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Thunderbird facts
Launch system LSM (Linear Synchronous Motor)
0 to 60 mph (0 to 97 km/h) in 3.5 seconds
Highest point 140ft (43m)
Length
3,035ft (925m) Speed
60 mph (97km/h)
Inversions 4
Ride duration 1:18
Trains 2 x 20-seater
(5 cars, 4 rider per row) Capacity
1,140 riders per hour
Height restriction 52 inches (132 cm)
is such a completely different ride experience than our wooden coasters. You truly feel like you are gliding through the air, flying through the trees as if you were on the wings of a bird.” Continuing Holiday World’s tradition of sending rollercoasters through thickly wooded and hilly terrain, Thunderbird first soars and loops high in the air and then hugs the ground, surprising riders with rapid-fire “near misses” such as keyholes, themed elements including a smashed barn, other rides, trees, and even the ground. Those inversions include a 14-storey Immelmann loop, Zero-g roll, barrel roll and a loop soaring 125ft (38m) in the air.
Unique ride
“A wing coaster creates a feeling of incredible freedom – you ride beside the coaster track with nothing above or below you,” describes Eckert. “Thunderbird is the first launched wing coaster in the nation.” (An Intamin hydraulic launched Wing Rider, Furius Baco, preceded it in 2007 at Port Aventura in Spain.) Eckert calls Thunderbird’s manufacturer, Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), the “Cadillac of rollercoasters, known for their safety, quality and reliability. We’ve dreamed of adding a B&M steel coaster for many years and are excited that Thunderbird was their first launched coaster. They are truly a class act and they have been such a pleasure to work with.” Thunderbird’s $22 million price tag is more than twice the amount of any other ride ever created at Holiday World in its 69-year history. Asked if it is now the park’s signature attraction, Eckert chose his words carefully. “I would say it is ‘a signature attraction,’ but not THE signature attraction here. Thunderbird truly is one of kind, as is The Voyage and Splashin’ Safari’s two ProSlide water coasters, Wildebeest and Mammoth.”
Thunderbird is located in the Thanksgiving section of Holiday World. A new restaurant, the SmokeHouse, and a shop named Hevron’s Mercantile have been also introduced to complement the new attraction. As you might expect, guests are already heading straight to the coaster when they arrive at the park.
Slow-motion sensation Eckert has ridden many times. “It’s nearly impossible to pinpoint my favourite part of the ride, because it is truly a different experience depending on which seat of the train you choose. If I had to narrow it down, I would say it is coming out of the fly-through barn (one of our
42 JULY 2015
keyhole elements) going into the in-line roll. I love that slow-motion sensation you get as the Thunderbird ends its flight.”
“Thunderbird has taken us to an entirely different level,” Eckert concludes. “We now have a major steel coaster. We have world-class wooden coasters. We have an incredible collection of the best water slides and water coasters. We have so many attractions that the entire family can enjoy. I believe this year we will see many first-time guests, who are now taking notice of this ‘little park in the middle of a bunch of cornfields.’ We are still in the middle of cornfields, yes, but we are not a little park anymore.”
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