Thunder Run (Kentucky Kingdom)
Thunder Run | |
---|---|
Chain lift hill | |
Height | 90 ft (27 m) |
Drop | 74 ft (23 m) |
Length | 2,850 ft (870 m) |
Speed | 53 mph (85 km/h) |
Inversions | 0 |
Duration | 1:54 |
Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
Trains | Single train with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train. |
Thunder Run at RCDB |
Thunder Run is a wooden roller coaster at the Kentucky Kingdom amusement park in Louisville, Kentucky. The ride originally operated from August 1990 through to October 2009, when then-operators Six Flags abandoned the park. After remaining closed since 2009, Thunder Run reopened in May 2014 when Kentucky Kingdom reopened under new operators.
The ride was manufactured by Dinn Corporation and designed by Curtis D. Summers and John Fetterman. With 2,850 feet (870 m) of track, Thunder Run stands 90 feet (27 m) tall and features a top speed of 53 miles per hour (85 km/h).
History
Kentucky Kingdom opened on May 23, 1987, leasing 10 acres (4.0 ha) at the Kentucky Exposition Center property.[1] The Texas investors who operated the park filed it for bankruptcy after only one season of operation.[1] The Ed Hart-led Themeparks LLC firm purchased the rights to operate the park in 1989, reopening the park the following year.[1] As part of the reopening the new operators added a collection of new rides including Thunder Run, which opened in August 1990.[2] Early in Thunder Run's operating life, one of the cars uncoupled while climbing the lift hill and the ride's lap bars were found to be unsafe. No injuries were reported from these incidents.[3] The original ride was retracked by Martin & Vleminckx prior to its closure in 2009.[4]
Thunder Run operated until the end of the 2009 season which ended on November 1. On February 4, 2010, amid a corporate bankruptcy, Six Flags closed the park due to the rejection of an amended lease by the Kentucky State Fair Board.
Characteristics
The 2,850-foot-long (870 m) Thunder Run stands 90 feet (27 m) tall. With a top speed of 53 miles per hour (85 km/h), the ride featured a ride duration of approximately 2 minutes. The ride operates with a single train featuring six cars. Each car seats riders in two rows of two, totalling 24 riders per train.[2] Thunder Run features 70 degree banked turns.[11]
Thunder Run's design was originally intended for
The design was later used as the foundation for the
Ride experience
Thunder Run features a double
Reception
In 1993 and 1994, Thunder Run was cited by Amusement Business as the "Most Terrifying Roller Coaster" on a top 10 list.[17] Inside Track magazine ranked Thunder Run as the "fourth best of its kind in the nation."[18] In 2007, the Lexington Herald-Leader described the ride as having "a few nice drops and that jerky, clicking wooden coaster feel that some people love, but it never gets too wild."[19] Tim O'Brien, formerly of Amusement Business, rode the inaugural run of the ride in 1990, as well as the first cycle of the refurbished ride in 2013. O'Brien describes the updated ride as "a better ride today than it was back then," commending the ride's ability to give a classic wooden roller coaster feel, yet run smoothly. He stated Thunder Run "is one of the top wooden roller coasters in the world."[9]
In
Year | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 |
---|---|---|---|---|
Ranking | 34[20] | 39[22] | 35[23] | 49[21] |
Mitch Hawker's Wooden Coaster Poll was an annual survey of roller coasters from around the world.[24] In that poll, Thunder Run entered at position 30 in 1994, maintaining an average of 54 for the 17 years that followed. The ride's ranking in subsequent polls is shown in the table below.[25]
Mitch Hawker's Best Roller Coaster Poll: Best wood-Tracked Roller Coaster[25] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Year | 1994 | 1995 | 1996 | 1997 | 1998 | 1999 | 2000 | 2001 | 2002 | 2003 | 2004 | 2005 | 2006 | 2007 | 2008 | 2009 | ||||||||||||||
Ranking | 30 | 56 | 41 | 47 | 54 | 50 | 53 | 52 | 39 | 41 | 48 | 46 | 59 | 60 | 64 | 86 |
References
- ^ ISBN 0-8131-2100-0.
- ^ a b c Marden, Duane. "Thunder Run (Kentucky Kingdom)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
- Tribune Company. Associated Press. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
- ^ "Retracking". Martin & Vleminckx. Archived from the original on November 25, 2013. Retrieved November 17, 2013.
- ^ "Kentucky Kingdom Rejects Lease Park to Close". RCDB. February 4, 2010. Archived from the original on September 8, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
- Business First. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
- ^ Kentucky Kingdom (July 28, 2013). "Timeline Photos". Facebook. Retrieved August 2, 2013.
- ^ Rocky Mountain Construction (October 11, 2013). "Thunder Run is now running again at..." Facebook. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
- ^ a b c Boxley, Mark (October 11, 2013). "Thunder Run at Kentucky Kingdom up and running". The Courier-Journal. Retrieved October 12, 2013.
- ^ "Kentucky Kingdom announces new attractions for 2017".
- ^ "Thunder Run". Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. Archived from the original on November 18, 2007. Retrieved June 30, 2013.
- ISSN 0896-7261.
- ^ Marden, Duane. "International Coasters, Inc". Roller Coaster DataBase.
- ^ Marden, Duane. "Hurler (Carowinds)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
- ^ Marden, Duane. "Hurler (Kings Dominion)". Roller Coaster DataBase.
- ^ "Thunder Run Front Seat on-ride POV Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom". Coaster Force. YouTube. February 9, 2010. Archived from the original on December 21, 2021. Retrieved July 5, 2013.
- Gannett Company.
- The McClatchy Company. April 26, 1992.
- The McClatchy Company. July 27, 2007.
- ^ a b "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013.
- ^ a b "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 14–15B. September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2007.
- ^ "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013.
- ^ "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 10–11B. September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013.
- ^ "Best Roller Coaster Poll". Best Roller Coaster Poll. Retrieved September 21, 2013.
- ^ a b Hawker, Mitch. "Wooden Roller Coaster Poll 20 Year Results Table (1994–2013)". Best Roller Coaster Poll. Retrieved August 18, 2013.
External links
- Kentucky Kingdom's official website
- Thunder Run at the Roller Coaster DataBase
- Media related to Thunder Run (Kentucky Kingdom) at Wikimedia Commons