The coaster was plagued by extensive downtime in its first year and closed in May 1979. The towering white structure intimidated many guests as they entered the Six Flags Magic Mountain parking lot. Opened in 1978 as the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world, Colossus was the first roller coaster to feature two drops over 100 feet in height. Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain (1978-2014) Rolling Thunder and Zumanjaro likely could have coexisted, but Rolling Thunder’s age likely played a large role in the decision to close it.Ĥ. Rolling Thunder closed in September 2013 to make way for construction of Zumanjaro: Drop of Doom, a drop ride built onto the supports of Kingda Ka. In 2006, the coaster was dwarfed by the towering El Toro wooden coaster yet still remained a popular attraction among guests. Though the track lengths of both sides were the same, the height of each track’s hills varied throughout the course, offering guests two slightly different ride experiences. The racing wooden coaster, Rolling Thunder opened as the star attraction at Six Flags Great Adventure in 1979. Rolling Thunder at Six Flags Great Adventure (1979-2013) As of this posting, the land the park was built on is still largely vacant.ģ. Texas Cyclone closed along with the rest of Six Flags AstroWorld in October of 2005. But when the cost of such a massive undertaking proved to be too high, AstroWorld instead hired legendary roller coaster designer William Cobb to build a mirror replica of the coaster. The park originally planned to relocate the actual Coney Island Cyclone - then in a state of disrepair - to the Houston, Texas theme park. Texas Cyclone at Six Flags AstroWorld (1976-2005)Ī mirror image of the historic Coney Island Cyclone, Texas Cyclone opened at Six Flags AstroWorld in 1976. The following month, Carowinds announced Carolina Harbor, an expansion of its Boomerang Bay waterpark that would occupy part of the former Thunder Road site.ĭon’t miss our in-depth look at the history of Thunder Road at Carowinds.Ģ. The coaster’s last day of operation was July 26, 2015. The racing wooden coaster was unique in that it crossed the North Carolina-South Carolina state line.Ĭarowinds officials announced plans to close Thunder Road in May 2015. Summers and built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters, Inc., the racing wooden coaster’s name was derived from the 1958 Robert Mitchum film of the same name, which centered around moonshining in the Carolina mountains. Thunder Road opened at Carowinds in 1976. I sorted through the list of the 215 1970s-era roller coasters that have since closed to identify the ones that were the biggest losses for coaster fans. Of those 270, only 55 remain in operation. Still, the classic wooden coaster remained a staple, with many opening across the country.Īccording to RCDB, roughly 270 roller coasters opened in the United States from 1970 through 1979. Designers pushed the envelope as steel became a more popular track material. The 1970s were a pivotal time period for roller coasters.
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