Silver Bullet (Knott's Berry Farm)

For the roller coaster at Frontier City in Oklahoma, see Silver Bullet (Frontier City).

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Silver Bullet

Knott's Berry Farm Location Buena Park, California, USA Coordinates 33.8446699°N 118.0000057°W / 33.8446699; -118.0000057 Status Operating since December 7, 2004 Cost $16,000,000 USD Rider height 54 inch minimum
Statistics
Manufacturer	Bolliger & Mabillard
Product	Custom Inverted Coaster
Type	Steel - Inverted
Riders per train	32
Hourly capacity	1,300
Propulsion	Chain lift hill
Height	146 feet
Drop	109 feet
Top speed	55 mph
Length	3125 feet
Inversions	6
Duration	2:30
HELP

Silver Bullet is a steel inverted roller coaster located at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, USA. Opened in December 2004, is a custom Bolliger & Mabillard Inverted Coaster installation and is the first one to have an over-banked curve. It is also the first inverted rolled coaster from any manufacturer to implement magnetic brakes. At 3,125 feet long, it is also the longest inverted coaster on the West Coast. The track is filled with sand to reduce noise. It has a rare B&M maintenance orb car that allows for track inspection over Reflection Lake.

History

On May 28, 2003, Cedar Fair filed a trademark for the name Silver Bullet. On December 1, 2003, the ride was announced. The ride was constructed by COAN Construction. Silver Bullet opened on December 7, 2004.

Design

Elements
Chain lift hill Vertical loop Cobra roll Zero-g roll Corkscrew Corkscrew

The park claims the Silver Bullet has "6 and 1/2" inversions, but this is false; an over-banked curve doesn't count because it doesn't fully invert riders.

Ride experience

The ride starts with a 90 degree right turn before climbing the 150 foot chain lift hill. The signature B&M pre-drop follows, and then a 180 degree swooping 40 degree first drop follows, unusually wide for B&M rides. This is because B&M had little workspace for the drop. Riders then enter the 105 foot vertical loop and round an over-banked turn (the 'half' element marketed). Riders then speed into a cobra roll, which towers over the ride's entrance. Riders are then flipped through a zero-g roll and a helix to the left. The ride then drops down slightly, and then enters the first corkscrew, which flips over to the left. Riders then turn slightly, before entering the second corkscrew, this time to the right. The ride finale is a 450 degree helix to the left that runs up into the brake run. A small, slightly banked U-turn follows, before entering the block brakes, and finally the station.

Trains

2 trains with 8 cars per train. In each car, riders are arranged 4 across in 2 rows, for a total of 64 riders per train. Silver Bullet has a spare train, allowing it to operate at full capacity while a train is serviced.

In popular culture

• The ride features prominently along with other Knott's Berry Farm rides in the opening credits of Knocked Up, in wich many of the central characters are seen riding it. Actor Jay Baruchel has an actual fear of roller coasters; his pleas to be let off Silver Bullet as the ride pulls into the station are real.
• The ride was the second round of the discontinued Cartoon Network game-show, BrainRush, wich took place at Knott's Berry Farm and involved players completing missions on different rides.
• The ride is featured on McGraw Hill's California Algebra Readiness Textbook.
• The post-human fate of the ride is shown in the episode "Holiday Hell" of the History Channel's second season of Life After People: The Series; Silver Bullet will corrode and fall to the ground after 100 years, mainly due to the sand attracting moisture in the track.
• The ride was featured on an episode of the hit-reality competition series America's Next Top Model, which features the models having to capture a good photo for a challenge while on the ride.

Images

• 

  Silver Bullet's entrance

• 

  Silver Bullet's queue line

• 

  The cobra roll

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  The vertical loop

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  Silver Bullet's corkscrew

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  Silver Bullet's wave turn

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  The transfer track

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  Silver Bullet cobra roll

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  Silver Bullet helix

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  Silver Bullet Drop

External links

• 

  Silver Bullet on the Roller Coaster DataBase.

Articles on Knott's Berry Farm
Coasters	Present Coast Rider GhostRider HangTime Jaguar! Montezooma's Revenge Pony Express Sierra Sidewinder Silver Bullet Snoopy’s Tenderpaw Twister Coaster Xcelerator Former Boomerang Corkscrew Wacky Soap Box Racers Windjammer Surf Racers Timberline Twister
Other attractions	Present Balloon Race Calico River Rapids Dragon Swing Hat Dance High Sierra Ferris Wheel Knott's Bear-y Tales: Return to The Fair La Revolucion Linus Launcher Merry Go Round Pacific Scrambler Pig Pen's Mud Buggies Rapid River Run Sky Cabin Sol Spin Supreme Scream Surfside Gliders Timber Mountain Log Ride Wave Swinger Wipeout Woodstock's Airmail Former Camp Bus Gasoline Alley Gran Slammer Hammerhead Perilous Plunge RipTide Screamin' Swing Sky Jump VertiGo Voyage to The Iron Reef WindSeeker