Busch Gardens new roller coaster gets international attention

Busch Gardens in Williamsburg was among five amusement parks in the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom cited as having top-of-the-line roller coaster rides by the GO Group airport shuttle service.

All of the parks listed have newly opened roller coasters that Go Group recommends for its passengers on the go, according to a news release.

Busch Gardens opened the Verbolten roller coaster in May. The Go Group particularly praised it as an “immersive attraction” with a storyline straight out of Grimm's fairy tales, according to the release. The group was particularly pleased that the Verbolten can accommodate younger riders because of its low ride-height requirement, the release stated.

Six Flags Great America also made the list, with its new roller coaster, X-Flight. That ride includes a 12-story plunge, along with 3,000 feet of drops – and five ways of taking riders upside down, according to the release.

In Canada, Toronto's Wonderland amusement park opened the Leviathan in early May. The ride reaches a top speed of 92 mph, includes a drop of 306 feet, and is one of the tallest roller coasters in the world, the release states.

Pennsylvania's Hersheypark is expected to open the Skyrush roller coaster this summer, according to the release. It will take riders 200 feet up, then send them plunging back down, to speeds up to 75 mph on the track, the release states.

Across the ocean, the United Kingdom's Thorpe Park, 20 miles from central London, is introducing its first “wing rider coaster” in the "post-apocalyptic-themed" The Swarm, the release states. The ride includes an inverted drop of 127 feet, the release states.

The GO Group is an airport shuttle service that carries about 13 million passengers every year to business and tourist destinations in North America and Europe, according to the release.

Filed under: BUSINESS