Rolling Thunder (Six Flags Great Adventure)
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| Builder | Don Rosser William Cobb | ||||||||||||||||||
| Type | Wooden - Twin | ||||||||||||||||||
| Hourly capacity | 3,840 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Propulsion | Chain lift hill | ||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 96 feet | ||||||||||||||||||
| Drop | 85 feet | ||||||||||||||||||
| Top speed | 56 mph | ||||||||||||||||||
| Length | 3200 feet | ||||||||||||||||||
| Inversions | 0 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Duration | 2:10 | ||||||||||||||||||
| Rolling stock | |||||||||||||||||||
| Manufacturer | Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters | ||||||||||||||||||
| Riders per train | 24 | ||||||||||||||||||
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Rolling Thunder was a racing wooden roller coaster previously located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson, New Jersey, USA. The ride was the park's first wooden coaster and debuted in 1979 during the park's fifth anniversary season.[1]
History
Rolling Thunder opened on June 6, 1979.[2]
Trains on one of the ride's tracks were turned in reverse in 1984 and the ride was named Rednuht Gnillor (Rolling Thunder backwards).[3]
In August 2013, Six Flags Great Adventure announced Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom.[4] Rolling Thunder closed on September 8, 2013 in order for Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom's queue line to be built.
The entrance sign and queue line were reused for El Diablo, a super loop, in 2015.[5] El Diablo closed in 2018 and reopened at La Ronde as Chaos for the 2019 season.
The bottom of Rolling Thunder's first drop still exists and sits directly under El Toro.[6]
Incident
A 20-year-old park employee fell 42 feet to his death from the roller coaster on August 16, 1981.[7] The employee was reportedly riding without the safety restraint in place.
Design
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Color scheme
Trains
2 trains with 4 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows, for a total of 24 riders per train.
Images
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Backstage view of the ride
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References
- ↑ "Rolling Thunder". GreatAdventureHistory.
- ↑ "It's A Scream". Fort Worth Star-Telegram. June 7, 1979. p. 21. Retrieved March 28, 2021.
- ↑ Hitzel, Edward (1984-04-15). "Rednuht Gnillor". Press of Atlantic City. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
- ↑ "New Six Flags ride 'Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom' to feature 90-mph drop". Detroit Free Press.
- ↑ "El Diablo". Great Adventure History.
- ↑ "Six Flags Great Adventure- One Part of Rolling Thunder still stands". Insanity lurks inside. 2014-05-16. Retrieved 2022-02-28.
- ↑ "Fatal Fall Probed at Fun Park". Philadelphia Daily News. 1981-08-17. Retrieved 2025-04-28.
External links
- Rolling Thunder on the Roller Coaster DataBase.
- Left track on Coaster-Count.
- Right track on Coaster-Count.
- Rolling Thunder on sixflags.com.
