Alpengeist

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Alpengeist
A train on the immelmann element.
roller coaster
Busch Gardens Williamsburg Location Williamsburg, Virginia, USA Status Operating since March 22, 1997 Cost $20,000,000 USD Height restriction 54 inches (137 cm)
Statistics
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Designer / calculations	Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH
Type	Steel - Inverted
Track layout	Terrain
Model / product	Inverted Coaster
Riders per train	32
Hourly capacity	1820
Propulsion	Chain lift hill
Height195 feet Drop170 feet Top speed67 mph Length3828 feet Inversions6 Duration3:10 G-force3.7 g
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Alpengeist a steel inverted roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. It was designed by Bolliger & Mabillard and opened on March 22, 1997. It is the tallest and fastest full-circuit inverted roller coaster, the tallest outright being Wicked Twister, an inverted shuttle coaster.

It was the first of three B&M coasters built at Busch Gardens Europe, the others being the hyper coaster Apollo's Chariot and the Griffon Dive Coaster.

History

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

Theme

The alpengeist is a legendary snow beast known to German villagers in the Alps. "Alpengeist" is German for "Ghost of the Alps". The ride itself is themed to a runaway ski lift, which is echoed in the ride building and on the trains themselves.

Design

Elements
Chain lift hill Immelmann 106 foot tall vertical loop Tunnel Cobra roll Block brake Tunnel Zero-g roll Corkscrew Helix

Alpengeist is a custom Inverted Coaster from Bolliger & Mabillard. It is the largest inverted coaster installation built by the company to date, alongside Katun and Banshee. It is 197 feet tall and reaches speeds of 67 mph. It has six inversions; an Immelmann, vertical loop, cobra roll, zero-g roll, and corkscrew.

The coaster's loading station and queue entrance looks like a ski lodge in the Alps. The trains are decorated with skis and poles, and are painted white and blue, like the ride itself. The trains also pass through two tunnels and past large snowbanks while on the ride.

Ride experience

Upon exiting the station, the floor drops beneath the riders feet and the train climbs the 195 foot tall chain lift hill after hearing the send-off recording "Thank you and enjoy your avalanche of adventure on Alpengeist!" The top of the lift reaches 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 mph miles per hour. Following the drop, the track passes through an immelmann loop. The immelmann leads straight 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. Out of the cobra roll, the track crosses over the entrance to the cobra roll, passes by Griffon, then rises into the block brake. After the block brake, 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.

Color scheme

Alpengeist has white track and teal supports.

Trains

3 trains with 8 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train.

Images

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  The cobra roll

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  The zero-g roll

External links

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  Alpengeist on the Roller Coaster DataBase.

Tallest inverted roller coaster March 22, 1997 – May 5, 2002
Preceded by Montu	Tallest inverted roller coaster March 22, 1997 – May 5, 2002	Succeeded by Wicked Twister

Fastest inverted roller coaster March 22, 1997 – August 3, 1998
Preceded by Montu	Fastest inverted roller coaster March 22, 1997 – August 3, 1998	Succeeded by Volcano The Blast Coaster