Sneak peak at InvadR Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s new wooden roller coaster

I just got back from a construction tour of Invadr, Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s newest ride and the first wooden roller coaster at the park. Remember riding a wooden roller coaster as a kid ? Well Busch Gardens is hoping to recapture that feeling. “Nothing feels like a wooden coaster ” said Adam House with Great Coasters International the PA based contractor Busch Gardens partnered with to build InvadR.

The wooden roller coaster will include a 74-foot drop through two tunnels, nine hills and two tunnels. Top speed will approach 50 mph. And its all gravity powered. I have to admit when I heard it was a wood coaster I assumed the entire structure was wood. Not so, all the rails are wood but most of the structure is steel..

The trains, or frames, used to travel around the track on Gwazi at Busch Gardens  in Tampa. After that ride was dismantled the cars were brought to Williamsburg last summer and  completely stripped, inspected and updated to current technologies, with the added theming and comfortable seats, to produce a great ride on InvadR.

Busch Gardens will host a pass-member preview day March 18 and will open to the public March 25.