Zambezi Zinger Review | Worlds of Fun's First of its Kind Wooden Roller Coaster

New for 2023 is a prototype wooden coaster from GCI! Zambezi Zinger features a first of its kind spiral lift hill for a wooden roller coaster, plus new Infinity Flyer trains. The ride pays homage to the original Zambezi Zinger which operated at the park for 20 years, but redefines it in a way we haven't seen before!

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[Saucion]

I believe the Titan track being only on the turn around the lift is because of structural issues that made the use of wooden track more complicated on that precise spot.

[TheBatwave]

I like your reviews. They are honest and comprehensive.

[dereksmith]

I just want to say I love your channel. I always love when you and Sarah publish your vids because it brings so much joy to my life. Keep up the good work!

[Posirep]

Yup. Rode it in June on its opening weekend.

Thought it was very shaky. While not "rough" my very first thought was...."oh boy this is gonna age POORLY"

Personally I preferred not only Prowler but also Timberwolf in terms of woodies at the park.

[eloramaxwell]

A family attraction with a thrill level 5 lol.

We love WoF and are really happy we got some attention but it was a bit underhwelming for us. I really don't think it's going to age well either unfortunately.

You're lucky you didn't get stuck on the break run due to maintenance with those restraints... IT SUCKS.

[barusshka]

Am I the only one who noticed hat flying off on Skyrush 8:05? 😁

[havoc]

A similar wood to Epay (Epae?) is Jarrah, in Australia. It's a medium cost exotic wood that only grows in Western Australia, and is prized not only for being tough as old boots, but also it's resistance to rotting and Bugs. this is because Jarrah, unlike other woods, has a very high silicon content, giving it more in common with a rock than a plant. This also has the side effect of making it waterproof, and Fire resistant, and it turns a wonderful faded red as it ages.

[ronsblahblah]

I was on the Whizzer the other night, such a fun night ride through the pitch black woods.

[colebroughs]

I enjoy touching the grass on that last turn before the sharp twist and break run.

[ganj]

For theming this ride is awesome. It’s not super thrilling but feels fun.

[coasterchum]

Great review as always... I was lucky to get 1 ride on it 10/21/23 and my low expectations were definitely exceeded. I'm a fatty 6' 265lb and found the seats and restraints to be kind of comfortable honestly.. you definitely feel secure but I still felt my body getting thrown around... also I don't know if I rode it on a great day or what but we rode it right after a ride on Prowler and to me it felt just a little bit slower speed wise but the airtime hills and turns on the Zinger felt tighter and steeper. I'm glad it has a little bite to it since it adds to the sense of thrill.

[ogeboi]

I’m glad someone is finally speaking out about how bad the restraints are, after my ride of skyrush I thought nothing could be worse, but man zambezi really put skyrush a run for its money with how painful the restraints are, I also hate how hard it is to fit in the trains as a taller person, my legs are forced into an uncomfortable acute angle the entire time with a painful lapbar, making the already rough coaster imo feel even worse

The layout itself is pretty good, I just wish they would modify the hills to actually give airtime as a double up/down or something

[ThatWolfArrow]

WoF still needs a new standout ride. As good as a new family ride is, I don’t think Zambezi is gonna draw more people to the park long term. Especially once the novelty of an old ride being reimagined wears off.

[DJWezzyK]

GCI explained last IAPPA that they had to do the turn around the lifthill as steel track for stress reducing on the lifthills structure. But the CEO of GCI can explain that way better then me. So look that video up, and you get a better explanation why GCI choose to do so. The park had no choice in that section being steel.

[nathanlamoreaux]

I have the same thoughts. I only managed to get one ride on it since it was breaking down constantly, but the restraints are definitely tight (comfortable, but tight) and it does not track well on the wood for a new coaster. If they had titan tracked the whole thing I'd like it a LOT more. Especially since they have Prowler and Timber Hawk already which are both actually quite good.

[OklahomaCoasterFan]

I agree that these restraints bothered me far more than Skyrush's. Although, my experience with the seats was a little different. The front was easily the roughest row for me. It got less rough as I moved toward the back, but every row was very rough. It's crazy that a brand new GCI would be so much rougher than a 1989 Dinn in the same park. I also like InvadR far more. I'm debating either ZZ or Roar as my least favorite GCI.

[jamalbrown]

Hi hello this is so cool and awesome . Um i always love to go and look at the animals they are so cool and i love animals and the ride looks like so much fun um thanks for sharing have a great day or night stay safe my friend.

[spencoaster]

3:09 Not sure if you’ve noticed this noticed this or not, but there’s also a rhino statue from Kings Dominion in that portion of the layout. It appears in various shots during this review.

[TheLittleCuteThing]

6:19 - This wasnt a choice by worlds of fun.
The decision actually came somewhat late into the coasters design from what we were told, and it was because they saw major wear on another coaster they did on a similar point in the track, They included extra steel in a few parts to prevent premature wear / reduce maintenance problems in the future.


the extra where it wraps around the lift hill (with the exception of the drop) was probably just aesthetic because they had to add it at the drop after that wraparound

[AUThemeParksChannel]

Honestly, this looks like a fun, not too intense, yet enjoyable layout. Living in Australia, Movieworld, Seaworld and Dreamworld are my home parks that I go to one (usually Movieworld) once a week. We only have Leviathan which is a lot of fun, but I'd like to experience more wooden coasters. What are your thoughts on Apocalypse at Six Flags Magic Mountain? I'll be going there with my family soon 🎢🎢🎢