The Silver Dollar City theme park in Branson, Missouri is presenting an all-new super launch coaster for Spring 2005 that shoots riders into a thrill zone within seconds of climbing aboard, launching them from 0 to 53 miles per hour in just 2.8 seconds.Constructed around and within the forests of the Ozark Mountains and winding down a hillside, Powder Keg is a family thrill ride unlike any other in the history of the park. It combines launching speed with spiraling turns, negative gravitational or “G” forces, and “floater” hills to create a thrill ride of great magnitude. In addition, it’s packaged in an environmentally sound design.
“An air launch system like this is amazing – there is great launching speed yet virtually no impact on the environment,” said Stan Checketts, founder and CEO of Powder Keg manufacturer S&S Power of Logan, Utah. S&S is the world’s leading manufacturer of compressed-air rides and the largest ride manufacturer in the United States.
Checketts said Powder Keg is one of only three like it in the world that uses clean, compressed air technology for incredibly fast and energy-efficient acceleration. “Unlike fuel-driven systems, this technique runs cleanly and the ride runs smoothly while soaring through the trees at speeds up to 64 miles per hour.”
A $10 million project, Powder Keg takes riders from the initial big blast up a lift to a 110-foot drop, into spiraling and dragonfly banked turns, through a wave of floater hills with negative G forces, giving riders the experience of weightlessness above the trees. As required by Silver Dollar City policy, only those trees that had to be removed were, with three additional trees planted elsewhere for every one removed.
In keeping with Silver Dollar City’s internationally-awarded commitment to bringing the colorful history of regions to life, Powder Keg is themed to the memory of the miners of the great Marvel Cave, of which the park is built atop. The history-based glory days of the miners were in the late 1880s when tons of nitrogen-rich bat guano were hauled, via archaic pulley system, from the cave’s massive sinkhole and taken by stagecoach and railroads to powder mills. The mills, located in various parts of the country, including southern and central Missouri, then made the valuable black powder needed in post-Civil War America.
“Powder Keg begins in a powder mill amid barrels of nitro-explosives that rock and tip.As the nitro ‘explodes,’ the cars blast out of the building with special effects of fire and smoke shooting through the roof!” said Brad Thomas, general manager of Silver Dollar City. “While this ride offers a thrilling adventure, it has been designed to accommodate families. Anyone over 42 inches in height can ride, which is roughly a six year old,” said Thomas who cites customer research that resoundingly requested a family thrill ride as the reason for choosing Powder Keg.
A trip on Powder Keg lasts nearly three minutes and spirals around six acres on 3,500 feet of track. The ride carries more than 1,000 people per hour with 16 passengers per train. Silver Dollar City’s Corporate Development team and the Maintenance & Construction Division are handling theming and construction.
Silver Dollar City, an 1880s theme park located in Branson, Missouri, brings to life the history and heritage of the Ozark region. The park offers rides, entertainment, signature foods, and five world-class festivals during its operating season, April through December. For tickets and information, call 1-800-831-4FUN, or visit the web site at www.silverdollarcity.com.
