The Land of the Dragons, a highly interactive play area for children, replaces the Dwarf Village. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1996: May- Egypt opens, featuring Montu, the tallest and longest inverted roller coaster in the world. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1997: The Edge of Africa opens offering up close encounters for guests with animals. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1998: Questor changes to Akbar’s Adventure Tours. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 1999: June- Gwazi, the largest dueling wooden roller coaster in the southeast, debuts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2000: Serengeti Plain is improved, offering world-class animal experiences. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2001: Rhino Rally, a first of its kind off-road safari river adventure simulating the wilds of Africa, opens in Nairobi. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2003: The Haunted Lighthouse, a 4-D interactive movie, opens; World Rhythms on Ice show ends. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2004: February- Cheetah Chase, a wild mouse roller coaster opens; KaTonga, a Broadway style show, opens in the Moroccan Palace Theater. December-The new Zambia Smokehouse opens, representing the first stage of Stanleyville renovation. Akbar's Adventure Tours opens briefly, before closing down again. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2005: May- SheiKra, the only dive machine roller coaster in the United States, opens in the newly renovated Stanleyville. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2006: February- Pirates 4-D replaces R.L. Stein's Haunted Lighthouse at the Timbuktu Theater. November 1st: Python, operating for 30 years, closes, and begins to be demolished. Claw Island, the tiger exhibit, also closes as part of a Congo renovation/rebuilding project. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2007: January- SheiKra, the first dive coaster in the United States, is announced to be going floorless after Memorial Day. On June 16th, SheiKra reopened to the public. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2008: Jungala, an interactive playground and animal habitat opens on April 4th. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009: The fiftieth anniversary of Busch Gardens Tampa.
