Kumba Retiring After 33 Year's: Inside Busch Gardens' Replacement Plan
By Maya Lin-Takahashi
When Kumba opened in April 1993, the global amusement industry took notice. Designed by Swiss engineering masterminds Walter Bolliger and Claude Mabillard (B&M), the ride established design conventions that amusement parks worldwide spent the next two decades attempting to replicate. At the time, its seven inversions set a world record, showcasing elements that had never been linked together in a continuous sequence.
Kumba introduced the world to the diving loop and popularized the interlocking corkscrews, elements that later became B&M signatures on layouts across Europe, Asia, and North America. Riders pulled 3.8 Gs through smooth transitions that ran counter to the jarring, whiplash-inducing transitions common on 1980s Arrow Dynamics loopers. The success of Kumba gave Busch Gardens the confidence to double down on B&M prototypes, directly clearing the runway for Montu in 1996 and SheiKra in 2005.
Maya is a hardware enthusiast who tests and reviews smart home devices, smartphones, wearables, and audio gear. She focuses on practical consumer value and build quality.
