TAMPA, Fla. — With just a month to go, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay is finally ready to unleash Iron Gwazi, its new record-breaking wooden-steel hybrid coaster.

What You Need To Know

  • Iron Gwazi opens to the public on March 11

  • The coaster has a top speed of 76 mph, making it the fastest hybrid coaster in the world

  • At 206 feet, it's also the tallest coaster of its kind in North America

The highly-anticipated attraction officially opens to the public on March 11, but Spectrum News got a preview of the coaster early Wednesday.

According to the park, Iron Gwazi is the steepest and fastest hybrid coaster in the world.

Iron Gwazi first opened in 1999 as Gwazi, a wooden coaster. After sitting idle for a few years after it closed in 2015, Busch Gardens decided to give the coaster new life by bringing in Rocky Mountain Construction to convert it into a wooden-steel hybrid. It was also given a new name.

The coaster was originally set to debut in March 2020, but when the theme park closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, its opening was delayed. Even after its parks reopened in the summer of that year, SeaWorld decided to hold its coasters for a little longer.

But now Iron Gwazi is ready to go.

The coaster boasts some pretty impressive stats: The coaster tops out at 76 mph, making it the fastest hybrid coaster in the world — and at 206 feet, it's also the tallest coaster of its kind in North America.

With its 91-degree drop, it can also claim the title of the steepest hybrid coaster in the world.

Iron Gwazi's other features include 12 airtime moments and three inversions, so yes, you will be going upside down.

For anyone who remembers the old Gwazi coaster and how jerky it had become in its final years, just know, this new version is much smoother.

But make no mistake, it's an intense ride.

There's no better example of this than the moment riders reach the top of the hill, just before that beyond vertical drop. Looking down you can see just how far up in the air you are and just how far you're about to fall.

Busch Gardens has also rolled out new merchandise to commemorate Iron Gwazi's arrival. In addition to T-shirts and pins, there are nanocoaster models, plushes and even retro merchandise.

Park officials expect Iron Gwazi  to be among the nation's top coasters for enthusiasts. 

This year is proving to be the year of coasters. Busch Gardens' sister park SeaWorld Orlando is set to open its Ice Breaker coaster later this month. Previews are already underway, and Spectrum News had a chance to ride.

Elsewhere, Disney World plans to open Guardians of the Galaxy: Cosmic Rewind at Epcot this summer. The new "storytelling" coaster will be one of the longest indoor coasters in the world.