Busch Gardens Tampa Bay · Operating · 2016

Cobra's Curse

70 ft · 40 mph

Photo: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay · Official park / manufacturer media

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Family rideBusch Gardens Tampa Bay Official park siteEgyptMack Rides70 ft · 40 mph

Cobra's Curse opened in 2016 as Florida's first family spinning roller coaster, pairing a vertical elevator lift with free-spinning cars that reverse and rotate according to rider weight distribution. Mack Rides' layout covers about 2,100 feet at up to 40 mph over a three-and-a-half-minute circuit beside an immersive Egyptian queue and a live snake exhibit. No two dispatches feel identical — the same track reads differently each time the cars spin.

Specifications

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Ride profile

Scaled against Busch Gardens Tampa Bay's operating coasters

FamilySteel

Park intensity

Height

70 ft

#6 of 8 at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

Height70 ft

Speed40 mph

Length2,100 ft

InversionsNone

Ride experience

Spinning
Family
Mack
Steel

Ride details

Min height

3'6"

Specs from buschgardens.com

History

Sourced timeline and background for Cobra's Curse.

Timeline

2016
Cobra's Curse opens
Mack Rides' family spinning coaster debuts as Florida's first of its kind, combining a vertical lift with free-spinning cars beside an immersive Egyptian queue.
Source

Background

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay opened Cobra's Curse in 2016 as a family headliner for the Egypt section, asking Mack Rides for a spinning coaster that would feel different on every dispatch. Cars climb a vertical elevator lift, then travel forward and backward along roughly 2,100 feet of track at up to 40 mph while free-spinning according to rider weight distribution — a three-and-a-half-minute circuit the park still markets as Florida's first family spin coaster.

The queue doubles as a themed museum of Egyptian snake lore and ends beside a live snake exhibit, tying the thrill ride to the park's animal collection the same way Cheetah Hunt sits next to its habitat plaza. Height rules allow riders as short as 42 inches with a companion (48 inches alone), keeping the coaster accessible to multi-generation groups who still want a full steel credit.

Cobra's Curse remains the park's mid-intensity spinning staple: less extreme than Montu or SheiKra, more unpredictable than Air Grover, and still one of the clearest examples of SeaWorld Parks blending animal storytelling with a modern family coaster platform.