Everyone may know of how afraid of heights I am. I have a hard time standing on a step stool to change a lightbulb (and I am serious about this - many of you know I am). My riding buddy decided the way for me to quench my fears was to ride a roller coaster. No, not a roller coaster -
EVERY ROLLER COASTER IN BUSCH GARDENS!!!
History was made today! I kept asking him if I couldn't just stick to the bumber cars - "No buddy, you are going to ride a roller coaster today!" The guy at the front desk who sold us our tickets told us to check out the Griffon - the newest roller coaster - suppose to be a bad mammy jammy. So, this morning we rode over to.....
We decided to knock out the bad one first to get rid of my fears. Actually, we were way wrong.... Not about getting rid of my fears, but that the Griffon was going to be the BAD MAMMY JAMMY. It was bad enough! You go up 200 feet and then over the edge and STOP. You are hanging 200 feet in the air - looking straight down for about 5 seconds to give you time to think that your riding partner is a nut and you are a nut to listen to him and it also gives you time to prepare for your voice to hit octaves it has never hit before as you scream like a little girl for the next 2 minutes. The first picture is the train "hanging". PS: The pictures are mine but the videos are from Youtube - not mine and ride information is via Wikipedia.
History Lesson: Each train consists of three rows of ten seats. Once strapped in, the loading platform floor drops and guests hear, "Now, prepare to enjoy the power and speed of the mythical Griffon." After a right turn out of the station, riders climb a 45 degree lift hill running about 10 feet per second, 205 feet up. Then they make another turn to the right and face the Royal Palace Theatre. The trains pause on a holding brake for five seconds, before dropping 205 feet at 90° hitting 71 mph. The ride will then go into a 146 foot Immelmann loop before making a sweeping turn to the left into the block brake. Riders will then drop 130 feet down at 87° towards The Rhine River and into another 100 foot Immelmann inversion. Finally, riders will exit a bunny hop into a water splash pool. Each of the three trains produces a different water spray pattern up to 45 feet high. Riders then encounter a small dip just before the final brake run and station.
When we finished even JP figured that in the 25-30 years since he had riden a roller coaster, THEY SURE HAVE CHANGED - NOTHING LIKE THEY USED TO BE!!!! JP just told me to tell Smokin'Joe to "get over here and ride something like The Big Bad Wolf - you will really enjoy it! Makes the Dragon look like a baby."
We had gotten in right as they opened and there were no lines whatsoever. JP asked what I thought and I told him I wasn't sure. "Heck boy, let's do it again!!!!" Made a circle and got back on the next train going up. Rode it twice and wondered why I had even done the first one! Company may need to drug test me when I get back for some decisions I make.
The we are walking along and they got this ride called the Alpengeist. Dangnabit - another roller coaster!!!! This one you hang underneath and ride it in suspended chairs (with your feet hanging down) - most of it out the side or upside down.
WHO IN THE HECK THINKS OF THESE THINGS?????
Seriously, who thinks of these things?
History Lesson: Upon exiting the station, the floor drops beneath the riders feet and the riders ascend the 195 foot tall chain lift after hearing the send-off recording. Then, riders are swept to the right after seeing a view of the Anheuser-Busch Williamsburg brewery and looking up on Griffon and descend 170 feet, going past The Land of The Dragons, hitting 67 miles per hour. Following the drop, passengers go into an enormous Immelmann loop, which is a half loop with a twist at the top. After the Immelman loop, riders go into a 104 foot vertical loop. The riders then enter a wooden tunnel where there was an on-ride photo (It has since been removed due to the two inside seats not being clear in the photos). A large cobra roll follows over the Rhine River, right next to the Loch Ness Monster and Griffon. The block brake comes after a high speed curve. Immediately after the block, a drop that goes right into a zero-g roll that gives airtime right beside the "Le Scoot" log flume. After a corkscrew and a helix, the train brings the riders into the station.
Then we figured it was time to eat to give us something to throw up later. This was the Strawberry Shortcake Funnel Cake a la mode!
Then we got the park train and rode to a new area to explore.
We got off and found the Loch Ness Monster - DAGNABIT - ANOTHER ROLLER COASTER!!!!!! It's that little yellow track in there. WHAT? They got loops through loops in that sucker!!!!!!
This was in a roller coaster car (very tight room wise).
History Lesson: The Loch Ness Monster is a fairly large roller coaster located in the Scotland hamlet of Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Designed by Ron Toomer of Arrow Dynamics, the Loch Ness Monster was the first, and is the only coaster still operating, to feature interlocking loops. The Loch Ness Monster remains, even after 30 years of operation, a crowd favorite at Busch Gardens. When it first opened in 1978 it was the world's tallest roller coaster. After departing from the station, the train reaches the 130 foot lift hill;. As the train reaches the top, a small and tight turn brings it to a 114 foot drop towards the Rhine River underneath. A large upwards hill with a turn (which glides over the top of The Land of the Dragons), and trim brakes brings riders to the first of the two loops. After going through the loop, the train makes a turn and to a block brake, which then leads into a covered tunnel/helix. Once the train is inside it makes 2.75 circular turns before coming to the end of the tunnel. The tunnel has had various lights and special effects over the years, including a light up picture of the cartoon Loch Ness Monster, but currently on has one strobe that goes off at about the beginning of the 2nd revoulution. The on-ride photo was taken inside the tunnel, but has since been changed to after the second loop. As the train exits the tunnel at the end of the helix a small brake run slows the train so it can ascend a smaller second lift hill. The train makes a wide turn after the lift and drops downward into the second loop. The train then goes uphill once more before being brought to a stop by the final brake run. It is an ACE Coaster Landmark. ACE also enjoyed its first ERT (exclusive ride time)on the Loch Ness Monster.
Then we walked over and found this ride called The Big Bad Wolf. JP and I think this was the best ride we took - and yep, ANOTHER DANG ROLLER COASTER!!!!! Awesome ride. Like riding a jet fighter through a town at full speed! It was like two rides in one the way it was designed.
History Lesson: The Big Bad Wolf is a suspended roller coaster in the Oktoberfest section of Busch Gardens Europe. A suspended swinging coaster has the cars hanging under the track, which swing freely after every turn. "Thank you, and enjoy traveling at the "speed of fright" are the words you hear after the safety announcement. After that you go into a very small dip (approx 5 ft) to gain momentum. The track then veers sharply to the left into the first lift hill. Once at the top, the train descends down reaching speeds of around 48-50 mph. The train then steers its way though a Bavarian village, narrowly missing houses and shops. The first section of the ride climaxes with a helix through a wooded area adjacent to the village. The train then enters a set of block brakes in order to slow the train prior to the second lift. Following the brake, the track veers right and the second lift hill begins. This chain lift takes the riders up to an unsuspected 100-foot drop. This drop sends riders barreling straight towards the Rhine River at 48 mph, swooping right above the water, and making that image one of the most classic coaster images ever. The dive toward the water is also helped because the cars are below the track, making it even more convincing. Originally, mist machines helped to further convince riders that they were a little too close to the water for comfort. In recent years, these mist machines have remained inactive. After this close encounter with the fish, the train twists and turns and slowly makes its way back up to the station.
Then we did some other rides and some of them were much more than you would have thought just looking at them. I think we saved the best MAMMY JAMMY for LAST - APOLLO's CHARIOT!!!!! Since it opened, it has been in the top ten roller coasters of the world (steel coasters) and has been like the 4th for the last 4 years. I can't imagine what the 3 above it would be like!!!!!
This was almost like a stand up roller coaster.
History Lesson: Apollo's Chariot is the first roller coaster to incorporate the "T-shaped" clamshell harness design, which is a type of tight lap restraint rather than an over the shoulder harness, or the traditional "U-shaped" lap bar. This allows the rider to experience more freedom and movement of the body. Opened in 1999, it soon became a favorite roller coaster of many enthusiasts and riders. The roller coaster uses an out and back design with a helix. Notably, the first drop is actually longer than height of the lift, the drop being 210 feet, and the height of the roller coaster 170 feet high. The ride with its purple track and yellow supports is easily noticeable from nearby roads. After riders hear the dispatch send-off, "Thank you, and enjoy your voyage to the sun on the wings of Apollo's Chariot," they climb a 170 foot lift hill. At the peak, riders drop down a few feet in a pre-drop. The pre-drop serves to reduce the stress and pull of the chain. After the pre-drop, riders drop 210 feet toward a water-filled ravine at a 65 degree angle and reaching speeds of 73 mph. At the end of the ravine, riders go up a second airtime hill with a 131 foot drop. The riders then enter a short tunnel at the bottom of the second drop. Then after the third hill, they go down a 144 foot drop, which tilts sideways as it descends. Then there is a large, upward helix which pulls 4.1 Gs. Coming out of the helix, there is a small drop, then a climbing right turn into the block brake. A sudden dive off the block leads into a bunny hop parallel to the ride's initial plunge. Then, Apollo's Chariot features an overbanked turn under the lift hill, just dodging one of the support columns. Then the ride turns sharply right and at the end the riders go into a camel hump hill and drop into a ditch where the on-ride photo is located. Then the train gently hits the final brakes and after a u-turn, the riders return to the station.
Then a train ride back to the front gate and a ride back to the hotel with Subway's for dinner. We have been on our feet all day, so it was nice to sit in some AC, have a drink and eat a subway in the room with our shoes off.
Did it lesson my fear of heights? Nope! Was it something that I have
never done before - YES! Is it something at my age that I will probably ever do again - NO! Did I pass a LARGE TIME -
HELL YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I guess we rode every adult ride at Busch Gardens today and definately got our money's worth!!!! I rode every Roller Coaster (don't know if I will ever get on another one - but hey, I have done it and can tell my grandkids I did). Was it worth it? Let's see, something I have never done before, doing some of the best for the one time that I did it, sharing it with a dear friend, talking about it afterwards, laughing during it (kind of a hysterical laugh on my part)....Ummmmmm, HELL YES!!!!!!!!!!! Was a LARGE TIME PASSED TODAY? You Betcha!!!!!!!! Like I said, and
this is what this ride is all about, we did (or saw) something today we have never seen before and probably never will see (or do) again. If JP and I ride a 1000 roller coasters in the future - none will match today for the good time we passed! It was a special day, so why do it again?!?
It was another thing that my buddy and I have shared that will be in our memories - part of many that we have formed over the last 4 years that we have known each other and shared the wind together. When we were in the train this afternoon, we were talking to a mature couple that wanted to know how we met, why we ride, where we were from, where we were going....WHY WE WERE DOING WHAT WE WERE DOING. It was nice to be able to tell them about our episodes.
A special day, a good day, a grand day and the 5th day of the Magical History Tour (with 2 days just getting here) with so much more to come. We leave Williamsburg, VA tomorrow morning for points unkown. All I can say is we are having a
BALL YA'LL!!!!!!!!!!
