Busch Gardens Tampa opens Phoenix Rising, an inverted family roller coaster

Along with Penguin Trek, that's two family coasters for B&M. I suppose that was an obvious next step for them. I wonder how much they cost relative to other family options.

Are these the same as the ones that they opened in China or have they been changed or updated ? I find it interesting how some of B&Ms bigger successes weren't immediate hits - the Dive Machine is a good example of that.

I am curious to ride one of these, if only to understand how much better they are than the new Vekoma rides, which seem to be comfortable, well engineered and reliable. These have got to cost a ton more than their Dutch counterparts, surely.

Related to this, Sea World Entertainment don't seem to be shy about spending their money, curious to see how long that persists for and if it pays off in the longer run.

In photos, the ride system looks very similar to the non-inverted one, and the seats I wager are identical. The track systems all look like any other current B&M, as far as drive wheels, LSM's and brakes. The seats remind me of the buckets on newer rides, though obviously without the tightening shoulder restraint. The Orlando ride is not quite twice as long as the Tampa ride, with a lot of drive wheels on the interior bits, so I'm sure that one wasn't cheap.

Rick_UK:
These have got to cost a ton more than their Dutch counterparts, surely.

Given that the steel (I think) is fabricated in the US for B&M (not sure about Vekoma), there may not be as much of a difference as you would think. I have to believe the bulk of the expense is in the construction and installation, not necessarily the design, which may make them comparable though not exactly the same. And if you go back about 2 years ago, the Swiss Franc and Euro were almost equal in value to the US dollar, again making it possibly not have as much of a difference as you might think.

These new ‘family coasters’ are definitely the trend of the past few years.

It is a very underserved market. Give me a decently thrilling coaster with a 36-38" height requirement. Most stuff in that range are the crap kiddie coasters.

I rode the coaster yesterday. In the back of the train, there were some more forces than I was expecting. It's a good fit for the park and is very re-rideable. I heard others saying they got 30+ rides in yesterday. I was surprised how there was hardly any queue area. It looks like it can only hold about a 20 minute line.

There was a slight rattle but less noticeable than Penguin Trek's and didn't take anything away from the ride. There is only 1 train and slow dispatches with everyone from the previous ride needing to exit before the air gates open for the next train. Combined with this being one of only 2 coasters in the park without an inversion (besides the kids coaster), it's probably going to be very popular with long waits once it opens to the public.

That was how I felt about the Phoenix (Vekoma) at Coney Island. Surprisingly forceful and a lot of fun, although short. There's never much of a line for the coasters at Coney because of the price ($10 I think), but with 1 train operation in a pay-one-price environment I would think it would generate a line pretty quickly.

Jeff:

Along with Penguin Trek, that's two family coasters for B&M

If you're following along the plans for 2025 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, all signs are pointing to another emerging there.

We all really enjoyed Dragonfly at Dollywood when we were there. Definitely a very underserved market at certain parks.

I didn't even know this was a thing until today. I'm revoking my membership.

The term “family” is misleading. There are people in my family that would never ride a coaster. They would however ride a true “family” ride like a dark rides.

These parks have neglected the non thrill rider market so ling that they are now mislabeling their rides to try to act like they have “family” attractions.

These coasters are mild thrill rides, not “family” rides. If everyone in the “family” cannot ride it.

I take your point about non-thrill attractions - it's true! - but I would define a "family coaster" as one that (most of) the family can ride together. I think that's the idea here.

(The charts say kids hit 42" at 5-6 years old - a few years before they're riding a "regular" coaster.)

Are kids riding more “thrill” stuff at a younger age these days? Feels like it.

Feels like the under 8 crowd back in the day would ride the kiddie coasters and round a bout rides. I guess the market has gradually changed.

Of course this would devolve into a semantic debate. High five!

Holy ****. Even when there's nothing to complain about, there's something to complain about. Don't worry, I'll start a new online petition to get "mild thrill" added as a ride category to the amusement industry.

There are people in my family who won’t go see a Disney movie. So I insist they stop calling them family films.
There are also people in my family who won’t get on a dark ride- I dunno, scared or something. Or a water ride. They don’t like boats. So likewise with the insistance. I’m just not having it. I mean, how dare they?

super7*:

These parks have neglected the non thrill rider market so ling that they are now mislabeling their rides

Better than Carowinds mislabeling their operating hours though, right?

The_Orient_of_Express:
Feels like the under 8 crowd back in the day would ride the kiddie coasters and round a bout rides.

I think the "Family" coasters of today are probably safer than the kiddie coasters of yesterday. Having ridden some of the Hershell coasters, I have to believe Phoenix Rising may be smoother / less rough. Depending on the situation, the vertical transitions can really slam you on some of these older rides.