SheiKra

Original attraction

Mark Rose, vice-president of design and engineering at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, proposed a roller coaster that would be 160 ft tall; the experience would be "like riding a barrel over Niagara Falls...straight down into water." Busch Gardens executives rejected the proposal, saying it was not interesting enough. Rose changed his concept, adding another 40 ft in height to the roller coaster and adding more features to the ride, which led to the executives' approval of the plans.[1] Peckham Guyton Albers & Viets Inc (PGAV) also helped plan and design the roller coaster.[2]

Rumors of a new roller coaster being built at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay began to circulate after a roller coaster enthusiast emailed the park and received a response saying that a roller coaster would be built. These rumors stated that the roller coaster would include a splashdown and an inversion on a Bolliger & Mabillard Dive Coaster, both a first for its kind.[3][4] Later in the season, the park began to remove part of the track of Serengeti Express.[5] On April 26, 2004, construction permits were discovered that confirmed that a roller coaster, restaurant, and gift shop would be constructed.[5][6]

In May 2004, further details were leaked including the height, speed and trains.[7] A month later, Tiki masks with quotes relating to the project were placed on the construction walls, including: "I'm a bird with no feathers, a beast with no equal, a fall that never hits the ground. What am I?", "What is taller than 10 giraffes and faster than a charging rhino?", and "What is too fast to see, but has a bird's eye view?".[5] Track and support pieces were later seen in a large field, which further confirmed the new attraction would be a roller coaster.[5][8]

On October 20, 2004, Busch Entertainment Corporation (owner of Busch Gardens Tampa Bay) filed a trademark for the name "SheiKra".[9] A week later, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay announced SheiKra, North America's first Dive Coaster, as part of a deal with Bolliger & Mabillard.[10][11][12] At the time of the announcement, about half of the ride's foundations were complete. Superior Rigging & Erection constructed the supports and track of SheiKra and by January 28, 2005, the roller coaster's highest track piece was placed along with an evergreen tree.[13][14] Testing began in late April 2005 after the track had been constructed.[15] After testing was completed, a media day was held on May 19, 2005, for international media outlets to promote the ride.[12][16] Two days later, the roller coaster opened to the public on May 21, 2005.[12] During SheiKra's first year of operation, its computer systems experienced problems as it would halt operations when it sensed that pumps and compressors were not working as they should. This caused riders to get stranded on the roller coaster and be forced to evacuate.[17]

Bolliger & Mabillard took approximately six months to design SheiKra and four years to complete the entire project.[15][18] After Busch Gardens Tampa Bay announced SheiKra, the park contracted with Bolliger & Mabillard so that the layout of the roller coaster could not be reproduced for several years.[19] In 2009, after the deal expired, Happy Valley Shanghai built an identical copy of SheiKra called Diving Coaster.[20][21]

Modified attraction

In 2006, speculation began that Busch Gardens Tampa Bay would be removing the floors from SheiKra's trains.[22] On January 31, 2007, the park confirmed the rumors at a press conference that was also broadcast on the internet.[22][23][24] In late April 2007, a month before the temporary closure of the ride, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay placed billboards along Interstate 275 and advertisements in newspapers announcing that SheiKra's floors would soon be removed. One of the billboards said, "SEEKING, One last fling while I've still got it. Sheikra (w/ floor)..." Callers to a telephone number on the billboards would hear a recorded female voice saying, "Hi, doll face", "it's been a fun ride", and "one last fling-a-ding".[25]

On April 24, 2007, during the park's High School Journalism Day, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay unveiled the first floorless train for the roller coaster.[26][27] SheiKra closed for the conversion on May 28, 2007.[23] The station was modified because retractable floors needed to be installed so riders could board and disembark the trains.[28] Just under two weeks before the scheduled reopening, the new trains were tested.[29] On June 16, 2007, the modified roller coaster soft-opened to 100 roller coaster enthusiasts, news reporters from 40 media outlets, and 37 radio broadcasters before opening to the public later that day.[24] On January 7, 2013, the roller coaster temporarily closed so it could be completely repainted in its original colors; it reopened on February 16, 2013.[30][11][31]

Track

The steel, box track of SheiKra is 3188 ft long and the lift is approximately 200 ft high.[39] The track is red and the supports are blue. The ride is equipped with an eight-passenger elevator that can return riders to ground level if a train must be evacuated while on the lift hill.[40][41] The track and rails were shaped in Italy and fabricated by Clermont Steel Fabricators in Batavia, Ohio, which manufactures Bolliger & Mabillard's roller coasters.[37][42][43] SheiKra's track spine is wider than those of Bolliger & Mabillard's traditional roller coasters because of the extra weight of the trains compared to Bolliger & Mabillard's four-abreast cars.[44] During the night, SheiKra's track is illuminated with white lights.[45][46]

Trains

SheiKra operates trains that are made from steel and fiberglass, each of which are three times wider than the track.[12] They were manufactured in Switzerland and shipped to Florida.[37] Riders are restrained with over-the-shoulder restraints and are arranged in three eight-passenger cars for a total maximum capacity of 24 riders per train.[47] SheiKra's trains are fitted with nylon and polyurethane wheels to reduce the amount of friction created on the track.[37] Underneath are a pair of anti-rollback devices that prevent each train from rolling down the lift hill should the chain break. There is also a "drop chain dog" mechanism that allows the trains to slowly enter the first drop.

Awards