Sand Serpent
Sand Serpent (formerly Cheetah Chase) is a Wild Mouse roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. The ride originally operated at sister park Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia as Wild Izzy in 1996 and as Wilde Maus from 1997 to 2003.
| Sand Serpent | |
|---|---|
| Previously known as Cheetah Chase at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Wild Maus & Izzy at Busch Gardens Williamsburg | |
 Sand Serpent when it was Cheetah Chase | |
| Busch Gardens Tampa Bay | |
| Park section | Pantopia |
| Coordinates | 28.038523°N 82.422389°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | February 28, 2004 |
| Replaced | Crazy Camel |
| Busch Gardens Williamsburg | |
| Park section | Oktoberfest |
| Coordinates | 37.235°N 76.645°W |
| Status | Relocated to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay |
| Opening date | 1996 |
| Closing date | 2003 |
| Replaced by | The Curse of DarKastle |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Wild Mouse |
| Manufacturer | Mack Rides |
| Model | Wild Mouse (compact mobile) |
| Track layout | Wild Mouse |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 45.9 ft (14.0 m) |
| Length | 1,213.9 ft (370.0 m) |
| Speed | 28 mph (45 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Duration | 1:50 |
| Height restriction | 46 in (117 cm) |
| Sand Serpent at RCDB Pictures of Sand Serpent at RCDB | |
History
The ride, when it was first installed at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, was meant to be a temporary attraction. It was named Izzy, after the mascot of the 1996 Summer Olympics, since Busch was a sponsor of the games. The ride was only supposed to be there for the 1996 season. But, the ride had a consistent line and became popular. Busch Gardens decided to keep the ride and gave it a European theme in 1997 with the new name Wilde Maus. The ride operated until 2003, when it was replaced with The Curse of DarKastle and moved to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay.[1][2]
Sand Serpent replaced the defunct Crazy Camel flat ride, a Chance Morgan Trabant flat ride that opened up with the Timbuktu section of the park back in 1980. In 2011, the ride was rethemed from Cheetah Chase to become Sand Serpent. This was done to reduce confusion with their new attraction, Cheetah Hunt.[3]
References
- Marden, Duane. "Wild Maus - Busch Gardens Williamsburg (Williamsburg, Virginia, USA)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved February 4, 2019.
- McMorrow-Hernandez, Joshua (2017). Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. Images of Modern America. Arcadia Publishing. p. 86. ISBN 9781467124959.
- Marden, Duane. "Sand Serpent - Busch Gardens Tampa (Tampa, Florida, USA)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved February 4, 2019.