Dragon's Run facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Dragon's Run |
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| Previously known as Time Machine and Led Zeppelin: The Ride | |
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View of most of the Dragon's Run layout when it was Time Machine
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| Dragon Park Ha Long | |
| Coordinates | 20°57′15″N 107°02′52″E / 20.954139°N 107.047806°E |
| Status | Operating |
| Opening date | January 25, 2017 |
| Freestyle Music Park | |
| Coordinates | 33°42′55″N 78°56′08″W / 33.715335°N 78.935674°W |
| Status | Relocated to Dragon Park Ha Long |
| Soft operation date | April 15, 2008 |
| Opening date | May 9, 2008 |
| Closing date | September 27, 2009 |
| General statistics | |
| Type | Steel |
| Manufacturer | Bolliger & Mabillard |
| Model | Sitting Coaster |
| Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
| Height | 155 ft (47 m) |
| Drop | 150 ft (46 m) |
| Length | 3,738 ft (1,139 m) |
| Speed | 65 mph (105 km/h) |
| Inversions | 6 |
| Height restriction | 54 in (137 cm) |
| Trains | 8 cars. Riders are arranged 4 across in a single row for a total of 32 riders per train. |
 Must transfer from wheelchair |
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| Dragon's Run at RCDB | |
Dragon's Run is a steel roller coaster manufactured by Swiss engineers Bolliger & Mabillard and located at Dragon Park Ha Long in Vietnam. The coaster was relocated from Freestyle Music Park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, where it last operated as Time Machine. The ride originally opened to the public on April 15, 2008, under the name Led Zeppelin: The Ride as one of the main attractions at Hard Rock Park. As a result of financial difficulties, Hard Rock Park closed after five months of operation. The park re-opened in 2009 with new owners and a new name, but closed at the end of the season. Most of the rides and attractions have been removed from the grounds.
History
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Plans for a Hard Rock-themed amusement park were released in 2003; at the time, however, funding and licensing agreements had yet to be finalized. By 2006, a licensing agreement with the Hard Rock franchise was reached. Hard Rock Park was announced in early 2007. The park's flagship attraction, "Led Zeppelin – The Ride", would be a Bolliger & Mabillard sit-down roller coaster themed for the English rock band of the same name. By July 2007 construction for the ride was underway, with the lift hill completed.
"Led Zeppelin – The Ride" soft-opened to the public on April 15, 2008, with the first seats auctioned for charity. The ride's official opening was on May 9, 2008. During operation, the coaster would play Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love" through an on-board audio system. In September 2008, Hard Rock Park filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to the inability to pay its debts. Its owners later filed for bankruptcy under Chapter 7, allowing them to sell the park.
In February 2009, FPI MB Entertainment purchased the park. As part of the acquisition it was renamed Freestyle Music Park, with all licensed themes removed. "Led Zeppelin – The Ride" was renamed "The Time Machine", with the on-board audio a selection of songs from the 1960s to the 2000s. The new park officially opened on May 23, 2009; however, the fate of Freestyle Music Park was similar to that of its predecessor and the park closed in September 2009. The coaster remained standing but not operating for almost five years.
The ride was posted for sale on www.italintl.com included in a bundle of components of the former Freestyle Music Park. In 2014 Time Machine was purchased by what was then a new, unnamed park under construction in Vietnam. On August 21, 2014, cranes had been set up next to the Time Machine to begin the process of dismantling, and elements of the finale had already been removed.
On January 25, 2017, the ride opened as Dragon's Run at the new Dragon Park Ha Long in Vietnam.
Characteristics
The Time Machine featured six inversions over the 3,738-foot-long (1,139 m) ride, including two vertical loops, a cobra roll, a zero-g roll and a corkscrew. Riders reached a top speed of 65 miles per hour (105 km/h). Throughout the ride, passengers could listen to five different soundtracks over speakers built into the trains. The trains had eight single-row cars, seating riders four across for a total of thirty-two seats per train.
Ride
_(9).JPG) _(5).JPG) Trains navigating the cobra roll (left) and zero-g roll (right)
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After the train left the station, it climbed the 155-foot-tall (47 m) chain lift hill. It then dropped 150 feet (46 m) before entering the first 120-foot-tall (37 m) vertical loop. This was followed by a 95-foot-tall (29 m) cobra roll and a 75-foot-tall (23 m) zero-g roll. A second, smaller vertical loop would lead the train into a large helix before the mid-course brake run. The ride then dropped into another small helix before navigating through a corkscrew. A third helix followed before the train slowed in the final brake run and returned to the station.
