Storm Chaser (roller coaster)

Storm Chaser is a steel roller coaster located at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Designed by Alan Schilke and manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) at an estimated cost of $10 million, the ride opened to the public on April 30, 2016. It features three inversions, a 78-degree drop, and a maximum speed of 52 mph (84 km/h) utilizing RMC's patented I-Box track technology.

For the spinning coaster at Paultons Park, see Storm Chaser (Paultons Park).
Storm Chaser
Previously known as Twisted Sisters (1998–2001) and Twisted Twins (2002–2007)
Ride entrance
Kentucky Kingdom
LocationKentucky Kingdom
Coordinates38.1958°N 85.7503°W / 38.1958; -85.7503
StatusOperating
Soft opening dateApril 28, 2016 (2016-04-28)
Opening dateApril 30, 2016 (2016-04-30)
Cost$10 million
ReplacedTwisted Twins
General statistics
TypeSteel
ManufacturerRocky Mountain Construction
DesignerAlan Schilke
ModelI-Box – Custom
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height100 ft (30 m)
Length2,744 ft (836 m)
Speed52 mph (84 km/h)
Inversions3
Duration1:40
Max vertical angle78°
Capacity960 riders per hour
G-force3.8
Trains2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train.
Storm Chaser at RCDB

Originally manufactured by Custom Coasters International, the ride first opened as a wooden dueling coaster named Twisted Sisters in 1998. After American heavy metal band Twisted Sister threatened to sue the park, the name was changed to Twisted Twins in 2002. It closed indefinitely in 2007, and its future became uncertain after Kentucky Kingdom ceased operations in 2010. RMC was hired to renovate the ride in time for the park's reopening in 2016. As a budgetary measure, some of the track and supports from Twisted Twins was reused. It was nominated for "Best New Ride For 2016", an Amusement Today Golden Ticket Award, placing second behind Dollywood's Lightning Rod.[1]

History

In September 1997, operation rights for Kentucky Kingdom were sold by Themeparks LLC to Premier Parks for $64 million.[2] Weeks after the deal was finalized in November 1997, the new operators announced plans to build a $5-million dueling roller coaster, called Double Trouble, in time to open during the 1998 season.[3] The name was later changed to Twisted Sisters prior to the ride's opening.[4][5] Following the purchase of Six Flags by Premier Parks in June 1998, the park was rebranded as Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.[2][6]

In 2002, the heavy metal band Twisted Sister threatened the park with legal action regarding the name of the roller coaster. To avoid a lawsuit, the park changed the ride's name to Twisted Twins.[4][7] It operated under that name until the end of the 2007 season when the park closed the ride indefinitely,[4] and the Gerstlauer trains were relocated to Six Flags St. Louis to be used as spare parts for The Boss, another Custom Coasters International ride with Gerstlauer trains.[8]

Amid corporate bankruptcy on February 4, 2010, Six Flags announced that the park would cease operations immediately following the rejection of an amended lease by the Kentucky State Fair Board.[9] Former operator of Kentucky Kingdom, Ed Hart, along with several other investors formed the Kentucky Kingdom Redevelopment Company with the aim of reopening the park quickly.[10][11][12] However, plans were abandoned after sixteen months of negotiations.[13][14][15][16] On February 23, 2012, the Kentucky Fair Board approved a lease agreement which would see the park operate as Bluegrass Boardwalk. The plans called for the removal of Twisted Twins and T2 as a result of safety concerns.[17][18]

On June 27, 2013, Ed Hart's group negotiated an agreement to spend $36 million to reopen the park in May 2014. They also announced plans to transform Twisted Twins into "a much superior ride" and hoped to reopen it in 2016.[19][20] Rocky Mountain Construction was eventually hired to refurbish the roller coaster with their patented IBox track design. In July 2015, Kentucky Kingdom announced plans to name the renovated ride Storm Chaser and open it during the 2016 season.[21] The estimated cost for the new ride was $10 million.[22]

Characteristics

Twisted Twins
Twisted Twins, prior to reconfiguration into Storm Chaser

In its original form, Twisted Twins was a dueling roller coaster, which featured two roller coaster tracks that departed from opposite ends of a single station. The two tracks followed different paths, passing by each other four times.[23] Despite this, both tracks measured 3,000 feet (910 m) in length, stood 80 feet (24 m) tall, and featured top speeds of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h).[4] The ride was the only dueling roller coaster manufactured by Custom Coasters International, and was one of only two dual-tracked roller coasters manufactured by the company (Stampida at PortAventura Park is a racing roller coaster).[24][25] The ride was designed by Dennis McNulty and Larry Bill, a duo responsible for many of the company's roller coasters.[4][26][27] Construction of Twisted Twins was completed by Martin & Vleminckx.[4]

A single train, manufactured by Gerstlauer, ran on each of the tracks. These two trains were named Stella and Lola, respectively.[28] Each train seated 28 riders across seven cars configured in two rows of two.[4] These trains required riders to be of a minimum height of 48 inches (120 cm).[29]

Storm Chaser

According to park officials, Storm Chaser utilized some components of Twisted Twins' structure as a budgetary feature, but is otherwise a completely new experience.[21] Storm Chaser utilized Rocky Mountain's IBox steel track system to create a ride experience that has the smoothness of a steel coaster with the faster pace of a wooden coaster.[21] The new track also allows the train to perform inversions, something not normally seen on wooden roller coasters.[21]

Comparison
StatisticTwisted Twins (Twisted Sisters)[30]Storm Chaser[31]
Years1998-20072016–
ManufacturerCustom Coasters InternationalRocky Mountain Construction
DesignerDennis McNulty, Larry BillAlan Schilke
Track TypeWoodSteel
Track LayoutDuelingOut and back
Height80 ft or 24 m100 ft or 30 m
DropUnknownUnknown
Length3,000 ft or 910 m2,744 ft or 836 m
Speed55 mph or 89 km/h52 mph or 84 km/h
Max vertical angleUnknown78°
G-force3.23.8
CapacityUnknown960 riders per hour
Duration2:121:40
Inversions03
TrainsGerstlauerRocky Mountain Construction

Ride experience
Storm Chaser's corkscrew inversion

Storm Chaser departs the station and makes a U-turn to the right to start up its lift hill. After cresting the top of the lift, the train banks left and enters a barrel-roll drop back down to ground level, followed by an airtime hill and an overbanked left-hand turn that leaves the train partially upside down for a short time. Storm Chaser then climbs another hill and banks right before turning to the left and heading back in the opposite direction and rounding an overbanked turn to the right.

The train crests another airtime hill before banking right and entering the final inversion, a corkscrew. Exiting the corkscrew and banking to the left, Storm Chaser passes over a series of camelback hills where the banking varies from side to side. The train then enters a 270-degree banked helix to the right, then rises to the left before entering the final brake run and returning to the station.

Reception

1998–2010: Wood

The ride did not earn any placements in the Golden Ticket Awards' Top 50 wooden coasters during this time.

2016–present: Steel
Golden Ticket Awards: Best New Ride for 2016
Ranking
2[32]
Golden Ticket Awards: Top steel Roller Coasters
Year201620172018
Ranking 28[33]33[34]47[35]

References
  1. "Cedar Point welcomes 2016 Golden Ticket Awards" (PDF). Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2016.
  2. Kleber, John E. (2000). The Encyclopedia of Louisville. University Press of Kentucky. p. 32. ISBN 0-8131-2100-0.
  3. "Whew! What a wild ride for Kentucky Kingdom". Louisville Morning Call. Advance Publications. November 24, 1997. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  4. Marden, Duane. "Twisted Twins  (Kentucky Kingdom)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  5. Guido, Anna (February 28, 1998). "Dueling coasters offer a twist". The Enquirer. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  6. O'Brien, Tim (November 2, 1998). "Premier Converts More To Six Flags". Amusement Business. 110 (44): 3, 44.
  7. MacDonald, Brady (March 11, 2016). "Kentucky Kingdom plans to turn a defunct coaster into a jaw-dropping marvel". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 19, 2016.
  8. Marden, Duane. "Boss  (Six Flags St. Louis)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  9. "Kentucky Kingdom Rejects Lease Park to Close". RCDB. February 4, 2010. Archived from the original on September 8, 2011. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  10. "Kentucky Kingdom will not re-open until 2012". WDRB. October 28, 2010. Retrieved November 4, 2010.
  11. "Kentucky Kingdom gets a new boss". Fox 41. May 28, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  12. "New Owner Approved For Kentucky Kingdom". News Channel 5. Associated Press. May 28, 2010. Archived from the original on March 24, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  13. Karman, John R. (July 26, 2010). "Fair board strikes deal for Kentucky Kingdom property". Business First. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  14. Shafer, Sheldon S. (July 25, 2010). "Kentucky fair board OKs deal to get Six Flags land, rides". Courier Journal. Archived from the original on September 13, 2010. Retrieved November 15, 2010.
  15. Shafer, Sheldon (August 24, 2011). "Kentucky Kingdom gets boost". Courier-Journal. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
  16. Karman, John (November 4, 2011). "Company sues state to recoup Kentucky Kingdom investment". Business First. Retrieved November 4, 2011.
  17. Brown, Joey (February 23, 2012). "Kentucky Kingdom reopening as Bluegrass Boardwalk in May 2013". Wave 3 News. Retrieved February 23, 2012.
  18. Gazaway, Charles. "Tentative opening date for Bluegrass Boardwalk". Wave3.com. Retrieved October 29, 2012.
  19. "Kentucky Kingdom operators announce expansion plans for amusement park reopening in 2014". Washington Post. Associated Press. June 28, 2013. Archived from the original on December 3, 2018. Retrieved June 28, 2013.
  20. Shafer, Sheldon S. (June 27, 2013). "Kentucky Kingdom operator promises 'bigger, better, wetter' park in 2014". The Courier-Journal. Gannett Company. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  21. Roberto Roldan (July 20, 2015). "Ky. Kingdom unveils steel-wood hybrid coaster". courier-journal.com. Gannett Newspapers. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  22. MacDonald, Brady (March 11, 2016). "Kentucky Kingdom plans to turn a defunct coaster into a jaw-dropping marvel". Retrieved November 11, 2017.
  23. O'Brien, Tim (May 4, 1998). "Park preview '98". Amusement Business. 110 (18): 17–18, 20.
  24. Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  25. Marden, Duane. "Stampida  (PortAventura Park)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  26. Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results  (Dennis McNulty)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  27. Marden, Duane. "Roller Coaster Search Results  (Larry Bill)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  28. "Twisted Twins". Ultimate Rollercoaster. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  29. "Twisted Twins". Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom. Archived from the original on November 18, 2007. Retrieved June 29, 2013.
  30. Marden, Duane. "Twisted Twins  (Kentucky Kingdom)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  31. Marden, Duane. "Storm Chaser  (Kentucky Kingdom)". Roller Coaster DataBase. Retrieved July 21, 2015.
  32. "Amusement Today – Golden Ticket Awards 2016" (PDF). Amusement Today. 20 (6.2): 8. September 2016. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  33. "2016 Top 50 Steel Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  34. "2017 Top 50 Steel Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
  35. "2018 Top 50 Steel Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved September 2, 2018.
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