Sunday, September 18, 2011
James Smith - regular guest
Over the years Valley Hills has grown larger with new rides and attractions popping up almost everywhere. With over 40 rides and attractions, it's hard to keep up with it all. The last update focused on Flat Rides, so this update will focus on the park's 9 roller coasters. Enjoy!
Here we are again at Appalachia's premiere amusement park, Valley Hills.
It feels like forever since I last visited this park back in June.
Black Stallion, a PTC woodie, is one of the first coasters guests will run into.
The ride starts with a 109' chain lift, looming over the Que area.
The 97' drop kicks things into high gear as Black Stallion bucks through its 3,000' course.
The 55 m.p.h. journey features numerous airtime filled hills and twisted turns. Unfortunately, most of the ride is hidden in the thick backwoods, the only visible parts are from the parking lot.
Next up is IGNITION, the parks very own old-school B&M invert.
After exiting the 125.8' lift hill, riders swoop into a curved drop at approximately 60 m.p.h. into a powerful vertical loop.
Riders roar over the station in a classic, snappy, zero-g roll.
The 1-2-3 PUNCH!
One of my personal favorite elements of IGNITION, the elevated carousel spin.
Located inside Planet Snoopy is the family-friendly Cosmic Coaster.
RattleSnake, a 1977 Schwarzkopf classic.
Up the lift hill...
...and through the first vertical loop east of the Ohio River.
White Lightning, the king of coasters at Valley Hills.
This epic B&M dive machine is easily the best Valley Hills has to offer.
Riders ascend the 45°, 185', chain lift hill into the sky.
The 90° vertical drop shoots riders into a towering Immelmann inversion over the lake.
after a quick MCBR, a second near-vertical drop ensues.
This U-turn sets riders up for the second inversion...
...a barrel roll over the station.
A fun splashdown into the pond and into the second (inclined) Immelmann inversion.
A pop of airtime and a high-speed helix finale completes the 68 m.p.h. journey on White Lightning.
Snoopy's Rocket Express, located in Camp Snoopy. Installed this year by Vekoma and already seeing extensive downtime. Did the park not learn their lesson with Deja Vu?
Woodstock Express, also located in Camp Snoopy.
A fun family woodie with some nice lats.
The BIG drop!
Kanawha Railway opened with the park in 1972 as its first and only coaster.
The iconic helix leading into the midway tunnel.
Kanawha Railway's The first lift hill rises behind Music Box. I've always found this to be an extremely tight fit.
The other iconic drop into the second midway tunnel. Arrow Dynamics really took advantage of the unique obstacles with this one.
The second lift hill sends you into a double spiral before heading back into the station.
Pulse
Those twisted towers never get old, so much fun!
The sun goes down but Pulse still rockets into the sky at 65 m.p.h.
I love RatteSnake's lightning package, it blends perfectly.
The same can be said for White Lightning.
And that concludes this update.
~James Smith