Park section Thanksgiving Cost $22 million Height 43 m Opened April 2015 | Status Operating Height restriction 1.32 m Max speed 97 km/h Capacity 1,140 people/hour | |
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Soft opening date April 24, 2015 (2015-04-24) Opening date April 25, 2015 (2015-04-25) Park Holiday World & Splashin' Safari Similar The Voyage, The Raven, The Legend, Mammoth, Fury 325 | ||
Thunderbird is a steel roller coaster in the Thanksgiving section of Holiday World & Splashin' Safari. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened in 2015 as the eighth Wing Coaster in the world and the fourth in the United States.
Contents
Thunderbird is the manufacturer's first launching coaster in sixteen years and the first B&M launch built in-house (The Incredible Hulk Coaster at Islands of Adventure uses a launch system supplied by the park). The Wing Coaster reaches a speed of 100 kilometres per hour (62 mph) in 3.5 seconds and features the tallest vertical loop on a Wing Coaster. Thunderbird had its first test run on 8 March 2015 and opened to the public on the 24 April 2015.
Ride experience
After loading in the station, the train moves forward and stops. Mist blows in front of the train and thunder sounds as the train launches to 60 miles per hour (97 km/h) in 3.5 seconds by linear synchronous motors. The train immediately goes into a 140 feet (43 m) Immelmann loop. After the first element, the train then goes down its first drop into a 125 feet (38 m) vertical loop, the tallest vertical loop on a Wing Coaster surpassing Wild Eagle at Dollywood. After the vertical loop, the train crosses over the exit from The Voyage's second drop, goes through an overbanked turn, and then an overbanked elevated spiral. The train then goes through a zero-g-roll parallel to The Voyage. After several curves next to The Voyage's triple-down drop and spaghetti bowl, the train dips down into a barn (which is the keyhole) where it then curves left back into the barn by doing an inline twist, crossing over The Voyage's underground tunnels. Once the inline twist ends the train enters the brake run to a right turn to another set of brakes before entering the station. One cycle of the ride lasts about 1 minute and 18 seconds.
Location
Thunderbird is located in the Thanksgiving theme section of the park along with The Voyage and it runs parallel and crosses over The Voyage twice: after the vertical loop and during the inline twist.
PGAV Destinations is the theming designer for Thunderbird. The designers took the Thunderbird name and coaster design and created a visual theme of the legendary bird’s powerful flight through farms and forests of southern Indiana.
Manufacturer
Thunderbird is a Wing Coaster model manufactured by Swiss roller coaster firm Bolliger & Mabillard. It is Holiday World & Splashin' Safaris first major steel roller coaster. Thunderbird is the eighth Wing Coaster to be built and the fourth in the United States, the others being X-Flight at Six Flags Great America, Wild Eagle at Dollywood and GateKeeper at Cedar Point. Thunderbird is the first Bolliger & Mabillard coaster to utilize an LSM launch. An earlier launched coaster, The Incredible Hulk roller coaster at Islands of Adventure, Universal Orlando, utilizes a pinch-wheel drive system that was designed exclusively for Universal Studios by Universal Creative.
Trains
Thunderbird operates with two open-air steel and fiberglass trains, each with five cars of four seats each, with two on each side of the track. Each train holds 20 riders and the ride has a capacity of about 1,140 riders per hour. Because the seats are on the side of the track, a cantilevered steel arm is used to support the wings.
Track
Thunderbird's steel track is 3,035 feet (925 m) long and the tallest part of the ride is the first inversion, an Immemann loop at 140 feet (43 m).
