Pantheon

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Pantheon

Busch Gardens Williamsburg Location Williamsburg, Virginia, USA Status Operating since March 25, 2022 Rider height Minimum: 52 inch Maximum: 76 inch
Statistics
Manufacturer	Intamin
Product	LSM Launch Coaster
Type	Steel - Launched
Riders per train	20
Propulsion	LSM launch (rolling) and LSM boost (multi-pass)
Height	178 feet
Drop	180 feet
Top speed	73 mph
Length	3328 feet
Inversions	2
Drop angle	95°
Duration	2:30
HELP

A car from Pantheon on display at IAAPA 2019

Pantheon is a steel launched roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, USA. It was manufactured by Intamin and opened on March 25, 2022.

History

This ride was referred to as Project MMXX during the early construction stages and replaced an earlier project named Project Madrid. Busch Gardens Williamsburg had filed a 315 foot height waiver which was approved in 2017.

The initial planning application for the ride was filed in February 2019. The park teased their new addition in a campaign leading up to an announcement on July 30, when the name Pantheon was revealed. The track pieces for the roller coaster arrived onsite in October. The front car from one of the trains was revealed at IAAPA 2019.

On November 19, 2019, Busch Gardens Williamsburg revealed that Pantheon would now be the world's fastest multi-launch coaster instead of just North America's fastest, at a new top speed of 73 mph rather than 72.5 mph. While Soaring with Dragon is faster, it is believed that Busch Gardens Williamsburg counts its swing launch system as one launch rather than three due to it all being on only one track; Pantheon has two launch tracks, for reference. The current record-holder in this category is Taron at Phantasialand, with a top speed of 72.7 mph, just barely slower than Pantheon.

The ride's vertical rollback feature was completed in October and the top hat was topped off on November 16, 2019. The final piece of track was installed towards the end of February 2020 and both trains were loaded onto the track shortly after.

After Busch Gardens was closed for most of the 2020 season due to health concerns generated by the coronavirus pandemic, SeaWorld Entertainment announced in July 2020 that all new roller coasters which had yet to open would be pushed back to 2021. However, the roller coasters did not open and on September 9, 2021, SeaWorld announced that Pantheon would open in March 2022.

In January 2022, it was announced that Pantheon would open on March 25, 2022.

Design

Elements
LSM launch (rolling) Zero-g winder Switch track LSM boost (multi-pass) Vertical rollback Top hat (Outside) Outward banked airtime hill Zero-g stall

Pantheon is an Intamin LSM Launch Coaster, or Blitz Coaster. It has a launch and three boosts; the first launch being at 36 mph, and the boosts at 50 mph, at 61 mph and at 67 mph, making it the fastest multi-launched coaster in the world. However, a multi-pass boost similar to that of Soaring with Dragon at Hefei Sunac Land makes up three of these boosts.

Ride experience

Promotional image of the layout

Pantheon has a gentle start out of the station with a few S-curves and a left turn, leading into the first 36 mph LSM launch, which takes riders into the first of two inversions, a zero-g winder. From there, Pantheon climbs the hillside in a series of S-curves and an outer-banked turn. Then, it passes the high speed switch track into the multi-pass boost segment, with an airtime hill on it, like Copperhead Strike at Carowinds. The first boost of this sequence takes place at 50 mph. The ride rolls back down the outside top hat, accelerating to 61 mph backwards and climbing a 17-story vertical rollback. Pantheon reverses forward down the vertical rollback and accelerates to 67 mph, ascending to the crest of the outside top hat and diving 180 feet, 95 degrees down towards the park's Rhine River. Pantheon then swoops to the right at its top speed, 73 mph, and rises into a large, outward banked airtime hill, dropping back down and rising into a zero-g stall, the final of Pantheon's two inversions. Then the ride hugs the ground in a series of S-curves into a wave turn facing right; following that is the brake run.

Trains

2 trains with 5 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows, for a total of 20 riders per train. The restraints are lap bars which close from above, similar to those on Taron at Phantasialand.

Etymology

Pantheon is a Greek word referring to a particular set of Gods. The gods referenced in Pantheon's theme are Roman gods; Pluto, Neptune, Mercury, Minerva and Jupiter. Each god represents a different aspect of the ride: Pluto represents the two inversions, Minerva represents the launches and boosts, Mercury represents the 72 mph speed, Neptune represents the 178 feet height, and Jupiter represents the 95-degree drop.

Images

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  The vertical rollback
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  View from the Rhine River
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  The top hat on Pantheon
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  The zero-g winder
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  The first launch
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External links

The category Pantheon contains additional media.

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  Pantheon on the Roller Coaster DataBase.

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