Alpengeist is often regarded amongst enthusiasts along with Montu and Nemesis as the best invert out there. Why? Well, the ride has height, a wide variety of massive inversions, superb speed, and great theming to boot as usual from Busch. In fact, Alpengeist commonly places in the top twenty annually in Amusement Today’s Golden Ticket awards, beating out many other distinguished inverts and hyper coasters to boot. However, is it really worth all the acclaim? I for one think not, as this is a prime example that bigger isn’t always better.
Located in the very back of the park in the Germany section, Alpengeist is nestled very nicely in the woods, concealing almost the entire layout from view except for the peaks of Alpie’s colossal inversions and also the impressive cobra roll and daunting lift hill. Most inverts lack any theming at all, but Busch absolutely blew my mind away with what they did. Themed to a ski lodge, the station looks absolutely great and the little touches featured all around the ride such as the nice snow banks that the track hugs during the finale or the wiped out skiier beneath my feet during the lift. They may not seem like much, but they are just one of those things that I can’t help but be amazed by since they really help capture a snowy atmosphere, even on a 100 plus degree day.
Lines also were in my favor during my visit, as they didn’t exist! Well, maybe it was because it was within a half hour of park closing. Maybe it was because of the stifling heat repelling people from visiting. But I attribute it to the attraction’s incredible capacity. Not only were two trains utilized, but each held plenty of riders and the operators were working their rears off to dispatch us as fast as possible. Props to Alpie’s ops! If they’re this good when they really don’t have to rush, I can’t imagine how fast they are when the station is swamped.
So for an attraction that had no wait and incredible theming, the stars were aligning and I was ready for an intense, top-notch ride like others have experienced. Well, that began with the simply massive, winding drop that seemingly went on forever, and the Gs sustained the whole way down were simply amazing and the speed attained was unearthly.
However, from there the ride just fizzled out in my opinion as the following inversions, while mammoth in size, completely lacked any real forces at all and just couldn’t match the intensity of the stellar drop or of the smaller, more compact inversions of other B and M inverts such as Dueling Dragons, Talon, or the Great Bear. Sure the vertical loop and Immelman were smooth, I was just asking what happened to the forces the whole way through. And then comes the rough spots as well, namely in the jerky cobra roll and the nightmarish jolt during the mid-course brake run. Brake runs are supposed to be a place to catch your breath, not be slammed into the restraint, as I experienced a beating that even Vekoma’s SLCs would be jealous of. The thing that really enhanced the discomfort of this jolt was that I was totally off-guard by this jolt like a quarterback blindsided by a 300 pound defensive lineman. Ouch!
Maybe the second half would redeem itself? After a nice, swooping drop, a superb zero-G roll followed. Unfortunately, it was taken rather slowly and wasn’t intense at all, but it did provide some decent hang-time on the way through. Afterwards is an intense little corkscrew, but from there, the attraction really sputtered. Now I know it’s the finale and speed will be lost, but I was at least expecting more than a crawl back to the station. Those tight turns would have been capable of producing some incredible Gs had there been any real speed maintained through the finale. Sure the theming was great with the snow banks on these turns, but the slow speed ruined the full potential of the effect in my opinion since the ride just didn’t feel out of control.
Alpengeist simply was one of the most disappointing coasters I’ve ever been on. After hearing so much acclaim and praise for this simply gargantuan invert, I was expecting a world-class ride and only got a decent ride at best. Sure the theming was great, and the first drop, zero-G roll, and corkscrew delivered, but the aforementioned roughness and mostly forceless inversions really detracted from my ride significantly. So do I recommend it? Of course I do since it still is a pretty decent coaster and very unique, but just don’t go on expecting it to live up to its lofty reputation.
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