There are some rumors coming out of Busch Gardens, regarding future improvements and etc. Some are true, especially the first three. Others are real possibilities. But of course the rumors regarding location of the new coaster and the future of rhino rally are very much speculation. As for the Bird Gardens...this is the original Busch Gardens when it opened and I have heard that this area will remain an animal area in the future...but it will have a new theme. New Busch Gardens Tampa Rumors - Florida Thrills Forums
The best place to follow the park and its new construction seems to be this website: BGTGuide - Busch Gardens Tampa Guide Part of Bird Gardens has been renovated and is now called Walkabout Way, an Australian area that opened recently. It includes an education and display area called Australian Research Outpost, a walkthrough kangaroo and wallaby yard with feeding opportunities called Kangaloom, and a walkthrough aviary called The Kookaburra Nest. A much larger project has not been announced yet but extensive sitework and construction has begun. The water raft portion of Rhino Rally ride has been closed and will be part of the site for the new project. The train around the park called Serengeti Express has been closed temporarily for some new track work since the new project will cross its route in several places. The skyride has been closed, although it is not clear if it will reopen or not. The new project is a rollercoaster, and its boarding station will either be in the skyride station at the front or be in the same location. The rollercoaster will be a longer track than any other at the park, and presumably will be a high-speed steel one with 3 fast launch sections; the track elevation seems to be unknown, so it may or may not be a tall 'hypercoaster' style ride with multiple dramatic hills for 'airtime'. Its course will dominate the area in front of the old clydesdale barn; it is also next to the gorilla exhibit in Myombe Reserve, although it will not be visible from the lush forest cover of that area. But it appears that one of the launches will be right there, and they are usually loud! The route will proceed out and back next to the current skyride route immediately in back of the excellent lemur and hippopotamus and Nile crocodile exhibits in the Edge of Africa animal exhibit complex. Depending on its height, it may also be painfully obvious from other parts of this complex, especially the further African lion and spotted hyena rotational exhibit yard. It will then proceed across an exhibit savanna that is in front of the Nairobi train station and large curved walkway area; when I visited a year and a half ago, it contained bontebok, Thomsons gazelle (?) and Stanley crane (?) at least. Whether it will continue to be a savanna is unclear, but it will certainly be cut in half by a new walkway and bridge with access to a new loading station for the truck tours (being relocated from the other side of the Edge of Africa) of the main savanna, and a link to the Edge of Africa walkway near the lion and hyena exhibits. Whatever happens in this area, it will certainly be visible from the train station area. Next, the rollercoaster route will enter the former Rhino Rally water portion, where it will turn back. Depending on how high and loud it is in this area, it may impact the edge of the main savanna, the Rhino Rally savannas, the Asian elephant exhibit, and the black rhinoceros exhibit. This new ride has the potential of ruining the atmosphere of this large portion of the park, which is primarily a zoo compared to much of the rest of the park. I base this assessment on a blueprint of the track layout and new walkway that was found by the website above on a website of the contractor for the project, so it seems to be accurate. Photos on the website of construction progressing confirm the accuracy so far! Shame on you, Busch Gardens. This is the Hippopotamus Exhibit in Edge of Africa; the new rollercoaster track will be located just behind the boundary of this exhibit in the background: This is the savanna that will now have a pedestrian path, truck tour loading station, and the rollercoaster track running through it: This is the water portion of Rhino Rally that is now closed and will support part of the rollercoaster track instead:
