SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge
Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster
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SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge is a Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster located at Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America, Bloomington, Minnesota. Standing 74.5 feet tall, it is the tallest roller coaster in the park. It also features a beyond vertical (97 degrees) drop. It is the first roller coaster themed to SpongeBob SquarePants, and opened with the Nickelodeon Universe grand opening on March 15, 2008. The ride features a vertical loop, and a heartline roll. The ride was installed by Ride Entertainment Group, which handles all of Gerstlauer's operations in the Western Hemisphere.[1][2]
| SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge | |
|---|---|
SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge | |
| Nickelodeon Universe | |
| Location | Nickelodeon Universe |
| Coordinates | 44.8553°N 93.2425°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | March 15, 2008 |
| Cost | $2,500,000 |
| Replaced | The Mystery Mine Ride, SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D, The Funtastic World Of Hanna-Barbera (ride) |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel – Euro-Fighter – Indoor |
| Manufacturer | Gerstlauer |
| Designer | Werner Stengel |
| Model | Euro-Fighter (Custom) |
| Track layout | Compact |
Lift/launch system | Vertical Chain lift |
| Height | 74.5 ft (22.7 m) |
| Length | 1,371.4 ft (418.0 m) |
| Speed | 43.5 mph (70.0 km/h) |
| Inversions | 2 |
| Duration | 2:00 |
Max vertical angle | 97° |
| Capacity | 750 riders per hour |
| G-force | 4.4 |
Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
| Trains | Several trains with a single car; riders arranged 4 across in 2 rows for a total of 8 riders per train |
| SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge at RCDB | |
Ride experience
The ride vehicles exit the boarding station by turning to the left and climb the 67 foot tall lift hill. Guests then "plunge" down the past-vertical drop at 97 degrees, and ride through: a vertical loop at 40 miles per hour, speed hill, cutback overbank turn, heartline roll, mid-course brake run, overbank helix, an additional brake run, then finally return to the boarding station.[3][4][5]
History
In 2007, the ride replaced Camp Snoopy's Mystery Mine attraction which housed the SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D ride and The Funtastic World of Hanna-Barbera ride (under the name of Yogi's Big Rescue). Concept artwork for the ride was revealed to the public via the theme park's construction walls in 2007.[6] The ride is based on the SpongeBob SquarePants episode "Rock Bottom", and features a prominently placed statue of SpongeBob and Patrick riding an orange bus down a 90-degree angle while holding a glove over his head. Design and fabrication for the giant statue was handled by Tivolitoo, a company that Nickelodeon Experience Design often collaborates with.[7]
Mall of America and its Camp Snoopy theme park were built upon the former site of the Metropolitan Stadium, and a plaque was installed at the previous location of the stadium's home plate. This plaque was kept intact during the theme park's conversion to its Nickelodeon re-theming, and now sits outside the entrance of Rock Bottom Plunge.[8]
On June 23, 2016, the guests who rode in the attraction's 1 millionth coaster ride were given 1 million free rides to the theme park and were the inaugural inductees into the "1 Million Ride Club".[9]
A similarly structured Gerstlauer-produced Euro-Fighter rollercoaster, TMNT Shellraiser, opened at American Dream Meadowland's Nickelodeon Universe theme park in 2019. This ride also features a vertical plunge, with an even steeper drop of 121.5 degrees.