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The Busch Gardens Tampa Skyride opened in May of 1974, carrying guests from the station alongside the Monorail (now the Crossroads area of the park) to the station in the Congo area of the park. One of the unusual features of the ride is a mid-course turn station where the cable changes direction at ground level. This was one of the few rides built with this feature (Walt Disney World's Skyride also had a turn station). The turn station was once a stop for loading and unloading when it connected to the Treetops Station on the Serengeti Express.

 The 1.1 mile long cable carries guests about 50 feet above the Veldt and its herds of animals as well as other park attractions. In 2011 the Skyride was slightly modified to accommodate the Cheetah Hunt roller coaster which passes over and under the cableway.

Currently the cabins are all painted blue, though in the past they were other colors and featured bands of bright African Kinte Cloth inspired accents.

The Skyride at one point passed above the Rhino Rally attraction which was closed, and may become home to a new attraction for the 2021 season.













 




The Crossroads end of the Skyride is the "drive" station where the electric motor that pulls the cable sits, turning the large bull wheel the cable runs on.



There is a storage area just beyond the station where cabins can be brought on and off the line and closed behind a large set of doors.



The station building at Crossroads was originally home to the Monorail station and was expanded to include the Skyride in 1974. The coquina stone structure sat mostly empty for several years after the Monorail was removed until it was re-purposed and rethemed for Cheetah Hunt as the area became Crossroads.



Gondola #69 has an older paint scheme, and it is the maintenance car with the roof removed and places for the maintenance workers to clip in for safety. This car allows for the workers to climb up and inspect the rollers.





 
 
   
   
   
One of the unique aspects of the Busch Gardens Skyride is the rollers in the station designed to help advance the cabins through the station.

Just outside the station is a backstage maintenance area where several gondolas are sitting without their hanger arms.
   
   
   








   
   

When Cheetah Hunt was built one of the hills was designed to jump over the Skyride. Whether planned or a miscalculation, Tower #1 had to be modified slightly, being lowered slightly to accommodate the clearance for the track passing over the Skyride.















   
   
   
   




   
The most unique feature of the Busch Gardens Skyride is the turn station. The station allows the cable to make a change in direction, and also is a place to store gondolas that are out of service.

Guests cannot normally enter and exit their cabins in the turn station, though it used to be an entry and exit point when the Treetops Train Station was next to it.
   
   
   
   
The Congo Station is the location of the counterweight which keeps the tension on the cable as the weight fluctuates with gondolas loading and unloading attaching and detaching from the cable.


The counterweight is located in a pit beneath the station, with the bull wheel mounted on a track so it can slide back and forth as the weight fluctuates and the weight rises and falls beneath it.


The station itself is very rustic with a wall of logs forming a rounded structure. This is the smallest of the stations, with no storage track for gondolas taken out of service.
 
 
   
   



Go To The Busch Gardens Official Site