Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Williamsburg VA | Nearby Businesses

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1 Busch Gardens Blvd
Williamsburg, VA 23187-8785
(800) 343-7946

Griffon is a steel Dive Coaster roller coaster located at the Busch Gardens Williamsburg amusement park in James City County, Virginia, United States. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, it is 205ft high, and is the second-fastest (71mph) Dive Coaster built. The roller coaster features two Immelmann loops, a splashdown, two vertical drops and was the first of its kind to use floorless trains. Griffon was announced to the public on August 23, 2006 and opened on May 18, 2007 to positive reviews by both newspapers and enthusiasts. In 2007, Amusement Todays annual Golden Ticket Awards voted it the third-best new steel roller coaster of that year and the 27th-best steel roller coaster. It was voted the 33rd-best steel roller coaster in 2013.HistoryOn June 30, 2006, Busch Gardens Wiliamsburg announced that LeMans Raceway would be closing to the public on July 5, 2006 in order to make room for the next year's new attraction. Construction for Griffon began the next day with the demolishing of the raceway. A trademark for the name "Griffon" was filed by SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment on July 12, 2006. The roller coaster was announced to the public on August 23, 2006. On December 11, 2006, two cranes installed the highest piece of Griffon with an evergreen tree. The vertical drop and immelmann loop were completed in January 2007 and the final piece of track was installed in late February. After testing was complete, the roller coaster opened on May 18, 2007; one week earlier than its original scheduled opening date.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg is a 383-acre theme park located in James City County, Virginia, about 60.40 miles northwest of Virginia Beach, originally developed by Anheuser-Busch and currently owned by SeaWorld Entertainment, a division of Blackstone Group. The park opened on May 16, 1975, adjacent to Anheuser-Busch's brewery and near its other developments including the Kingsmill Resort complex. The park is themed around old-world Europe and Sesame Street. The park was originally called Busch Gardens: The Old Country, reflecting the European theme. In 1993, the park was renamed Busch Gardens Williamsburg before briefly being named Busch Gardens Europe in 2006 until it returned to the Williamsburg name in 2008. Similarly, its sister park in Florida was originally called Busch Gardens: The Dark Continent until it was officially renamed Busch Gardens Tampa Bay until a brief switch to Busch Gardens Africa from 2006 to 2008. In 2010, the estimated attendance of 2.8 million placed it in the top 20 most-visited parks in the US.

The Loch Ness Monster is a steel roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, noted at the time of its opening in 1978 as the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster, as well as the first coaster with two interlocking loops.The Loch Ness remains the only roller coaster with two interlocking loops — other similar designs having been dismantled. In addition to the loops, which link over one of the park's water features, the design includes a helix tunnel, two lift hills and a 114ft drop. The ride sits within the park's Scottish-themed Heatherdown, relates the legend of the Loch Ness monster and suggests the serpent inhabits its underwater caves.The ride is classified as Coaster Landmark by American Coaster Enthusiasts and marked its 35th anniversary in 2013.LayoutThe ride begins with a pre-recorded welcome, departs the station and ascends a 130ft lift hill with a small, tight turn before descending 114ft to one of the park's water features, the so-called Rhine River. A large upward hill crosses over the park's 'Land of the Dragons', bringing the ride to the first of two interlocking loops, after which the ride accelerates through a descending, spiraling tunnel.The train descends 2.75 spiraling revolutions before exiting the specially lit tunnel, subsequently ascending its second lift hill, making a wide turn and dropping into the second loop - ascending a last time before stopping. *The lights in the tunnel have not been turned on for years. Many of the current employees aren't even aware that there are ilghts in the tunnel yet many long time fans of the ride fondly recall them.

Alpengeist is a steel roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. 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.Ride experienceUpon exiting the station, the floor drops beneath the riders feet and the train climbs the 195-foot-tall chain lift after hearing the send-off recording "Thank you and enjoy your avalanche of adventure on Alpengeist!" The track drops to the right down a 170-foot 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 (it has since been removed due to the two inside seats not being clear in the photos), before passing through a cobra roll over the Rhine River, adjacent to the Loch Ness Monster's final brake run. Out of the cobra roll, the track crosses over the entrance to the cobra roll, passes by Griffon, then hits the midcourse brake run. Off the midcourse brakes, the track crosses over the exit from the Immelmann loop, then goes down a drop and through 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 helix, before making a left hand turn to the final brake run.