Montu (roller coaster)
Montu is an Inverted roller coaster at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay in Tampa, Florida. Designed by Bolliger and Mabillard of Switzerland, it is the park's second roller coaster designed by the company after the success of Kumba. The ride opened on May 16, 1996, and at its opening was the world's tallest and fastest inverted roller coaster. The ride stands at 150 feet tall and goes 60 miles per hour. Previously, that record was held by Raptor at Cedar Point in Sandusky, Ohio. Montu's record was short lived, one year later, it was succeeded by sister coaster Alpengeist at Busch Gardens Williamsburg.
Montu is named after the Egyptian god of war Menthu. The roller coaster is still the centerpiece of the park's Egypt section and the only major attraction in the section.
Layout and experience
Guests begin their experience on Montu entering through the park's Egypt section. A small midway of games on one end and a replica of Tut's Tomb on the other end greets guests entering through the area. On the horizon, Montu looms ahead, along with a fifty foot tall pylon that houses a gift shop and restrooms. The ride begins with a small dip turnaround out of the station, at one time, this section of the ride once had live Nile Crocodiles living below. Due to animal rights groups protesting about the crocodiles environment, they were moved to the parks animal habitat. After the dip comes the lift hill that takes riders 150 feet into the sky.
The drop then twists down 128 feet and into a 104 foot tall vertical loop. Following the vertical loop, an Immelmann loop comes next, and provides a 'foot chopper' element with the pylon. After completing the Immelmann, the train goes through a zero-G roll. Following the zero-G roll, riders are then flipped upside down twice during the 'Batwing' element (a rare element found on inverted roller coasters). Following the Batwing, the trains slow down on the brakes and goes through a 67 foot tall vertical loop and then into a corkscrew element. After the corkscrew, the ride is over.
History
During the design phase, it was originally going to be named Sphinx and built inside a giant pyramid.
External links
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