Kumba

By early 1993, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay was ready to add its first true looping steel coaster, turning to the young Swiss firm Bolliger & Mabillard for what would be only the manufacturer's fifth roller coaster anywhere. Construction moved fast enough that The Tampa Tribune tracked the lift hill going up in January, and Busch Gardens previewed the finished ride for about 200 members of American Coaster Enthusiasts the day before its April 21, 1993 public opening.

Kumba packed seven inversions — a vertical loop that circles back around the lift structure itself, interlocking corkscrews (a first for B&M), and a diving loop — into a compact 3,978-foot layout through the Congo section's jungle setting, reaching 60 mph and pulling up to 3.8 g. At its debut, Kumba's loop was the tallest in the world and the ride held Florida's titles for tallest, fastest, and longest coaster, records it would keep only until Busch Gardens' own Montu opened three years later.

Kumba's compact, intense pacing — widely regarded as one of the smoothest B&M sit-down layouts ever built — kept it a top-tier attraction for more than three decades even as taller, faster coasters arrived elsewhere in the park. On July 14, 2026, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay announced that Kumba would permanently close after the 2026 season.

Kumba's closing date coincides with the writing of this entry, closing out 33 seasons as one of the most respected early B&M sit-down coasters still running anywhere in the world.