Griffon is the signature dive coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in James City County, Virginia — a Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) creation that hangs riders over a 205-foot precipice, holds them there, then drops them straight down at a full 90 degrees. Since opening on May 18, 2007, it has become one of the most photographed and most feared silhouettes on Busch Gardens’ skyline.
This guide goes beyond the basic stats to answer what people actually search for before they ride: how tall you need to be, how long the hold at the top really lasts, how fast Griffon actually goes (the park and the enthusiast databases don’t fully agree), how it compares to other B&M dive coasters, and what to know about Quick Queue, safety, and planning your visit.
Quick Answer
Griffon requires riders to be at least 54 inches (137 cm) tall, with no maximum height or weight restriction beyond fitting the individual over-the-shoulder restraint. The ride pauses for roughly six seconds at the 205-foot, 90-degree edge before releasing into a freefall that enthusiast databases clock at 71 mph, though Busch Gardens’ own marketing currently advertises up to 75 mph. There is no single-rider line, but Quick Queue skip-the-line access is sold separately.
Height Requirement and Who Can Ride
Griffon’s minimum height requirement is 54 inches (137 cm), consistent across Busch Gardens’ official ride information and third-party ride-restriction guides. Riders are secured with individual over-the-shoulder restraints rather than the vest harnesses used on newer dive coasters like Cedar Point’s Valravn, so guests with larger body types should expect the standard B&M shoulder-restraint fit test rather than a seatbelt-style check.
There’s no single-rider queue for Griffon, so solo riders wait in the same standby line as everyone else (or use Quick Queue). The ride does have wheelchair-accessible queuing and an elevator to the station for guests who can’t climb the stairs, per park accessibility guidance.
How Fast Is Griffon, Really?
This is one of the more confusing stats about the ride: enthusiast databases and Wikipedia list Griffon’s top speed at 71 mph, the figure recorded at its 2007 debut and the one most consistently cited by ride historians. Busch Gardens’ current official ride page, however, advertises the drop at up to 75 mph. The discrepancy likely comes down to measurement point and marketing rounding rather than a physical change to the ride — either way, Griffon is unambiguously one of the fastest dive coasters ever built, and the difference isn’t something you’ll notice mid-freefall.
The Ride Experience: The Hold, the Drop, and What Comes After
Griffon’s 205-foot lift hill deposits its 30-passenger floorless train at the very edge of the drop, where it stops — for about six seconds — perched at 90 degrees with nothing but air (and, thanks to the floorless design, a clear view straight down) beneath riders’ feet. That pause is deliberate and is the single most talked-about moment of the ride.
The release sends the train into a vertical freefall that bottoms out under roughly 4 Gs, straight into the first of two Immelmann loops — a half-loop, half-roll inversion — followed by a second drop and a splashdown that throws water roughly 50 feet into the air over the lagoon below. The full circuit runs about three minutes across 3,108 feet of track. Because Griffon’s trains seat 10 across in a single row rather than the usual 4-8 across, almost every seat delivers a front-row view.
Griffon runs three trains (each seating 30 riders), giving it a theoretical hourly capacity in the neighborhood of 1,400 riders — reasonably high for a ride with this much loading complexity, though the 6-second hold at the top and floorless-train boarding still make it one of the slower-loading coasters in the park during peak season.
How Griffon Compares to Other B&M Dive Coasters
Griffon set the bar in 2007 as the tallest and fastest B&M Dive Coaster in the world and the first with floorless trains, but the genre has since grown well beyond it. SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa (2005) is a close cousin at 200 feet and about 70 mph. Cedar Point’s Valravn (2016) topped Griffon at 223 feet with three inversions and switched to vest-style restraints. Canada’s Wonderland’s Yukon Striker (2019) later took over as the tallest, fastest, and longest dive coaster — but that record has since moved again: Six Flags Over Texas’s Tormenta: Rampaging Run, which opened July 9, 2026, is now the world’s tallest (309 feet), fastest (87 mph), and longest dive coaster.
Even so, Griffon remains the tallest roller coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg — taller than Alpengeist (195 feet) and Pantheon (178 feet, though Pantheon’s 73 mph launch nearly matches Griffon’s top speed) — and its floorless-train format still gives it a rawer, more exposed feel than most of the coasters that have since surpassed its records.
Is Griffon Safe? Incidents and Track Record
Griffon has operated since 2007 with a generally strong safety record typical of B&M-built coasters. Two publicly documented incidents stand out: in August 2010, a stray deflated balloon on the track caused a collision that led to a handful of minor rider injuries, and in June 2021, 28 riders were safely evacuated after the train stopped mid-course — a standard safety-system response rather than a mechanical failure, with no injuries reported. Neither incident reflects an ongoing safety concern; ride evacuations of this kind are a routine (if rare) part of coaster operations and don’t indicate the ride is unsafe to ride today.
Planning Your Visit
Busch Gardens Williamsburg operates on a seasonal schedule, generally running weekends in spring and fall and daily through the summer, with hours that shift throughout the year — always confirm the exact schedule for your visit date on the official Busch Gardens Williamsburg hours page before you go.
Griffon is included with standard theme park admission — no separate ticket is needed to ride. If you want to skip the standby line, the park sells Quick Queue passes (available as a single-day add-on, an all-day unlimited option, or bundled into an annual pass) that grant priority access to Griffon and other major coasters; pricing and availability change by season, so check current options on the official Busch Gardens Williamsburg tickets page.
Griffon is a wet ride — the splashdown routinely soaks the first several rows — so plan accordingly if you’re riding early in the day and have other attractions planned afterward.
Records and Legacy
Griffon opened as a landmark attraction in the dive coaster genre, becoming the first B&M Dive Coaster in the world to use floorless trains — an innovation later adopted on installations like SheiKra’s revamp and other B&M dive coasters. At its 2007 debut it held records as the tallest and fastest dive coaster on the planet, placed third for Best New Ride in Amusement Today’s 2007 Golden Ticket Awards, and has since been featured on Discovery Channel’s Build It Bigger and multiple Travel Channel coaster specials. It replaced the LeMans Raceway attraction and cost approximately $15.6 million to build. Nearly two decades later, it remains a flagship coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg and a staple on enthusiasts’ lists of North America’s best dive coasters.
Griffon dive coaster FAQs
How tall do you have to be to ride Griffon?
Riders must be at least 54 inches (137 cm) tall. There is no maximum height limit, though riders must fit the standard B&M over-the-shoulder restraint.
How fast does Griffon actually go?
Enthusiast databases and Wikipedia list 71 mph as the recorded top speed from its 2007 debut, while Busch Gardens’ current official ride page advertises up to 75 mph. Either way, it’s among the fastest dive coasters ever built.
Is there a single rider line for Griffon?
No. Griffon does not offer a single-rider queue; solo riders use the regular standby line or a Quick Queue pass.
How long does Griffon hold you at the top before the drop?
The train pauses at the 205-foot, 90-degree edge for roughly six seconds before being released into the freefall — the ride’s signature moment.
Is Griffon the tallest dive coaster in the world?
Not anymore. Griffon held that record at its 2007 opening, but Cedar Point’s Valravn (2016), Canada’s Wonderland’s Yukon Striker (2019), and now Six Flags Over Texas’s Tormenta: Rampaging Run (opened July 9, 2026, at 309 feet and 87 mph) have since built taller and faster dive coasters. Griffon remains the tallest coaster at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
Has Griffon ever had a safety incident?
Yes — a minor 2010 incident involving a stray balloon on the track caused a few minor injuries, and a 2021 mid-ride stop led to a routine, uninjured evacuation of 28 riders. Neither reflects an ongoing safety issue with the ride.
Do you get wet on Griffon?
Yes. The ride ends with a splashdown that sends water roughly 50 feet into the air, and the first several rows typically get soaked.
Who manufactured Griffon and when did it open?
Griffon was built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) and opened at Busch Gardens Williamsburg on May 18, 2007, a week ahead of schedule.
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