Rhino Rally

Rhino Rally
Ride statistics
Attraction type	Safari ride
Manufacturer	[[Vekoma]]
Theme	Safari
Duration	8

Rhino Rally is a safari-themed attraction located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay an African-themed park located in Tampa, Florida. The ride was opened on March 23, 2001 in the Nairobi section of the park. The ride is a Vekoma Raging River Safari and is the only one ever made. The pretense is that guests are going on a normal safari ride which turns into the ride of their lives.

Ride Experience

Queue

At one time, as guests entered the queue and they learned they are going on a popular safari tour, known as the Rhino Rally, which holds an annual racing event where the safari trucks must race against each other with passengers on board to make it to the finish line. As guests walked through the queue, they heard news reporters giving updated info on the race on "Rhino Rally Radio" with hosts Croc Bushel and Talia Sunshine. Guests continue to pass a safari truck which has won the 10th annual Rhino Rally, as well as a map which shows their path on the rally course. After waiting, guests board the safari vehicles.

Ride

As guests board the vehicle, the safari driver welcomes them and picks one of them to be their navigator, whom they tell to look out for green and black poles which show them where to go. As the safari truck starts driving, guests go past the start sign for the rally race followed by the truck going past an elephant ground. The driver then warns guests to look out for African killer ducks as they pass the next area, followed by the truck passing by exotic animals and onto the rhino ground. The truck then drops down and enters an alligator pond, with the driver warning guests to keep all arms and legs inside the vehicle during this time. Soon, the vehicle is back on solid ground, but there are no green poles. Confused, the driver asks the navigator which way to go, since the path splits into left and right roads. Regardless of which path the navigator chooses, the driver always goes to the left. The right path is used ONLY when the water portion of the ride is down or in case of an emergency situation. After turning left, the driver drives into a rainforest, then the truck reaches a bridge beside a huge waterfall, which becomes too powerful and breaks the bridge apart with the truck on it. The truck then proceeds to float down a river on a piece of the bridge. The driver gets upset at the navigator and quickly radios Rescue ONE to come get them. The truck then passes under another waterfall. This one happens to soak guests in the back row. Soon, the driver finds Rescue ONE stuck due to a broken bridge. As the truck reaches the broken bridge, the current pulls it in and it stops just in time before plummeting down a waterfall. Thinking quickly, the driver notices a pathway in front of them, and tells guests to hope that it leads to safety. Shortly after, the truck reaches the finish line and wins the race, as victory music plays loudly. The driver thanks guests for joining them as they exit the truck.

The park's Skyride also crosses over the ride, allowing an aerial view of the zoo animals.

Breakdowns

The water section of the ride breaks down very often. When this happens, the land portion of the route operates as normal, but with a DETOUR towards the end of the ride. When the navigator says to go right, the drier goes left insted. This is the only time that the vehicles will go to the right at the split in the paths.