Behind the Scenes at Some of the Biggest, Baddest Roller Coasters

Aug. 7, 2009 — -- Imagine free-falling 205 feet through the air at speeds up to 75 miles an hour -- and then doing it again, and again and again. That's just a typical day at Busch Gardens in Williamsburg, Va., where thrill seekers from across the globe -- including "Good Morning America's" Melissa Rycroft -- have come for a dose of adrenaline.

Rycroft's first stop was the Loch Ness Monster, a double loop roller coaster with speeds up to 60 miles per hour. Passengers travel for more than a half mile through loops, over water and into a cave.

"Today, it remains the only coaster in existence that has double locking, interlocking loops," said Lindsay Morgan, a village supervisor at Busch Gardens and Rycroft's tour guide for the day. "It's actually possible for two trains to be going through the loops at the same time."

The Loch Ness Monster is also the only roller coaster that rides on the inside of the track.

"Your guide wheels are going to be on the inside of the track for Loch Ness because you're running on the inside of the rail. In contrast, when you're looking at some of our other coasters later on, the guide wheels are going to be on the outside," Morgan said.

Next, Rycroft moves onto the Griffon, the world's tallest floorless dive coaster. Named after the mythical creature that is half lion and half eagle, it has an initial drop of 205 feet followed by a second dive of 130 feet -- all at a 90-degree angle. Each ride can reach a speed of 75 miles per hour.

Should there be an emergency on the ride, there is an elevator that comes up to rescue the passengers.

"This is all part of our safety features ... in the event that we have to get guests off in an unusual manner. Obviously, with this being a floorless coaster, it presents a unique set of problems. We have to go and build the floor to get them off the ride," Morgan said.

The elevator is part of the behind-the-scenes tour. From the top, you can see amazing views of the park and surrounding trees and waterways.

Engineers use dummies that are filled with water in order to replicate a person and test the rides. Each dummy weighs 180 pounds, the average weight of an American.