Busch Gardens Tampa will reopen Falcon's Fury drop ride this spring

That ride is from Intamin, isn't it? I mean, that's a good enough reason to close it, but it appears pretty different from the Orlando ride.

Here's the thing - it didn't close after the accident. It closed a while after, reopened for like a week in September, and then has been closed since. The Orlando accident had nothing to do with this closure, but it looks like the TB Times did everything in their power to make it seem like they are related.

I haven't ridden it, but I have ridden its twin Ikarus in Sweden – and the whole face-down thing is definitely an experience.

the whole face-down thing is definitely an experience.

That's what she said.

I lurk here often but never comment, but I'm astounded by this lousy, lazy reporting from TB Times. I was at BGT for Iron Gwazi opening day, which was about 11 or so days before the Icon park incident, and Falcons Fury was closed, and it was my understanding it had been closed for a good while before that. It did reopen briefly in the late summer season and has gone back to SBNO in the last few months. It's considered one of the most unreliable rides in all of Florida, and has had that reputation for as long as I can remember. But to connect it to an accident where a child lost his life...well, great job knocking the only place in Tampa worth visiting. What a shame.

I was there on Jan 20, last Friday. They have a large forklift/boom truck parked right along side it, I assume to do some maintenance/repairs. I'm of the belief that the Freefall incident has nothing to do with its closure. I've been to BGT 3 times in the last 3 years and it has been closed every time. Side note: Iron Gwazi is the best RMC I've ridden, its not even close.

That truck has been there since at least September. I was also there last April and maintenance was in a cherry picker doing something on the tower.

Oh well. I thought maybe the boom being there meant progress. I guess not. One day hopefully I’ll get to ride it. My wife rode it about 4ish years ago. She loved it. I was with my kids who were to small at the time to ride it. My daughter who was I guess 6 or 7 at the time was watching her go up the tower and was walking and tripped and smashed her face on the concrete. I had to take her to first aid and never made it back on that day. Oh well, hopefully this year we can all get on it finally. We’re a coaster family but we do enjoy drop towers and log flumes as well.

Aesthethica:

It did reopen briefly in the late summer season and has gone back to SBNO in the last few months. It's considered one of the most unreliable rides in all of Florida, and has had that reputation for as long as I can remember. But to connect it to an accident where a child lost his life...well, great job knocking the only place in Tampa worth visiting. What a shame.

They wouldn't want facts to get in the way of a good headline and story narrative. It's lazy reporting like this that gives ammo to the people that constantly question the "mainstream media" as if everything is a conspiracy in the world. When the truth is, it's just poor journalism.