Griffon
| Click here to watch the on-ride POV |
|---|
_2013_01.jpg)
| |||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||
| Statistics | |||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard | ||||||||||||
| Product | Dive Coaster | ||||||||||||
| Type | Steel - Floorless - Hyper - Diving | ||||||||||||
| Riders per train | 30 | ||||||||||||
| Hourly capacity | 1400 | ||||||||||||
| Propulsion | Chain lift hill | ||||||||||||
| Height | 205 feet | ||||||||||||
| Drop | 200 feet | ||||||||||||
| Top speed | 71 mph | ||||||||||||
| Length | 3108 feet | ||||||||||||
| Inversions | 2 | ||||||||||||
| Drop angle | 90° | ||||||||||||
| Duration | 3:00 | ||||||||||||
| G-Force | 4 | ||||||||||||
| HELP | |||||||||||||
Griffon is a steel roller coaster located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. It is themed after a half-lion/half-eagle mythological creature called a Griffon, known for diving on unsuspecting prey.
Opened in 2007, the ride was built by Bolliger & Mabillard and was the tallest and fastest Dive Coaster until it was surpassed by Valravn at Cedar Point in 2016.[1] It is also the first to have multiple inversions and floorless trains.[2]
History
On June 30, 2006, Busch Gardens Williamsburg announced that Le Mans Raceway would be closing down to make room for a new attraction set to open in 2007. The attraction officially closed on July 5.[3]
On August 23, 2006, it was announced that Griffon would be coming to Busch Gardens Williamsburg.[4] The highest point of the ride was topped off in December 2006.[5]
Griffon opened on May 18, 2007.
In 2017, Griffon was repainted with a darker shade of blue in some areas.[6]
Design
| Elements |
|---|
|
Griffon has two vertical drops, two immelmanns and a splash effect. The first big drop dives under a pedestrian bridge. The second immelmann loops over the Rhine River near Loch Ness Monster.
Color scheme
Griffon has a blue track and white supports.
Trains
3 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 10 across in a single row, for a total of 30 riders per train. A car from Griffon was on display at B&M's IAAPA 2007 booth.
In video games
In Frontier Development's theme park simulation game Planet Coaster, the B&M Dive Coaster model (Aethon) has a color scheme matching Griffon's. The trains in the game are also ten across.
Images
View of the station
The second immelmann
The entrance sign
Griffon's extended queue area
_2013_02.jpg)
_2013_03.jpg)
_2013_04.jpg)
_2013_05.jpg)
References
- ↑ "Cedar Point debuts newest record-breaking roller coaster". https://www.kron4.com/news/cedar-point-debuts-newest-record-breaking-roller-coaster/.
- ↑ "Busch Gardens roller coaster tour part 2: Griffon". Coaster Critic. 2009-10-03. https://coastercritic.com/2009/10/busch-gardens-roller-coaster-tour-part-2-griffon/.
- ↑ Busch Gardens To Close Le Mans Raceway July 5 - Ultimate Rollercoaster
- ↑ Gieszl, Eric (2006-08-23). "Busch Gardens Building World's Tallest Dive Coaster". Ultimate Rollercoaster. https://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/news/stories/20060823_01.shtml.
- ↑ "Busch Gardens Europe Tops Off New Dive Coaster". Ultimate Rollercoaster. https://www.ultimaterollercoaster.com/news/stories/20061213_01.shtml.
- ↑ "Invadr, Project 2018, & more: BGW preview day 2017". Busch Dominion. 2017-03-19. https://buschdominion.com/2017/03/19/invadr-project-2018-more-bgw-preview-day-2017/. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
External links
- Griffon on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
| Articles on Busch Gardens Williamsburg | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Coasters |
|
||||||||
| Other attractions |
| ||||||||
