Gwazi is a dueling

Dueling roller coaster

A dueling roller coaster features two roller coasters, usually with a similar layout, built close to each other. The rides are designed to do just as the name indicates: to duel...

 wooden roller coaster

Wooden roller coaster

A wooden roller coaster is most often classified as a roller coaster with laminated steel running rails overlaid upon a wooden track. Occasionally, the structure may be made out of a steel lattice or truss, but the ride remains classified as a wooden roller coaster due to the track design...

 at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

. The name Gwazi originates from a fabled creature with the head of a tiger and the body of a lion. Accordingly, the two sides are named "Lion" and "Tiger". Often, the two tracks are called "yellow" and "blue", (yellow

Yellow

Yellow is the color evoked by light that stimulates both the L and M cone cells of the retina about equally, with no significant stimulation of the S cone cells. Light with a wavelength of 570–590 nm is yellow, as is light with a suitable mixture of red and green...

 being the primary color of the Lion trains, blue

Blue

Blue is a colour, the perception of which is evoked by light having a spectrum dominated by energy with a wavelength of roughly 440–490 nm. It is considered one of the additive primary colours. On the HSV Colour Wheel, the complement of blue is yellow; that is, a colour corresponding to an equal...

 being the primary color of the Tiger trains). It includes almost 7,016 feet of combined track and reaches speeds of 51 m.p.h. Both tracks have similar but nonidentical track layouts.

The roller coaster opened in 1999, a few months after Florida's only other dueling roller coaster, the Dueling Dragons at Universal Studios' Islands of Adventure

Islands of Adventure

Universal's Islands of Adventure is a theme park located in Orlando, Florida. It opened May 28, 1999 as part of an expansion that, along with CityWalk Entertainment District, the Portofino Bay Hotel, and Hard Rock hotel, converted Universal Studios Florida into the Universal Orlando Resort...

. Gwazi holds the record for most fly-bys on a dueling roller coaster, with six. A fly-by is where the two roller coasters pass each other in opposite directions at high speeds, giving the psychological impression that the two will collide. It is the largest and fastest double wooden roller coaster

Wooden roller coaster

A wooden roller coaster is most often classified as a roller coaster with laminated steel running rails overlaid upon a wooden track. Occasionally, the structure may be made out of a steel lattice or truss, but the ride remains classified as a wooden roller coaster due to the track design...

 in the Southeastern U.S.

Due to the Philadelphia Toboggan Company

Philadelphia Toboggan Company

The Philadelphia Toboggan Company is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world.Mack Rides of Germany dates back to 1781, but it did not start building coasters until 1921 Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry B...

 designed trains, which have been known to deliver rough rides on GCI designed coasters, Gwazi was previously known for giving rough (and at some points, painful) rides, similar to ROAR!

Roar (roller coaster)

Roar is the name of two wooden roller coasters operated by Six Flags. The original coaster was built at Six Flags America in Mitchellville, Maryland in 1998 while the other was built in 1999 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California...

 at Six Flags America

Six Flags America

Six Flags America is a family theme park and water park located in Mitchellville, Prince George's County, Maryland. It is situated east of Washington D.C. and southwest of Baltimore. The park covers , 131 of which is currently used for park operations...

. At the beginning of the 2010 season, Gwazi was spotted with what appeared to be Millennium Flyer

Great Coasters International

Great Coasters International, Inc. is a Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based roller coaster manufacturer which has created several award-winning rides since its formation in 1994. Starting in 2006 with Thunderbird in Finland, the company expanded beyond the United States and began building coasters in...

 trains on the track, with water dummies on board. Starting in 2011, the ride has run with the new cars, which were designed to greatly decrease the roughness of the ride.

In 2006, a 52-year-old Palm Springs

Palm Springs

Palm Springs is a desert city in CaliforniaPalm Springs may also refer to:* Palm Springs, Florida* Palm Springs, Hong Kong, a residential development in Yuen Long, Hong Kong* Coachella Valley, also known as the Palm Springs area...

 resident collapsed and died shortly after riding Gwazi. It was determined that the ride (which was functioning properly) had aggravated an existing condition of high blood pressure. See Incidents at SeaWorld parks for more info.

Awards

• Full Roller Coaster

  Golden Ticket Awards: Top Wooden Roller Coasters
  Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
  Ranking	-	-	-	-	-	38	43	46	40	DNC

• Tiger

  Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Best Wooden-Tracked Roller Coaster
  Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
  Ranking	30	33	37	40	44	50	51	64	77

• Lion

  Mitch Hawker's Internet Poll: Best Wooden-Tracked Roller Coaster
  Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
  Ranking	32	42	41	41	50	51	53	71	79