SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge
SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge
Nickelodeon Universe
LocationNickelodeon Universe
Coordinates44°51′19″N 93°14′33″W / 44.8553°N 93.2425°W / 44.8553; -93.2425
StatusOperating
Opening dateMarch 15, 2008
Cost$2,500,000
ReplacedThe Mystery Mine Ride, SpongeBob SquarePants 4-D, The Funtastic World Of Hanna-Barbera (ride)
General statistics
TypeSteel – Euro-Fighter – Indoor
ManufacturerGerstlauer
DesignerWerner Stengel
ModelEuro-Fighter (Custom)
Track layoutCompact
Lift/launch systemvertical Chain lift
Height74.5 ft (22.7 m)
Length1,371.4 ft (418.0 m)
Speed43.5 mph (70.0 km/h)
Inversions2
Duration2:00
Max vertical angle97°
Capacity750 riders per hour
G-force4.4
Height restriction48 in (122 cm)
TrainsSeveral trains with a single car. Riders are arranged 4 across in 2 rows for a total of 8 riders per train.
SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge at RCDB

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, who handles all of Gerstlauer's operations in the Western Hemisphere.[1][2]

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 break run, overbank helix, an additional break run, then finally return to the boarding station.[3][4][5]

History

The home plate plaque in Nickelodeon Universe

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.

References

  1. ↑ "Gerstlauer busy in 2011". Park World Magazine. 29 December 2010. Archived from the original on 3 December 2013. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  2. ↑ "Projects". Ride Entertainment Group. Retrieved 22 November 2013.
  3. ↑ Spongebob Squarepants Rock Bottom Plunge Review Nickelodeon Universe Mall of America, retrieved 2023-01-09
  4. ↑ SpongeBob SquarePants Rock Bottom Plunge Review, Nickelodeon Universe | Mall of America Coaster, retrieved 2023-01-09
  5. ↑ "Mall Of America Roller Coasters". www.johnweeks.com. Retrieved 2023-01-09.
  6. ↑ Ficker, Dan (21 October 2007). "Cool Rides At The MOA? Maybe". Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  7. ↑ "Custom Stuff". Tivolitoo.com. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  8. ↑ Bennett, Byron (13 October 2013). "Bloomington's Metropolitan Stadium – MIA At The MOA". DeadBallBaseball.com. Retrieved 2 October 2022.
  9. ↑ America, Mall of. "Celebrating 1 million plunges at Nickelodeon Universe® in Mall of America®". www.prnewswire.com (Press release). Retrieved 2023-04-29.


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