Silver Bullet (Knott's Berry Farm)

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Silver Bullet

Knott's Berry Farm
Location	Buena Park, California, USA
Coordinates	33°50′41″N 118°00′00″W / 33.84467°N 118.000006°W / 33.84467; -118.000006
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

Silver Bullet is a Steel inverted roller coaster at Knott's Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, USA. Opened in December 2004, it is a custom Bolliger & Mabillard Inverted Coaster and is the first to have an over-banked curve. 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.^[1]

History

On May 28, 2003, Cedar Fair filed a trademark for the name Silver Bullet.^[2] On December 1, 2003, the ride was announced.^[3] The ride was installed by COAN Construction.^[4] Silver Bullet opened on December 7, 2004.^[5]

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. A 180-degree swooping 40-degree first drop follows, with riders then entering a 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 flipped through a zero-g roll and a helix to the left. The ride drops slightly and enters the first corkscrew, which flips over to the left. Riders turn somewhat before entering the second corkscrew, this time to the right. The ride finale is a 450-degree helix to the left that runs into the brake run. A small, 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 which many of the central characters are seen riding it. Actor Jay Baruchel fears 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 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.