Viper (Six Flags Great America)

Viper is a wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois, which opened in 1995. Viper features a layout that is a mirror image of the Coney Island Cyclone and is the only roller coaster ever to be built directly by Six Flags. Viper is also the only wooden roller coaster that has ever carried this name, (all the other Viper roller coasters, both operating and not, have been steel roller coasters).

Overview

Throughout the years, Viper's queue has undergone numerous modifications to accommodate additions such as Raging Bull and the entrance to the adjacent Hurricane Harbor water park. Unlike most Cyclone clones, Viper provides a much smoother ride than the original Cyclone.

During its first year of operation, Viper's entrance was located in Hometown Square. With the opening of Southwest Territory in 1996, Viper was officially made part of Southwest Territory, where it is today.

Ride experience

Riders enter Viper from Southwest Territory. After winding through an outdoor queue passing under parts of Raging Bull, guests enter the station and board the 30 passenger PTC trains. These trains are exactly the same as the trains on The American Eagle, however, painted green to resemble a snake.

Layout

Upon leaving the station, trains make a slight left hand turn, followed by a straight segment of track. This leads into another left hand turn and trains then climb the 100-foot-tall (30 m) lift hill. At the top, the track drops at a 53-degree angle, before rising into a right hand first turn around. This turn around leads to a sharp second drop, before rising over another hill, and passing through a left hand second turn around. The second turn around has a double down element as riders descend another drop into the wooden structure. The ride makes another out and back run, and after the final turn around, hits the brake run, ending the ride.

Viper's overall layout is a mirror image of the Coney Island Cyclone, however, the approach to the lift hill is much longer and the final turn leads into a straight brake run leading directly into the station. The second turn around also is a direct gradual ascent, peaking at the middle, before leading into a double down drop.

Awards

Incidents

On June 25, 1997 a 14-year-old Waukegan boy injured his arm while dangling it outside the car. His limb got caught between the car and the platform as the ride reentered the station and slowed to a stop.^[2]

See also

• Georgia Cyclone, a wooden roller coaster at Six Flags Over Georgia, also a mirror image version of the Coney Island Cyclone.
• Texas Cyclone, at the defunct Six Flags Astroworld, also was a mirror image of the Coney Island Cyclone.
• Psyclone, at Six Flags Magic Mountain, was a mirror image of Viper, the Georgia Cyclone, and Texas Cyclone, and demolished in 2007.

References