Picture of Iron Gwazi from the Nairobi station area of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay
Ejector over the creststrongest in the back, riders say Scarier up frontthe first drop, riders say

Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Tampa, Florida

Iron Gwazi

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POV
Ride it: back row POV
Back row
What riders love
  • The first drop is easily one of my favorites - in the back, there’s standing ejector air all the way down.
  • The 91-degree drop is amazing I mean it's my favorite drop because it feels and looks so steep.
  • The height is great, as you can feel all of the drop, and it is beyond vertical.
  • The massive outer banked turn is a moment of incredibly sustained airtime and then you get flung sideways on the way back down.
  • Next, you hit THE moment on Iron Gwazi, the wave turn. You get INTENSE sideways airtime from this.
  • The last hill is the best, it pops you out of your seat to the point where I would say it's better than most coaster's first drops.
  • The ride absolutely hammers you with a great mix of positive G Forces and also stunning airtime in its layout.
  • This ride leaves you in the dust. By the time you're processing what just happened on the death roll, you're already through the cutback and heading into the wave turn- an incredibly sustained moment of sideways ejector airtime.
  • This thing is ridiculous. Every single element throws you around in some and I love every single second of it.
Iron Gwazi Watch Performance Should I ride it? Where to sit Specifications Reviews Planning History

Watch POVs and more

Iron Gwazi POV 4K Front Row // Hybrid Coaster // Busch Gardens Tampa Bay // Tampa, FL

youtube.com › Melissa and Wes

Iron Gwazi Back-Row POV Busch Gardens Tampa July 2023 4K 60FPS

youtube.com › Its Decent POV's

Iron Gwazi POV 4K 60FPS Busch Gardens Tampa

youtube.com › Hootie Weaknecht

WE RODE IRON GWAZI! First Ever Ride Reaction Busch Gardens Tampa New RMC Hybrid

youtube.com › Coaster Studios

Iron Gwazi REAL POV! 4K Multi Angle Full Roller Coaster Review Busch Gardens Tampa

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Iron Gwazi At Busch Gardens Tampa First Ride Reverse POV & Review!

youtube.com › Midway Mayhem

Iron Gwazi Grand Opening Announcement | Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

youtube.com › Busch Gardens Tampa Bay & Adventure Island

Iron Gwazi @ Busch Gardens Tampa is NOT very “fat” friendly! Watch me as I go into their test seat

youtube.com › StormC

Iron Gwazi Roller Coaster Busch Gardens Tampa

youtube.com › Homeowner Repair

Iron Gwazi Announcement Video from Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

youtube.com › Tampa Bay Parenting Magazine

Performance

Vs. other coasters at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay

This coaster is packed with perfect inversions, violent ejector, and sustained airtime making this just about perfect from beginning to end.

Max S.

When I rode this I only found myself loving the first drop since it was steep and gave great ejector but after that I felt great discomfort bc the ride was very vibrational and every other ejector...

The Autistic FanCritic Show

...other and the whip is better on Zadra, i think airtimewise they are close i mean Gwazi has more quick ejector pops while zadra also has quick ejector pops but more sustained airtime moments like...

Daniel Gabris

This is an awesome coaster with lots of very strong airtime (of course!), probably the whippiest inversions I have experienced on an RMC, and a very nice floaty 0g roll.

Michael M.

The airtime was not as powerful as other RMC’s I have since done, the inversions were not as wild I thought they would be, and the operations.

Aidan

(I have only been to 4 theme parks.) It is exactly what RMC probably wanted it to be, a super smooth coaster that has the utter intensity of a woodie!

Coaster Bird

I only rode twice due to the line but it’s obviously an amazing ride that is so easy to re-ride due to its smoothness and comfort while simultaneously being extreme.

David

The layout might be a little better on Steel Vengeance, but Iron Gwazi is so much smoother and the leg restraints don’t hurt at all, even for tall guys.

Daniel Pianini

I preferred the back due to the stronger, more sustained and comfortable airtime, along with the increased whip.

Kw6sTheater

RMC trains are bad, if there were better trains this might have been my number one but they are tight and the buckle keeps digging into my leg.

Henry Japha

Most of the elements were complete duds, with little to no force, and there were even a couple of rough patches that hurt my head.

Coaster Dog

Maybe not as much as most people, but it’s an intense machine with amazing spots of electors, high positive and negative Gs, and incredible pace.

John Doe

This ride is extremely overrated, and I can guess why, the ride is fairly intense, but only memorable in the back rows.Some intense elements seem underwhelming, and many have almost no intense power,...

Tyce Cormier

it is glass smooth but the layout may be too much for many.

Liight .

Iron Gwazi is a masterclass of intensity, pacing, and elements, with the perfect length to avoid it becoming stale (cough cough Steel Vengeance).

iimvanny

Quick question idk if the train was just slow or something but when I went in this it was really tame even the death roll idk what happened lol

@ssuuss539

The speed and pace is nuts, death roll and wave turn are both easily in my top 5 elements ever, and this has an argument for deadliest night ride.

Grady Morrison

BOY is it fast.

Jack H

the speed is the best part of the ride imo, and while i do think its still a bit overhyped, i can understand how people absolutely love this thing.

SnowyShores

the layout is fantastic, the airtime is so strong, the pacing is stellar, i dont have any bad things to say about iron gwazi.

Sam M.

...and I can guess why, the ride is fairly intense, but only memorable in the back rows.Some intense elements seem underwhelming, and many have almost no intense power, and feel slow when riding.

Tyce Cormier

I’ve only ridden it once because the queue was 2 hours long (horribly slow dispatches oh my gosh) but it was worth the wait.

angela

I wish the operations were quicker, but the wait is absolutely worth it for such an insane ride.

iimvanny

Best coaster I’ve ever ridden, definitely worth more than an 100 min wait.

g0j1d0rks

Wait times can be a little long but Extremely worth it.

Canal Do Boi

However, this did not diminish anything from the actual ride experience and luckily it was a walkon the entire day.

Alex Giblat Leey

When I rode this in November 2022, it was relatively solid, but *goodness* did the wait (being an hour) and the one-train operations kill it.

Christian B.

Also, the operations on this coaster are terrible.

A S
Height fear

The first lift hill really makes you think "why did I say yes to this?".

Jlovescoasters

...I absolutely love this ride cause of how insane it is from the crazy first drop which is much scarier up front to the death roll which might be the single greatest inversion I’ve ever experienced...

David F.

Should I ride it?

Organize by

Where to sit

Front of trainBack of train

1
2
3
4
5
6

Car 6, the back: 4 of 5 riders who named a rowFront row: 1 rider

Riders who said why they pick the back: 2 for the airtime.

Specifications

206 ftHeight
206 Iron Gwazi 200 SheiKra 150 Tigris 150 Montu 102 CheetahHunt 70 Cobra'sCurse
206 ftFirst drop
206 Iron Gwazi 195 SheiKra 135 Tigris 130 CheetahHunt 128 Montu
76 mphTop speed
Iron Gwazi76 SheiKra70 Tigris62 Montu60 Cheetah Hunt60 Cobra's Curse40 076 mph
91°Drop angle
91°Iron Gwazi90°SheiKra50°Montudashed line: straight down, 90°
2Inversions

What riders say

Praised for

Rider favouriteStrong airtimeIntenseEjector airtimeFeels fastGreat inversionsHuge first dropGreat layout

Criticised for

Long waitsToo shortWeak theming

I’ll post a real review probably bc this is a masterpiece but I’m actually shocked that some guy rode this with COVID and then rated it poorly.

Sara Alexander, Captain Coaster review

While Iron Gwazi is no doubt a good ride, it is greatly overhyped.

Landan Vance, Captain Coaster review

the inversions could be smoother, simpily build to break records of steel vengence by a 1 degree steeper, a few feet taller, a bit faster.

Enzo, Captain Coaster review

I went to Busch Gardens on my vacation to Tampa today and this was BY FAR the best in the park, and probably one of the best ever built.

Wes, Captain Coaster review

i rode it in the morning and that was sooo dissapointing, then at evening it was crazy, the whip was insane(not better than zadras whip imo but still insane).

Daniel Gabris, Captain Coaster review

Fantastic ride and concept but I personally found some of the turns whipped my head around to much to fast in different directions and it’s a bit uncomfortable

Keris Swaden, Captain Coaster review

Photos

11 photographs. Swipe or drag sideways.

Planning your ride

History and awards

March 11, 2022Opened

Built by Rocky Mountain Coasters, designed by Alan Schilke.

Recent issues

  1. 2022In 2022, a guest riding Iron Gwazi during its preview hit their hand on a beam, but declined medical treatment after the ride.

Golden Ticket Awards, top steel coaster: ranked in 5 polls, 2022 to 2026

4th2022, its first poll
4th2026, most recent
1incident blamed on the ride

Sources

History, incidents and awards: Wikipedia. Specifications and status: Coasterpedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. From the park and maker: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay guide. Rider sentiment and performance scores: rider reviews on Captain Coaster, read and scored by AirtimeFever.

Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: Adog (CC BY-SA 4.0), Railfan99 (CC BY-SA 4.0). Video thumbnails remain the property of their channels and link back to them.

Live wait times: Powered by Queue-Times.com.

What riders love, by theme (themes in the order riders pick them most on Captain Coaster): MapleFlakes, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The ride kicks off with one of the best…”; Kw6sTheater, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The first drop is easily one of my favorites…”; Stormin Norman, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The 91-degree drop is amazing I mean it's my…”; Brandon L., rider review on Captain Coaster: “The height is great, as you can feel all…”; Keegan M., rider review on Captain Coaster: “You're out of your seat for most of the…”; Jack Jack J., rider review on Captain Coaster: “The massive outer banked turn is a moment of…”; Carrie C., rider review on Captain Coaster: “Next, you hit THE moment on Iron Gwazi, the…”; smacd, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The last hill is the best, it pops you…”; Anthony Ricciuti, rider review on Captain Coaster: “First, and most importantly, this coaster is absolutely rip-your-face-off…”; Martin Doyle, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The ride absolutely hammers you with a great mix…”; Cdub, rider review on Captain Coaster: “This ride leaves you in the dust. By the…”; James J., rider review on Captain Coaster: “This thing is ridiculous. Every single element throws you…”.

The photo slider at the top and the fading stills: Its Decent POV's's back row POV, Iron Gwazi Back-Row POV Busch Gardens Tampa July 2023 4K 60FPS (YouTube), and the page's Wikimedia Commons photographs.