Kumba (roller coaster)

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Kumba
Kumba's entrance. The train is passing through the zero G roll.
Location	Busch Gardens Africa
Park Section	Congo
Type	Steel
Status	Open
Opened	April 20, 1993
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer	Werner Stengel
Model	Steel Twister coaster
Track layout	Custom
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	143 feet (43.6 m)
Drop	135 feet (41.1 m)
Length	3,978 feet (1,212.5 m)
Max speed	60 mile per hour (96.6 km/h)
Inversions	7
Duration	2:54
Capacity	1700 riders per hour
Max G force	3.8
Height Restriction	54 inches (137.2 cm)
Kumba at RCDB
Pictures of Kumba at RCDB

View of Kumba from the Skyride

A train ascending the lift hill.

Kumba's interlocking corkscrews.

Kumba is a roller coaster at Busch Gardens Africa (in Tampa, Florida). Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) and opened in 1993, it stands 143 feet tall and has a top speed of 60 mph. Kumba is one of the first in a line of multi-inversion coasters (that is, those having six or more inversions) built by B & M. It has seven inversions which, in order, are:

114-foot tall vertical loop, which wraps around the lift hill
B & M's first-ever diving loop
Zero-G roll
Cobra Roll (two inversions)
Interlocking corkscrews (also a first for B & M) immediately after the block brake

Kumba had the most inversions of any coaster by B & M until the opening of Dragon Khan in 1995.

“Kumba” means “Roar” in the African Congo language. The coaster itself mimics this definition with a dinstinctive roar that the train produces as it traverses the track. It is not known if this was a design feature or an incidental though appropriate aspect of the ride. Most likely, the cause of this roar is due to the track design. Similar to other Bolliger & Mabillard roller coasters, the track contains a hollow spine and rails, which are known to produce a roaring sound.

Initially, it is said, Kumba was to be part of a two-coaster project for Busch Entertainment. The company had contacted B & M to build two sit-down coasters at its Busch Gardens parks, one in Florida, the other in Williamsburg, Virginia. B & M, a young company at the time, could deliver on the one for the Florida park but not the Williamsburg park. Busch understood and handed the contract for the Williamsburg coaster to Arrow Dynamics. In 1992, a year before Kumba opened at Busch Gardens Tampa, sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg unveiled its Arrow creation, the ill-fated Drachen Fire.

Kumba, at the time of its opening, was said to have "set the industry standards"