Last week in Florida, I visited Busch Gardens for the for the first time in over ten years. I was excited to add four new coasters to my total. Two of them– Scorpion, an old Schwartzkopf looper and Gwazi, a relatively fast but rough woodie, were just OK, but two of their new rides really stood out.

The first, and newest ride — it opened in May — is Cheetah Hunt. It’s a launched coaster that hugs the ground except for a single section where it rises after one of the launches into a 100-foot high figure eight:

It’s a fast, fun ride that is very re-ridable. Sorta like Maverick at Cedar Point but a bit faster.

But the star of the show is Sheikra, a 200-foot high Dive Coaster that features two 90-degree drops. Even better is that before the first drop, the coaster pauses before the drop, giving riders a delightful view of that straight-down drop.

Here’s a shot of me, Marion, David, Jan and Eric from the front seat.  I regret the use of jazz hands already.

So… four down, eight to go to complete this one.