| The Time Machine | |
| Location | Freestyle Music Park |
|---|---|
| Status | SBNO |
| Opened | May 9, 2008 |
| Type | Steel |
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 155 ft (47 m) |
| Drop | 150 ft (46 m) |
| Length | 3,738 ft (1,139 m) |
| Max speed | 65 mph (105 km/h) |
| Inversions | 6 |
| The Time Machine at RCDB | |
| Pictures of The Time Machine at RCDB | |
| Amusement Parks Portal | |
The Time Machine is a steel roller coaster that operates at Freestyle Music Park (formerly Hard Rock Park) in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. The ride, manufactured by the Swiss company Bolliger & Mabillard, opened to the public on April 15, 2008 as Led Zeppelin - The Ride during Hard Rock Park's "Sound Check" soft opening. The ride officially opened with the park on May 9, 2008.[1] The ride was temporarily closed after its inaugural season due to financial issues at Hard Rock Park. The ride reopened in 2009 as The Time Machine, but was closed yet again after its second season due to financial issues at Freestyle Music Park. It is uncertain whether The Time Machine will reopen at a different location or if Freestyle Music Park will reopen. The ride was the tallest roller coaster in the Carolinas until being surpassed in height by Intimidator at Carowinds in 2010.
Contents |
The Time Machine features six inversions: a vertical loop, a cobra roll, a zero-g roll, another vertical loop and a corkscrew after the block brake.
As the train travels the course, riders are able to listen to five different sound tracks via built-in speakers. The front of the trains were designed to resemble the shape of a zeppelin airship, which will soon be changed. The trains had eight cars, one row each and four seats across per row for a total of thirty-two seats per train.[2]
Once the train leaves the station, it goes up the chain lift on the 155-foot (47 m) hill. Then it drops a 150-foot (46 m) drop. It pulls out of the drop into the first of the coaster's vertical loops, followed by a cobra roll. Next it goes through a zero-g roll. After that is the second vertical loop, followed by a large helix. After the mid-course brakes, and another small helix, the train goes through a corkscrew and ends with a helix.
In September 2008, Hard Rock Park filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. In January 2009, the park filed for Chapter 7. In February 2009, FPI MB Entertainment LLC purchased the park and renamed it Freestyle Music Park. It officially reopened on May 23, 2009.
On May 4, 2009, the ride was renamed "The Time Machine." The new ride plays a song from each decade from the 1960s to the present with each run. The ride is being painted red to resemble a time machine from the gray it used to be.[3]
