Rebel Yell (roller coaster)
| Rebel Yell | |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Rebel Yell's lift hill in 2005 | |||
| Kings Dominion | |||
| Park section | Candy Apple Grove | ||
| Coordinates | 37°50′13.5″N 77°26′41.8″W / 37.837083°N 77.444944°WCoordinates: 37°50′13.5″N 77°26′41.8″W / 37.837083°N 77.444944°W | ||
| Status | Operating | ||
| Opening date | May 3, 1975, 41 years ago[1] | ||
| General Statistics | |||
| Type | Wood – Racing | ||
| Manufacturer | Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters | ||
| Designer | John C. Allen | ||
| Track layout | Out and back | ||
| Lift/launch system | Chain | ||
| North | South | ||
| Height | 85 ft (25.9 m) | 85 ft (25.9 m) | |
| Drop | 81 ft (24.7 m) | 81 ft (24.7 m) | |
| Length | 3,368.5 ft (1,026.7 m) | 3,368.5 ft (1,026.7 m) | |
| Speed | 56 mph (90.1 km/h) | 56 mph (90.1 km/h) | |
| Inversions | 0 | 0 | |
| Duration | 2:15 | 2:15 | |
| Max vertical angle | 50° | 50° | |
| G-force | 4.2 | 4.2 | |
| Capacity | 1200 riders per hour | ||
| Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) | ||
| Trains | 4 trains with 5 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 3 rows for a total of 30 riders per train. | ||
|
Rebel Yell at RCDB Pictures of Rebel Yell at RCDB | |||
Rebel Yell is a wooden racing roller coaster located at Kings Dominion, near Doswell, Virginia, north of Richmond. It opened with the park 41 years ago in 1975.[1][2]
The ride
Rebel Yell is a racing roller coaster with two individual tracks that are parallel mirror images of each other. Its design was inspired by the Racer at sister park Kings Island near Cincinnati, which opened three years earlier in 1972. In turn, Rebel Yell's design was the basis for Thunder Road at Carowinds, near Charlotte, which has an identical layout.
There is one red and one blue train on each side for a total of two trains on each side. When only running one train on each side, an effort is made to run a train of each color. There are often fun spirited arguments on the lift hill about which train is better.
The Rebel Yell received the ACE Coaster Landmark award on June 20, 2003.[3]
History
- When opened in 1975, the tracks ran parallel to Lake Charles, a large man-made lake on the northwest corner of Kings Dominion. Two-thirds of the lake was drained in the early 1990s, when the space was needed for construction of the water park. (Anaconda still runs over and under the remainder of the lake) Rebel Yell now splits the water park in half with a walkway running under it.
- The trains on one side of Rebel Yell were turned to face backward from 1992 until 2007. Beginning in 2008, both trains were faced forward again so that the ride operates under the train manufacturer's specifications.
- The ride was named for the historic Rebel Yell, a battle cry used by Confederate soldiers during the Civil War. At the end of the ride, the trains pass through a tunnel that reverberates with a sound that resembles screaming.
- Rebel Yell was featured in the 1977 movie Rollercoaster.[4][5]
- Portions of the ride were re-tracked for the 2010 season.
- Seat dividers and individual lap bars were added in the early 1990s.
- For the park's 40th anniversary in 2014, the coaster was repainted the original color scheme (red, white, & blue) and the similarly colored "chaser" lights were restored to the north side of the coaster. Additionally, many of the trains front cars were restored to the original, script-style logo.
Incidents
On the morning of August 28, 2010, a rider on Rebel Yell suddenly found the safety restraint lap bar failing on the far end of the track, forcing them to hold on for the remainder of the ride, fearful of being ejected. As a safety precaution, the ride was closed for 3 days whilst technicians investigated the restraint system on the ride. An internal review by park officials later determined that the ride's staff on that morning had failed to follow park procedures for ensuring that the rider was properly secured before the ride.
References
- 1 2 "Big day arrives for Kings Dominion". Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. May 3, 1975. p. 2.
- ↑ "$90 million parks built in Virginia". Kentucky New Era. Hopkinsville. June 30, 1975. p. 9.
- ↑ ACE Coaster Landmark Awards
- ↑ Jones, Edward (September 18, 1976). "Movie makings". Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. Town & Country magazine. p. 7.
- ↑ Jones, Edward (June 7, 1977). "Up and down, up...". Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg, Virginia. p. 1.