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Attraction Type
Roller Coaster
Attraction Status
Existing
Jun 22, 2013
955
2,242
210
Tampa, FL
www.wdwtourcompany.com
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The description below is a work in progress.

Kumba opened in the Congo section of the park in April 1993. [1] It was billed as the largest steel coaster in the southeast when it opened. [2]
 
Wow Let me attempt to dust the cobwebs off of this forum. So I've only been to BGT in 2001-2002. Can't wait to get back. At that time though Kumba was my favorite ride at the park. Her Diving loop and Zero g roll still remain towards the top of my favorite inversions list. Something about sitting on the far right seat, or left I'm not sure, coming out of the Zero g roll and you look like your gonna hit the building there. Also has a helix that's tied for my favorite all-time with Raptor. Anyways, anybody ridden this lately who can tell me how it's running?
 
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TerrainHuggr said:
Anyways, anybody ridden this lately who can tell me how it's running?

I rode it in November during the week of the IAAPA convention.

It's still amazing as ever!
 
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Thanks Unagi. That's great to hear. Classic ride. I remember getting to ride 7 times in a row on a slow day. Great memories.
 
Kumba is sinking to say the least, it’s sinking bad, plus the aging Congo area, and it rarely having a wait time. Kumba is probably not going to last past 2023, as beloved or hated as it is, it’s sad to see this rumor (started on the theme park stop discord). Start up, it’s a beast of a coaster, and a true Icon of the park, but it’s getting up there in age, and unfortunately it might be time for it to go
 
Is there any evidence of this rumor? Also, is the idea that the entire ride is sinking...? Surely the issue isn't universal, right? Foundation issues happen—but they're typically fixable it seems like? Can we point to any coasters that have actually been removed because of foundation issues?
 
Is there any evidence of this rumor? Also, is the idea that the entire ride is sinking...? Surely the issue isn't universal, right? Foundation issues happen—but they're typically fixable it seems like? Can we point to any coasters that have actually been removed because of foundation issues?
Vortex 😉 and basically it was built on swamp land, I guess the only evidence noticeable would be only know to maintenance?
 
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I guess the only evidence noticeable would be only know to maintenance?

I can only speak from experience with Alpengeist's foundation issue(s) really, but work was visible there.

Not saying this isn't happening because no one has seen anything of course, just trying to work out whether or not any evidence exists.
 
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If I remember, earlier B&Ms were guaranteed for about 25 years though I'm not sure if that was only if certain conditions were met such as max cycle counts per operating year, regular preventative and restorative maintenance, and and/or environmental conditions remained stable.
 
Wonder what the manufacturer expected service life is for a B&M model like Kumba?

Well considering Iron Wolf is still running after being relocated and it was built in 1990 i would think Kumba is probably OK
Ride cycles and climate also play into this. Kumba runs year round(single train through most of the off season). Hulk and dragons cycled way more(think multiple times more) and lasted until very recently.

I do wonder what the cost to retrack would be and if the park would jump on that. The ride still gets a very respectible throughput despite it's age and location in the back of the park.
 
Kumba is a ride that has never been relocated on mostly flat land. I have serious doubts that its reason for leaving this world would be that it's sinking. Alpengeist is built in a literal ravine, it's much taller, while also being near water.
 
Also, the park is consistently keeping it fresh. How many times have the repainted it already? And on top of that, the ride is a people eater. It’s placement isn’t ideal, I know that, but it’s still a good ride. Also, a good way to suspect that it may be going to leave soon is if they no longer have a fourth train. If they do that then they can only use 2 max while third is out for maintenance.
 
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