Specific Type: Wooden, Terrain
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When Holiday World of Santa Claus, Indiana asked Custom Coasters International to create a wooden coaster for the park's 1995 season, no one would have expected the moderate-sized woodie to do what it ultimately did. The initial success of Raven created a ripple effect, with Holiday World discovered soon after for being a true gem of smaller theme parks and with Raven going down as a consistent coaster favorite. The success of the 1995 addition soon lead Holiday World back to Custom Coasters and requesting a second wooden ride. And in the year 2000, wooden bents were once again rising over the woods of Holiday World's Halloween section and, five years after Raven's inaugural flight, a new legend came to life. Legend, a 4,042-foot-long, 116-foot-tall, 62-mile-per-hour wooden coaster made its debut on the 6th of May, 2000 as the tallest, fastest, longest thing the Indiana region had ever seen. The Legend may exceed Raven for height, speed and ride duration, but statistics aren't the only focus of this ride. Legend is another unique twisting, turning wooden ride built into the natural greenery, featuring a layout complete with four tunnels, over 600 degrees of helix and 10 major hills. Looking to theLegend of Sleepy Hollow for its theme, riders board trains in a schoolhouse-themed station before the Legend simulates pursuit by a headless horseman - trees whizzing past at over 60 miles an hour and changes of direction aplenty.
After riders have boarded one of Legend's two Philadelphia Toboggan Company trains, the coaster begins with a departure around a curve to the chain lift. On the way up, the ride crosses over the orange flume of the water ride Frightful Falls, rising up above the adjacent Splashin' Safari water park and over the blanket of trees below. Upon reaching the top, the train encounters a right-hand curve before beginning the initial downwards action. But downwards the ride goes, twisting down a curving 113-foot plunge and speeding immediately into the Legend's first tunnel. Blasting out of the tunnel, the second hill begins and sends riders up and over - Camelback style - and curving to the right. With a bend in the opposing direction, the track next sends passengers careening up and then winding down a 77-foot deep 'Spiral Drop' ending with a speedy hop crossing over the element's point of entry. The relentless ride proceeds up a third hill before plunging 64 feet into a second tunnel. Legend next meanders over the topography to the start of a Double Helix and then sends riders banking up, around, down and flying through another tunnel - all while completing 630 degrees of spiraling helix action. Another curving speed hill feeds passengers into the final tunnel - a subterranean passageway under the lift. Finally, the ride enters the final run back to the station and riders are thrown to the right, left, and find themselves banking around a final right-handed turnaround. If you're looking for high-speed wooden coaster action that doesn't let up until the final brakes, take a Holiday to Santa Claus, Indiana and experience a true Legend. |
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