Apollo’s Chariot opened on March 27, 1999, at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia, and holds the distinction of being the first hypercoaster ever designed by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard. Standing 170 feet tall with a 210-foot first drop taken at 65 degrees, it launches riders to 73 mph and has stayed near the top of steel-coaster rankings for more than two decades.
Beyond the stats, Apollo’s Chariot is famous for two things: relentless, floating airtime across eight hills of Virginia terrain, and a 1999 opening-day incident involving model Fabio and a goose that made international headlines. This guide answers exactly how tall and how fast the ride is, what it feels like to ride, where it sits in the park, how it compares to Griffon, Verbolten, and Pantheon, and how to plan a visit.
Quick Answer
Apollo’s Chariot is a 170-foot-tall Bolliger & Mabillard hypercoaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg with a 210-foot first drop and a 73 mph top speed. It has zero inversions, a 52-inch minimum height requirement, and runs for roughly 2 minutes across eight airtime hills. It opened March 27, 1999, as B&M’s first-ever hyper coaster model.
How Tall and How Fast Is Apollo’s Chariot?
Apollo’s Chariot’s 170-foot lift hill is the second-tallest at Busch Gardens Williamsburg, behind only Griffon’s 205-foot lift — but its 210-foot first drop is actually the tallest drop of any coaster in the park, since the track dips into a ravine below the lift’s base before leveling out. Riders take that drop at a steep 65-degree angle, which is enough to produce a genuine free-fall sensation without going fully vertical.
Top speed is reached at the bottom of that first drop: 73 mph, held for only a few seconds before the layout bleeds speed into the first airtime hill. That’s not the fastest coaster at the park anymore — Pantheon’s launches push riders to a similar top speed but do it four separate times — but Apollo’s Chariot converts its one big drop into speed more efficiently than almost anything else in Virginia, and it’s what powers all eight of the airtime hills that follow. Combined, those hills add up to roughly 825 feet of total drop across the 4,882-foot layout, which is why the ride feels like it never lets up even after the initial plunge is over.
Height Requirement and Rider Restrictions
Riders must be at least 52 inches (132 cm) tall to ride Apollo’s Chariot, per Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s official ride guidelines. There is no maximum height, but riders must be able to sit with the open lap-bar restraint secured low and comfortably against the thighs — the ride uses B&M’s signature raised, open-air seating rather than an over-the-shoulder harness, so loose articles, hats, and anything not secured must be left in a locker before boarding.
Because the restraint system is a simple lap bar, Apollo’s Chariot is one of the more size-inclusive hypercoasters in the park’s lineup, though guests with certain mobility or health conditions should check the ride’s posted health advisories at the entrance, which flag it for back and neck conditions, motion sickness, and pregnancy due to the sustained airtime and speed.
The Ride Experience
From the moment the train crests the 170-foot lift hill, Apollo’s Chariot delivers an immediate, near-vertical plunge that accelerates riders to 73 mph before pulling into the first of eight sweeping airtime hills. Each hill is contoured to the natural terrain of the park, giving the layout an organic, out-and-back flow that keeps riders weightless for seconds at a time rather than delivering quick pops.
Trains seat 36 riders across nine rows of four, and the open lap-bar restraints — a B&M hallmark — allow full freedom of movement that amplifies every float. The final approach back to the station threads through lower-profile hills that still generate surprising lift at speed, making the ride feel relentless from first drop to final brake run. At about 2 minutes from dispatch to return, front-row and back-row seats each produce a noticeably different sensation — front for visibility and the sense of falling, back for the strongest whip of airtime over each crest.
Stats at a Glance
Park: Busch Gardens Williamsburg. Location: Festa Italia section, Williamsburg, Virginia. Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard. Opened: March 27, 1999. Height: 170 ft (52 m). First Drop: 210 ft (64 m) at 65 degrees. Top Speed: 73 mph (117 km/h). Total Combined Drop: about 825 ft across eight airtime hills. Length: 4,882 ft (1,488 m). Inversions: 0. Trains: 3 trains with 9 cars each, seating 36 riders. Minimum Height: 52 in (132 cm). Ride Duration: roughly 2 minutes.
The Fabio Goose Incident: What Really Happened
Apollo’s Chariot became a permanent part of theme-park pop culture on its public debut. Model Fabio Lanzoni was invited to ride during the coaster’s opening festivities, and during the run down the first drop a Canada goose collided with the train, striking Fabio in the face. He suffered a bloodied nose and minor cuts and was treated at a nearby hospital, while the goose did not survive the impact.
The story made international news within hours and remains one of the most-cited incidents in roller coaster history. In interviews years later, Fabio clarified conflicting accounts of exactly how he was struck, and enthusiast investigations have since debated the precise mechanics of the impact — but the core event, a bird strike on Apollo’s Chariot’s opening run, is well documented and is a large part of why the ride still draws curious first-time visitors today.
Golden Ticket Award Rankings Through the Years
Apollo’s Chariot debuted on Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket Awards steel-coaster countdown at #20 in 1999 and climbed steadily, cracking the top 10 every year afterward except 2017 (#11), and peaking at #4 in 2005, 2007, 2008, 2010, and 2012 — an unusually long run near the top for a ride competing against newer, taller coasters opening every year.
Its ranking softened more recently, dropping to #25 in 2024 before rebounding to #14 in the 2025 awards, still a strong showing for a coaster now more than 25 years old. That longevity is largely credited to the ride’s airtime-first layout: unlike coasters that chase records with loops, launches, or extreme heights, Apollo’s Chariot was built purely around sustained floating sensations over natural terrain, a formula B&M has since repeated at parks worldwide but rarely improved upon for sheer consistency.
Apollo’s Chariot vs. Griffon vs. Verbolten vs. Pantheon
Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s headline coasters each deliver a different experience. Griffon, at 205 feet, is the park’s tallest ride and its most intense, dropping riders 90 degrees straight down before sending them through two vertical Immelmann loops — it’s the pick for riders chasing height and inversions. Verbolten combines a dark-ride launch through the Black Forest with an 88-foot drop over the Rhine River, making it the most heavily themed of the three.
Pantheon, which opened in 2022, is the park’s newest and most complex coaster — a multi-launch ride that accelerates riders in four different directions and briefly approaches top speeds close to Apollo’s Chariot’s 73 mph, but through motor launches rather than a single tall drop. Apollo’s Chariot stands apart from all three by having zero inversions and no launch track at all: everything after the first drop is pure momentum over natural hills, which is why longtime enthusiasts often rank its airtime above every other coaster in the park.
Planning Your Visit
Apollo’s Chariot sits in the Festa Italia section of Busch Gardens Williamsburg. The park operates on a seasonal schedule that expands to daily hours during peak summer and holiday periods and narrows to weekends in the shoulder and off-season, so it’s worth checking the exact hours for your travel dates before you go rather than assuming a fixed opening time.
Admission is sold as single-day tickets, multi-day tickets, and season passes, with add-ons like Quick Queue available for guests who want to skip the standby line on Apollo’s Chariot and other headline coasters. For current pricing, hours, and any ride closures, check the official Busch Gardens Williamsburg tickets page and the official park hours page before your visit.
Apollo’s Chariot is a Bolliger & Mabillard creation — see our full Bolliger & Mabillard profile for the company’s history and signature coasters.
Apollo’s Chariot Photo Archive: July 2001
These are original ThrillZing photos of Apollo’s Chariot taken on July 12, 2001, restored and upscaled from the original camera files. They show the Bolliger & Mabillard hyper coaster in its third season: the entrance sign and station, trains climbing the 170-foot lift hill, riders floating over the camelback hills, and the purple track and yellow supports seen from the parking lot. All photos are free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
Apollo’s Chariot Photos from the ThrillZing Archive
Original photos from the ThrillZing archive. Free to reuse under a CC BY 4.0 license with credit to ThrillZing and a link to this page.
Apollo’s Chariot height and speed FAQs
How fast is Apollo’s Chariot at Busch Gardens?
Apollo’s Chariot reaches a top speed of 73 mph (117 km/h), hit at the bottom of its 210-foot first drop before the layout moves into eight airtime hills.
How tall is Apollo’s Chariot?
The lift hill stands 170 feet tall, and the first drop — which dips into a ravine below the lift’s base — is 210 feet, the tallest drop of any coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
Where is Apollo’s Chariot located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg?
Apollo’s Chariot is in the Festa Italia section of the park in Williamsburg, Virginia.
Does Apollo’s Chariot have any loops or inversions?
No. Apollo’s Chariot has zero inversions — it’s an airtime-focused hypercoaster built around drops and hills rather than loops.
What is the height requirement for Apollo’s Chariot?
Riders must be at least 52 inches (132 cm) tall. There is no maximum height requirement.
How long is the Apollo’s Chariot ride?
The ride lasts roughly 2 minutes from dispatch to return, covering 4,882 feet of track.
Get More from Apollo’s Chariot height and speed
Log the coasters, stadiums, and venues you’ve experienced, rate Apollo’s Chariot height and speed, and see what your friends thought. Get the ThrillZing app.
Want the day’s theme park news in your inbox? Subscribe to ThrillZing Daily — free.