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Apollo's Chariot is a
steel roller coaster A steel roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its steel Railway track, track, which consists of long steel tubes that are run in pairs, supported by larger steel columns or beams. Trains running along the track typically rely ...
at the Busch Gardens Williamsburg amusement park in
James City County, Virginia James City County is a county (United States), county located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 78,254. Although politically separate from the county, the county seat is the ad ...
, United States. The ride was the first Hyper Coaster designed by
Swiss Swiss most commonly refers to: * the adjectival form of Switzerland * Swiss people Swiss may also refer to: Places * Swiss, Missouri * Swiss, North Carolina * Swiss, West Virginia * Swiss, Wisconsin Other uses * Swiss Café, an old café located ...
firm
Bolliger & Mabillard Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Cl ...
. It officially opened to the public on March 27, 1999. This coaster is themed to the Greek and Roman god
Apollo Apollo is one of the Twelve Olympians, Olympian deities in Ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek and Ancient Roman religion, Roman religion and Greek mythology, Greek and Roman mythology. Apollo has been recognized as a god of archery, mu ...
, who is the god of the sun, music, and healing. Apollo used his chariot to control the directions of the sun. The ride is characterized by eight
air-time In the context of amusement rides, air time, or airtime, refers to the time during which riders of a rollercoaster or other ride experience either frictionless or G-force, negative G-forces. The negative g-forces that a rider experiences is what ...
hills, with heights ranging between . Riders ascend on the
chain lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from ...
before dropping at an angle of 65°. Apollo's Chariot has been well received, consistently ranking in the top 10 of the annual Golden Ticket Awards from ''
Amusement Today ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspaper, which is based in Arl ...
''.


History

Apollo's Chariot was announced on September 5, 1998, as the tallest and fastest roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. An article in the '' Daily Press'' on January 23, 1999, mentioned that the ride was nearing completion with approximately 20 pieces of track left to be installed. Apollo's Chariot performed its first test runs in mid-February 1999. The ride opened on March 27, 1999. Upon opening, it was the first
hypercoaster A hypercoaster is a roller coaster with a height or drop measuring at least . The term was first coined by Arrow Dynamics and Cedar Point in 1989 with the opening of the world's first hypercoaster, Magnum XL-200, which features a height of . Th ...
from Swiss manufacturer
Bolliger & Mabillard Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Cl ...
. Busch Gardens held Apollo's Chariot's opening ceremony three days later on March 30. Italian fashion model
Fabio Lanzoni Fabio Lanzoni (; born March 15, 1959), known List of one-word stage names, mononymously as Fabio, is an Italian actor, fashion model, and spokesman. Lanzoni is known for his wide-ranging career including work as a romance novel cover model thro ...
was brought in to promote the new roller coaster; this was part of Busch Gardens Williamsburg's annual program of celebrity appearances. During the ride's inaugural run, a 10-pound goose struck him in the face leaving his nose covered with blood. He was treated at a nearby hospital for minor cuts, while the goose was killed on impact. In 2021, he clarified that the goose hit a camera and a piece of that camera hit him in the face. A reproduction simulation in 2024 concluded that it was unlikely the goose struck Lanzoni directly in the face.


Characteristics

The Apollo's Chariot is a Hyper Coaster made by
Bolliger & Mabillard Bolliger & Mabillard, officially Bolliger & Mabillard Consulting Engineers, Inc. and often abbreviated B&M, is a roller coaster design consultancy based in Monthey, Switzerland. The company was founded in 1988 by engineers Walter Bolliger and Cl ...
. The park's existing
terrain Terrain (), alternatively relief or topographical relief, is the dimension and shape of a given surface of land. In physical geography, terrain is the lay of the land. This is usually expressed in terms of the elevation, slope, and orientati ...
is utilized to allow a
lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from t ...
to be translated into a first drop stretching . With a top speed of , the ride features eight
air-time In the context of amusement rides, air time, or airtime, refers to the time during which riders of a rollercoaster or other ride experience either frictionless or G-force, negative G-forces. The negative g-forces that a rider experiences is what ...
hills. Riders of Apollo's Chariot experience up to 4.1 times the
force of gravity In physics, gravity (), also known as gravitation or a gravitational interaction, is a fundamental interaction, a mutual attraction between all massive particles. On Earth, gravity takes a slightly different meaning: the observed force b ...
on the 2-minute, 15-second ride. Apollo's Chariot operates with three trains with nine cars per train. Riders are arranged four across in a single row for a total of 36 riders per train. This configuration of trains allows for a theoretical capacity of 1,750 riders per hour. Riders are restrained by a lap bar and the seats are elevated so riders’ feet don't touch the ground.


Ride experience

After departing from the station, the station will spiel the send-off recording "Thank you and enjoy your voyage to the sun on the wings of Apollo's Chariot!" as the
train A train (from Old French , from Latin">-4; we might wonder whether there's a point at which it's appropriate to talk of the beginnings of French, that is, when it wa ... , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles th ...
begins to climb the
chain lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from ...
while loudspeakers play the official theme song. When the train reaches the top, it drops down a few feet in a pre-drop. The pre-drop serves to reduce the stress and pull of the chain. After the pre-drop, the train goes down a drop toward a water-filled ravine at a 65-degree angle and reaches a top speed of . At the end of the ravine, the train enters a second airtime hill with a drop. A short, narrow, above-ground tunnel is at the bottom of the second drop. After the tunnel, the train descends a drop, which banks to the left as it descends. The train then goes through an upward helix. Coming out of the helix, the train drops then turns right and rises up into the
mid-course brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track that utilizes some form of brakes to slow or stop a roller coaster train. There are various types of braking methods employed on roller coasters, including friction brakes, skid brakes, an ...
. The train drops out of the brake run followed by another drop at toward the ravine. The train then banks right, makes a dip, turns left and goes through a small dip. The train then makes one last airtime drop before climbing up and into the final
brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track that utilizes some form of brakes to slow or stop a roller coaster train. There are various types of braking methods employed on roller coasters, including friction brakes, skid brakes, a ...
. There is approximately 26 seconds of airtime during the 2-minute, 15-second ride.


Incidents

On July 15, 2018, a family from
Virginia Beach, Virginia Virginia Beach (colloquially VB) is the most populous city in the U.S. commonwealth of Virginia. The city is located on the Atlantic Ocean at the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay in southeastern Virginia. It is the sixth-most populous city in the ...
, suffered injuries as they were riding the roller coaster due to a ride operator accidentally pressing the emergency stop button, causing them to report concussions the next day. In July 2019, a guest from Virginia Beach sued Busch Gardens Williamsburg's parent company
SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment United Parks & Resorts Inc. (formerly SeaWorld Entertainment Inc. or SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment) is an American theme park and entertainment company headquartered in Orlando, Florida. The company owns and operates twelve recreational destina ...
. The guest claimed that he had suffered severe injuries on Apollo's Chariot due to the previous year's emergency-stop incident.


Reception

When Apollo's Chariot opened, the ''Daily Press'' described it as setting "a new standard in stomach-churning fun", enhanced by the fact that the ride had 26 seconds of airtime. In the ride's debut year, Busch Gardens Williamsburg had lower than expected levels of attendance. This was attributed to prolonged periods of inclement weather. As a result of this, the park planned to relaunch Apollo's Chariot in 2000 in an attempt to drive attendance. In ''
Amusement Today ''Amusement Today'' is a monthly periodical that features articles, news, pictures and reviews about all things relating to the amusement park industry, including parks, rides, and ride manufacturers. The trade newspaper, which is based in Arl ...
''s annual Golden Ticket Awards, Apollo's Chariot has consistently ranked highly. In its debut year, it ranked position 20. In the 13 years since, the coaster has consistently ranked higher, peaking at #4 in 2005, 2007, 2008 and 2012.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Williamsburg Steel roller coasters Roller coasters in Virginia Roller coasters introduced in 1999 Roller coasters manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard Roller coasters operated by United Parks & Resorts Hypercoasters manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard