Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Virginia has delighted guests for over 35 years. It holds the record for being voted the most beautiful theme park and is one of the rare examples of a theme park that is geared to entertain every guest, no matter what their entertainment preference may be. Sitting along the James River, the picturesque views are breathtaking with the crown jewel centerpiece of the park being the famous roller coaster, the Loch Ness Monster.
In 1977, Busch Gardens was increasing in popularity, despite it only being two years old. With European-themed hamlets designed to be like ones found in Coney Island, guests were treated to a different experience than the carnival-like atmosphere of other local amusement parks. With smaller roller coasters like Glissade, Die Wildkatse and the “kiddie coaster,” Das K¤tzchen and delightful shows, visitors and locals flocked to the new park and attendance steadily increased. It was that year that Busch Gardens decided they needed a new thrill ride to continue to attract guests. Instead of going to the manufacturer of their current roller coasters, Schwarzkopf, they turned to Arrow Dynamics, an American company credited with reintroducing the concept of the steel looping coaster in 1974 with Knott’s Berry Farm’s Roaring Twenties Corkscrew (now located at Silverwood in Athol, Idaho under the name “Gravity Defying Corkscrew”).
Busch Gardens wanted something not only groundbreaking, but record breaking. Designers from Arrow Dynamics walked the grounds, mapping out the terrain for the proposed area on the banks of the Rhine River (the part of the James River that runs through Busch Gardens). The hills and slopes would be the muse behind the design.
With a map and slide rule in hand, Arrow Dynamics designer, Rob Toomer, went to work to create what would become a legendary coaster. The design was beyond anything that anyone had ever seen before. The 114.2 foot, 55 degree drop was the tallest of anywhere in the world, but the freeform steel coaster would also feature carefully planned interlocking loops, being the first roller coaster in the world to ever feature such a daring design. The ride would take passengers from 12 mph to 60 mph in 2 seconds, giving the riders a sense of taking off in a rocket ship while experiencing 3.5 Gs and a 40 ft diameter spiraling track would be constructed to take passengers through a dark tunnel. It was going to be a thrill ride unlike any other the world had known.
Construction began as the pipes of the tubular construction were welded together. Before placing the last piece of track, engineers noticed that it was curved in the wrong direction. With that, they had to heat the metal and reposition it the correct way. Riders would experience a very slight jolt to the right where the correction had to be made. Metal to metal caliber brakes and bearings molded with molybdenum disulfide were added. The three trains that would run the track were fitted with polyurethane wheels and would feature seven cars, two seats across for four passengers per car. A fourth train is stored in the event that it is needed. Unlike coasters designed today, the wheels of the cars ran on the inside of the tracks. The beautiful bright yellow tracks loomed over the water, making it’s named that much more suiting.
In June 1978, Busch Gardens opened the Loch Ness Monster for guests. The American Coaster Enthusiasts met for the very first time for this historical event. Passengers boarded the dark green trains and pulled the black over the shoulder restraints down. Once everyone was secured, the operator would then manually start the ride. First, a tiny dip would take the train out of the station. With a curve to the right, the train would then catch the chain to click it up 100 feet, giving passengers a beautiful bird’s eye view of the park while also seeing the drop ahead of them. After another curve to the right, the train would then plummet down 114 feet over the Rhine River, giving the passengers an adrenaline rush that moved through them as fast as the speed of the ride. After the drop, the train would be slowed down slightly while going up another hill and then curving to the left before taking another steep drop, leading into the first inversion, then up another hill, dropping the riders into the dark tunnel. After spiraling down, the train would then catch another chain to take it up a small hill and a turn to the right before dropping down then up through the second loop before slowing down and pulling into the station (Note: Today, make sure to pose at the end of the second loop because that’s where cameras are set up to take your picture). Loch Ness Monster was not only a hit, but set a new bar to reach and standard for coaster designers and enthusiasts alike.
The addition of the roller coaster was also very beneficial to Busch Gardens. Attendance increased 19% in 1978, most of the recognition given to the opening of the Loch Ness Monster. With 2.1 million visitors passing through the gates that year and admission $8.75, Busch Gardens saw dollar signs for the future of the theme park.
By 1985, the roller coaster predecessors were removed from the park and Busch Gardens introduced another record breaking roller coaster by Arrow Dynamics, Big Bad Wolf, the world’s first suspended roller coaster. However, it continued to stand in the shadow of the great Nessie.
Busch Gardens has always adhered to a strict safety code and keeps the safety of its guests the number one priority. Before the season even opens, the rides are put through an extreme battery of tests, including inspectors from not only Busch Gardens, but also from James City County and representatives from Arrow Dynamics (or whomever the appropriate manufacturer for a particular ride may be). Once the park opens, checks are run twice a day, including walking the tracks and test runs and passenger safety checks are performed before each individual ride begins. The old manual operating system was replaced with a computerized mechanism that not only starts and stops the trains, but also detects the space between them.
While the Loch Ness Monster’s safety record is nearly impeccable, like any other machine, it is not without incident. On June 13, 1989, a strong storm blew through Williamsburg; much stronger than anyone had predicted. The park felt it was still safe to keep the rides running. At around 4:20 PM, the winds picked up and suddenly a tall tree broke and fell on to the tracks just before the second loop. Before the train could be stopped, it rammed into the tree. While waiting for rescue to come, another train was coming but was stopped just short of hitting the damaged train. A passenger reported that a man in the last car was able to work his way out of his safety restraint and jump the thirty feet from the track to get help. Rescue took two hours to complete. Fortunately, only five people were injured and all but one was released from the hospital the same day.
While such freak accidents rarely but do occur, Busch Gardens is known for ensuring the safety of its passengers. For example, when guests began complaining of neck and head pain after riding Drachen Fire (the last Arrow Dyamics coaster to appear at Busch Gardens), the park first attempted to modify the ride to allow for a more comfortable experience but ultimately closed the ride after only six years of service. To learn more about Drachen Fire, click here.
Today, Loch Ness Monster continues to remain the only interlocking looping coaster in operation. This classic coaster has seen the birth of six roller coasters, the closure of just as many (including the two other Arrow Dynamics coasters, Drachen Fire in 1998 and the aforementioned Big Bad Wolf in 2009) and has been dwarfed by the skyscraping coasters that now weave the landscape of the beautiful park. But Loch Ness Monster continues to not only be a crowd favorite and have a special corner in amusement park history, but has a special place nestled into the hearts of all of those that conquered the great Loch Ness.
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