harness the speed and strength of five roman gods...
pantheon is a multi-launch coaster opened in 2022 at busch gardens williamsburg. this coaster was to be manufactured by industry giants intamin, who are known for previous out-of-the-box coasters like millenium force, X2, and falcons flight. originally slated for a 2020 opening, the coaster's construction was plagued by the COVID-19 pandemic along with the amusement park industry as a whole. hype, however, still grew for the innovative coaster. landmark features of this coaster included four distinct launches - three within the intensely anticipated swing launch - and a zero g stall that leaves riders hanging for seconds at a time. overbanked curves and inversions round out the layout, and by 2022, everyone was excited to rush to williamsburg to check it out.
here's a POV of the coaster in action from the front row, courtesy of the marvelous folks at coasterforce:
for the public, this was a great coaster packed with action and fun. the enthusiast opinion skewed more mixed. some criticized the length of the coaster, wishing that a few more elements would be pushed into the roughly 2 minute runtime. others were critical of the lack of theming in the area, something that they believe busch gardens usually excelled at.
there was a point - the station was described as a "metal shed" at best, and the coaster sprawled through an empty field. with something so closely tied to the roman gods, you would think they would gear that area more towards ancient ruins or something like that. this would especially tie the theming back to the italian village part of the park, so i do think they whiffed a bit there. someone on reddit did post that there's rumblings of a revamp as of a year ago, but who knows what that'll look like.
the roman gods...
though the theming is a bit vague in general on this coaster, the relation to the roman gods is still there. i'm strictly quoting the wikipedia page here:
"Plaques throughout the ride's queue explain how different sections of the coaster relate to specific gods from the Roman pantheon. According to the plaques, the first launch of coaster is related to Minerva, Goddess of Wisdom, because the rider requires her to keep them safe on the coming journey. In the second section, Mercury, God of Speed relates to the swiftness of the ride's beginning. Next, a high peak relates to the God of the Sea, Neptune, as a representation of his sharp trident. Then another peak relates to Jupiter, King of the Gods and God of Weather, because it ascends to the sky. Finally, the end of the ride relates to Pluto, God of the Underworld, because the rider's journey is at a close."1
i really do wish they'd do more with this concept. it clearly seems they'd thought out something in regards to backstory for this ride, and it's a damn shame they're not utilizing it to its full potential.
an admission...
i've never ridden this one. truthfully, i haven't been to too many parks beyond a few (kennywood, cedar point, kings island), and williamsburg isn't a place i typically go to all the time. we do pass it on the way down to our vacation yearly, but that requires a lot of planning and wherewithall which we do not have. but one day i'll get to this coaster because it's just so... awesome.
it was one of the first swing launch coasters, beating out toutatis at parc asterix and the now famous top thrill 2 at cedar point. the coaster pulls you in from the very first launch, and from there the pace never dies. the overbanked turns and airtime hills try their hardest to buck you from your seat, and the zero g stall leaves you at the mercy of g forces to keep you in. what an underrated masterpiece.
the song...
i wrote a song for my band called "pantheon" and it's on our album.
1 pantheon info from the wikipedia page. yes, it's a real source.