Park section Country Fair Opening date April 1982 (1982-04) Max speed 87 km/h Closed 8 August 2003 Capacity 960 people/hour | Status Removed Cost A$3.3 million Height 31 m Opened March 1982 Park Dreamworld | |
Closing date 8 August 2003 (2003-08-08) Replaced by FlowRiderWhiteWater World Similar Eureka Mountain Mine Ride, Escape from Madagascar, Hot Wheels SideWinder, The Lair, Dreamworld Express | ||
The Thunderbolt was a steel roller coaster at the Dreamworld theme park on the Gold Coast, Australia. It was the park's original roller coaster opening in April 1982 before being closed on 8 August 2003. It was demolished the following year.
Contents
History
On 15 December 1981, Dreamworld officially opened to the public. In April 1982, the park opened its first roller coaster, the Thunderbolt. It was the first roller coaster in Australia to feature vertical loops. Originally painted completely white, the Thunderbolt was repainted around 1990 to feature golden loops. In 1995, a new train was purchased for half a million dollars in an attempt to make the ride more comfortable.
In 2002, Dreamworld conducted a feasibility study into the possibility of redeveloping the attraction. The park approached Arrow Dynamics, Kumbak and Vekoma, however, it was determined that the redevelopment was unfeasible due to the ride's condition.
On 8 August 2003, the ride was closed. It remained standing but not operating while attempts were made to sell the ride. It was removed in March 2004 in such a way that it was clear it was not going to operate again. Dreamworld retained a section of track and one train, both of which reside in the park's back-of-house areas.
The land where Thunderbolt stood is partly occupied by Dreamworld's FlowRider installation. Future expansions of the WhiteWater World water park will utilise the rest of the Thunderbolt's former footprint. The station building is now used for the internal entry to WhiteWater World and the FlowRider shop.
Ride
Built by Japanese firm Sanoyas Hishino Meisho, the Thunderbolt measured 1,207 metres (3,960 ft) in length making it the longest roller coaster in Australia. Despite the ride's closure, no Australian roller coaster has yet to beat that record. It was capable of reaching speeds of up to 87 km/h (54 mph). The ride, which stood 31 metres (102 ft) off the ground, featured two vertical loops standing at 21 metres (69 ft) each.