New coaster trains for Busch Gardens Parks shown at the IAAPA

 IAAPA Shows Off New Coaster Cars for Busch Gardens.

 It's that time of year again, the IAAPA is in full swing and images are coming down hard and fast. Showing off the latest and greatest, the soon to open and the future news- a lot is going to drop this week with the expo going on!

 SeaWorld Parks is offering some of the first showings here with the two new coasters coming to the Busch Gardens parks.

Image from Theme Park Insider

 Up first, we've got the new coaster train design going in to Busch Gardens Williamsburg and the coaster Pantheon.  Intamin showed off the design, which to be honest, I'm not thrilled with.

Allow me to explain..

 The same harness design is used at Hershey Park for the coaster 'Sky Rush' which has the unloving nickname 'Thigh Crush' for a reason.
 Rather than going with the slightly older design, they've opted to use this model for the new coaster.

 Although considering it's not a wing coaster, there could be some saving grace to our poor thighs in the future. At least, if your not short? I'll have to wait and see with this one.

Image from Theme Park Insider 

 Busch Gardens Tampa isn't to be left out of the fun either, showing off the new trains for the redesign of Gwazi.  Created by Rocky Mountain Coasters, it's now called 'Iron Gwazi'. The coaster will be a complete re-track of the original ride with many of the old elements removed and new added, combining it into a single track coaster.

 Taking away the dueling element does allow more room to work and design, but seems like it's somehow taking away a key element of an original design. Dueling coasters are becoming a rarity these days, but let me digress once more..



 Let me confess something to you, the trains confuses me.

 Gwazi was (supposedly) named after the legend of a creature which had both the head of a lion and the head of a tiger, thus why each side was designated 'lion' or 'tiger'. However, in this new coaster train theme, seem to share nothing more than the name with the original coaster. Rather this is now 'crocodile inspired thrills'!

 Perhaps it's just me, but I liked the 'big cat' theme as it fell in nicely with the education programs the park runs regarding their big cats. Although I do suppose it's time to branch out as they have 'Kumba',  'Cheetah Chase' and 'Tigris' now.


Anyway, I've digressed enough for one afternoon.

We're looking forward to more news from the IAAPA's 2019 show.

We'll cover the SeaWorld Parks in tomorrows update- There is PLENTY more to come!