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Travel: Busch Gardens Africa

Two years ago, Busch Gardens Africa introduced the world to a one-of-a-kind experience: 200 feet up, 90 degrees straight down. And that was just the beginning.

This summer the adventure park reintroduced SheiKra to the world with a new twist: “floorless” cars that allow riders an unobstructed view and a whole new level of adrenaline rush.

When SheiKra originally opened, it signaled a new era in American roller coasters. As the nation’s first dive coaster and only the third in the world, SheiKra raised the bar with the first-of-a-kind elements like a true 90-degree drop, an Immelmann loop and a second vertical dive into an underground tunnel. Now, technology has raised that bar even higher, introducing SheiKra’s fans to an even greater thrill.

Mechanically, SheiKra’s track remains unchanged, with its legendary combination of drops, inversions and a water feature finale. Psychologically, though, the effect of floorless cars is intense: SheiKra’s cars continue to seat eight passengers across, three rows deep, but riders are no longer able to brace themselves against the floor of the car for Florida’s No. 1 thrill ride. With the front rail gone, passengers in the first row, especially, will be completely exposed as they come over the crest of SheiKra’s signature 200-foot, 90-degree plunge.

During the conversion process the coaster’s existing seats and shoulder harnesses were fitted into new chassis that support only the chairs above and the wheels below. Between each row of seats is nothing but open air.

The bulk of the changes occurred at the loading platform, where retractable floors and handrails have been installed. As each floorless car comes into the station, floor panels raise into position, filling the gaps between the rows so that passengers may board. A pivotal handrail swings into place in front of the car to assist those boarding the first row.

SheiKra is the tallest roller coaster in Florida, and the first of its kind to incorporate an Immelmann loop, a second, 138-foot dive into an underground tunnel and a water-feature finale. SheiKra offers three minutes of over-the-edge excitement on more than half a mile of steel track and serves as the centerpiece of Busch Gardens’ Stanleyville area.

SheiKra Fact Sheet

• Floorless dive coaster

• First dive coaster to include an Immelmann loop (a rolling loop named for a German fighter pilot)

• Tallest roller coaster in Florida with a height of 200 feet

• 360 degree climbing carousel

• 200 foot dive

• 3,188 feet (more than a 1/2 mile of track)

• Top speed: 70 mph

• Three minute ride

• G-Force = 4g