♪ DIRTY LITTLE FREAKS ♪
>> Jason: IMAGINE GOING 180
FEET IN THE AIR, THEN A
95-DEGREE PLUMMET.
YES, THAT’S MORE THAN STRAIGHT
DOWN.
FIVE AIR-TIME HILLS THE WORK
INVERGES, AND FOUR, YES, FOUR
LAUNCHES.
THAT DESCRIBES THE NEW
RECORD-BREAKING ROLLER COASTER
OPENING AT BUSCH GARDENS
WILLIAMS.
IT’S CALLED PANTHEON.
IT’S NOW THE WORLD’S FASTEST
MULTI-LAUNCH ROLLER COASTER.
JOINING US TO TALK ABOUT THIS,
JONATHAN SMITH, VICE PRESIDENT
OF DESIGN AND ENGINEER FOR
SEAWORLD PARKS AND
ENTERTAINMENT.
GOOD MORNING.
>> HEY, GOOD MORNING.
HOW ARE YOU GUYS DOING TODAY?
>> Jason: WE’RE DOING GREAT.
I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO BEGIN.
I’M A HUGE COSTER NUT.
I’LL HAVE TO BUY A PLANE TICKET
AND COME DOWN AND SEE YOU.
WHERE DO WE START WITH THIS?
WHAT IS A MULTI-LAUNCH ROLLER
COASTER FIRST?
>> LET’S TALK
THAT PANTHEON, WE’RE EXCITED TO
DEBUT THE WORLD’S FASTEST
MULTI-LAUNCH COASTER HERE AT
BUSCH GARDENS WILLIAMSBURG.
IT’S A QUAD LAUNCH COASTER.
IT’S NOT JUST ANY LAUNCH
COASTER.
IT HAS FOUR SEPARATE LAUNCH
EXPERIENCE, THREE LAUNCHES IN
THE FORWARD DIRECTION AND ONE
LAUNCH IN THE BACKWARD
DIRECTION.
AND PANTHEON HAS INCREDIBLE,
EXCITING, AND UNIQUE ELEMENTS
ALL BACK-TO-BACK ALONG 4,226
FEET OF TRACK.
SO TALK ABOUT THE SPEED, THOUGH.
THERE IS AN ELEMENT RIGHT BEHIND
ME.
IT’S CALLED A TOP HAT.
YOU GET A GREAT AIR TIME
EXPERIENCE RIGHT AT THE TOP.
YOU GET A GREAT VIEW OF THE
BEAUTIFUL BUSCH GARDENS
TOPOGRAPHY, THE RHINE RIVER, AND
THEN YOU’RE GOING TO EXPERIENCE
A 95-DEGREE BEYOND VERTICAL DROP
WHERE YOU FEEL SLIGHTLY INVERTED
AS YOU MANEUVER THAT ELEMENT.
AT THE BOTTOM OF THAT DROP, IT’S
A 180-FOOT DROP.
YOU’RE GOING TO EXPERIENCE THAT
RECORD-BREAKING 73-mph
SPEED.
AND THAT IS JUST ONE ELEMENT
AFTER THE FOUR LAUNCHES THAT
MAKE THIS RIDE UNIQUE, COMPLETE,
AND ONCE IN A GENERATION-TYPE
LAUNCH COASTER HERE AT BUSCH
GARDENS, WILLIAMSBURG.
>> Jason: THAT’S THE THING.
IT’S ALWAYS AN ARMS RACE FOR
AMERICAN COASTER ENTHUSIASTS.
EVERY YEAR, THIS IS THE BEST NEW
RIDE AND THIS IS THE BEST NEW
RIDE.
HOW DID YOU GUYS COME UP WITH
THAT?
>> SO AN ATTRACTION DEVELOPMENT
IS USUALLY A SEVERAL-YEAR
PROCESS.
YOU’RE ALWAYS LOOKING THE CREATE
NEW, UNIQUE, AND GREAT
EXPERIENCES.
YOU LOOK AT THE DEMOGRAPHIC AT
THE PARK AND WHAT YEAR IT’S
GOING TO BE AND WHAT TYPE OF
ATTRACTION YOU WANT, BUSCH
GARDENS WILLIAMSBURG HAS A WIDE
VARIETY OF ATTRACTIONS, SHOWS,
EXPERIENCE, CULINARY, SPECIAL
EVENTS, AND HERE WE WANTED A
HIGH-THRILL, UNIQUE ATTRACTION
THAT’S UNLIKE ANYTHING ELSE IN
THE WORLD, AND WITH GREAT
ELEMENT, AND SPACING IT OUT WITH
GREAT ELEMENTS, THERE ARE 15
AIR-TIME ELEMENTS AND TWO NEW
INVERSIONS TO THE REGION.
THERE IS AN OUTER SIDE ROLE
ELEMENT AFTER THE FIRST LAUNCH,
AND THEN THERE IS AN INVERTED
CamelBAK RIGHT BEHIND ME.
WHICH IS WHERE YOU TAKE THE RIDE
VEHICLE, YOU ROTATE IT 180
DEGREES, AND YOU KIND OF SIT
THERE FOR A LITTLE BIT AS THE
RIDE VEHICLE IS MOVING UPSIDE
DOWN, AND YOU ROTATE BACK THE
OTHER DIRECTION 180 DEGREES.
IT HAS A LOT OF GREAT ELEMENTS
TO IT, A LOT OF SPEED.
IT REALLY KEEPS THE GUSTS
GUESSINGWHAT IS GOING TO BE
COMING NEXT.
>> Jason: WE HAVE A PARK CLOSE
TO US TWO HOURS SOUTH OF
DETROIT, CEDAR POINT, THEY
BILLED THEMSELVES AT AMERICA’S
ROLLER COAST.
DO YOU AS A DESIGNER IN YOUR
JOB, DO YOU GO AROUND THE
COUNTRY, DO YOU VISIT DIFFERENT
PARTS AROUND THE COUNTRY, TO SEE
WHAT THEY’RE UP TO TO STAY AHEAD
OF THE COMPETITION AS IT WERE?
>> WE’RE FAMILIAR WITH WHAT IS
OUT THERE IN THE INDUSTRY, AN WE
HAVE GREAT RELATIONSHIPS WITH
OTHER THEME PARK OPERATORS.
SO SAFETY IS SOMETHING THAT HAS
NEVER BEEN -- IT’S ALWAYS NEVER
BEEN COMPETITIVE.
WE HAVE GREAT PARTNERSHIPS WITH
THOSE THEME PARK GROUPS.
WE KNOW WHAT’S OUT THERE.
WE WANT TO CREATE SOMETHING
THAT’S UNIQUE, THAT’S UNLIKE
ANYTHING OUT THERE HERE IN NORTH
AMERICA.
AND REALLY THIS RIDE FOR THE
WORLD, THIS IS A WORLD-RECORD
BREAKING ATTRACTION.
IT’S UNLIKE ANY LAUNCH CODE THAT
HAS EVER BEEN BUILT GLOBALLY.
SO IT’S ONLY HERE IN
WILLIAMSBURG, VIRGINIA, WHICH IS
A GREAT SECTION OF THE COUNTRY,
GREAT PLACE TO VISIT, AND YOU
GOT A GREAT SPECIOUS OF HISTORY
HERE, AND THEN THE THEME PARK
HERE, IT’S NOTHING LIKE IT.
SO HERE AT BUSCH GARDENS
WILLIAMSBURG.
>> Jason: JONATHAN, I’M TOLD
THAT IS OUR TIME.
THANK YOU FOR TALKING US TO.
>> YEAH, THANKS FOR HAVING US.