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Steel roller coaster in Kentucky

Wind Chaser

Wind Chaser

Key facts

instance ofroller coaster
countryUnited States
located in the administrative territorial entityKentucky
All data from the card 23
Location
Kentucky Kingdom
Park section
Discovery Meadow
Coordinates
38°11′45″N 85°45′01″W / 38.1958°N 85.7503°W
Status
Operating
Soft opening date
April 28, 2016
Opening date
April 30, 2016
Cost
$10 million
Replaced
Twisted Twins
Type
Steel
Manufacturer
Rocky Mountain Construction
Designer
Alan Schilke
Model
I-Box – Custom
Lift/launch system
Chain lift hill
Height
100 ft (30 m)
Length
2,744 ft (836 m)
Speed
52 mph (84 km/h)
Inversions
3
Duration
1:40
Max vertical angle
78°
Capacity
960 riders per hour
G-force
3.8
Height restriction
48 in (122 cm)
Trains
2 trains with 6 cars; riders arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train

Wind Chaser is a steel roller coaster located at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Designed by Alan Schilke and manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) at an estimated cost of $10 million, the ride opened to the public on April 30, 2016. It features three inversions, a 78-degree drop, and a maximum speed of 52 mph (84 km/h) utilizing RMC's patented I-Box track technology.

Originally manufactured by Custom Coasters International, the ride first opened as a wooden dueling coaster named Twisted Sisters in 1998. After American heavy metal band Twisted Sister threatened to sue the park, the name was changed to Twisted Twins in 2002. It closed indefinitely in 2007, and its future became uncertain after Kentucky Kingdom ceased operations after the 2009 season.

RMC was hired to refurbish the ride as Storm Chaser for the 2016 season, two years after the park reopened in 2014. As a budgetary measure, some of the supports from Twisted Twins were reused. It was nominated for "Best New Ride For 2016", an Amusement Today Golden Ticket Award, placing second behind Dollywood's Lightning Rod.

For the 2025 season, the area around Storm Chaser was converted into a new themed area, Discovery Meadow, prompting the ride's renaming to Wind Chaser.

History

In September 1997, operation rights for Kentucky Kingdom were sold by Themeparks LLC to Premier Parks for $64 million. Weeks after the deal was finalized in November 1997, the new operators announced plans to build a $5-million dueling roller coaster, called Double Trouble, in time to open during the 1998 season. The name was later changed to Twisted Sisters prior to the ride's opening. Following the purchase of Six Flags by Premier Parks in June 1998, the park was rebranded as Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.

In 2002, the heavy metal band Twisted Sister threatened the park with legal action regarding the name of the roller coaster. To avoid a lawsuit, the park changed the ride's name to Twisted Twins. It operated under that name until the end of the 2007 season when the park closed the ride indefinitely, and the Gerstlauer trains were relocated to Six Flags St. Louis to be used as spare parts for The Boss, another Custom Coasters International ride with Gerstlauer trains.

Amid corporate bankruptcy on February 4, 2010, Six Flags announced that the park would cease operations immediately following the rejection of an amended lease by the Kentucky State Fair Board. Former operator of Kentucky Kingdom, Ed Hart, along with several other investors formed the Kentucky Kingdom Redevelopment Company with the aim of reopening the park quickly. However, plans were abandoned after sixteen months of negotiations. On February 23, 2012, the Kentucky Fair Board approved a lease agreement which would see the park operate as Bluegrass Boardwalk. The plans called for the removal of Twisted Twins and T2 as a result of safety concerns.

On June 27, 2013, Ed Hart's group negotiated an agreement to spend $36 million to reopen the park in May 2014. They also announced plans to transform Twisted Twins into "a much superior ride" and hoped to reopen it in 2016. Rocky Mountain Construction was eventually hired to refurbish the roller coaster with their patented IBox track design. In July 2015, Kentucky Kingdom announced plans to name the renovated ride Storm Chaser and open it during the 2016 season. The estimated cost for the new ride was $10 million.

After acquiring Kentucky Kingdom in 2021, Herschend Family Entertainment announced an $11 million investment into creating the Discovery Meadow land at the park for the 2025 season. This area would incorporate Storm Chaser, renaming it to Wind Chaser. After a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 8, 2025, Discovery Meadow debuted alongside the newly renamed Wind Chaser as the park opened for the 2025 season on May 10.

Characteristics

Twisted Twins, prior to reconfiguration into Wind Chaser
Twisted Twins, prior to reconfiguration into Wind Chaser

Twisted Twins

In its original form, Twisted Twins was a dueling roller coaster, which featured two roller coaster tracks that departed from opposite ends of a single station. The two tracks followed different paths, passing by each other four times. Despite this, both tracks measured 3,000 feet (910 m) in length, stood 80 feet (24 m) tall, and featured top speeds of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h). The ride was the only dueling roller coaster manufactured by Custom Coasters International, and was one of only two dual-tracked roller coasters manufactured by the company (Stampida at PortAventura Park is a racing roller coaster). The ride was designed by Dennis McNulty and Larry Bill, a duo responsible for many of the company's roller coasters. Construction of Twisted Twins was completed by Martin & Vleminckx.

A single train, manufactured by Gerstlauer, ran on each of the tracks. These two trains were named Stella and Lola, respectively. Each train seated 28 riders across seven cars configured in two rows of two. These trains required riders to be of a minimum height of 48 inches (120 cm).

Wind Chaser

According to park officials, Wind Chaser utilized some components of Twisted Twins' structure as a budgetary feature, but is otherwise a completely new experience. Wind Chaser utilized Rocky Mountain's IBox steel track system to create a ride experience that has the smoothness of a steel coaster with the faster pace of a wooden coaster. The new track also allows the train to perform inversions, something not normally seen on wooden roller coasters.

Comparison

Statistic Twisted Twins (Twisted Sisters) Wind Chaser (Storm Chaser)
Years 1998-2007 2016–
Manufacturer Custom Coasters International Rocky Mountain Construction
Designer Dennis McNulty, Larry Bill Alan Schilke
Track Type Wood Steel
Track Layout Dueling Out and back
Height 80 ft or 24 m 100 ft or 30 m
Drop Unknown Unknown
Length 3,000 ft or 910 m 2,744 ft or 836 m
Speed 55 mph or 89 km/h 52 mph or 84 km/h
Max vertical angle Unknown 78°
G-force 3.2 3.8
Capacity Unknown 960 riders per hour
Duration 2:12 1:40
Inversions 0 2
Trains Gerstlauer Rocky Mountain Construction

Ride experience

Wind Chaser's corkscrew inversion
Wind Chaser's corkscrew inversion

Wind Chaser departs the station and makes a U-turn to the right to start up its lift hill. After cresting the top of the lift, the train banks left and enters a barrel-roll drop back down to ground level, followed by an airtime hill and an overbanked left-hand turn that leaves the train partially upside down for a short time. Wind Chaser then climbs another hill and banks right before turning to the left and heading back in the opposite direction and rounding an overbanked turn to the right.

The train crests another airtime hill before banking right and entering the final inversion, a corkscrew. Exiting the corkscrew and banking to the left, Wind Chaser passes over a series of camelback hills where the banking varies from side to side. The train then enters a 270-degree banked helix to the right, then rises to the left before entering the final brake run and returning to the station.

Reception

1998–2007: Wood

The ride did not earn any placements in the Golden Ticket Awards' Top 50 wooden coasters during this time.

2016–present: Steel

Golden Ticket Awards: Best New Ride for 2016
Ranking
2
Golden Ticket Awards: Top steel Roller Coasters
Year 1998 1999
Ranking – –
Year 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
Ranking – – – – – – – – – –
Year 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019
Ranking – – – – – – 28 33 47 –
Year 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 2025 2026
Ranking N/A – – – – – –

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Text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source article