One of my favourite coasters to date is Montu at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida.
Busch Gardens is about 90 minutes drive from Disneyworld in Florida and for the coaster fans amongst you, well worth the visit. It’s a dual-type park with one half being a nature reserve/animal park and the other half dedicated to your more typical entertainment-type theme park, with coasters!
It’s quite a few years since I was there, but I can still remember the coasters like it was last year. I went on them with my fellow coaster-obsessive daughter and for Montu, we were very fortunate to hit it at a time when the ride was uncharacteristically quiet, so we went on this at least five times consecutively.
Montu Coaster Vital Statistics
Type of ride: Steel ‘inverted’ coaster
- Height: 150 feet
- First drop: 128 feet
- Top speed: 60 mph
- Track length: 3983 feet
- Ride time: 1:10 minutes
- Inversions: 7
- Max G:Force: 3.84
- Height requirement: 54 inches
- Opened: 16/05/1996
- Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mallibard
Montu is an ‘Inverted’ coaster, meaning the cars hang from the track, you’re fully harnessed in and your legs dangle freely below you. I’m a big fan of this coaster genre as it gives the impression of less constricted than the traditional car-type coaster. It’s an Egyptian themed coaster, so there’s lots of mummies-tomb like scenarios around and during the ride.
We kick off with the traditional chain lift taking us up to its max height of 150 feet an a wonderful view of the park and surrounding area. Then, we’re over the apex and with a small initial dip and twist to the left we’re off!
First up, we have a full height vertical loop, taking full advantage of the earlier 150 foot climb with loads of G’s, then we go semi-underground into a simulated tomb; watch out for the walls! Then immediately into a half loop with a twist, known in coaster circles as an Immelman, which is fantastic on an inverted coaster as you really feel the G’s through your feet. Next up is a zero-G roll, where the rider has the weightless feeling of zero-gravity flight.
From there we head into a ‘batwing’, comprising two inversions before hitting the brakes briefly to take some speed out of the ride. Then, veering off to the right and a big vertiacal loop. Finally a trditional corkscrew loop before finding all too soon, we’re at the end. Time to go on again!
The overall ride time is about 1:50, although the actual ride time (after the top of chain lift) is more like 1:10.
Verdict?
Oh yes, top notch coaster heaven!
