Escape from Pompeii

Escape from Pompeii

The final drop of Escape from Pompeii
Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Area San Marco (Italy)
Status Operating
Opening date April 29, 1995
General statistics
Type Shoot the Chute
Manufacturer Intamin
Model Shoot-the-Chutes
Height 50 ft (15 m)
Drop 49 ft (15 m)
Length 900 ft (270 m)
Capacity 4 boats, 20 passengers per boat riders per hour
Duration 2:10
Height restriction 42 in (107 cm)
Quick Queue available

Escape from Pompeii is a shoot-the-chutes water attraction designed by Intamin located at Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Williamsburg, Virginia.

The attraction is based on the ancient city of Pompeii when it was destroyed by the eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 AD. Guests board flat bottom boats that advance through the attraction along a canal of water as if the volcano is alive once again.. Special effects include swinging flickering lights, cracking wooden boards, burning walls and ceilings, and tumbling statues. At the end of the ride guests go through a misty dark room right before they go down the five story drop into the splash pool below.

Ride experience

Guests enter the queuing area near the back of the structure of the ride, where they pass a ruined structure with "Pompeii" written on it, with graffiti-lime "Escape From" written above the sign. Guests then walk under the final chute to the ride, where they wind past evidence of the Pompeii disaster and past billboards of an archeological exploration of the ruins. The continue to a covered structure where boats pass the queue, and statues and columns stand crumbling in water next to the queue. Guests then are placed in rows to board the boats. After boarding flat bottom boats as if they are touring the ruins of Pompeii, guests are taken up an 50-foot (15 m) incline. The boats make a small drop into the main ride building, where they pass by an abandoned archaeological site and crumbling structures as tense music begins to play. The boats pass under crumbling walls where wooden beams break apart and fall into the water to the side of the boats. The boats float past the ruins into a room full of crumbling statues and structures standing among the water. Here,real fire begins to spread throughout the room, on top of the statues, and over the water as dramatic music begins to play. The boats continue through the fiery room, past burning columns and statues. As the boats exit the room, they pass a large statue of Jupiter, which also catches fire. The boats then pass under a crumbling wooden structure as ripples of fire burn on the ceiling. A dark room leads the boats past more crumbling structures and directly under a statue, which falls over right over top of the boats. The boats continue, where the music picks up dramatically, into the dark room, with fog and more ruins and statues. The boats then advance to where a door blows open and allow guests to see outside of the ride just before plunging down the 48.5 feet tall, 80 feet long chute into the water below. The boats splash into the water (where water squirters can spritz riders) before the flume runs around a small garden with a Roman sundial (which replaced many archaeological dig-related props) and returns riders to the loading area to disembark.

References

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