As if climbing 206 feet into the air wasn’t enough, guests riding Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay have another reason to be nervous near the top of the lift hill. Bees or wasps have become a familiar sight around that part of the coaster, and regular riders have been talking about them for quite some time.
Iron Gwazi, which opened in March 2022, is one of the park’s biggest attractions. The Rocky Mountain Construction hybrid coaster reaches speeds of 76 mph, features a 91-degree drop and runs along 4,075 feet of track. But before riders get to experience all that, they may find themselves passing through an area buzzing with insects.
It’s become something of a running joke among frequent visitors, with some treating the insects as just another part of the Iron Gwazi experience. Not everyone is going to find that particularly funny, though, especially guests who have serious allergies to insect stings.
In a recent video posted to Facebook, JJ Sax discusses the situation and attributes awareness of the problem, along with efforts to handle it safely, to Busch Gardens Tampa Bay President Brian Bacica. Those remarks have not been independently confirmed by Behind the Splash.
It’s still unclear exactly what kind of insects are gathering near the lift hill, what’s attracting them to that particular spot or how often guests have actually been stung.
There’s no reason the answer should involve simply killing the insects. Bees and wasps serve important roles in the environment, and a humane approach that protects both the insects and riders would be preferable. With the encounters continuing to come up among guests, it’s a situation worth addressing.
