Phoenix Rising is a steel inverted family roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. Built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard, it officially opened to the public on July 21, 2024, becoming the park’s tenth coaster and one of the most anticipated new rides of that year.
The attraction replaced the Sand Serpent wild mouse coaster and an older Phoenix starship ride, reimagining the site with a mythology built around four phoenix characters. Despite carrying zero inversions, Phoenix Rising earned bragging rights as North America’s tallest and longest inverted family coaster, giving younger riders their first taste of a suspended, swinging trajectory.
Stats at a Glance
- Park: Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Tampa, Florida
- Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard
- Opened: July 21, 2024
- Height: About 80 feet
- Top speed: About 44 mph
- Length: About 1,831 feet
- Inversions: 0
- Height requirement: 42 inches minimum
The Ride Experience
After a chain lift hill, trains drop into a twisted descent and work through a series of turns, including an over-banked curve that swings riders close to the attraction’s entrance sign. The layout emphasizes side-to-side swinging motion rather than full inversions, making it approachable for families while still delivering genuine airtime and speed.
Each ten-car train carries riders in a single suspended row, with onboard audio tied to one of four phoenix characters, Terra, Ignis, Glacius, and Aqua, each with its own soundtrack. The queue and station area are themed with murals and animated dispatch screens that echo the phoenix mythology throughout the ride.
Design and Development
Planning for Phoenix Rising began in early 2022, with construction starting in late 2023 on the site of the former Sand Serpent and Phoenix starship attractions. Busch Gardens Tampa Bay worked with B&M to create a custom Family Inverted Coaster model, a design the manufacturer had built only sparingly elsewhere, giving the park a distinctive new signature attraction in its Pantopia section.
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Phoenix Rising FAQs
How tall do you have to be to ride Phoenix Rising?
Riders must be at least 42 inches tall to board Phoenix Rising.
Does Phoenix Rising have any inversions?
No, Phoenix Rising has zero inversions. It relies on swinging turns and an over-banked curve rather than loops.
Who manufactured Phoenix Rising?
Phoenix Rising was built by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the Swiss firm known for inverted and suspended coaster designs.
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Photo: FloridaMan21 / CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.