Thunder Run (Kentucky Kingdom)
| Thunder Run | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Kentucky Kingdom | |
| Coordinates | 38°11′44″N 85°44′51″W / 38.19556°N 85.74750°WCoordinates: 38°11′44″N 85°44′51″W / 38.19556°N 85.74750°W |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | August 1990 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Wood |
| Manufacturer | Dinn Corporation |
| Designer | Curtis D. Summers, John Fetterman |
| Model | Custom |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 90 ft (27 m) |
| Drop | 74 ft (23 m) |
| Length | 2,850 ft (870 m) |
| Speed | 53 mph (85 km/h) |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Duration | 1:54 |
| Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
| Trains | Single train with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train. |
|
Thunder Run at RCDB Pictures of Thunder Run at RCDB |
|
Thunder Run is a wooden roller coaster at the Kentucky Kingdom amusement park in Louisville, Kentucky. The ride originally operated from August 1990 through to October 2009, when then-operators Six Flags abandoned the park. After remaining closed since 2009, Thunder Run reopened in May 2014 when Kentucky Kingdom reopened under new operators.
The ride was manufactured by Dinn Corporation and designed by Curtis D. Summers and John Fetterman. With 2,850 feet (870 m) of track, Thunder Run stands 90 feet (27 m) tall and features a top speed of 53 miles per hour (85 km/h).
Kentucky Kingdom opened on May 23, 1987, leasing 10 acres (4.0 ha) at the Kentucky Exposition Center property. The Texas investors who operated the park filed it for bankruptcy after only one season of operation. The Ed Hart-led Themeparks LLC firm purchased the rights to operate the park in 1989, reopening the park the following year. As part of the reopening the new operators added a collection of new rides including Thunder Run, which opened in August 1990. Early in Thunder Run's operating life, its train had derailed from the lift hill and the ride's lap bars were found to be unsafe. No injuries were reported from either incident. The original ride was retracked by Martin & Vleminckx prior to its closure in 2009.
Thunder Run operated until the end of the 2009 season on November 1. Amid a corporate bankruptcy, on February 4, 2010, Six Flags announced the park would cease operations immediately due to the rejection of an amended lease by the Kentucky State Fair Board. Many attempts were made to reopen the park under new operators. Eventually, on June 27, 2013, a group of investors led by Ed Hart negotiated an agreement to reopen the park. The group would spend $36 million to reopen the park in May 2014. Thunder Run would be part of the opening day lineup of attractions.Rocky Mountain Construction was hired to refurbish the ride, resulting in the existing wooden track to be replaced. On October 10, 2013, Kentucky Kingdom invited members of the media and amusement industry to ride the refurbished Thunder Run. The ride reopened to the public on May 24, 2014. After the 2016 season, Kentucky Kingdom announced that Thunder Run would get new trains from the Philadelphia Toboggan Company for the 2017 season. These trains would replace the ones first put into service in 1990.
...
Wikipedia