Zeus
Specific Type: Wooden
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In 1995, Mt. Olympus, then named Big Chief Karts and Coasters, put themselves on the map with a creation from the renowned Custom Coasters International (CCI). The new wooden coaster Cyclops joined the ranks of intense rides from CCI, despite standing just seventy feet. Its terrain hugging design made it an instant success, and the next season CCI designed a family coaster, Pegasus, to compliment it. For 1997, the park was eager to add another ride from CCI. The coaster would have an out and back design that utilized the terrain to pick up speed as it went along. It was decided that the name Zeus would given to the new ride, and, after construction finished, had its official opening in early June. Zeus would dominate its area of the park for eight seasons until it was joined by Hades in 2005. Despite being dwarfed by its newer cousin, Zeus continues to hold its own as a high speed journey through the trees.
Zeus consists of an out and back design that takes riders through two thousand and seven hundred feet of track. The course includes many of CCI's hallmarks, such as the large swooping turnaround, sustained pace, and numerous hills. Zeus is unique in that it has wooden supports for most of its course, but steel supports for its lift hill. With the exception of the silver of the steel supports, the wood is left its natural brown color, and blends in well with its surrounding trees. The trees themselves enhance the ride's top speed of sixty miles per hour, making riders think they're traveling even faster. Ridership is provided with a single five car train painted a striking white. The front car features the ride's logo as well as the park's logo. Prior to 2004, the logo consisted of stylized letters above the Big Chief logo. Today, the logo includes a lightning bolt, along with the Mt. Olympus logo. Each car holds four riders, making for a total capacity of twenty riders. Zeus starts off with a swooping left curve, dipping down and rising back up as it leads the train to the lift hill. The train climbs ninety feet before leveling off onto an unasuming left hand turn. Suddenly riders plunge down the first drop, straight into a bunny hop. A second soon follows, sending the train down a double dip as it gains even more speed. The track then rises up again and banks in preperation for the thunderous turnaround. The train swoops down to the left, and goes through another quick dip before soaring upward and completing the two hundred and twenty five degree turn. Another dip leads into a quick upward right hand curve that affords riders a brief moment to catch their breath. The top of the turn gives a glimpse of the return leg before the train plunges back down and into a double dip. The track then climbs into a triple up, and a final right turn thrusts the train into the brakes. The last element is a dip into the station, completing the one minute and twenty five second ride. |
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