Aided by the power of five Roman gods, Pantheon is quickly changing the landscape of Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Located in an area of the park formerly used for animal pastures (which have since been relocated), the world’s fastest multi-launch coaster is nearing completion.
Along with several other members of the media, Coaster101 was invited to take a look at the construction progress for Pantheon, which will open later this spring. Here’s a little of what we saw!
A new bridge has been built over the Busch Gardens Railway, so that park guests can access Pantheon from Festa Italia.
A look at Pantheon’s station and track switch. The coaster will have two 20-passenger trains.
Construction vehicles were everywhere, working hard to get the coaster ready for its Spring 2020 opening. (An exact date has not been announced yet.)
A wide look at Pantheon’s 178′-tall vertical spike, outward-banked hill/turn, and first inversion.
A closer look at Pantheon’s first inversion and outward-banked airtime hill.
As noted, about 90% of the track work had been installed. The remaining pieces of track lead from a launch section into the top-hat.
Throughout the tour, we learned more about Pantheon from top brass at Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Pictured: Kevin Lembke, Park President for Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Jonathan Smith, Corporate Director of Rides and Engineering at SeaWorld Parks & Entertainment, and Suzy Cheely, Director, Design and Engineering for Busch Gardens Williamsburg, and project manager for Pantheon.
A few track shots of Pantheon. There are several times when the track gets VERY close to the ground!
Pantheon’s second inversion is a “top gun stall” that promises several seconds of hang-time!
A track support, awaiting installation.
Up close and personal with this sweeping turn.
A look at the high-speed switch track. According to the park, it is the longest section of “high speed switch track” on any coaster in the world.
Riders will accelerate through a launch section, nearly cresting the top of a 178′ tall top hat, before falling back to earth…
…before ascending the vertical spike in reverse, and being re-launched over the top hat.
The top hat has a 95-degree drop.
The coaster has two unique launch sections, the second of which will be traversed three separate times, and is built into an airtime hill.
There are some fantastic “near miss” opportunities on the track as well.
Pantheon has the potential to be a snappy air-time machine with 15 air-time moments in all directions, and even ends with a “sideways airtime hill.”
Here’s a video compilation of a lot of track shots from our tour!
Pantheon will open at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Spring of 2020, and we can’t wait!
For more information, be sure to check out Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s website, and follow the park on social media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.
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