Griffon
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| 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 | ||||||||||||||
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
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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 booth at the 2007 IAAPA Expo.
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
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View of the station -
The first immelmann -
The second immelmann -
The splashdown -
The entrance sign -
Griffon's extended queue area
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References
- ↑ "Cedar Point debuts newest record-breaking roller coaster".
- ↑ "Busch Gardens roller coaster tour part 2: Griffon". Coaster Critic. 2009-10-03.
- ↑ 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.
- ↑ "Busch Gardens Europe Tops Off New Dive Coaster". Ultimate Rollercoaster.
- ↑ "Invadr, Project 2018, & more: BGW preview day 2017". Busch Dominion. 2017-03-19. Retrieved 2022-02-24.
External links
- Griffon on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
