Raging Bull (roller coaster)

The Raging Bull is a Bolliger & Mabillard hyper-twister steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. It was built in 1999, and features a 208-foot (63 m) first drop and top speed of 73 miles per hour (117 km/h), and is currently one of the most popular rides at Six Flags Great America. At 5,057 feet (1,541 m) in length, it is the longest roller coaster at Six Flags Great America. Raging Bull is the world's second "hyper-twister" roller coaster, after Fujiyama at Fuji-Q Highland, built by TOGO, a Japanese coaster company. It is also B&M's 2nd hypercoaster.

The ride received a fresh coat of paint for the 2008 season.

Other names considered for this ride were Stampede and The Undertaker.

Location

Raging Bull sits next to Viper, one of three wooden roller coasters in the park. The land used by Raging Bull was formerly occupied by Rolling Thunder, a bobsled which had been relocated from Six Flags Great Adventure in 1990 and was removed in 1996 to make room for Southwest Territory, which Raging Bull is a flagship attraction of, alongside Viper. The bobsled Rolling Thunder is now Alpine Bobsled at The Great Escape & Splashwater Kingdom in Queensbury, New York.

Theme

Raging Bull is named after a fictitious ferocious beast that terrorized the citizens of the old Southwest Territory until they fled the town and built the courtyard and mission seen today.

Ride Layout

The ride starts with a left turn with a small dip out of the station and on to the lift hill. At the 202 ft (62 m) peak, the ride drops a very small distance in an element known as a 'pre-drop,' 'kicker' or 'fake out' to gain momentum and also serves the purpose of an added thrill as well as helping to reduce stress on the lift chain. This element is most used on 1990s roller coasters built by Bolliger & Mabillard. After the kicker, the ride drops 208 ft (63 m), with a tunnel being at the base of the drop. The train then ascends 155 ft into a hammerhead turn to the right, passing over Viper's queue line twice. After the turn, there is a 141 ft airtime hill that has a trim brake on the way up to trim excess speed. Following that, there is an 128 ft hill which turns to the left, followed by another hammerhead turn to the left. The train then curves up 70 ft into a mid course brake run. After the brake run, the train drops back to the ground. At the base of the drop, there is an on-ride camera. Guests can purchase their photos after the ride. The train then passes over another airtime hill and then a helix. After the helix, the train then drops back to the ground and passes through another trim brake. After the brakes, the train enters a figure eight finale, in which the train curves to the left, then to the right, and to the left again, eventually sliding up onto the final brake run and coasting back to the station.

Awards

References

• Raging Bull (Six Flags Great America)

External links

• Six Flags Great America: Raging Bull