TAMPA, Fla. -- Zoo Tampa at Lowry Park debuts a new attraction to cool you off just in time for the start of summer.
Roaring Springs presented by Pinch A Penny opens Saturday and lets guests board a boat and drift along a spring before getting an adrenaline rush with a nearly 30-foot splashdown.
Those who don’t want to brave the drop can still cool off on an elevated splash zone boardwalk at the end of the ride.
The ride is a replacement for the Gator Falls, a log flume ride that opened in 2008. The zoo’s chief operations officer, John Muller, said the park wanted to revamp Gator Falls because it wasn't really suited for families.
“We like to say that it’s ‘zoo beginnings’ and this is one of them,” Muller said.
The area surrounding the ride has been refurbished to look like an old Florida town, complete with a red schoolhouse, water tower, general store, a pint-sized wooden bungalow and the new Joe’s Diner selling fish tacos, conch fritters and churros.
The Country Store even sells Florida-made wares like handmade goat soap, local honey and prints of the zoo’s many baby animals.
“If you’ve ever driven up US 301 or through Ocala, even going through Apollo Beach and heading down south,” Muller said. “You see that old Florida charm and personality.”
“Everything looks like it was meant to be.”
Roaring Springs opens at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Zoo members get a preview 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Thursday and Friday.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit zootampa.org.
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