In a filing last week with the City of Tampa Bay it appears Busch Gardens is resurrecting two Kiddie rides that were removed back in 2023 from Pantopia to make room for Phoenix Rising. This is two of four working rides (five if you count the SBNO Phoenix Looping Starship) that were removed. The rides returning are the Busch Flyers and the Kiddie Train and they are going next to the the Ubanga Banga Bumper Cars in the spot currently occupied by the remote control boats and trucks.

“This project consists of the relocation of two existing kiddie rides that were originally in the Pantopia area of Busch Gardens (and are currently in storage). Work includes the demolition of an existing open air canopy, two small sheds, and the existing paving in the areas of the project. New work includes the installation of the two rides, new concrete paving, new curbing, new signage, and new electrical to the rides utilizing the existing electrical feeds.”

-City of Tampa Site Plan Review SPR-25-0001674

There’s no word yet if there will be any theme or name change with either attraction, but the area being developed for them looks quite nice and fills a bit of a ride less gap in that area of the park (other than Kumba and the rapids ride occupying the space behind it). The Busch Flyers is a classic rotating kid ride where riders can control the height of their plane. It opened in 1979, but I honestly thought it looked great in 2023 for being over 40 years old. The Kiddie Train doesn’t have as much public information and was almost hidden in Pantopia along with Desert Runners. There really was no theming to speak of in its original install, but little kids still enjoyed it.

Not shown in these documents was the Desert Runners motorcycle ride. This ride appeared to be quite old, but it was a favorite of our son for years. Sand Serpent was also demolished more than disassembled with its train cars up for a charity auction, so that’s not coming back and the disposition of the original Phoenix I’m not sure about.

I want to give a HUGE shout-out to SaxOnTracks for making me aware of this filing. These filings on Accela are a way to get some clues of what the park is potentially planning even before it’s publicly announced. It’s great to see Busch Gardens putting these rides back in service. Maybe it’s the reduce, reuse and recycle instinct in me that hates to see perfectly good rides go to waste when they could be enjoyed elsewhere. These rides will no doubt bring joy to young kids and families that visit Busch Gardens in the coming years same as they did years ago.