Fun Spot America has revealed the stats, name and the coaster train for the Rocky Mountain Construction creation opening at its Fayetteville, Georgia, park, just outside Atlanta, in 2022.

The steel coaster — not a hybrid like other RMCs, such as the upcoming Iron Gwazi — will be dubbed ArieForce One, after Fun Spot founder, chairman and former owner John Arie Sr. and his “passion to flying,” according to current Fun Spot owner and CEO, John Arie Jr.

“This roller coaster is to honor my father,” Arie Jr. said, holding back tears.

(Fun Spot)

At $13 million, the new coaster is being touted by Fun Spot as its most expensive ride ever.

“The addition of ArieForce One is a huge milestone for our company and the first of many new marquee rides and attractions yet to come to the Fayetteville, Georgia park,” Arie Jr. said. “As a one-of-kind roller coaster, custom designed to the topography and layout of Fun Spot Atlanta, no other RMC coaster has this combination of elements.”

Those elements include what Fun Spot calls the “largest zero-g stall in America,” a new inversion called the “Raven Truss Dive,” two zero-g rolls and a 180-degree stall.

The attraction will also feature:

  • A themed queue based around John Arie Sr.’s interest in flight
  • Two 20-passenger trains
  • 3,400 feet of track
  • 154-foot tall lift hill
  • 83-degree first drop
  • Top speed of 64 miles per hour
  • 900 riders per hour
  • 1 minute, 40 seconds of ride time

ArieForce One will be the third coaster at Fun Spot Atlanta and the first built under the Arie family’s ownership since it acquired the park in 2017. Arie Jr. told Theme Park Tribune that the Atlanta park needed a “shot in the arm” and had much more open space to work with than its Florida parks.

The new trains for ArieForce One (Theme Park Tribune)

The announcement of a new coaster will bring a different kind of publicity to the Fun Spot chain than it has experienced over the past 18 months.

Its Orlando park failed multiple county inspections in 2020 on enforcing mandates for face masks in public spaces at the time. Arie Sr., who as recently as January 2021 was listed as the company’s owner on its website, repeatedly downplayed the severity of the COVID-19 pandemic and professed his belief in false claims about masks. He has recently shared posts promoting misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines on his personal Facebook page.

“Covid vaccines are not vaccines,” Arie Sr falsely claimed. “They are ‘shots’ that don’t give immunization. They also violate the Nuremberg Code!” Both of these claims are also false.