Presently the world's largest
inverted steel roller coaster, Alpengeist is located at
Busch Gardens Williamsburg and first opened at the beginning of the 1997 season taking many other
superlatives. The
coaster's theme story, from Suzanne Sessions Inc., tells of a mysterious snow beast that wreaks havoc upon a
ski lift full of innocent riders. Built by the firm of
Bolliger and Mabillard at a cost of $20 million, Alpengeist's entrance is in
Rhinefeld but the coaster also enters
Oktoberfest,
Aquitaine, and
New France and passes over the park's
Rhine River.
Alpengeist's track is 3,828 feet long and reaches a maximum height of 195 feet with a maximum drop of 170 feet - the world's largest drop on an inverted coaster. There are six inversions, which in order are an Immelman, a 106-foot vertical loop - the largest in the world for an inverted coaster - that passes through a "ravine," a Cobra roll over the river that pulls the ride's maximum force of 3.7 Gs at 58mph, a Zero-G roll, a flat spin through rock theming, and a high-speed corkscrew. The ride reaches a top speed of 67mph, the fastest for an inverted coaster, and takes a total of three minutes and ten seconds. Three eight-car trains accommodate 32 riders each under horsecollar restraints, and Alpengeist can process 1,820 riders per hour.
Sources: http://www.rcdb.com/installationdetail277.htm and http://www.themeparks.com/buschw/alpen01.htm