Thunderbird (Holiday World)
Thunderbird is a steel roller coaster located in the Thanksgiving section of Holiday World & Splashin' Safari in Santa Claus, Indiana. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened to the public on April 25, 2015, as the eighth Wing Coaster in existence and the fourth in the United States. Thunderbird launches at maximum speeds of in 3.5 seconds, and features a vertical loop, the tallest on any Wing Coaster. It was the first launched Wing Coaster in the United States, and it would remain the only one until the 2025 opening of Rapterra at Kings Dominion.
History
On July 24, 2014, Holiday World announced that a new steel roller coaster would be added to the park's ride lineup for the 2015 season. The Wing Coaster, to be called Thunderbird, would become the park's first major steel coaster, as well as the first launched Wing Coaster in the United States. It would feature four inversions, including a Immelmann loop, a vertical loop, a zero-g roll, and an in-line twist. Another notable aspect mentioned during the unveiling was the pre-show that occurs prior to launch, consisting of fog, lighting, and sound effects, all to simulate a thunderstorm.The track and supports began arriving at the park the following week. By October, the first two inversions were topped off. The new trains were on display during the 2014 IAAPA Expo. The track construction was completed by early December 2014.
Thunderbird officially opened to the public on April 25, 2015. Prairie Farms Dairy released an ice cream flavor called "Thunderbird" to advertise the new ride, consisting of vanilla ice cream with caramel and roasted pecans.
Ride experience
After loading in the station, the train moves forward and briefly stops. Mist blows in front of the train and thunder sounds as the train launches from 0 to in 3.5 seconds by linear synchronous motors. The train immediately enters a Immelmann loop. Following the Immelmann loop, the train then descends its first drop into a vertical loop. After the vertical loop, the train crosses over the valley between The Voyage's second and third hills, traverses an overbanked turn, and then goes through an overbanked elevated spiral. The train then goes through a zero-g roll. After several curves next to The Voyage's triple-down drop and "spaghetti bowl", the train dips down into a barn, where it then curves left back into the barn via an in-line twist. Once the in-line twist ends, the train enters the brake run and returns to the station. A full cycle of the ride lasts about 1 minute and 18 seconds.Characteristics
Location
Thunderbird is located in the Thanksgiving section of the park alongside The Voyage, and it runs parallel with and crosses over The Voyage twice.PGAV Destinations was the theming designer for Thunderbird. The designers took the Thunderbird name and coaster design and created a visual theme of the legendary bird's powerful flight through farms and forests of southern Indiana.