fraroc Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 1986 Absolutely no time was wasted on construction once the expansion for Riverwood Zoo was confirmed....By opening day in 1986, The new area, SafariVille was more than ready for park patrons! The main draw for SafariVille was the acquisition of two absolutely gorgeous lions that were rescued from another zoo that was shut down due to animal mistreatment. Richard Riverwood jumped at the chance to give these beautiful creatures a new home! The giraffes were also given a new, and much larger home after the original giraffe habitat was removed to make way for this expansion. They're definitely much happier in this brand new habitat! In addition to the lions, two smaller animal exhibitions were built at Riverwood Zoo. Insect House and Nocturnal House both house animals in their respective environments. In the Nocturnal House, you can see animals that are only known to come out at night...Opossums, raccoons, hedgehogs, wombats, and owls... Of course, what's a nocturnal exhibit without that one flying animal that everybody associates the word "nocturnal" with? BATS. the top of the building houses and absolutley massive habitat home to 45 bats. Don't worry if you're afraid of bats, there is no way they can come down and bite you! The part where people go into is protected by two inches of glass...and besides, all the bats were given vaccinations. The Insect House is home to many different types of insect and arachnid... Here, you can see all different types of creepy-crawlies...giant millipedes, scorpions, wasps, tarantulas, grasshoppers, butterflies, moths... Don't worry, just like the bats, the spiders won't get you either! Also included in the zoo expansion....was a kiddie ride. The Dino-Go-Round. This would have been a good addition if Riverwood Zoo was just a normal, freestanding zoo with no other attractions nearby...however there is just one teensy problem I have with this ride.... Who thought it was a good idea to add a freakin' kiddie ride to a zoo that is a part of a large, sprawling amusement park with many different rides and roller coasters? I mean, to the right of the zoo, there is nothing BUT rides! But hey, I didn't make the decision... Speaking of rides...around mid-1986, rumors started to fly again...This time, rumors were about the possibility that Riverwood Theme Park might be getting the second of the three proposed roller coasters for the 1980s! I don't want to give away too much....but lets just leave it at this....Come next year, this particular view of Riverwood Theme Park will look a HELL of a lot different! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blk_mamba Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Let the speculation begin. Good update. The zoo is expanding almost as quickly as the other side of park. The park has already committed to 3 new coasters in the 1980? Wow very aggressive expansion. lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDawg Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Maybe it's a 7000 foot, suspended, wooden, looping Vekoma, that launches at 500 mph! Just kidding, not sure what it'll be but I'm sure it will be good! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraroc Posted August 25, 2015 Author Share Posted August 25, 2015 1986 Around late in the 1986 season, fencing was put up around parts of the Snakepit, including Steel Sidewinder's queue to conceal the fact that track for their new steel roller coaster, due to open in 1987, had arrived at the construction site. There is no denying it....This is definitely Arrow-style track... Steel Sidewinder.....it's time to meet your new "little" brother Stay tuned for more! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blk_mamba Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 Looks like your park is getting alot of love form arrow Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SFNE Fan Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 It's a hypercoaster, because he mentioned he rode his first one at this park in the beginning. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyRCT3 Posted August 26, 2015 Share Posted August 26, 2015 It's great to know RTP takes care of their animals by giving their Giraffe's more room to roam. I like the inclusion of the nocturnal house, it really adds depth to the Zoological side by showing the smaller creatures of earth too. The Dino Go Round caught me off guard, it is indeed quite odd a location for such a ride. Maybe this could spell more rides on the Zoological side in the future? If so, there could possibly be ride interactions like the one below in the future. Anyways, that red arrow track loos interesting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraroc Posted August 30, 2015 Author Share Posted August 30, 2015 1987 The time has come.....to unveil the new scream machine for Riverwood Theme Park... A serpent so vile, so dangerous and fearsome that the mere mention of it strikes fear in people's hearts.... New for 1987: COBRA Cobra is a medium sized-to-large Arrow Dynamics custom looping roller coaster. This coaster, alongside Viper at Darien Lake and Fireball at Tennessee's Great America, is considered to be a precursor to the "big three" Arrow loopers (Shockwave at Six Flags Great America, Great American Scream Machine at Six Flags Great Adventure, and Viper at Six Flags Magic Mountain.) The coaster reaches a top height of 128 feet with a 117 foot drop, making the trains reach a top speed of 58mph, which at the time was the fastest of any coaster at RTP! After a large turnaround and second drop, the train travels through two consecutive and forceful loops! Up next is the most unique element of the coaster, instead of a Batwing inversion like most Arrow loopers have, Cobra features a "Bowtie" inversion, the likes of which has only been seen on one coaster, Dragon Mountain in MarineLand in Canada. Thus making Cobra's bowtie the only one to date in the United States. The final inversion occurs after the Mid-Course Brake Run, a simple, yet thrilling corkscrew. But the ride isn't over yet! After the corkscrew comes a large helix that hugs one of the coaster's huge support structures, causing a "headchopper" effect! The grand finale is a small dip which goes right into the final drop of the coaster before turning around and heading to the final brake run... It was quite an odd decision on the park's to position Cobra right next to Steel Sidewinder...However many people found it to be quite interesting to see a larger and a smaller counterpart in the Snakepit area. As if Cobra is the big brother and Steel Sidewinder is the little brother (despite being older)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seemslegit Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Does this mean maybe the removal of Steel Sidewinder in the near future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyRCT3 Posted August 30, 2015 Share Posted August 30, 2015 Another arrow looper was unexpected, but Cobra does look impressive and a big step up from Steel Sidewinder. I like how there are twin bunny hills in front of the twin loops, that's quite clever and unique. The helix around the support structure would be a crazy experience with the constant head-choppers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFancyPants Posted August 31, 2015 Share Posted August 31, 2015 Nice coaster. But I reckon you shouldn't be using SteelWorx for the loop supports. I suggest using Safari's Arrow Pack for those, since they look much more realistic. Also I find it a bit awkward to make Steel Sidewinder entirely obsolete within only 7 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraroc Posted September 2, 2015 Author Share Posted September 2, 2015 1987 With the success that the Arrow corkscrew, Steel Sidewinder brought to the park, it was only natural for Richard Riverwood to consult with Arrow Dynamics again to build a larger, faster, and loopier Arrow sit-down looping coaster...Of course, the result was Cobra....He had some pretty high expectations for this coaster, so let's all see if it lived up to them. Judging from how absolutely massive the line is to get on.....It did! Another full house about to leave! One of the more unique aspects to Cobra is a curved ascent before the chain lift, similar to that of SooperDooperLooper at Hersheypark. For that curve, the train is powered by a pneumatic friction wheel system. Other than the inversions, the ride is also known for it's various headchoppers! The on-ride camera system was strategically placed on a headchopper so that everyone can see themselves freak out over it after the ride is done! The bowtie inversion has been described as very forceful and intense. Despite the fact that Steel Sidewinder was rendered obsolete, it still gets a lot of attention...In fact, it's even regained new life as a good starter/intermediate coaster for kids who don't want to ride kiddie rides anymore, but aren't quite ready for scream machines like Serpent and Cobra. Arrow's first coaster at the park, River Rush still gets a lot of love as a family-friendly coaster! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraroc Posted September 7, 2015 Author Share Posted September 7, 2015 1988 The instant success of Cobra at Riverwood Theme Park brought in another massive amount of revenue for the park....In 1988, half of the huge sum of money was used for general improvements, a small expansion, and a new ride.... Seeing as how Riverwood Theme Park has three themed areas, The Main Midway, Old West Towne, and The Snakepit, it was only natural for Richard Riverwood to decide to link these areas together. To the far left of the park around where River Rush is, The Snakepit was extended to Old West Towne and a new path upwards links up The Main Midway with The Snakepit. The amount of empty space indicates that there will be new rides and attractions built in those areas. Perhaps the most preeminent addition resulted from the removal of High Flyer, the aging Intamin barnstormer ride...In its place is another attraction by Intamin, Spire, a double decker observation tower. at 210 feet tall, it became Riverwood Theme Park's tallest attraction. Quite a relaxing ride after hours of riding spinning rides and roller coasters. The cabins are air conditioned, which makes for great relief in the dog days of summer! The sights your see from this tower are amazing, giving riders a full view of both the park, the zoo, and the surrounding grasslands and forests! 1988 also marked the ten year anniversary of the first looping roller coaster at Riverwood Theme Park, the Anton Schwarzkopf shuttle loop Serpent! Ten years after it's opening, it's still regarded as one of the best attractions in the park!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraroc Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 1988 You might figure that having just built a massive Arrow Dynamics looping coaster that has been a massive success for the park, that Riverwood Theme Park might be taking a break from adding new attractions for a while, right? WRONG!!! Towards the end of the 1988 season, people noticed that yet another huge plot of land was cleared adjacent to Cobra in the same area that the new paths were built. http://s26.postimg.org/ge15308x5/Shot1138.png' alt='Shot1138.png'> The size of the dirt patch is absolutley massive, much bigger than the plots of land cleared for the other roller coasters and expansions...Almost half the size as when the land for Riverwood Zoo was built. That should give you an idea of how big this new attraction (or attractions) is going to be. All I'm going to give away is that what is to come in 1989 is going to be impressive.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CDawg Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Dark Ride! LIike Star Tours! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I305forever Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 ^ Dark rides dont take up that much space. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraroc Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 (edited) 1989 The time has come....to finally unveil what Riverwood Theme Park got in 1989....And trust me, it's big...it's really big....how big is it? How big does NEW COASTER AND FLAT RIDE PACKAGE sound?! The first attraction is known as the Himalayabahn/Thunder Bobs. A little bit of a discrepancy occurred with this ride. The ride was built with a lighted sign which read "Thunder Bobs", yet the ride on the park map and advertisements is known as "Himalayabahn" No matter what name it is, this ride, built by Chance Rides should prove to be an invaluable collection the the park's strong flat ride lineup! But be honest, you don't care about this ride...... You care about THIS ride! RATTLESNAKE an absolutely monstrous Charles Dinn wooden roller coaster and Riverwood Theme Park's second wooden roller coaster....With a height of 141 feet, a top speed of 62 mph, and a track length of 4,566 feet, Rattlesnake will break three records for the park as the tallest, fastest, and longest coaster in the park! Conicidentally, when it opened, it was the tallest wooden roller coaster in the entire world! Immediatley after the 141 foot tall lift hill, you turn and do a twisted nosedive down 138 feet of pure first drop! A series of three serious ejector airtime moments follow the first drop. After the third hill, you reach a second twisting, force-filled turnaround drop! The lack of any mid-course break run means that the train just BLAZES through these ejector air hills! You think the ride is over? Not on your life, bud! Immedialtey after the hills, you go down a small, sudden drop which leads you into a convoluted mass of twists, turns, and helices which leave you completely disoriented! The grand finale....is two airtime hills, which gives us a grand total of EIGHT separate airtime moments on this coaster! Overall, Rattlesnake is unmitigated proof that even with the steel monsters coming out in the 1980s, the wooden roller coaster is still going strong! Coincidentally, I, the narrator, was born around the time Rattlesnake opened in 1989! Which means that soon enough...I'll be able to document my own firsthand experiences with this park and how this park made me into the coaster freak I am today... The advent of Thunder Bobs/Himalayabahn and Rattlesnake also means that the ten-year plan of Riverwood Theme Park has successfully been fulfilled...The zoo got it's expansion, the park got three fantastic roller coasters.... And three thrilling flat rides! It's amazing what ten years difference can do to a park....Compare this skyline shot of the park taken around the same time in 1979.... To how the park looks like just a mere decade later....A small family-oriented park turned into a thrill-seeker's haven....And it can only get bigger from here..... Or can it? STAY TUNED FOR MORE! Edited September 23, 2015 by fraroc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JonnyRCT3 Posted September 22, 2015 Share Posted September 22, 2015 Wow, Rattlesnake looks insane! The coaster seems to have checked every box for an outstanding wooden coaster. Airtime, banked turns and lots of twists. Also, at 141' Rattle Snake would be the world's tallest wooden coaster in 1989. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraroc Posted September 29, 2015 Author Share Posted September 29, 2015 1989 With the ten-year expansion plan complete, let's see how the public reacts to the latest scream machine to arrive at Riverwood Theme Park! Hmmmm....now this is quite odd. According this picture's date, it was right in the height of the 1989 season in July....Seems rather empty for a July weekend.... The lack of crowds did not stop people from flocking to the latest and possibly greatest roller coaster at the park! Rattlesnake recieved extremely good reviews by riders, all praising the coaster for its almost perfect combination of speed, airtime, and twisty-ness. Some even went as far as to say it's the absolute best wooden roller coaster ever made, beating The Beast at King's Island! Ever since the bridge between the Zoo and the park was constructed in '84, River Rush had always been the roller coaster that "greeted" people to the amusement park section with trains full of screaming riders ready to drop down the tallest hill on that coaster.... Four years later, that job had been completely overtaken by the monolithic mass of wood known as Rattlesnake! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraroc Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 1990 The 90s had officially come, a new decade...and soon to be a new era of Riverwood Theme Park. Like the 1980s, this decade will be full of advancements for this park, yet will also be quite a tumultuous time with plenty of bumps in the road...How will we find out? Only one way.....Starting from the beginning! Riverwood Theme Park kicked off the 1990s with a few general improvements around the park...Ever since it opened the year prior, Rattlesnake is considered to be part of the Snakepit area, yet people say it would fit more in the Old West Towne area, especially after this somewhat western-looking gift shop was built near the coaster.... In addition to the gift shop by Rattlesnake, Richard Riverwood finally made the decision to spruce up the entrance of the park by adding another restaurant/cafe, and ANOTHER gift shop. This one selling souvenirs and apparel from each of the major rides in the park..... The park attendance, while not where it was a while ago, had improved from 1989....There should be no cause for worry at the moment, but the attendance numbers were being closely monitored by the higher-ups at that point in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheFancyPants Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 You should look at doing supports for your woodies, atm the stock supports dont look realistic enough for the late 80s. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCoasterKid211 Posted October 15, 2015 Share Posted October 15, 2015 Rattlesnake recieved extremely good reviews by riders, all praising the coaster for its almost perfect combination of speed, airtime, and twisty-ness. Some even went as far as to say it's the absolute best wooden roller coaster ever made, beating The Beast at King's Island! Don't get ahead of yourself, bud. NOTHING beats the Beast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fraroc Posted October 19, 2015 Author Share Posted October 19, 2015 1991 1991 was a rather uneventful year for Riverwood Theme Park. The situation pertaining to the crowds had begun to alleviate, more people were going to the park in '91 as opposed to the previous few years and overall, things were pretty status quo...but as you've seen in previous years, a status quo is usually followed by a period of activity.... One of the more noticeable aspects of Riverwood Theme Park is the fact that every single attraction and coaster is situated to the left of the entrance, with absolutely nothing to the right... However, it appears that things could change in the next coming year or so... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheCoasterKid211 Posted October 19, 2015 Share Posted October 19, 2015 Lovin' this. Just wow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
I love pie Posted October 26, 2015 Share Posted October 26, 2015 Can you please post another photo TR? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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