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InvadR

Busch Gardens Williamsburg · Operating · 2017

InvadR

60 ft · 48 mph

Photo: See Commons · CC BY-SA 4.0

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InvadR opened in 2017 as the park's first wooden coaster, its Viking-raiders-versus-New France-villagers premise chosen by public vote from a field of three finalist names. Great Coasters International's 60-foot lift leads into a steep 74-foot first drop and nine airtime hills across 2,118 feet of track at up to 48 mph, with a 46-inch height minimum that welcomes most of the family. Its trains were repurposed from Gwazi, the dueling wood coaster that had closed at Busch Gardens Tampa two years earlier.

Specifications

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Ride profile

Scaled against Busch Gardens Williamsburg's operating coasters

FamilyWood

Height

60 ft

#8 of 9 at Busch Gardens Williamsburg

Height60 ft
Speed48 mph
Length2,118 ft
InversionsNone

Ride experience

  • Family
  • First drop74.00 ft
  • Gci
  • Viking
  • Wood

Ride details

Min height

3'10"

Drop

74 ft

Specs from buschgardens.com

History

Sourced timeline and background for InvadR.

Timeline

  1. 2016

    New wooden coaster announced

    Busch Gardens Williamsburg reveals plans for its first wooden coaster and launches a public naming vote.

    Source

  2. 2016

    Name InvadR selected by public vote

    Guests choose InvadR over Viking Raider and Battle Klash in a 12,000-participant online poll.

    Source

  3. 2017

    InvadR opens

    Great Coasters International's Viking-themed family wood coaster debuts in New France, reusing trains originally built for Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa.

    Source

Background

Busch Gardens Williamsburg announced its first wooden roller coaster in March 2016 under the working codename "Project 2017," then handed naming duties to the public: guests chose between Viking Raider, InvadR, and Battle Klash in an online poll that drew roughly 12,000 votes, with InvadR winning on April 1, 2016. Great Coasters International built the ride with centerline design help from Skyline Attractions, and it opened April 7, 2017 in the park's New France section, becoming just the second GCI coaster to use a steel support structure rather than an all-wood one.

The Viking-raiders theme gave the ride a clearer narrative hook than a typical family wood coaster: InvadR frames its trains as Viking longships raiding the New France settlement, with queue signage and train graphics built around that conflict rather than generic nautical or lumber-camp branding. The layout climbs a 60-foot lift before a steep 74-foot first drop, then threads nine airtime hills across 2,118 feet of track at up to 48 mph, with a 46-inch height minimum that makes it accessible to most of the family. Its trains were repurposed from Gwazi, the dueling wood coaster that had closed at Busch Gardens Tampa two years earlier — a rare piece of cross-park lineage between the two Busch Gardens properties.

Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards voted InvadR the fourth-best new ride of 2017, and the layout's hillside terrain, worked around an existing log flume and railroad on site, became one of the more challenging design puzzles Skyline Attractions had tackled up to that point.

InvadR remains Busch Gardens Williamsburg's only wooden coaster and one of the more family-friendly credits at a park otherwise known for taller B&M and Intamin steel rides.

History primarily sourced from buschgardens.com. See also our data policy.

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