Gwazi wooden roller coaster at Busch Gardens permanently closing Feb. 2

If you’d like to get one last ride on the Gwazi wooden roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa, you have through Feb. 1, 2015 to do it. The park is closing down the ride after that date.

Gwazi opened in 1999 as Florida’s first dueling wooden roller coaster, providing guests with thrilling and memorable experiences for more than 15 years. In later years, the ride became more and more rough. In an attempt to make the ride more pleasurable for riders, new Millennium Flyer trains were added in early 2011. But that only made a minor difference and one of the two tracks has been closed in recent years.

“No decisions have been made about what lies ahead for Gwazi or for the future plans of that area of Busch Gardens,” said Park President Jim Dean. “But, we are always looking for ways to enhance guests’ experiences, so stay tuned for more news.”

Gwazi featured 1.25 million feet of twisting lumber and 7,000-plus combined feet the two tracks. Its closing leaves only two wooden roller coasters in Florida. A fully wooden one called Coastersaurus at Legoland Florida and a steel/wood hybrid called White Lightning at Fun Spot in Orlando.

What would you like to see as its replacement?

Here’s a look at the addition of the Millennium Flyer trains by Great Coasters International in 2011: