Official Statement from Busch Gardens Tampa on Falcon's Fury Delays Released

Last night, the folks at Busch Gardens Tampa finally came out with an official statement regarding the delays surrounding their newest ride, Falcon's Fury.

The ride has experienced several setbacks since construction started, but overall things seemed to be going fairly well with testing and getting things finalized for opening. However, now it looks like the innovated drop tower won't be opening in the near future like many had hoped.

Citing that parts are needed to be manufactured for the ride still might be unsettling for some, but these unique rides don't have warehouses full if something were to break. Maybe this is just the park wanting to have spares on hand and they need to be fabricated in enough quantity.

Anyway, here's the official announcement that Busch Gardens posted on their Facebook page:

Busch Gardens’ new thrill ride Falcon’s Fury includes first-of-its kind design elements, systems and parts. Due to a delay in the fabrication of key component parts, neither the manufacturer nor Busch Gardens are able to complete the lengthy testing processes needed to open the ride to the public. The safety of our guests and team members remains Busch Gardens’ top priority and none of these delays involve safety systems. The ride has been safely operated in the initial stages of the testing process, and all other elements of the park’s newest re-imagined land Pantopia are now open to guests. Busch Gardens will provide updates on the ride opening as events warrant. We are committed to delivering world-class thrills and the best possible ride experience, and we look forward to the launch of Falcon’s Fury, North America’s tallest freestanding drop tower, later this summer.

Again, since the ride has been testing and things seem to be working properly, I can't imagine it's anything too serious. If anything, something may have had to be refabricated or reengineered to meet stresses that were seen during the testing. Given the unique nature of this ride, really can't blame them for wanting to be 100% on every piece of it either.

While there's no opening date indicated anywhere, that could just be the park's desire to avoid another situation similar to Mach Tower, which kept getting pushed back and was a big PR debacle for both the park and Intamin. Hopefully the wait won't be too long for those wanting to ride and they get things sorted out soon.

Either way, we'll keep you updated on the latest from the park as the opening of this one of a kind drop tower gets closer.