Viper (Six Flags Great Adventure)

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 ft tall and reached a maximum speed of 48 mi/h. It featured two inversions, including a heartline roll and a dive loop. Following maintenance issues, extensive downtime, and low ridership due to roughness, Viper was permanently closed after the 2004 season and demolished the following year. The El Toro wooden roller coaster 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 Frontier 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.[1] Ultra Twister's manufacturer, TOGO, built a full-scale prototype of a new coaster model at their testing facility in Ohio. The prototype model introduced a new element that TOGO called the "dive loop", which contained an inline twist maneuver at the top of a half vertical loop. Six Flags Great Adventure bought into the concept and hired TOGO to build one in the former location of Ultra Twister.[2]

Time Warner originally wanted the new ride to be based on the 1992 Clint Eastwood film Unforgiven, but the theme did not perform well during market research.[2] Six Flags ultimately chose the name Viper to pair its snake-like branding with the western-themed Frontiers Adventures.[2] 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.[2] Throughout the queue, aged western props and other western-themed elements were added to give it a ghost town appearance.[2][3] A steel structure left behind from the removal of Ultra Twister was covered with a rustic wood frame and placed near Viper's entrance.[2]

Viper opened to the public on June 2, 1995,[3] and cost an estimated $4 million to construct.[4] Despite a warm reception, it faced maintenance issues and extensive downtime during its operation. Coupled with ride quality issues and gaining a reputation for being extremely rough, guest satisfaction declined.[5]

In 1998, Viper was closed for most of the season, as Six Flags was having difficulty procuring replacement parts needed for maintenance.[5] Behind the scenes, TOGO was struggling financially due to issues regarding Windjammer Surf Racers, which opened at Knott's Berry Farm in 1997.[5][6] 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.[2] Sections of track were rewelded often and sometimes replaced altogether.[2]

Following sporadic operation over several years,[7] Viper did not open with the park in 2001 and remained closed indefinitely for the rest of the year.[8] It was subsequently removed from the park's promotional materials and maps.[5] TOGO filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy that same year and shuttered their American offices.[9] Six Flags considered removing Viper altogether and replacing it with an attraction from another park, but they were unsuccessful finding one that would properly fit its footprint.[5] They pushed forward with modifications to the trains and track,[5] and the coaster reopened to the public on March 29, 2002.[8] The modifications failed to resolve ongoing issues, however, and Viper was down to one operating train by 2004.[5] That season would prove to be its last, and the roller coaster was demolished in June 2005.[2][5] They kept the station intact and repurposed it for El Toro, a wooden coaster that opened in 2006.[10]

Ride experience