Pantheon is just one of four Busch Gardens/Sea World coasters the world has been waiting to experience ever since their 2020 opening dates were announced. With Ice Breaker at Sea World Orlando (SWO), Iron Gwazi at Busch Gardens Tampa (BGT), and Emperor at Sea World San Diego (SWSD) all giving rides through various preview events and openings, it was time for the gods to answer our prayers. It was time to preview Pantheon. I couldn’t attend any of the other events, but I wasn’t going to miss this one.
Now That I Had Time to Ponder
On the We Were Inverted YouTube channel I published a first impressions vlog where Chris D. and I both give our initial thoughts after what we thought would be our first and only ride of the day. Little did we know, after leaving Pantheon’s plaza and riding Apollo’s Chariot, the park would begin allowing all platinum pass holders re-rides. We took advantage of that and I ended getting in a total of five rides. With each of those rides, my opinion grew more favorable compared to those first impressions.
After leaving Busch Gardens Williamsburg (BGW) last night, I had time to think over my experiences on Pantheon. A 3.5 hour ride alone back to Baltimore from Williamsburg, Va. can do that to you. So can tossing in turning in bed when you get home knowing you’re going to be sharing all these thoughts the next day. I do ultimately feel that the opinions expressed in this blog will be more in depth than those shared on the spot in my vlog. Now onto those opinions.
First Impressions Before Riding
This ride’s theming is severely lacking when you compare it to other coasters in the park. For a ride that many deem to be the park’s new flagship ride, you’d think a little more effort would have been put into this, especially for a Busch Gardens park. Both ride signs, the one before the bridge and the one above the queue entrance are great. Other than some stone markers while in line and the trains, not much else is going on here. The coaster sits out in an open field and looks barren. A few broken pillars or statues could have spruced up the entire feel of this secluded area.
The courtyard after crossing the bridge is also empty. A few lockers and handful of ride photo kiosks are all you will find. I fully expected to see a photo booth and gift shop over here for the ride, but nope! I guess if you want to buy a ride photo print out you better remember what time you rode so you can walk back to the front of the park to purchase it and one of those nifty themed frames.
Perhaps more was planned for this region but with Covid some plans had to be cut. That’s just speculation, but this area around the ride just doesn’t seem very “Busch Gardens,” if that makes sense.
5 Rides in 5 Different Rows
Going into this event we knew we’d be getting just one ride. We figured they’d be assigning seats to keep things moving. Well, they ended up allowing re-rides, much to our surprise, about an hour after the event started. They were also letting guests pick their seats – even waiting for front and back row rides. For the majority of the day, the middle rows had little to no line whatsoever. Here is a break down of that ride and each ride I experienced covering any differences I noticed.
Ride 1 - Row 10
For our first ride, Carrie and Kaylee jumped into those middle rows so they wouldn’t have to wait. Chris and I, however, wanted that back. Much to my surprise, this was actually the least impressive experience I had overall. I found the airtime moments to be less pronounced and I felt little to no whip from going through the elements. In all honesty, I came off the ride a little disappointed.
Although this ride didn’t deliver what I expected, experiencing Pantheon’s backward launch over that airtime bump was insane. I don’t think I experienced airtime going backward before, at least not ejector airtime. This is easily the strongest moment of all the airtime you will experience.
Ride 2 - Row 7
After learning about the park allowing re-rides, Chris, Carrie, and I returned to the ride and jumped in Rows 7 and 8. They had the shortest wait and with temperatures falling into the mid-40’s at this point, we wanted to get in whatever we could in case the ride shut down early.
During this second ride I felt like Pantheon had a bit more zip throughout the course. The same types of airtime were experienced throughout the elements, but it just felt faster. I found myself liking my ride in Row 7 better than Row 10. That shocked me. I attribute this to the coaster having an hour of operations and as us enthusiasts like to say, “warming up.”
Ride 3 - Row 2
It wasn’t until this my ride that I noticed something different. It came during the crest of the top hat element. In Row 2 we didn’t get the floater airtime we had in Rows 10 and 7, but rather some ejector with a nice yank during the drop back down. It caught both Chris and I by surprise. It was all we could talk about sitting on the brake run and exiting the station.
While most enthusiast, myself included, love sitting in the back for maximum height on drops, keep in mind that Pantheon has the forward and backward portion after the switch track. Riders sitting in the front will get more height off the drop from not clearing the top hat whereas riders in the back will get more from the drop out of the spike. It’s worth riding both, in my opinion.
Ride 4 - Row 3
For the fourth ride I was on my own. Chris and Carrie went off to eat and Kaylee was with friends of hers. The temperatures continued to drop so I went to whatever row had the shortest wait. This time it was Row 3.
Sitting just one row behind my previous ride minutes ago, this didn’t feel much different at all. Without any crew members with me, however, I wanted to pay more attention to the elements and determine which ones I enjoy the most. For the last few years I fully expected the Zero-G Winder and the Outward Banked Airtime Hill would be my favorites, but that wasn’t the case at all. What I love the most about this coaster are the backward airtime hill and the hand choppers on the hangtime stall.
Ride 5 - Row 4
Seeing a few rows open after my fourth ride, I walked back around for a fifth. Row 4 had the shortest wait, so that’s where I went. I was still riding solo at this point.
Once again, not too much difference here, although the closer to the middle of the train you are, the less height you will get on the multi-launch portions of the coaster. I guess you get the most rounded experience on both though. Honestly, this coaster doesn’t seem to have a “bad/boring” row, if you will.
I Liked the Coaster More After Each Ride
For many years Alpengeist has been my favorite coaster at BGW. With five rides on Pantheon, I can say that Alpengeist still holds that distinction. I do enjoy Pantheon and think that BGW added something visitors will love.
Last year I was a little ho-hum on Jersey Devil Coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure (SFGAdv) after its opening. A few months later, I had much better rides when I was able to ride it 13 times in a single visit. My opinions changed on that coaster, but it still didn’t move it past my two favorites in that park – El Toro and Nitro. Unless riding Pantheon in the spring and summer totally changes this ride’s intensity and speed, I think Alpengeist keeping its top spot too. Still, in a park full of such amazing coasters, being my second favorite is not a bad thing. I’m sure many enthusiasts will call me crazy, but you’re free to have your own opinion. Speaking of which, if you’d like to get Chris’ opinion, check out his blog, “Pantheon: A Ride Three Years in the Waiting.”
Pros
- A mix of floater & ejector airtime.
- Comfortable restraints.
- Backwards airtime.
- A unique coaster for the region.
- Hangtime (upside down) hand choppers.
- Uses the same loose articles policy as older rides.
Cons
- Felt sluggish. (cold weather?)
- Lack of theming for a Busch Gardens coaster.
- No ride themed gift shop/stand.
- No ride photo booth. (kiosks only)
- Feels detached from the park with no great places for people to sit and watch the coaster without fences, trees, or great distances hindering views.
