Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
The pre-dropriders love it before the first drop

Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Williamsburg, Virginia

Apollo's Chariot

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“It will be well worth the wait.”

POV
Ride it: back row POV
Back row
a nice succession of floater hills
What riders love
  • Apollo’s Chariot delivers superbly on the airtime scale, and nearly every hill on the second half (with at least some room) will throw you out of your seat!
  • The amount of floater airtime I consistently get on this ride paired with the ultra comfortable restraints and seats is unmatched. It's insane.
  • You’ll be out of your seat on every hill, and the surprise drop at the end will give you several seconds of airtime!
  • Apollo's Chariot uses the tree lines to accentuate the drops better than almost any coaster.
  • I love how the ride is constantly diving in and out of trenches, the second Camelback is especially cool, because it's so close to the lake.
  • The pitch black dark ride in the woods is absolutely wonderful as you can’t see anything going on.
  • That drop in the back with the pre drop still shocks me with its strength every time and every hill gives some of the better B&M airtime.
  • And the first drop is one of the most underrated drops out there, it gives incredibly strong airtime in the back.
  • That first drop is insane and the speed you reach during that first turn is incredibly fast.
Apollo's Chariot Watch Performance Should I ride it? Where to sit Specifications Reviews Planning History

Watch POVs and more

Apollo's Chariot Front Row POV 4K - Busch Gardens Williamsburg

youtube.com › jstan022

Apollo's Chariot BACK ROW POV HD Busch Gardens WIlliamsburg

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Riding Apollo's Chariot Roller Coaster! Busch Gardens Williamsburg Multi-Angle POV 4K 60FPS

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Apollo's Chariot Off-Ride Footage, Busch Gardens Williamsburg B&M Hyper | Non-Copyright

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Apollo's Chariot Review | World's First B&M Hyper Coaster | Busch Gardens Williamsburg

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Better Than Mako? || Apollo's Chariot Review - Busch Gardens Williamsburg (2021 Version)

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Apollo's Chariot Busch Gardens Williamsburg Review World's FIRST B&M Hyper Coaster

youtube.com › Coaster Adventures

Performance

Vs. other coasters at Busch Gardens Williamsburg

That drop in the back with the pre drop still shocks me with its strength every time and every hill gives some of the better B&M airtime.

Cooper Zimmerman

There was decent floater down the first drop, but weak to bo floater through the rest of the layout, even in row 7.

Jack McWilliams

The biggest airtime moments aren’t camelbacks, but rather very sharp drops and dips along the terrain, so I recommend back for maximum ejector whip.

Eric Esty

It’s clear that they were still figuring out the element on this ride, and while they deliver good airtime, it’s nothing compared to their modern hypers.

MapleFlakes

Sure it is fast and has a decent length, but the big tall hills don’t seem to deliver as much airtime as more recent B&M Hypers.

Theme Park James

Despite this, it’s still glass smooth, the airtime is on point, and some of the wonky elements deliver unique forces for the ride model.

Anthony DeNight Jr.

Very enjoyable hyper, didn’t expect it to be that confortable.

Alessandra

The way you’re secured into the seat allows for a freeing feeling, arms can be up and making the most of it comfortably.

Liz Barnes

The airtimes are supreme, especially that last one over the ditch, but riding on the outside was a bit of a headache.

Wesley O.

Album Guys probably has the worst rattle in any B&M.

Attraction Junkies

The rising helix has some sneaky intensity and the floater airtime on the return run is more consistent than most other hypers.

Bryan Bonafede

Maybe it was because it was the end of a very hot day and I was wiped out, but I found myself starting to gray out from the positive Gs in the turnaround helix.

Matt McIrvin

But the pump fake on the first hill, the camelback, turnaround bank and a few other elements I’m not remembering definitely kept the intensity (and heart-rate) up.

Sean Reardon

There is also a great and fairly intense upward helix and some good lateral moments with the twisting drop off the second camelback and wave turn like thing in the second half.

Cooper Zimmerman

It’s not intense at all, but the airtime more than makes up for the lack of intensity.

Josh Miller

The airtime is very soft and the ride as a whole lacks G-forces from my experience.

Philippe-Minh N.

This coaster has it all; good pacing, strong airtime, a good helix, a moment of sideways airtime, and awesome terrain interaction.

Eric Esty

If you want to experience the speed of the coaster, head to the front row.

Coaster101

I love the speed, length, and location, but some of the airtime hills didn’t really do anything.

Zach Payne

The day ended perfectly when we got the last ride of the night, in the pitch black, with Apollo absolutely HAULING!

Beau

My main complaint is that there are some moments that don’t do anything, like the helix, but it’s just such a great ride.

Gwazi Three Two Five

So fun everything is good other than some dead spots it is long which is nice also there is some surprises like around the end there was a drop that came out of nowhere

Sam Magarey

My brother and I got into the park and went straight for this ride because it usually never has a line.

Beau

I give it props for very good capacity and the clamshell restraints are so comfortable.

Max S.

The line is also not too long, especially single riders.

Clementine Northcutt

But at least on my day the capacity was bad.

Caleb H.
Motion sickness risk

Mad props to the ride ops for quickly cleaning up the vomit from the train that we were getting ready to board!

Kristofer Wempa

The day I went they had issues with vomit from a prior rider and they were testing it quite a bit so I’m only giving capacity a "pro" based on the potential and not how it was this day.

Max S.

Should I ride it?

Organize by

Where to sit

Front of trainBack of train

1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9

Car 9, the back: 4 of 5 riders who named a rowFront row: 1 rider

Specifications

170 ftHeight
205 Griffon 195 Alpengeist 178 Pantheon 170 Apollo'sChariot 150 Tempesto 130 Loch NessMonster
210 ftFirst drop
210 Apollo'sChariot 200 Griffon 180 Pantheon 170 Alpengeist 135 Tempesto 114 Loch NessMonster
73 mphTop speed
Apollo'sChariot73 Pantheon73 Griffon71 Alpengeist67 Tempesto62 Loch NessMonster60 073 mph
65°Drop angle
95°Pantheon90°Griffon79°Alpengeist65°Apollo'sChariot65°InvadR55°Loch NessMonsterdashed line: straight down, 90°
0Inversions

What riders say

Praised for

Strong airtimeGreat viewsComfortableFloaty airtime

Criticised for

Slowed by trimsOverrated

This is a must-ride in the back and at night to really get the best overall experience.

Matt A., Captain Coaster review

it should be commended for it being the first B&M hyper, but other than that and its beautiful setting the ride is kinda lackluster.

SnowyShores, Captain Coaster review

the first B&M hyper, and, while far from the best one, i am still a huge fan of it because B&M hypers are my favorite coaster type lol.

Jamie Óchi, Captain Coaster review

Hypercoasters are almost always fun rides and Apollo’s Chariot is too, but it also feels a bit lacking.

Theme Park James, published review

Some solid floater airtime but the airtime strength is very overrated, there is also a lot of dead spots.

Carter Eckhart, Captain Coaster review

With an amazing setting in the woods, a great view from the top of the lift, some classic B&M Hyper airtime, and a decent layout.

Jax Lunsford, Captain Coaster review

Photos

Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Douglas Whitaker, CC BY-SA 3.0
Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
myself (User:Piotrus), CC BY-SA 3.0
Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
myself (User:Piotrus), CC BY-SA 3.0
Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
myself (User:Piotrus), CC BY-SA 3.0
Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Jeremy Thompson from United States of America, CC BY 2.0
Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
myself (User:Piotrus), CC BY-SA 3.0
Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
myself (User:Piotrus), CC BY-SA 3.0
Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
myself (User:Piotrus), CC BY-SA 3.0
Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
myself (User:Piotrus), CC BY-SA 3.0
Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
myself (User:Piotrus), CC BY-SA 3.0
Apollo's Chariot's final drop at Busch Gardens Europe
Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0

11 photographs. Swipe or drag sideways.

Planning your ride

History and awards

March 27, 1999Opened

A hyper coaster, built by Bolliger & Mabillard, designed by Ing.-Büro Stengel.

$20 millionTo build
4.1 gStrongest force on riders

Past incidents

  1. July 2018On July 15, 2018, a family from Virginia Beach, Virginia, suffered injuries as they were riding the roller coaster due to a ride operator accidentally pressing the emergency stop button, causing them to report concussions the next day.

Golden Ticket Awards, top steel coaster: ranked in 27 polls, 1999 to 2026

20th1999, its first poll
4th2005, its best placing
20th2026, most recent
1incident blamed on the ride

Sources

Restraint types: Captain Coaster. History, incidents and awards: Wikipedia. Specifications and status: Coasterpedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. From the park and maker: Busch Gardens Williamsburg guide. Also read: Captain Coaster (converted to feet and mph). Rider sentiment and performance scores: rider reviews on Captain Coaster, themeparkjames.co.uk, youtube.com, coaster101.com, read and scored by AirtimeFever.

Photographs via Wikimedia Commons: myself (User:Piotrus) (CC BY-SA 3.0), Douglas Whitaker (CC BY-SA 3.0), Jeremy Thompson from United States of America (CC BY 2.0), Coasterman1234 at en.wikipedia (CC BY-SA 3.0). Video thumbnails remain the property of their channels and link back to them.

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Quote at the top of the page: Coaster101, published review.

What riders love, by theme (themes in the order riders pick them most on Captain Coaster): Jake Williams, rider review on Captain Coaster: “These little hills on the way back don't look…”; Kw6sTheater, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Apollo’s Chariot delivers superbly on the airtime scale, and…”; Adam Whitt, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The amount of floater airtime I consistently get on…”; Josh Miller, rider review on Captain Coaster: “You’ll be out of your seat on every hill,…”; Coaster Nerds, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Zipping through the ravine and over Roman Rapids at…”; Bryan Bonafede, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Apollo's Chariot uses the tree lines to accentuate the…”; Ben Lilly, rider review on Captain Coaster: “I love how the ride is constantly diving in…”; Chris2626, rider review on Captain Coaster: “The pitch black dark ride in the woods is…”; Beau, rider review on Captain Coaster: “We reached the top of the chain lift, we…”; Cooper Zimmerman, rider review on Captain Coaster: “That drop in the back with the pre drop…”; CoasterKing, rider review on Captain Coaster: “And the first drop is one of the most…”; Clementine Northcutt, rider review on Captain Coaster: “That first drop is insane and the speed you…”; Matt McIrvin, rider review on Captain Coaster: “Aside from that, it's a nice succession of floater…”.

The photo slider at the top and the fading stills: Midway Mayhem's back row POV, Apollo's Chariot BACK ROW POV HD Busch Gardens WIlliamsburg (YouTube), and the page's Wikimedia Commons photographs.