1959: March 31st- Busch Gardens Tampa opens as an admission-free
beer hospitality facility for the Tampa Anheuser-Busch brewery.
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1966: September- the monorail ride, a one-half mile inner-veldt
trip, opens.
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1971: May- the exciting two-mile Trans Veldt Railway is added.
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1973: June- Stanley Falls, a log flume ride, opens.
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1974: May- the three-story Skyride opens, providing an eagle-eye
view of the Serengeti Plain.
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1975: April- Marrakesh, the Moroccan Village, opens.
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1976: July, the Python, Florida’s ultimate thrill ride, opens.
Monstrous Mamba and also Congo area open.
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1977: September- the African Queen Boat Ride, Claw Island, the
Swinging Vines, and Vivi Storehouse Restaurant open and complete the Congo
area.
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1980: January- Timbuktu opens, featuring a German Festhaus, Dolphin
Theater, rides, games, and crafts.
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1981: Scorpion- the single looping steel roller coaster opens.
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1982: May- Congo River Rapids opens; June- a pair of rare white
Bengal tigers are added to Claw Island in the Congo area.
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1983: August-Dwarf Village, a children's play area, opens.
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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.
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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.
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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.
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1988: April- three white Bengal tiger cubs are born.
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1989: March- Busch Gardens celebrates its 30th Anniversary; June-
the Tanganyika Tidal Wave and the Clydesdale Hamlet open.
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1990: The Crown Colony House, the beautiful full-service restaurant
and hospitality center, overlooking the Serengeti Plain, opens.
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1991: The Questor, a simulator that takes you on a journey though
the earth, opens.
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1992: The Myombe Reserve, a three-acre home for six lowland gorillas and
nine chimpanzees, opens.
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1993: April- Kumba, the largest steel roller coaster in the southeast,
opens.
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1995: The Land of the Dragons, a highly interactive play area for
children, replaces the Dwarf Village.
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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.
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1998: Questor changes to Akbar’s Adventure Tours.
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1999: June- Gwazi, the largest dueling wooden roller coaster in the
southeast, debuts.
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2000: Serengeti Plain is improved, offering world-class animal
experiences.
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2001: Rhino Rally, a first of its kind off-road safari river
adventure simulating the wilds of Africa, opens in Nairobi.
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2003: The Haunted Lighthouse, a 4-D interactive movie, opens; World
Rhythms on Ice show ends.
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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.
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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.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2008: The African Village playground set to open
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 2009: The fiftieth anniversary of Busch Gardens Tampa.
