Reviews of Roller Coasters at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, VA

Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Virginia is well known for its collection of roller coasters. Here you will find some of the best roller coasters in the country along with some of the most beautiful landscaping. Busch Gardens has won The Most Beautiful Theme Park Award for over twenty years now. The theme of this beautiful park centers on Old World Europe. Join me as I introduce you to the roller coasters that inhabit this park.

First we will take a look at the Loch Ness Monster, built in 1978 and still in thrilling people at present. The Loch Ness Monster is a looping Arrow Dynamic roller coaster and it is the first and, to date, the only roller coaster in the world to feature interlocking loops. It also features a helix tunnel, two lifts and 114 foot drop. The top speed of this coaster is 60 mph and the ride time is 2 minutes and 10 seconds. It is located in the Scotland area of the park and named after the famous Loch Ness Monster. It lives up to its name with the many loops and thrills it gives the rider. The Loch Ness Monster celebrated its 30 birthday in 2008, this may be and older coaster but it is still well worth the ride.

In 1997 Busch Gardens opened up the Alpengeist and it is still open today. Set in the Germany section of the park it travels at about 67 mph. The name Alpengeist means ghost of the Alps. This is an inverted roller coaster themed like a ski lift that has been taken over by a local legend, the Alpengeist. This coaster is about 200 feet tall and delivers thrills right up to the end. The Alpengeist has an Immelmann inversion, corkscrew and helix combination and a zero-g-roll. This ride is very well themed and has great g-force. You will have a unique experience when you ride this coaster it is three minutes of intense thrills containing six inversions. The Alpengeist is consistently voted one of the top ten steel coasters in the world.

Apollo’s Chariot opened in 1999 and is still in operation today. It is located in the Festa Italia section of the park. This roller coaster won #4 best steel coasters in 2012 from the Golden Ticket Awards. This is a hyper coaster reaching over 200 feet high and features dives towards and around pools and hills. Apollo’s Chariot reaches a speed of 73 mph and is 170 feet in height and it has some fun bunny hops. The ride time is 2 minutes and 15 seconds with a drop of 210 feet. Don’t worry this coaster does not have any inversions a single bar holds you in your seat as you enjoy the ride. This is one excellent ride experience, if you go to Busch Gardens this is a roller coaster you must ride. This coaster is a smooth and invigorating ride doesn’t miss this classic coaster.

In 2007 Busch Gardens opened the Griffin. It is located in the France section of the park. The Griffin is a floorless dive roller coaster and is named after a legendary creature. The Griffin has a ninety degree drop from 205 feet, two Immelmann loops and a “splashdown” finale. This is a world’s first floorless diving coaster, open cars, aggressive speed, great view with a warning “No wimps allowed.”The Griffin has no sides or back either leaving the rider to feel very exposed and adding to the excitement. The seats are basically bolted to the chassis. The top speed of this coaster is 71 mph and the ride time is three minutes. The only word I can say is thrilling!

Verbolten is the newest addition to the coaster family at Busch Gardens. It is located in the Oktoberfest area of the park in the exact same spot as the Big Bad Wolf. However, this is nothing like the Big Bad Wolf. The Verbolten travels at 53 mph, which is slow compared to the rest of the coasters in Busch Gardens. But strangely enough it does not feel that slow, it gets from 0 to 53 mph in no time.

This park is filled with exceptional roller coasters. If you are a coaster enthusiast you will love this experience!

Thanks for reading!

Velzipmur aka Shelly Wyatt