Viper (Six Flags Great Adventure)

Viper
Viper (on the right) next to Rolling Thunder in 2003
Six Flags Great Adventure
Location	Six Flags Great Adventure
Park section	Frontier Adventures
Coordinates	40.139°N 74.435°W / 40.139; -74.435
Status	Removed
Opening date	June 2, 1995 (1995-06-02)
Closing date	September 6, 2004 (2004-09-06)
Cost	$4 million
Replaced	Ultra Twister
Replaced by	El Toro
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	TOGO
Model	Sitdown Looping
Track layout	Twister
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	88.6 ft (27.0 m)
Length	1,670 ft (510 m)
Speed	48 mph (77 km/h)
Inversions	2
Duration	2:24
Height restriction	54 in (137 cm)
Trains	3 trains with 4 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 16 riders per train.
Viper at RCDB

Viper was a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Manufactured by TOGO at an estimated cost of $4 million, the ride opened to the public in June 1995. It replaced another steel coaster manufactured by TOGO, Ultra Twister, which was removed in 1989. Viper stood nearly 89 feet (27 m) tall and reached a maximum speed of 48 mph (77 km/h). It featured two inversions, including a heartline roll and a unique dive loop element developed specifically for this ride. Following years of maintenance issues, extensive downtime, and low ridership due to roughness, Viper was permanently closed after the 2004 season and demolished the following year. A record-breaking wooden coaster called El Toro opened in its place in 2006.

History

Following Time Warner's purchase of Six Flags in 1992, the decision was made to enhance theming within the amusement park. A new section called Frontiers Adventures was among the changes, which combined the "Best of the West" and "Hernando's Hideaway" areas. Prior to the change, this section of the park previously housed Ultra Twister, the first pipeline roller coaster to open in the United States, which was removed in 1989 and relocated to Six Flags AstroWorld. Ultra Twister's manufacturer, TOGO, took the extraordinary step of building a full-scale prototype of a new coaster model and premiering it at their testing facility in Ohio. The prototype model introduced a new element that TOGO called the "dive loop", which contained a unique inline twist maneuver at the top of a vertical loop. Six Flags Great Adventure bought into the concept and hired TOGO to build one in the former location of Ultra Twister.

Time Warner originally wanted the new ride to be based on the 1992 Clint Eastwood film Unforgiven, but the theme didn't perform well during market research. Six Flags ultimately chose the name Viper to pair its snake-like branding with the western-themed Frontiers Adventures. During construction, which began near the end of the 1994 season, officials asked TOGO to install additional steel rings on the lift hill and first drop to enhance its snake-like appearance. Throughout the queue, aged western props and other western-themed elements were added to give it a ghost town appearance. A steel structure left behind from the removal of Ultra Twister was covered with a rustic wood frame and placed near Viper's entrance.

Viper opened to the public on June 2, 1995, and cost an estimated $4 million to construct. Despite a warm reception, it was plagued with maintenance issues and extensive downtime over the years. Coupled with ride quality issues, gaining a reputation for being extremely rough, guest satisfaction quickly declined. The hourly capacity of the ride also suffered from its confusing boarding and unloading procedure, where guests entered and exited on the same side inside the station. In addition, the restraint system also proved to be too complex and inefficient, resulting in slow loading times. The heartline roll was said to be the only smooth part of the ride.

In 1998, Viper was closed for most of the season, as Six Flags was having difficulty procuring replacement parts needed for maintenance. TOGO was struggling financially from the fallout of the company's highly-unsuccessful Windjammer Surf Racers, which opened at Knott's Berry Farm in 1997. The overall track design was also a factor in many of the ride's issues, with joints along the track unable to properly handle the stress from the trains. Sections of track were re-welded often and sometimes replaced altogether.

Following sporadic operation, Viper closed again in 2001 and remained closed for the entire season. It was subsequently removed from park promotional materials and maps. Six Flags considered removing it altogether, replacing it with an attraction from another park, but they were unsuccessful finding one that would properly fit Viper's footprint. They pushed forward with modifications to the trains and track, then reopened Viper in 2002. The changes failed to resolve ongoing issues, however, and the coaster was down to one operating train by 2004. That season would prove to be Viper's last, as the park made the decision to retire the attraction, demolishing it during the early months of the 2005 season. They kept the station intact and repurposed it for El Toro, a record-breaking and highly-ranked wooden coaster that opened in 2006.

Ride experience

As the train departed the station, it made a left turn and headed up a 88.6-foot (27.0 m) chain lift hill. During the first drop, the train reached a maximum speed of 48 mph (77 km/h). This was followed by a dive loop, a left turn, and a heartline roll inversion. The train then made a left turn into the final brake run before returning to the station.