Alpengeist


Alpengeist is an inverted steel roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, Alpengeist has an Alpine mountain region theme. The name "Alpengeist" is German for "Ghost of the Alps" or "Alps Spirit" and the ride is themed to a runaway ski lift. Since it opened in 1997, Alpengeist has been the world's tallest complete circuit inverted coaster.

History

On August 30, 1996, Busch Gardens Williamsburg announced that they would be adding Alpengeist. It opened on March 22, 1997.

Trains

Alpengeist has 3 trains with 8 cars, riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train. The trains feature a zero car at the front of the train which contains 680kg of weight which allows the trains to complete larger elements. The trains also feature skis on the side of each seat support beam which adds to the theming of the ride.

Ride experience

Upon exiting the station, the floor drops beneath the riders feet and the train climbs the 167-foot-tall chain lift after hearing the send-off recording "Thank you and enjoy your avalanche of adventure on Alpengeist!" The top of the lift reaches 195 feet above the river below. The track turns right while dropping down a 170-foot spiral drop, going past The Land of The Dragons, with the train hitting 67 miles per hour. Following the drop, the track passes through an Immelmann loop, followed by a 106-foot vertical loop. The track then races through a wooden tunnel, which until recent years, had cameras for an on-ride photo, before passing through a cobra roll over the Rhine River, adjacent to the Loch Ness Monster. Out of the cobra roll, the track crosses over the entrance to the cobra roll, passes by Griffon, then rises into the midcourse brake run. After the midcourse brakes, the track crosses over the exit from the Immelmann loop and then down a drop before entering a zero-g roll, alongside the Le Scoot log flume. After a short section of straight track close to ground level, the track goes through a corkscrew followed by a clockwise upward helix, before making a left turn to the final brake run.

Awards