Before the ride was officially announced, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay ran a teaser campaign, which slowly revealed details of the attraction across mid-2010. Five teaser videos were released which featured cut scenes of the ride's point-of-view shot video. The attraction was officially announced on October 13, 2010 by park president, Jim Dean. Construction of the ride began almost immediately. By November 18, some supports for the ride were already in place. By mid-December, the supports for the element were complete with some pieces of track also installed. Cheetah Hunt was named the 2ndBest New Ride for 2011 by Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards.
Ride experience
Cheetah Hunt is an Intamin launchedsteel roller coaster. The ride's station is located in the former monorail station which was decommissioned in the 1990s. Guests board one of five 16-passenger trains. The ride begins with a linear synchronous motor launch out of the station and around a wide left turn followed by a gradual dip before approaching the second launch. This launch accelerates riders to their top speed of before climbing a hill. A figure 8 element is located at the top of this hill where riders weave through a series of helixes before dropping into a trench. Riders then proceed over a directional changing airtime hill crossing over the Skyride, before completing the ride's only inversion, a heartline roll. Upon exiting the barrel-roll and its subsequent brake run, the ride remains low to the ground and goes through a series of short banked turns through a rock fixture simulating several "near misses". This leads the ride into its third and final launch which accelerates riders to a speed of to navigate its way back to the station. During the journey back there is airtime and directional changing hills before the final brake run.
Characteristics
Cheetah Run
This ride is inspired by cheetahs. To go alongside Cheetah Hunt, Busch Gardens Tampa also opened an animal exhibit called Cheetah Run. The exhibit features glass-paneled viewing areas which allow visitors to watch the world's fastest land animal sprinting across plains. In late January 2011, five cheetahs arrived on site in preparation for the opening of the exhibit. Educational touch screen panels complete the exhibit.
