Dragon Khan

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The riders are at the top of the biggest loop in this side view of the Dragon Khan.
The riders are at the top of the biggest loop in this side view of the Dragon Khan.

Dragon Khan is a steel sit-down roller coaster located in the PortAventura theme park in Salou, Catalonia, Spain. Dragon Khan boasts eight inversions; this was a world record when the coaster was built. This record was broken in 2002 with the opening of Colossus in Thorpe Park, United Kingdom, which has ten inversions.

The ride was built by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) in 1995 and was one of the two roller coasters that Port Aventura had when it opened. The track is red with white and pastel blue supports; the cars are green blue and purple (A third car is run at peak times only). After boarding the ride, riders climb to the top of the lift hill (148 ft high), before plummeting back down to earth and straight into a 118-ft-tall vertical loop, followed by a diving loop, a zero-G roll, and a cobra roll. Riders then get a short break at the ride's trim brakes before coming back down into a smaller vertical loop and then onto the last two inversions - the interlocking corkscrews. The ride then pulls up into the brake run before re-entering the Chinese-themed station. The track is 4165ft long and the ride's top speed is over 65mph. The ride's duration is 1 minute and 45 seconds.

The ride has a total of 3 trains each containing 7 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 28 riders per train.

The theme for this ride is based on Chinese mythology: the Dragon Khan was the reincarnated spirit of the evil Prince Hu of Beijing. His fury was unleashed each time a human dared to climb atop his back. This links in with the fact that the ride is located at the very back of the park in the Chinese themed area. Due to this ride's placement, it can be seen from anywhere inside the park, as well as from nearby hotels and the Reus airport.

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Preceded by
Shockwave
First coaster with 8 inversions
May 1995–March 2002
Succeeded by
Colossus
In other languages