What Was: Thriller
Hey all, Andrew here with another “What Was:” blog post! In this series I look into a specific roller coaster that is no longer operating and provide an analysis of it, similar to the “What is:” video series on the main channel. The coaster I will be looking at today is a legendary ride that set itself apart from those also built during the time. While it may not have broken any world records, it is a coaster that was loved by many and has operated in four countries! This coaster is the massive Schwarzkopf portable looping coaster, Thriller.
Thriller operating at a fair in Germany.
The German Fairgrounds
Thriller originally began its life as a coaster on the German fair circuit. Owned and operated by famous showman Oscar Bruch, Thriller made its debut on May 17, 1986 at a fairground in Freiburg, Germany. The coaster was designed and manufactured by Schwarzkopf and featured two distinct elements, it’s drop and first two inversions. The drop on Thriller was among the steepest in the world with some reports suggesting an angle of 70 degrees, and the twisting motion added to the thrill factor. Despite the insane drop, it was the first two inversions that made Thriller a legend. These inversions were two vertical loops that were positioned back to back, the first of which was 28 meters (92 ft.) tall with a 26.5 (87 ft.) diameter and the second being smaller at 24.7 meters (81 ft.) tall and 24.5 meters (80 ft.) in diameter. What made these loops special was the way they were designed. Schwarzkopf, known for using a more circular loop design than their competitor, Arrow Dynamics, engineered two nearly circular loops concentric with each other. What this means is that the second loop was positioned “within” the first loop. As a result, the second loop was taken immediately after the first loop, creating an incredibly intense ride experience.
Thriller’s two Concentric loops and steep drop in the back.
The max positive g-force for Thriller was a whopping 6.5 g’s, making this one of, if not the most intense coaster manufactured by Schwarzkopf. The only ride to match Thriller’s g-force was Moonsault Scramble at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan, so to many this was a never before seen experience. Due to how extreme the force was, some fairs opted to close the back car or two for rider comfort.
Now for the rides' stats, Thriller stood at a height of 33.5 meters (110 ft.) and a steep drop of 30.5 meters (100 ft.). The train reached a top speed of 86 km/h (54 mph) throughout its 996 meter (3,267 ft.) long layout. Alongside the two initial vertical loops, Thriller has an additional two loops throughout the layout. Loop three stood 17 meters (56 ft.) tall with a diameter of 13 meters (43 ft.) and loop four was 14.6 meters (48 ft.) tall with a diameter of 11 meters (36 ft.). Interestingly, loop four featured a unique exit with the track turning left as it completes the second half of the element. In addition to the inversions, the layout consisted of many highly banked turns, drops, and helices along with multiple block brakes. Due to the amount of block brakes, Thriller had five trains, each with six cars seating two rows of two riders per car. Thus allowing for 24 riders per train and a theoretical throughput of 2,800 riders per hour. It is originally reported that Thriller opened with just lap bars, but shortly after it was modified to feature shoulder pads due to the high forces. For a portable coaster, Thriller boasted impressive stats, but it came at the cost of being a relatively large ride featuring dimensions of 80 m x 33 m (262 ft. x 108 ft.) and a weight of 720 tons.
Thriller exiting the concentric loop.
Leaving the fairground
After 11 years of operating on the German fair circuit, Thriller was purchased by Grona Lund in Stockholm, Sweden for the 1997 season. The ride only operated for one season before being purchased by Six Flags, an American amusement park operator. The following year Thriller opened at Six Flags Astroworld in Houston, Texas under the name Taz’s Texas Tornado. The track and supports received a repaint to yellow and blue respectively, with the loops being different colors (loop one was white, loop two was black, loop three and four were red). Unfortunately, Taz’s Texas Tornado encountered several issues when it was at Six Flags Astroworld. Due to the extreme heat in Texas, the rides’ friction wheel lift hill faced many difficulties, resulting in long periods of downtime. A secondary anti-rollback device was added to the lift in an attempt to resolve the issues. Sadly, the ride still suffered.
Texas Tornado at Six Flags Astroworld.
The now named Texas Tornado only operated until 1999 until it remained standing but not operating from 2000 - 2002. During this time, new trains were purchased by Wieland Schwarzkopf, a company operated by Anton Schwarzkopf’s son. These new trains replaced the lap bar and shoulder pads with a bulky harness and featured a new wheel assembly. Despite the trains being purchased for Texas Tornado, the ride never opened with them. Instead Six Flags evaluated their options and decided it would be best for the coaster to operate at another property.
New trains for Texas Tornado at IAAPA 2000.
2003 saw the opening of Texas Tornado at Six Flags Marine World in Vallejo, California (Now Six Flags Discovery Kingdom) under its new name Zonga, meaning coil in Swahilii. However, Zonga experienced modifications prior to opening to the public that many say were a detriment to the ride. Six Flags hired Premier Rides to come in to modify the first two vertical loops and drop on Zonga. The changes included raising the height of the two loops by a few meters and shortening the height of the drop. In addition to the track modifications, the trains were shortened from six to five cars. These modifications were made to make the ride less intense to improve the overall experience. Zonga also got a repaint with the track being blue and the loops being yellow, green, red, and purple in that order. Despite being in California, Zonga still experienced periods of downtime and was often limited to one train operation. Reports suggest that the ride was unpleasant, with the new trains being cramped and making the transitions painful. The ride was not popular and after only two years of operation Zonga was standing but not operating from 2005 - 2006. The ride was put up for sale and was purchased by Isla San Marcos Tematico. Zonga was later replaced by Tony Hawk’s Big Spin, a Gerstlauer Spinning coaster. Now it’s land is currently home to Superman: Ultimate Flight, the original Premier Rides Sky Rocket II.
Zonga at Six Flags Marine World.
Zonga opened at Isla San Marcos Tematico in 2008 and operated as Tsunami until 2013/2014 then once again, the ride was standing but not operating. In 2016, Skyline Park in Germany reported they were interested in purchasing Tsunami and overhauling it, but financial hardship cancelled the deal. Tsunami remained in storage for three years and was ultimately scrapped in 2019.
Retrospective
Thriller was one of the most unique coasters Schwarzkopf ever created. Other coasters have gotten close to providing a similar ride experience, but Thriller was the most intense ride ever built by the company. It was an attraction designed to impress those who rode and in its early days it did just that. However, the ride proved to be too much for itself and required a lot of work to keep it running. Currently a coaster that may come close to providing a similar ride experience could be either Mindbender at Galaxyland in Edmonton, Canada or Olympia Looping on the German Fair Circuit.
As a result of its modifications, Thriller went from famous to infamous, but for the time it was in Europe, it was a legendary ride. Personally, I am not surprised to see a ride like this be removed and modified, as typically the more intense rides from this time period are the ones that have a shorter life span, but I would have loved the chance to experience it. Below is a pov from when Thriller operated in the German fair circuit. Give it a watch!
And that is all for today’s post. Thank you all for reading and I hope you enjoyed the article. Before I sign off, I’ll leave you all with a question. That simply being would you have wanted to ride Thriller? Also for those fortunate enough to have ridden it in any of its locations, what is your opinion on it?
Until next time,
- Andrew