#spinning coaster

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Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, California

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Cobra's Curse with a peek of Montu!

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EXEK - A Casual Assembly // Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk's Undertow

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Cobra's Curse making its way towards the first break run, which turns your seats backwards!

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Cobra's Curse may be Busch Gardens Tampa's most unique ride. It is their only coaster manufactured by Mack Rides, and it is their only spinning coaster. This ride is the company's seventh installation of a spinning coaster, and first spinning coaster including an elevator lift. The coaster's spinning element is partially controlled by a motor within each train. The motor decides whether or not you spin, but how much you spin throughout the ride is decided by the weight distribution on each train. So, get to studying physics if you want to have a peak spinning experience. The motor keeps you locked facing forwards for the first third of the ride, and backwards for the second third, and for the big finale the motor fully releases to allow a free spin.

Due to the motors on each train needing to be activated at multiple points throughout the ride, electrical connection is required. Pictured here is the yellow wires that run beneath the track during that first break run, where King Venymyss will roar, "Turn, Face your fears!" as you descend into a helix in reverse. These yellow wires can also be spotted in the station and leading up to it, as well as on the tire-propelled lift hill - similar to the mechanics on Air Grover.

Another unique feature on Cobra's Curse is that the ride never stops moving. In the station, you step onto a moving conveyor belt that moves along with the train through the station. From the ride operators room, you can switch between tabs to watch the elevator lift function, you can also pull up a map of the track and see where each train is in real time. This helps make sure the ride is running smoothly, but with the many safety features already installed, the ride will more than likely lock itself up before any emergency. From here the operator can also activate the slide track for accessibility!

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If you have never been on a roller coaster during an evacuation, you may wonder how it's done. Well, on Cobra's Curse the trains have 8 electronic locks which are located on the lower back of each train. There are several ways to unlock the lap bars in case of an emergency, but the most commonly used option is a 25 volt battery pack. The pack plugs into the ports pictured above and with a dial located on the battery pack, you turn to unlock and release the lap bars. If for any reason the battery pack is not available, there is a pump system that can be used to manually pry the seats open. The final option, which does not work on all the trains as some are newer, is with a giant butter knife. No, I'm not kidding. It is called a harness release key, and it is a long silver pole that comes to a flat, rounded end. To unlock the trains that allow this option, it is essentially jabbed into the marked spot on the train located near the edge where you place your foot to get on.