Today marks the official grand opening of Time Traveler, Silver Dollar City's brand new roller coaster. The ride is billed by the theme park as the "world’s fastest, steepest and tallest complete-circuit spinning roller coaster," and represents a massive investment in Silver Dollar City by owner Herschend Family Entertainment. Time Traveler is a unique spinning roller coaster, designed by Mack Rides, which features a large initial drop along with two separate launch sections. More than two years were spent in the planning and construction of the $26 million attraction.
Time Traveler begins with the vertical plunge that is seen above, right out of the station - which is perched on the side of one of the park's many hills. The drop is 100 feet high and has a true vertical, 90 degree drop that gets the cars moving at 50.3 miles per hour. The cars use a controlled spin that starts as they move out the station, so riders may encounter this drop both forward, backward, and every way in between.
Immediately after the drop Time Traveler's trains head into a dive loop, the first of the coaster's three inversions.
Soon after the ride's first launch takes place after a brief pause. That launch uses linear synchronous motors to send the train along at 47 miles per hour, through a large overbank turn, then down into the second inversion - a 95 foot tall vertical loop. Before the end of the ride Time Traveler heads through another LMS launch of 45 miles per hour, a zero-g roll and plenty of twists and turns.
The controlled spinning nature of the cars means that no two rides on Time Traveler will ever be exactly the same, giving fans of the coaster a reason to ride over and over. “This coaster’s state-of-the-art controlled spin provides riders a
unique thrill experience while still appealing to families,” said Brad
Thomas, President of Silver Dollar City Attractions.
According to Silver Dollar City, Christian von Elverfeldt, CEO of Mack Rides, was on site for the grand opening of Time Traveler. “The car is the most advanced roller coaster car in the industry, featuring a free-spinning rotation on a launched roller coaster,” said von Elverfeldt. “For the utmost comfort, an on-board magnetic brake limits the rotation speed to allow the most enjoyable ride experience.”
Silver Dollar City was careful to preserve as much of the beautiful mountainside as possible, and planted two or three trees for each one that had to be removed for the ride. The first drop plunges riders down into the mountainous terrain, and the track then weaves and twists through the mountainside. In total the twisted layout crosses over itself 14 times from start to finish.
If you want a preview of what a ride on Time Traveler is like before you head out to ride, check out this point of view video that the theme park released:
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