Dragon's Run

One of the Time Machine's trains descending from the mid-course brake run

Plans for a Hard Rock-themed amusement park were released in 2003; at the time, however, funding and licensing agreements had yet to be finalized.[1] By 2006, a licensing agreement with the Hard Rock franchise was reached.[2] Hard Rock Park was announced in early 2007. The park's flagship attraction, "Led Zeppelin – The Ride", would be a Bolliger & Mabillard sit-down roller coaster themed for the English rock band of the same name.[3] By July 2007 construction for the ride was underway, with the lift hill completed.[4]

"Led Zeppelin – The Ride" soft-opened to the public on April 15, 2008, with the first seats auctioned for charity.[5][6] The ride's official opening was on May 9, 2008.[6] During operation, the coaster would play Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" through an on-board audio system.[7][8] In September 2008, Hard Rock Park filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to the inability to pay its debts.[9][10] Its owners later filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7, allowing them to sell the park.[10][11]

In February 2009, FPI MB Entertainment purchased the park. As part of the acquisition it was renamed Freestyle Music Park, with all licensed themes removed. "Led Zeppelin – The Ride" was renamed "The Time Machine", with the on-board audio a selection of songs from the 1960s to the 2000s. The new park officially opened on May 23, 2009;[12] however, the fate of Freestyle Music Park was similar to that of its predecessor and the park closed in September 2009.[10] The coaster remained standing but not operating for almost five years.[13]

The ride was posted for sale on talintl.com included in a bundle of components of the former Freestyle Music Park.[14] In 2014 Time Machine was purchased by what was then a new, unnamed park under construction in Vietnam.[15] On August 21, 2014, cranes had been set up next to the Time Machine to begin the process of dismantling, and elements of the finale had already been removed.[15] On January 25, 2017, the ride opened as Dragon's Run at the new Dragon Park Ha Long in Vietnam.[16]

Dragon's Run features six inversions over the 3,738-foot-long (1,139 m) ride, including two vertical loops, a cobra roll, a zero-g roll and a corkscrew. Riders reach a top speed of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h).[8] When the roller coaster operated as Time Machine, passengers could listen to five different soundtracks over speakers built into the trains.[17] The trains consist of eight single-row cars, seating riders four across for a total of thirty-two seats per train.[8]

Trains navigating the cobra roll (left) and zero-g roll (right)

After the train leaves the station, it climbs the 155-foot-tall (47 m) chain lift hill. It then drops 150 feet (46 m) before entering the first 120-foot-tall (37 m) vertical loop. This is followed by a 95-foot-tall (29 m) cobra roll and a 75-foot-tall (23 m) zero-g roll. A second, smaller vertical loop leads the train into a large helix before the mid-course brake run. The ride then drops into another small helix before navigating through a corkscrew. A third helix follows before the train slows in the final brake run and returns to the station.[8][18][19][20]

Reviews of the Time Machine were mixed. The Coaster Critic, reviewing Led Zeppelin – The Ride, described its overall ride experience as a "great attraction", praising its pre-show and synchronized soundtrack and rating the ride 8.5 out of 10.[19] Jeremy Thompson of Roller Coaster Philosophy gave a similar review, enjoying the ride and ranking it number 15 on his top-coasters list; however, he criticized the lack of elements during the ride's second half.[20] Arthur Levine of About.com expanded on Thompson's criticism, calling the ride one of North America's top-10 overrated roller coasters. Levine described it as an "impressive-looking coaster" which "has almost no airtime, shudders a bit as it delivers a few head-banging moments, and is largely nondescript".[21] In Mitch Hawker's worldwide Best Roller Coaster Poll, the Time Machine peaked at number 102 in its debut year (2008).[22] In 2009, it dropped to 138th out of 368 ranked steel roller coasters.[23]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Time Machine (roller coaster).

• Time Machine at the Roller Coaster DataBase