Loch Ness Monster

The **Loch Ness Monster** is a steel roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, noted at the time of its opening in 1978 as the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster, as well as the first coaster with two interlocking loops. The Loch Ness remains the only roller coaster with two interlocking loops—other similar designs having been dismantled. In addition to the loops, which link over one of the park's water features, the design includes a helix tunnel, two lift hills and a 114-foot (35 m) drop. The ride sits within the park's Scottish hamlet, Heatherdowns, and relates the legend of the Loch Ness monster, suggesting the serpent inhabits its underwater caves.

The ride is classified as Coaster Landmark by American Coaster Enthusiasts and marked its 40th anniversary in 2018.

## Layout

The ride begins by departing the station and ascending a 130-foot (40 m) lift hill with a small, tight turn (with views of Griffon's lift hill and first drop) before descending 114-foot (35 m) toward the park's Rhine River. A large upward hill crosses over the park's 'Land of the Dragons', bringing the ride to the first of two interlocking loops, after which the ride accelerates through a descending, spiraling tunnel.

The train descends 2.75 spiraling revolutions in a tunnel, subsequently ascending its second lift hill, making a wide turn and dropping into the second loop – ascending one final time before stopping. For years, there were special effects in the tunnel section of the ride, including lights, mist, and a mural of the Loch Ness Monster. These effects have not operated for years, and the mural has since been removed from the tunnel wall. In 2018 Busch Gardens restored the effects except for the mist.

## History

Busch Gardens Williamsburg opened in 1975 with one roller coaster, Glissade. In 1976, with the opening of the Oktoberfest portion of the park, two new rollercoasters were added; Das Kätzchen (German for "The Kitten"), a children's coaster, and its adult counterpart, Die Wildkatze. However, neither Glissade nor Die Wildkatze were considered major roller coasters. Then general manager John B. Roberts announced the plans to build an ambitious, major roller coaster for the park for the 1978 season. In his 1978 press release, Roberts boasted highly of the record breaking ride, stating "There has never been anything like it. For openers, it's the tallest and fastest coaster-style ride with the steepest drop in the world... and the only one with interlocking loops. On top of that, part of it's in total darkness."

During construction, a section of track leading from the bottom of the second loop to the brake run before the station was incorrectly formed, bending left, instead of right. Workers heated the track to physically bend it to the correct position, resulting in a sharp bump, which remains noticeable to riders.

The ride was originally designed with four trains with six cars per train. Designers realized that promptly dispatching the trains would be problematic and revised the layout to three trains with seven cars per train. An extra fourth train is usually parked under the ride's main station.

The ride officially opened on June 6th, 1978 and due to its popularity and historical significance — as the first coaster with interlocking loops, the tallest and fastest coaster at the time of its construction — the American Coaster Enthusiasts designated the Loch Ness Monster an ACE Roller Coaster Landmark on June 17, 2003.

For decades of its operation, the ride timed two trains to cross at the intersecting loops simultaneously, though this is no longer the case. Safety restraints and the operating system have been upgraded, and the original manually operated station brakes have been upgraded to a computer-controlled system.

For the 15th anniversary of the ride's opening, the parachuting Elvis impersonators known as the "flying Elvi" parachuted into Busch Gardens, subsequently riding the Loch Ness Monster in full costume.

For the 40th anniversary of the roller coaster's opening, new trains were installed from S&S Worldwide.