Super SMOOTH and super FAST...especially through the cobra roll!!!

Another well themed Busch ride. As an alpine skier, I liked the out of control ski lift theme, especially the snow on the roof tops. Probably, the only snow Williamsburg ever sees. The ride is tall and fast, but because of the size of the coaster, the elements dont feel as intense as some smaller, slower coasters. The scenery is cant miss on any of the coasters at this park. I rode this coaster 4 times and I preferred rides towards the front more than the rougher back. It was also interesting because this ride gave the best opportunity to get a preview of Gryphons construction. A very good coaster, but just a step or 2 below the big boys.

Alpengeist will always be special to me as it was probably the coaster that got me to really love roller coasters! I dont think there is another ride that is quite as smooth and pleasurable as Alpengeist. From the start, there are lots of great things about this ride. The theming is very well done, as the idea of a ski lift gone mad is a perfect fit for a steel invert coaster such as this. This ride is of course, located in Busch Gardens Europe, an award winner for most beautiful theme park, and this coaster surely adds to this beauty. Its giant teal frame is complete with a snowy design and ski chalet. All this of course, is merely back drop to what is a thrilling ride. The image of the initial twisting 170 foot drop will immediately imprint itself into your long term memory, before you are taken into a 106 foot loop and a couple of rolls before swooping into the tunnel for the onride photo. You really get the sense of traversing all over the park, as you catch different scents in the air such as the Smoke House or the nearby Rhine River.

Whether or not Alpengeist is the best steel invert or simply one of the best is really besides the point. I think its worth the trip to Williamsburg alone, and a "must ride" in most riders minds. Well done B&M!

Best inverted coaster out of the 9 I have been on (if you dont consider Volcano an invert, than 8 ). Unlike every other inverted coaster in the world, it has hyper coaster stature which is pretty amazing with the inverted coaster trains. The layout is actually fairly compact, and is taken at very high speeds. The first drop is good, the cobra roll is simply AMAZING, and the 2nd half has some nice theming and isnt a dud like Montus 2nd half is.

If it didnt have the trim at the top of the lift and the MCBR wasnt turned on quite so hard, it might have slipped in my top 10 and deserved a 10.

Probably the best inverted coaster i have ever been on. The drop is great, and its big element after big element really. Its a good ride lenghth, unlike the 50 seconds Batman: The Ride roller coasters out there. From other people i have seen and heard from, Volcano is their #1 inverted so ill have to check into that. Volcano also actually has theming, so that already gives a good impression on me without even riding it. This Alpengeist ride is truly a monster of a ride anyway you put it.

A good ride but its no Raptor. A little on the shaky side to.

Its a very intense inverted rollercoaster ride with lots of spinning and drops. But 67mph? Sorry, but Volcano feels way faster than this. I guess its cuz of the steady gain of speed instead of the sudden launch in Volcano. The inversions are intense and your head gets the feeling like youre flexing your face the entire ride. Nice settings too. Just doesnt give you any stomach churning feel or terrfic sense of speed.

Best Ride in the East by far

When I experienced Alpengeist, it had some major competition right off the bat. I had already ridden Montu, both Dueling Dragons, and Batman The Ride, so it has some serious competition. B&M inverts are also one of my favorite types of coaster, so I was expecting a lot. The first time I rode it was in the very back row. My impression of the ride is fairly blurry, because, man does this coaster move. The immelman was over before I even knew what happened, the vertical loop was really intense, and the cobra roll was so fast is seemed rough, though I have since changed this description to "snappy" after seeing another critic describe it as such. After the MCBR, the zero-g and wingover were still very quick, but not quite so vicious as the first 4 inversions, and the final twists and turns provided a bit of a break from what had been so far a very intense coaster. Overall, I went away from the ride a bit surprised, and maybe a bit disappointed, but that changed. Later in the day, I decided to give it another go, this time in the front row. It was better in the front, imo, because it was still intense without being too brutal, and I could appreciate each inversion more. Overall, the ride earns a solid 9 from me, and sits in my Top 10 at a solid #7, a spot behind Montu but ahead of such notables as Millennium Force and Batman The Ride. Overall, good theming, very good layout, and another solid performance from BGW and B&M.

Alpengeist is a fun, but somewhat underachieving coaster. The first drop is simply fabulous as it is long, smooth, and fast. It just seems to last forever and is right in the middle of a forest; how cant you love it? However, the immelmann and loop are simply too tall to be very intense. The speed is not lost, but the inversions are very mediocre. Fortunately, the cobra roll is outstanding as it is intense, fast, and long. Then the train gets rattled into the mcbr by means of a fairly rough turn! The mcbr is pretty strong, but the massive invert picks up a lot of the lost speed on the forthcoming small drop. Unfortunately, the zero-g roll and corkscrew are also very week inversions, this time probably because of lack of speed. The ride really slows down through its last two elements: a helix and a banked turn. At this point it seems almost impossible that you are on the tallest B&M invert in the world, and that is my biggest gripe on the ride. Despite the rides overall lack of intensity and loss of speed in the second half, the ride is still smooth, fast, well-landscaped, and contains two great elements: the first drop and the cobra roll. For now, that is enough to get the ride a 9 and a place in my top ten, but when I eventually conquer more B&M inverts, it may not stay that way.