''SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge'' is a

Gerstlauer Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany. History In 1982, Hubert Gerstlauer, a former employee of the Anton Schwarzkopf-o ...

Euro-Fighter The Euro-Fighter is a type of steel roller coaster developed by Gerstlauer. First launched in 2003, the trademark feature of the roller coaster is its beyond-vertical drop, which reaches an angle greater than 90 degrees. Although the majority of E ...

roller coaster A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides are o ...

located at

Nickelodeon Universe Nickelodeon Universe is the name of two indoor amusement parks located at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota and American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with a third location under construction at the Mall of China in Chongqing ...

in the

Mall of America Mall of America (MOA) is a large shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota, United States. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway ...

, Bloomington,

Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...

. Standing 74.5 feet tall, it is the tallest roller coaster in the park. It also features a beyond vertical (97 degrees) drop. It is the first roller coaster themed to

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American animated comedy television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It chronicles the adventures of the title character a ...

, and opened with the Nickelodeon Universe grand opening on March 15, 2008. The ride features a vertical loop, and a heartline roll. The ride was installed by

Ride Entertainment Group Ride Entertainment is a firm based in the United States specializing in the construction, sales, service, and operation of amusement rides and attractions. Divisions Sales Responsible for the sale of amusement rides, attractions and related pro ...

, who handles all of Gerstlauer's operations in the Western Hemisphere.

History and development

In 2007, the ride replaced Camp Snoopy's Mystery Mine attraction which housed the ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' 4-D ride and

The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera ''The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera'' is an American animated syndicated programming block produced by Hanna-Barbera Productions that ran on a weekly schedule and was performed in live action. The program ran from 1985 to 1994. Overview The ...

ride (under the name of Yogi's Big Rescue). Concept artwork for the ride was revealed to the public via the theme park's construction walls in 2007. The ride is based on the ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' episode " Rock Bottom" (from Season 1), and features a prominently placed statue of SpongeBob and Patrick riding an orange bus down a 90 degree angle while holding a glove over his head. Design and fabrication for the giant statue was handled by Tivolitoo, a company that Nickelodeon Experience Design often collaborates with. Mall of America and its Camp Snoopy theme park were built upon the former site of the

Metropolitan Stadium Metropolitan Stadium (often referred to as "the Met", "Met Stadium", or now "the Old Met" to distinguish from the Metrodome) was an outdoor sports stadium in the north central United States, located in Bloomington, Minnesota, a suburb of Minneap ...

, and a plaque was installed at the previous location of the stadium's home plate. This plaque was kept in tact during the theme park's conversion to its Nickelodeon re-theming, and now sits outside the entrance of Rock Bottom Plunge.

References

SpongeBob SquarePants Nickelodeon in amusement parks Roller coasters in Minnesota Roller coasters introduced in 2008 Nickelodeon Universe Articles containing video clips {{amusement-ride-stub