Wicked Cyclone

History

In 1983, Riverside Amusement Park decided to open a wooden roller coaster named the Riverside Cyclone. The ride was the second full-sized roller coaster to open at the park since its re-opening in 1940, following the installation of Thunderbolt in 1941. The $2.5 million Riverside Cyclone was designed by William Cobb & Associates and built by the Frontier Construction Company. The ride officially opened to the public on June 25, 1983, with Cobb as well as Norm Howells from Frontier Construction in attendance. The opening of Riverside Cyclone was expected to increase park attendance by more than 10% to 1 million annual visitors.

During its first season of operation, Riverside Cyclone featured two trains from Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) where riders were restrained via a lap bar. Part-way through the first season, shoulder belts were added; however, these were removed prior to its second season. During its second season, the ride's trains were damaged, forcing the park to combine parts from both trains to form a single operational train. Two new replacement trains were purchased from D. H. Morgan Manufacturing in 1985.

In the late 1990s, Premier Parks (later Six Flags) purchased Riverside Amusement Park. Over a period of four years, approximately $100 million was invested in the renovation and expansion of the park, culminating in its rebranding to Six Flags New England in 2000. As a result, the Riverside branding was dropped, with the ride being renamed to the Cyclone. The D.H. Morgan Manufacturing trains were replaced with two PTC trains. The new operators made modifications to the track in 2001, shortening the first drop by between 15 and 20 feet (4.6 and 6.1 m).

A refurbishment of the Cyclone in 2011 saw Topper Track from Rocky Mountain Construction added to sections of the ride. Topper Track is steel plating that replaces the upper layers of laminated wooden track. This track style is designed to reduce the maintenance typically required for a wooden roller coaster and to provide a smoother ride experience.

Conversion to steel track

In June 2014, Six Flags New England announced that Cyclone would close permanently on July 20, 2014. Across its 31 seasons in operation, Cyclone was ridden by more than 15 million riders. The decision to close the ride was made over a period of one and half years, with the park reportedly having no immediate plans to demolish the ride. On August 28, 2014, it was announced that Cyclone will undergo a transformation into the Wicked Cyclone steel-tracked roller coaster. Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction and designed by Alan Schilke, it will feature a 10 story drop, speeds of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) and the world's first Double Reversing Bank Airtime Hill. It will be the first hybrid coaster on the East Coast, and the only to have a 200 degree stall and two Zero G Rolls. The ride reopened in May 2015.

Reception

In Mitch Hawker's worldwide Best Roller Coaster Poll, the Cyclone ranked moderately, peaking at position 25 in 1999. The ride dropped to a low of 122 in 2009 before returning to position 103 in 2013. The table below summarises the results.