Tac Talks Coasters - Post 44: #127
Photo Sources: All photos are mine
SandSerpent at Busch Gardens Tampa!
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Opened: 1996 (Relocated to Busch Gardens Tampa in 2004) Closed: 2024 Manufacturer: Mack Rides Height: 45.9 ft (14.0 m) Speed: 28 mph (45 kph) Length: 1,213.9 ft (370.0 m) My most recent ride: 2021
We're gonna be on a run of Wild Mouse coasters for the rest of this week, so brace yourselves lmao. I always felt like SandSerpent was a bit of a weird fit at Busch Gardens Tampa. Their lineup is stacked with great rides, and in the middle of the park, you had this standard Wild Mouse coaster. I understand the role it filled at the park, as a stepping stone for kids between Air Grover and Cobra's Curse, but it didn't seem to be up to the same pedigree I guess as BGT's other coasters.
Of all the Wild Mouse coasters I've ridden, this one felt to be the weakest one (though similar to the Woodstock Express wooden coasters, there's not a whole lot to differentiate them from each other haha). I don't remember it being rough or jerky, but on my one ride I got in 2021, the trim breaks were hitting hard and really killed the pacing. That's unfortunately not uncommon for Wild Mouse coasters, but I remember it being particularly jarring on this one.
To SandSerpent's benefit, it is one of the models with some larger dips after the initial switchback turns on top, but I don't remember getting a whole lot out of those either. Wild Mouse coasters by nature have a lot of good lateral forces in the switchbacks so that's a plus for all these models in general, but when they don't have a lot else to offer beyond that, they all tend to blend together.
Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!
