Wicked Cyclone facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Wicked Cyclone
Previously known as Cyclone (1983–2014)
Six Flags New England
Location	Six Flags New England
Park section	North End
Coordinates	42°2′25″N 72°36′56″W / 42.04028°N 72.61556°W / 42.04028; -72.61556
Status	Operating
Opening date	May 24, 2015 (2015-05-24)
Cost	US$10 million
Replaced	Cyclone
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	Rocky Mountain Construction
Designer	Alan Schilke
Model	I-Box
Track layout	Twister
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	109 ft (33 m)
Length	3,320 ft (1,010 m)
Speed	55 mph (89 km/h)
Inversions	3
Max vertical angle	78°
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)
Trains	2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train.
Wicked Cyclone at RCDB

Wicked Cyclone (formerly Cyclone) is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags New England amusement park. The ride originally opened as a wooden roller coaster named Cyclone on June 24, 1983. Its name and design were inspired by the historic 1927 Cyclone roller coaster located at Coney Island. In 2014 after 31 seasons, Cyclone was closed temporarily while being re-tracked with steel. It reopened as Wicked Cyclone on May 24, 2015.

History

In 1983, Riverside Amusement Park decided to open a wooden roller coaster named the Riverside Cyclone. The ride was the second full-sized roller coaster to open at the park since its re-opening in 1940, following the installation of Thunderbolt in 1941. The $2.5 million Riverside Cyclone was designed by William Cobb & Associates and built by the Frontier Construction Company. The ride officially opened to the public on June 25, 1983, with Cobb as well as Norm Howells from Frontier Construction in attendance. The opening of Riverside Cyclone was expected to increase park attendance by more than 10% to 1 million annual visitors.

During its first season of operation, Riverside Cyclone featured two trains from Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) where riders were restrained via a lap bar. Part-way through the first season, shoulder belts were added; however, these were removed prior to its second season. During its second season, the ride's trains were damaged, forcing the park to combine parts from both trains to form a single operational train. Two new replacement trains were purchased from D. H. Morgan Manufacturing in 1985.

A view of the original Cyclone from inside its footprint

In the late 1990s, Premier Parks (later Six Flags) purchased Riverside Amusement Park. Over a period of four years, approximately $100 million was invested in the renovation and expansion of the park, culminating in its rebranding to Six Flags New England in 2000. As a result, the Riverside branding was dropped, with the ride being renamed to the Cyclone. The D.H. Morgan Manufacturing trains were replaced with two PTC trains. The new operators made modifications to the track in 2001, shortening the first drop by between 15 and 20 feet (4.6 and 6.1 m).

A refurbishment of the Cyclone in 2014 saw Topper Track from Rocky Mountain Construction added to sections of the ride. Topper Track is steel plating that replaces the upper layers of laminated wooden track. This track style is designed to reduce the maintenance typically required for a wooden roller coaster and provide a smoother ride experience.

Conversion to steel track

In June 2014, Six Flags New England announced that Cyclone would close permanently on July 20, 2014. During its 31 seasons in operation as a wooden coaster, Cyclone was ridden by more than 15 million riders. The decision to close the ride was made over a period of one and half years. On August 28, 2014, it was announced that Cyclone would undergo a transformation into the Wicked Cyclone steel-tracked roller coaster. Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction and designed by Alan Schilke, it features a 10-story drop, speeds of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h) and the world's first Double Reversing Bank Airtime Hill. It is the first hybrid coaster on the East Coast, and the only hybrid to have a 200 degree stall and two Zero G Rolls. The ride reopened in May 2015.

Characteristics