Rampage (roller coaster)

Rampage is a wooden roller coaster located at Alabama Splash Adventure in Bessemer, Alabama. Manufactured by Custom Coasters International, the ride opened to the public on May 23, 1998. On March 15, 2014, shortly after an announcement that the park had been purchased by Koch Family Parks of Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, new management announced that the roller coaster would be refurbished. It reopened for the 2015 season.

Rampage
Alabama Splash Adventure
LocationAlabama Splash Adventure
Coordinates33.37919°N 86.996902°W / 33.37919; -86.996902
StatusOperating
Opening dateMay 23, 1998 (1998-05-23)
Cost$4,300,000
General statistics
TypeWood
ManufacturerCustom Coasters International
DesignerLarry Bill, Dennis McNulty
Track layoutTerrain twister
Lift/launch systemChain lift hill
Height120 ft (37 m)
Drop102 ft (31 m)
Length3,500 ft (1,100 m)
Speed56 mph (90 km/h)
Duration2:36
Capacity900 riders per hour
Height restriction48 in (122 cm)
Rampage at RCDB
Pictures of Rampage at RCDB

History

Construction of the coaster would commence in the fall of 1997,[1] and the ride would celebrate its topping out ceremony on December 2, 1997.[2] The name Rampage was selected as the winner of a name that ride contest in December 1997.[3] The Rampage moniker was submitted by local Pleasant Grove High School student Eric C. Avery with Scorpion's Tail and Jaguar coming in second and third place, respectively.[3] The ride's opening would coincide with the opening of VisionLand on May 23, 1998.[4] Rampage was received well and would be rated as the 3rd best wooden coaster and the 5th best overall coaster by Amusement Business in December 1998.[5]

After a successful first year, the park saw a significant drop in attendance, resulting in the shuttering of the coaster for the 2002 season.[6] Following the sale of the park to Southland Entertainment Group, Rampage was renovated by John Hinde Enterprises and reopened for the 2003 season.[7]

Rampage gave its last public ride in 2011, before being shut down for four years. In spring 2012, Alabama Adventure was sold to a new management that chose to focus only on the water park. In the spring of 2014, the park was sold to its current operator, Koch Family Parks. The new owners announced a five-year plan to re-open Alabama Splash Adventure with a refurbished "Rampage" coaster as its centerpiece in 2015.[8] The ride re-opened to the public on May 23, 2015.

Track layout

The ride features a 120-foot (37 m) lift hill with a 102-foot (31 m) first drop.[2] It reaches a top speed of 56-mile-per-hour (90 km/h).[2] The ride features 9 crossovers and 13 curves and was built for US$4.3 million.[9] The ride layout is largely based on Megafobia at Oakwood Theme Park in Pembrokeshire, Wales, United Kingdom, which was also built by Custom Coasters.

Trains

Rampage currently operates with one train from Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters. The train is made up of six cars, with each car seating four people (twenty-four riders total).

When the ride opened, one train was painted solid blue and the other solid maroon. Each had the VisionLand logo on the front of the train. When Southland took over in 2003, the trains received new paint jobs. The former blue train was changed to a pattern with three shades of blue, with the shades getting lighter toward the back of the train. There were airbrushed lightning bolts on the sides of the cars, with a monster eye and claw and the Rampage logo on the front of the train. The maroon train was painted with the first two cars red, the middle two orange, and the back two yellow. It had airbrushed flames on the sides and two red monsters eyes under the Rampage logo on the front.

For the 2008 season the park repainted the "fire" train solid red. The "lightning" train was also painted dark blue. During this season the park ran both trains on busy days for the first time since the 2005 season.

After re-opening for the 2015 season, the sole train was painted red with a red Rampage stylized logo on the front car.

Trivia

Rampage opened the same day as another CCI coaster, Shivering Timbers at Michigan's Adventure.

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See also

Awards
Golden Ticket Awards: Top steel Roller Coasters
Year199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018
Ranking 17[10]3[11]4[12]7[13]10[14]15[15]13[16]17[17]15[18]27[19]20 (tie)[20]28[21]33[22]32[23]N/A[24]N/A[25]N/A[26]28[27]37[28]21[29]30 (tie)[30]

References
  1. Pierce, Phil (September 21, 1997). "Visionland coming into focus". Birmingham News. p. 13A.
  2. Pierce, Phil (December 3, 1997). "High, long and fast: VisionLand's roller coaster reached pinnacle". Birmingham News. p. 1A.
  3. Gordon, Robert K. (December 16, 1997). "VisionLand's roller coaster: 'Rampage'". Birmingham News. p. 1B.
  4. Williams, Roy L. (May 14, 1998). "State tourism expected to record $5 billion". Birmingham News. p. 1B.
  5. Pierce, Phil (December 15, 1998). "Rampage placed in top 5 coasters". Birmingham News. p. 1B.
  6. Gordon, Robert K. (May 31, 2002). "VisionLand water park gets money to open, Bankruptcy filing is planned for next week". Birmingham News. p. 1B.
  7. Tomberlin, Michael (March 1, 2003). "VisionLand targets May reopening". Birmingham News. p. 1B.
  8. Tomberlin, Michael (March 16, 2014). "Koch Family has five-year plan to take Splash Adventure to new heights". Birmingham News. p. 1A.
  9. Staff Reporters (July 26, 1998). "Rampage". Birmingham News. p. 1J.
  10. "Top 25 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 7B. August 1998. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  11. "Top 25 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 7B. August 1999. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  12. "Top 25 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. August 2000. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  13. "Top 25 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 7B. August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  14. "Top 25 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 7B. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  15. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 14–15B. September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  16. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 18–19B. September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2007. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  17. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 26–27B. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  18. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 26–27B. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  19. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 11 (6.2): 36–37. September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  20. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 12 (6.2): 36–37. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  21. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 13 (6.2): 32–33. September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  22. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 14 (6.2): 34–35. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  23. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 15 (6.2): 38–39. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  24. "Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 36–37. September 2012. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  25. "2013 Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 17 (6.2): 34–35. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  26. "2014 Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2): 46–47. September 2014. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  27. "2015 Top 50 steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (6.2): 49–50. September 2015. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  28. "2016 top 50 steel roller coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  29. "2017 Top 50 Steel Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
  30. "2018 Top 50 Steel Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved September 12, 2017.
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