Mamba Roller Coaster
Project Overview
On April 19, 1998, Worlds of Fun, an amusement park in northeast Kansas City, unveiled the Mamba, a steel roller coaster that quickly earned a reputation as one of the tallest, fastest and longest coasters in the world at the time of its debut.
Spanning more than 5,600 feet in length, the Mamba features a 205-foot first drop followed by a 184-foot hill, reaching speeds up to 75 miles per hour and generating a gravitational force of up to 3.5 Gs. Riders experience a 580-degree spiral and five camelback hills that deliver moments of “airtime,” or negative G-force.
GBA provided comprehensive engineering support for the Mamba, including:
- Structural design of footings and foundations
- Architectural design of the station and ancillary buildings
- Site/civil engineering design
- Construction administration
The coaster is supported by over 260 drilled piers with a total combined length of 5,200 feet. Ranging in diameter from 3.5 to 6 feet and extending to depths of up to 37 feet, the piers required more than 14.9 million pounds of concrete and 520,000 pounds of reinforcing steel.
The Mamba remains a standout attraction, showcasing not only the thrill of high-speed engineering but also the technical expertise behind its design and construction.