After talking with him about online services for a few minutes, I asked him how he enjoyed the ride and his response was filled with praise for the new thrill machine.

"I was worried about my glasses falling off," he said wryly. "But there was no problem since the wind kept them pressed flat against my face." He had just taken his first ride along with American Coaster Enthusiasts President Jan Kiser and Busch Gardens General Manager Joe Fincher. Like a little kid, he gushed about the ride. "It even gives you a little kick in the pants as you head back into the station," he said, boarding for yet another spin. At a height of 150 feet with four brand new elements never before experienced on an inverted coaster, this new monster in the southeast is a rocket-ride to another planet of sensation.

Lucy White, a familiar face among ACE'rs, was thrilled to be at the opening. Over 80 years old, Lucy wasn't daunted by the reputation that Montu had grabbed for itself already. "I won't scream, but I'll holler a little," she said.

The latest devilish creation from Bolliger & Mabillard of Monthey, Switzerland, Montu is an inverted coaster, meaning your feet dangle below you while the track sings above your head. A frightening concept to begin with, add to that Montu's impressive height (150 feet), its amazing track length (3,983 feet) and a series of unprecedented elements that read almost as diabolical as they feel. The ride is silent now as workers apply finishing touches of paint and large pyramids are hauled in for a special party hosted by Busch Gardens. Paul Ruben, the North American editor of Park World magazine was on-hand snapping pictures of the ride from various locations around the main courtyard, even from atop a rickety old ladder. He'd be present at the party along with Jan Kiser and Claude Mabillard, half of the design team that created the hairy yellow terror.

The cars exit the station and drop down to the right, legs dangling over a crocodile pit and yes...those are REAL crocodiles, so hang onto your personal belongings.

Your journey up the 310 foot long lift takes about 25 seconds, long enough to survey the looping, diving, partially subterranean track. At 132 feet above the station, the train dives down to the left and enters the first loop and you've broken two World's Records, the longest drop and the highest loop (105 feet tall) for an inverted coaster. Exiting the loop, you shoot through a tunnel and into an 87 foot tall Immelman, named after a fighter pilot. You ascend the steel mountain, then twist upside down and loop downwards......a mighty nasty how-do-ya-do, and then you slam through a zero-gravity camelback (a hump with a spin in it, loads of fun.) which keeps you off of your seat for 2.2 seconds. But wait, there's more.

The train rushes into another unprecedented manuever, a 69-foot tall "batwing" that slings the coaster train upside-down twice, in opposite directions. You'll catch your breath as the train slides through the brakes at "C" block, but don't relax yet, as you'll be going underground to hit a 64-foot tall loop, a high-speed spiral and before you can wave to your friends standing at the observation platform, you're ducking down again, into a 360 degree corkscrew move that effectively kicks you in the tail as you enter the station. All this at a pace that rarely drops below 60 m.p.h.