Florida’s tallest roller coaster at Busch Gardens is set to welcome its first brave riders

Florida’s tallest launch roller coaster, which peaks at 150 feet and hits speeds of over 60mph, welcomes its first brave riders

  • Steel coaster Tigris is making its debut today at the Busch Gardens theme park in Tampa Bay 
  • The triple-launch ride’s 1,800ft steel track is designed to mimic the agility of a tiger 
  • The new roller coaster is the ninth to open at the Busch Gardens theme park, which is home to 12,000 animals 

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The tallest launch roller coaster in Florida is set to welcome its first brave riders.

Tigris, a triple-launch steel coaster, is making its debut today at the Busch Gardens theme park in Tampa Bay.

The adrenaline-filled attraction hits heights of up to 150 feet and has a top speed of more than 60 miles per hour.

The Tigris roller coaster, which is set to open at Busch Gardens in Tampa Bay today. It is the tallest launch roller coaster in the state 

The adrenaline-filled attraction hits heights of up to 150 feet and has a top speed of more than 60 miles per hour

The adrenaline-filled attraction hits heights of up to 150 feet and has a top speed of more than 60 miles per hour

The 1,800ft-long steel track is designed to mimic the agility of a tiger

The 1,800ft-long steel track is designed to mimic the agility of a tiger

According to Busch Gardens riders on Tigris will be catapulted through an exhilarating array of loops and twists in both forward and backward motions as well as breath-taking drops and an inverted heartline roll.

The 1,800 feet steel track of the ride is also designed to mimic the agility of the world’s largest and most powerful cat – the tiger – hence the name Tigris.

Stewart Clark, president of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, said: ‘We are proud of the legacy we’ve built as we have welcomed millions of thrill-seekers from around the world to the Tampa Bay area.

‘Tigris is the perfect addition to our unrivaled collection of adrenaline-pumping attractions.’

The new roller coaster is the ninth to open at the theme park.

It joins the likes of Cheetah Hunt, the park’s longest coaster and SheiKra, a 200-foot tall floorless dive coaster.

Other popular thrill rides include Falcon’s Fury, a 335-foot freestanding drop tower; Montu, an inverted coaster and Cobra’s Curse – a spinning roller coaster.

The tallest steel roller coaster in the world is located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey.

It stands at 450 feet tall and has a top speed of 128 miles per hour.

The new roller coaster, Tigris, is the ninth to open at the theme park in Tampa Bay, Florida

The new roller coaster, Tigris, is the ninth to open at the theme park in Tampa Bay, Florida