Shockwave
Specific Type: Stand-Up Coasters
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Drayton Manor is a historic park in Staffordshire, England. The actually mansion was built by Robert Peel’s father in 1790. Robert Peel would later be the Prime Minister of England, hosting the Queen and Price Albert in 1843. However, the manor was past its glory when it transitioned to becoming an amusement park in 1949.
However, Drayton Manor never had a signature ride. The history of the park showed the park with generic rides, such as Jumbo Jet, a Schwarzkopf Jet Star 3, and Klondike Gold Mine, a Pinfari ZL42. Like many British parks, Drayton Manor was looking for a signature ride. Ever since Ultimate at Lightwater Valley was built in 1991, parks around the country were trying to build roller coasters to exceed all boundaries possible. Other parks hired companies such as Arrow Dynamics and B&M to build theirs. Drayton Manor decided to hire Intamin to build their new coaster, a standup. Intamin was going through a crisis stage as B&M separated from the company. Intamin made two standups with Bolliger and Millbard on the team, but after the split, Intamin built few rides. However, Intamin got a second chance when Drayton Manor hired them. The ride would define the limits of a standup. It would send shockwaves through the coaster community,. Drayton Manor named itShockwave because of how it was intended to shock visitors to the park. With the only standup coaster with a barrel roll and a double corkscrew. Shockwaveinstantly became Drayton Manors signature ride. Guests to Drayton Manor have to take a right if they want to go to Shockwave. Passing rides such as G Force and Storm Force 10before finding Shockwave and queue for the ride. Once it’s the riders turn to ride, they choose one of twenty-four places to stand. When everyone is standing and ready, the train rolls out of the station. It heads up a 120-foot lift hill. At the top, riders get forced down the first part of the drop, shot around a fast 180 degree turn, and down the second part of the drop at 53 MPH. The are hurled into a vertical loop, the first and largest inversion on the ride. Right afterwards, the riders head up and go head-over-heels on the barrel roll, the only one of its kind on a standup. The riders then fall down, into a 45 degree right handed turn. Then, they head over a slight bump during a straight section of track. Right afterwards, the riders are thrown into a double corkscrew. In the first of those corkscrews, riders have a head chopper moment with the track interlocked. Afterwards, riders head up a long, 270 degree helix, under the corkscrew, and into the station. Shockwave is one of the shorter rides in the coaster world. At 1640 feet long, it’s a small sized coaster for a standup. However, the fact that its is the only standup with a barrel roll makes it a unique coaster. It also was the first innovative coaster for Drayton Manor, putting the park on the coaster map. Finally, it was England’s first, and so far, only standup roller coaster, making it unique for its location. |
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