ArieForce One

ArieForce One
Fun Spot America Atlanta
Location	Fun Spot America Atlanta
Coordinates	33°29′50″N 84°25′43″W / 33.4973°N 84.4287°W / 33.4973; -84.4287
Status	Operating
Opening date	March 31, 2023
Cost	$13,000,000 USD1
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	Rocky Mountain Construction
Designer	Joe Draves
Model	I-Box
Track layout	Out and Back
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	154 ft (47 m)
Drop	146 ft (45 m)
Length	3,400 ft (1,000 m)
Speed	64 mph (103 km/h)
Inversions	4
Duration	1:40
Max vertical angle	83°
Capacity	900 riders per hour
G-force	3.75
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)
Trains	2 trains with 5 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 20 riders per train.
Website	Official website
ArieForce One at RCDB

ArieForce One is a steel roller coaster located at Fun Spot America Atlanta in Fayetteville, Georgia. Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction, the ride was first announced by representatives of the Fun Spot America chain in May 2021, and the coaster was formally unveiled at the IAAPA Orlando Expo on November 16, 2021.² At an accumulated cost of $18 million, ArieForce One represents the single largest investment on any ride in Fun Spot America's history.³ ArieForce One officially opened to the public on March 31, 2023. On June 25, 2026, Fun Spot America announced that Fun Spot America Atlanta, including ArieForce One, would close permanently to guests on August 2, 2026.⁴

Fun Junction USA originally opened as Dixieland Fun Park in 1990 with Go-kart tracks, batting cages, and a miniature golf course. Management eventually added a small selection of rides over the years, including the Hurricane Coaster in 2007.⁵ In July 2017, Florida-based Fun Spot America Theme Parks announced the acquisition of Fun Junction USA as their first property outside of the state, with plans to roll out new attractions and branding.⁶ Chief among these investments was a new go-kart track for the 2018 season, but Fun Spot America CEO John Arie Jr hinted at a signature new coaster to perhaps eventually be built at the park.⁷⁸

On May 25, 2021, Fun Spot America Atlanta announced that they had selected Idaho-based Rocky Mountain Construction (otherwise known as RMC) to construct a major new steel coaster for the 2022 season.² Management attempted to secure a naming rights deal with the Atlanta Hawks professional basketball team, although such efforts fell through the following month.⁹¹⁰¹¹ Fun Spot America Theme Parks subsequently trademarked the name "Arie Force One" on June 11, 2021.¹²¹³

Throughout the summer, Fun Spot socials systematically released conceptual renderings of the coaster.¹⁴ ArieForce One was officially unveiled on November 16, 2021, at the IAAPA Expo in Orlando, Florida.¹ The coaster train's lead car was also unveiled that day at RMC's event booth, and was kept on display at Fun Spot Orlando for a few months before moving to Atlanta.¹⁵¹⁶ Budgeted at $13 million at the time, the coaster would represent the single largest investment ever put into a Fun Spot park.³ An animated onride point-of-view video was released on Christmas Day.¹⁷

Work on ArieForce One was marred by serious delays, with progress bogged down by supply chain bottlenecks, zoning woes with Fayette County, and a modest construction crew. The issues ultimately pushed back ArieForce One's scheduled opening into 2023. In August 2022, John Arie Jr. stated that, "[the] project has been delayed by about eight months. We have had to invest $5 million more into property changes to satisfy the county". Fayette County officials ordered the park to construct a new parking lot and more storm drainage, which required the removal of their miniature golf courses. As stated by Arie Jr, "Basically, we had to remove one income source to build another”.¹⁸

Steel first began arriving for the coaster in late 2021.¹⁹ Fun Spot America held ArieForce One's groundbreaking ceremony on January 6, 2022.²⁰²¹ The first pieces of the support structure were installed in February, with construction continuing up until the end of the year.²²

On June 25, 2026, Fun Spot America announced that its Atlanta location, along with ArieForce One, would permanently cease operations on August 2, 2026. Company CEO John Arie Jr. described the decision as "extremely difficult", citing the park's inability to sustain operations despite significant investments in new attractions. Daily operations are scheduled to continue through the closing date while the company provides transition assistance to employees. Their Orlando and Kissimmee parks are not affected by the closure.²³

The announcement raised uncertainty over the future of the coaster. Industry observers speculated that the roller coaster could be relocated to another amusement park, although the company had not announced any plans for the attraction at the time of the closure announcement.²⁴

Departing the station, the train traverses two bunny hops before ascending the 154-foot (47 m) tall lift hill at an angle of 45°. Upon reaching its peak, the train plummets down a 146-foot (45 m) first drop at 83°, reaching an advertised top speed of 64 mph (103 km/h). Riders rise up into the coaster's first inversion, a dive loop (dubbed as a Raven Truss Dive) acting as a turnaround. A speed hill directly proceeds such, leading up into the second inversion, a large Zero-G stall underneath the lift hill. A large outwards-banked airtime hill follows, redirecting the train 90° to the left and into the park. After speeding through a double up, riders sharply drop into the third inversion, a tight barrel roll overtop of the arcade. Behind the park's main buildings, the coaster twists through an off-axis hill, right-hand turnaround, and a final Zero-g roll. A second low hill above the arcade leads riders into the coaster's final stretch, consisting of an extended quad-down. Riders pop up into the final brake run and proceed back to the station through a 90° turn to the right. One ride on ArieForce One is advertised to last 100 seconds.²⁵

ArieForce One stands 154 feet (47 m) tall, 3,400 feet (1,000 m) long, and reaches a top speed of 64 mph (103 km/h) throughout the ride. The natural topography results in a total elevation change of 180 feet (55 m) throughout the ride layout. The coaster runs two 5-car trains, each car of which seats riders in two rows of two, resulting in an occupancy of 20 passengers per train and an estimated hourly capacity of 900 people per hour. In terms of the layout, ArieForce One contains an 83° first drop and four inversions, including a headlining "Raven Truss Dive" and the largest Zero-G stall in the United States.¹ G-forces throughout the ride vary, with riders being subjected to vertical G-forces between 3.75 g and -1.0 g, as well as lateral forces of +/- 1.25 g.²⁶

ArieForce One received the 2023 Golden Ticket Award for Best New Attraction Installation from Amusement Today.²⁷ It also ranked at position 25 for the world's best steel roller coasters its debut year.