Home > Virginia > Busch Gardens Williamsburg > Apollos Chariot

Apollos Chariot
Website: Busch Gardens Williamsburg Homepage
Ride Type: Steel Coaster
Ride Status: Running
Average Rating: 4.7143
TPC Overall Rank: #15 out of 2933 rides.
Reviews: 148
Last Review: 7/25/2015 11:43:00 PM
In User Top 10: 259 times.
User Tracker Count: 296 times.
 


Apollo

Climbing the lift-hill...
   
Post Review
You must login or create an account to post a review.
 
Page [ 5 of 14 ] 1  2  3  4  [ 5 ] 6  7  8  9  10  11 
5 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up gyk182 on 6/26/2005 8:19:00 PM - User's Top Ride #7
Flat out, a great experience. Theres not much to say. It lives up to the name of one of the best hypers in the world. To be honest, I knew almost nothing about it until I came to the park, and I am amazed. It is smooth, fast, and the four person rows and new restraint system work wonders with the hourly occupancy and the overall comfort and experience. It is truely a must-ride.

5 Rating
+6 Rating Rate Down Rate Up Scott on 6/25/2005 6:59:00 PM - User's Top Ride #2
This is it folks... airtime heaven.

I HAVE A NEW NUMBER 1 COASTER! well, number 2.
Some people say they no longer are able to rate their favorite coasters because there are so many good ones out there. But I am too young a coaster enthusiast not to have a favorite - I am obligated to have one! Apollo is airtime to the extreme, much like shivering timbers. In fact, this has more airtime then any other coaster Ive been on. That might change when I ride the phoenix, but for now it holds my title for most airtime ever. One big plus is how its different from all of its hyper predecessors. The drops and turns are mixed in a way that are unlike any other hyper Ive been on before. This makes for a less predictable and more enjoyable ride. The use of terrain is also a bonus for Apollo. No less than four drops take you into a ravine, along the edge of a river, skimming along the surface of the water. While down near the water we raced a big bird for about 3 seconds. After you skim down along the water you go back into the ravine and continue airtime nirvana. It is Cool Whip smooth - an ultra-lite ride! As for the restraints, I did not like them at first glance. My friend sean hardy showed me a trick to get the most space possible. All you have to do is slump down in your seat as far as you can. Once down, raise your legs as much as possible without it being obvious. After my first ride I loved the restraints. They are very comfortable and provide a great ride for everyone. Big enthusiasts may be more confined by the restraint system and therefore not able to enjoy the ride quite as much. But for me, it was the most freedom I have ever experienced on a steel coaster. It was like being tossed up on a bedsheet! Another plus about apollos is the capacity. For a front seat wait on a saturday it was about 45 minutes. Not bad! Words cannot describe AC. Id suggest riding up front. Not only do you get a great view and breeze, but the airtime is much better. The front has more floater air, while the back has ejector air. I like floater a bit more then ejector so the front was better for me. The back could get a little painful. Up front, I never felt like I was going to hurt myself like in the back. I probably only went 2 inches above my seat up front though. I just floated the whole way down instead! I loved this coaster so much. I cant even describe it. This ride is only second to one ride - MF. Nothing will ever top mf in my mind. I still dont know how viking 78 could say steel force is better then this.

oh yeah, why cant elitchs install this?

4 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up viking78 on 6/17/2005 10:36:00 PM - User's Top Ride #9
Ive been putting off reviewing this one but I guess its time. Apollos Chariot is a great ride. Quite frankly Im amazed at how high it scores. According to the reviews its the best hyper coaster on the planet. But I have to say, I dont agree. Dont get me wrong, I love this ride, its in my home park, which is the best dang park in the US! But Apollos Chariot is lacking the "it" factor. A superior hyper coaster, and an older model, is "Steel Force". If you dont know where it is go see it. Allentown PA, Dorney Park. If you have ridden AC and not Steel Force, go ride it youll know what Im talking about. Anyway back to AC. The first drop is intense. The ride experience is exceptionaly smooth. Id say the smoothest hypercoaster in the USA. The thing I am not crazy about is the other 8 drops. most of them are .....well average. It would have been better served to cut down on the number of drops and add to the height of the remaining. Well, thats all Ill say for now. Bottomline, great hypercoaster, just not the best.

5 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up MovieCoast on 6/14/2005 11:36:00 AM - User's Top Ride #2
Apollos Chariot is an amazing coaster. The combination of airtime, speed, hills, and smoothness makes for an awesome ride. I could have gone on it all day if I had the chance. It was just so amazing. The first drop, literally, took my breath away. I couldnt yell or anything! The airtime was phenomenal and the terrain made the ride even better. Ive only experienced more airtime on Phoenix. Apollos Chariot is overall a highly enjoyable ride, with no complaints to be found. I laughed and cheered the whole way!

4 Rating
+1 Rating Rate Down Rate Up therock on 6/13/2005 5:39:00 PM - User's Top Ride #2
I rode Apollos Charriot during my recent trip to BGW with my wife. I must admit that in my frantic rush to ride everything in site before days end, I quivered a bit when we walked by Apollos Charriot and my wife pointed to it as a ride suggestion. "I might be afraid of it", I said in a near-whisper so as not to be heard by passers-by. The first drop seems very intimidating, and it feels just as intimidating as it looks. The view from the top of the first drop is truly incredible, and the minimalist restraint methodology applied on this coaster really adds a big fear factor to the ride. I noticed the touches one by one: the single lap bar with no shoulder harnesses, the lack of side walls, the raised seats. All of it added up to a true moment of fear that would not go away until the first drop was over. When the train began its 65 degree descent, my organs shifted back to my spine as expected, but on other coasters that I have ridden, this organ shift is still happening when the train pulls out of its nose dive. On AC, my organs finished shifting, and we were only half way down! This coaster is a monster. It is fast and high, and the airtime was incredible. Of course, being a novice, I did not even know the term "airtime" at that point, but I wondered what they call this feeling of euphoria that I kept experiencing over and over on AC. The theming was incredible from the train to the queue, and BGW has incredible landscaping which added to the excitement of the ride. It was as smooth as any coaster that I have ever ridden. Although no ride is perfect, this one was close, so it gets a 9. A coaster with airtime and drops as good as AC, but with added inversions might get it to a 10, but I am reluctant to give anything a 10, because that is pure perfection in every way, and I just dont think that exists. At least, I havent found it yet. If you have never ridden something this high, you must do it (health concerns permitting). The feeling of accomplishing this goal will make you so proud of yourself, despite your inability to walk correctly for a minute or so after your first ride.

5 Rating
+1 Rating Rate Down Rate Up fergusonat on 5/3/2005 1:40:00 PM - User's Top Ride #9
If there is a single ride that you have to ride sometime in your lifetime, this is it. Combining an excellently paced ride, insane airtime, amazing scenery, and great theming, Apollos Chariot stands firmly as number 1 in my personal Top 10. The drops on this ride are some of the best, especially the drop out of the mid-course brake run, which has clinched #2 in my personal rankings for drops, just behind Phantoms Revenges 228 foot plunge.

But the key to this ride is the seating. The restraints are extremely comfortable and the seats confrom perfectly. Your legs have an almost ridiculous amount of room. The best seat in the house is the back-left---on the third drop that leads into the upward helix, the ground seems just inches from from your head

5 Rating
+2 Rating Rate Down Rate Up coaster05 on 4/15/2005 9:41:00 AM - User's Top Ride #4
The final newest member in my holy trinity of airtime(Phoenix, Shivering Timbers.) This ride is amazing especially back row where you never touch your seat for the whole 200+ foot drop. APPEARANCE-10 The ride, station, and que rails all appeared freshly painted. The land around it is very nice and they looked like they did everything they could to save the trees. The trains were also very well kept. I dont know if this is a negative, but i was suprised how ugly most of their shirts were for this ride. CAPACITY-9 The ops were really fiddling with stuff, maybe because it was so early in the year but they would often have both trains at the station. RIDE QUALITY-10+ Smooth, comfortable and intense(airtime, helix,) The only thing they could have done was made it longer since you just dont want it to end. FUN-10 I was just awe struck by all five of my rides. It seemed to get better with each ride which is a rarity. Just an amazing thing to behold. RERIDE-10 DUH! What else would you do in place of this beauty. OVERALL-49 AVG-9.8 So obviously it gets the ten. I just cant imagine any really theme park fan giving this any less then a 9. At this point in its life cycle it is close to perfect.

5 Rating
+6 Rating Rate Down Rate Up BobFunland on 3/22/2005 12:24:00 AM
Why not start this round of reviews with my favorite coaster from my Spring Break 05 trip: Apollos Chariot, my first taste of B&M Megacoaster Glory. Nestled along the side of the park near the parking lot, the daunting 170 lift immediately catches the attention of every soon-to-be parkgoer driving up to the park. The coaster is one of the few steel coasters that are truly beautiful to me, with its nice color scheme of gold and purple, it fluid lines and wonderul curves, all surrounded by trees, with terrain dives and nearby bodies of water. B&M delivered a true hit with Apollos, which sends the riders down a 210 initial drop at speeds approaching 75mph, giving us at least three seconds of increbile airtime in the back row, from what I experienced. The coaster is amazing! It thrills with the high-speed dives, interacting with the terrain which is a favorite of mine, and launches its riders on every hill. After riding a total of 21 times in one day, I can safely say that the coaster would never get old. I took a ride in every row at least once, mostly on the outside, including 6 back row rides and 3 up front. The back row was superior to all of the rows for airtime, but the front row still had the whole no-obstructions bonus going on. All seats provided good air, with the front mainly providing floating air on the hills, which the back catapulted riders out on the drops. I would have to say that the far left seat in the back row was best, mainly for the sensations on the drop into the helix, but the same can be said about the seats on the far right side concerning the drop-turn-drop feature near the end. The design of the trains was awesome in its own respect, from the ultra-open vehicles that provide a great effect, to the comfortable chairs and the simple lap bars, which were also comfy and less restricting than the Intamin version. The design of the trains made the airtime-filled drops even better, because you werent battling pain from a metal bar, and it felt like thats all that was keeping you from joining Apollo XIII. This coaster also had something that many B&Ms are criticized for lacking: high forces. The first drop was really intense, as were some of the other drops. So, just sit back, kick your legs up and throw your arms to the sky and praise the ancient gods, for there is nothing stopping that raging Chariot, cause you are in for the ride of a lifetime. I doubt there is anything more I can say to bring this coaster its justice, and for now, it is in a tie with Millennium for my #1 steel coaster, both of which join Thunderhead in that tier of "special" coasters that deserve much more than a 10. Bravo Busch Gardens, youve redefined the meaning of airtime for me, and Ill be back

5 Rating
+1 Rating Rate Down Rate Up Corona on 3/19/2005 10:10:00 PM - User's Top Ride #1
Simply Awesome. This ride was the ultimate in "air time" riding. I love the restraints, even though the seat size kept me from riding the thing for three years. I rode this ride three times from the middle, back and front. The rear has super air and the changes arent as easily anticipated...and I like a ride to give me surprises. The front is more predictable but the view is amazing and you quite honestly have a feel of flying...if you have the courage to let your arms go...Super ride 10+

5 Rating
0 Rating Rate Down Rate Up FigNewly on 3/14/2005 7:59:00 PM - User's Top Ride #2
Excellent hypercoaster. I really love the trains they use on these rides, they give a great, smooth ride. Each drop has a punch of airtime, which gives an amazing sense of flight. Its not ejector air like on a ride like the Magnum, but thats not what it was designed for. It was designed to simulate soaring through the air, and it dose a fantastic job. Short lines every day as well.

Page [ 5 of 14 ] 1  2  3  4  [ 5 ] 6  7  8  9  10  11 






Clicky Web Analytics