Griffon: Busch Garden's Newest Thrill Ride

Do you have a strong urge to feel the pit of your stomach in the bottom of your feet? Then I suggest you take a ride on the whirlwind that is Griffon at the popular amusement park Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Griffon is being touted as the tallest and fastest dive coaster in the world. For rollercoaster lingo amateurs, a "dive coaster" is a rollercoaster that has a plunging vertical drop of at least 100 feet. At this time there are only four dive coasters in the world, with Griffon being the fourth. Two dive coasters find themselves outside of the United States while two, including Griffon, reside in the USA. Dive coasters are also characterized by wide trains, meaning that they consist of only two or three cars but can seat up to eight people side by side (Griffon actually seats 10).

A huge component of a dive coaster is the stalling it experiences before plummeting mere feet above the ground. This gives riders a clear and sometimes agonizing view of just how high up in the air that they are and allows them a good 3-5 seconds to think about the fall ahead. And Griffon's drop is a doozy, even for the most hardcore of rollercoaster riders. The 205 foot drop is at 90 degrees, also known as completely straight down, and soars at maximum speeds of up to 71 mph.

Griffon, for the moment, is the ultimate dive coaster, coming in as the official tallest and fastest dive coaster in the world. Griffon also claims the prize for being the only floorless dive coaster in the world, giving the riders a sensation of flying through the air. Also Griffon is the only dive coaster to boast the elusive 'immelmann loop' meaning that twice during the ride, the Griffon will enter a half loop followed by a half twist and finally curve out in the opposite direction in which it entered the loop. Another ride at Busch Gardens that utilizes the immelmann loop is the popular rollercoaster Alpengeist.

No, I personally have not yet been on Griffon; however my step-father did build it (construction wise) so I happen to have a bit of a scoop on the ride. I consider myself a rollercoaster enthusiast and have ridden every rollercoaster in the state of Virginia at least once. However, watching the Griffon drop and loop turns my stomach just a bit, which lets me know that Griffon will make for the most ultimate in rollercoaster rides.

Griffon officially opens to rollercoaster fans across Virginia, and the world, on May 25^th 2007. Make sure to check out Busch Garden's official website at www.buschgardens.com for further information.