Powder Keg at Silver Dollar City is one of the weirdest roller coasters in the world.
This is an S&S compressed air launch coaster, but that’s an oversimplification.
This steel roller coaster originally opened in 1999 as Buzzsaw Falls, a Premier Rides
liquid coaster, before being converted into Powder Keg by an entirely different manufacturer
for the 2005 season.
As a result, Powder Keg is very odd but it still manages to be a great ride, so in this
video, I will discuss the history of Powder Keg and review this one-of-a-kind coaster.
Buzzsaw Falls opened in 1999 for a cost of $7 million.
This would be a prototype Premier Rides liquid coaster.
This coaster would combine elements of both a log flume and steel roller coaster.
On paper, the idea seemed brilliant.
Marrying two of the most popular ride types out there seemed like a winning formula.
And as we’ve seen with the Mack Rides water coasters such as Journey to Atlantis, it can
work quite well.
Those who rode Buzzsaw Falls enjoyed it.
The coaster section, while short, was unique for a ride like this and it was located deep
in the woods.
But the highlight was the final 68 foot or 21 meter plunge.
This drop offered a great view of the nearby Ozark Mountains and was quite thrilling.
However, Buzzsaw Falls was marred by technical issues.
Buzzsaw Falls operated sporadically throughout its life.
The vehicles were originally prone to flooding, which is why they received plastic shields
on the sides of the boat, which made them a bit cumbersome to enter and exit.
This was detrimental to the ride’s capacity.
But the bigger issue was the ride’s sensor issues.
Buzzsaw Falls used infrared sensors, which often triggered ride faults.
The ride was also extremely expensive to operate since it was constantly pumping water.
The combination of the ride’s capacity, maintenance, and operational costs were a
trifecta of issues for Silver Dollar City and led to their decision to close the attraction
after the 2003 season, just four years after it opened.
The ride looked to be a total bust.
Premier Rides only built one other liquid coaster in Vonkaputous at Linnanmaki in Finland.
While the attraction would operate far longer than Buzzsaw Falls- it ran from 2001 to 2017-
it also had its fair share of issues.
The ride had the same plastic shields yet the ride was absolutely drenching.
And the ride was just as expensive to operate and less well-received.
Vonkaputous was lacking a drop as good as the one on Buzzsaw Falls, which is one of
the reasons it was removed for Taiga.
Beyond these two water coasters, Premier Rides only built one other non-launched coaster
in Runaway Mountain at Six Flags Over Texas.
But they are one of the top manufacturers for launch coasters, which is why I find the
next part of the Buzzsaw Falls story so interesting.
After closing Buzzsaw Falls, Silver Dollar City announced they would be converting the
water coaster into Powder Keg: A Blast into the Wilderness, a launched roller coaster
through the woods.
But this modification was not done by the original manufacturer.
Instead, it was done by S&S.
To this point, S&S had only built drop towers, two thrust air coasters, and a few wood coasters.
Powder Keg would be unlike anything S&S had ever built and I don’t think there will
be another coaster quite like it.
S&S retained the coaster section through the woods and the final lift hill, but everything
else was changed.
The modification cost $10 million and Power Keg barely resembles Buzzsaw Falls in any
way.
Powder Keg is located towards the back of Silver Dollar City.
Like many of their attractions, it’s set in the woods.
Very little of the attraction can be seen.
You can only see the launch, first hill, and finale.
The rest of the ride is a mystery, unless you visit for an Old Time Christmas when the
leaves have fallen, revealing more of the layout.
The setting is definitely one of the strengths of the coaster.
And it’s not just because its wooded; the coaster is also on a hill so it uses the elevation
change to its advantage as well.
The area around Powder Keg and the queue line looks great.
The ride has a rustic feel and is themed to a powder mill that- as you can guess- explodes,
blasting riders into the wilderness.
The queue line has a few static displays, but the best feature is an Easter Egg from
the old Buzzsaw Falls.
The queue is separated into a queue building, an outdoor segment, and the station.
If you look back at the queue building, you can see an old Buzzsaw Falls car embedded
in the roof.
Beyond that vehicle and the track section Powder Keg uses, the only remnants of Buzzsaw
Falls are the concrete troughs underneath Powder Keg’s brake run.
Powder Keg often has the longest line of any coaster at Silver Dollar City.
This is for a few reasons.
One, it has a lower capacity.
It usually runs two trains, but each train only seats 16 riders.
And the ride is almost 3 minutes long station to station.
Two, it appeals to almost everyone.
The coaster is extreme enough to appeal to thrill-seekers without scaring others away
since it isn’t overly tall and it has no inversions.
Three, it has a shockingly low height limit of just 42”.
I can’t tell you how much I would have loved having a coaster like this at one of my home
parks growing up before I hit that magical 48” height mark.
One additional note with Powder Keg, this coaster cannot operate in any sort of precipitation.
Silver Dollar City’s other outdoor attractions do not have this issue.
Just keep that in mind if inclement weather is in the forecast the day you’re visiting.
Like many things with Powder Keg, the trains are odd.
S&S has built several coasters, but they only used this train design once.
The lap bar restraints swivel from the side and lower down.
These restraints are identical to the ones on the company’s Screamin’ Swings and
the lap bar component of the company’s Screaming Squirrel and El Loco models.
And I really like these restraints.
They are very comfortable and contour quite nicely to your body.
In terms of seat selection, I slightly prefer the front for the sense of speed- as with
most launch coasters, but both the front and back are great on this coaster.
Once dispatched, you crawl forwards onto a transfer track.
You then transfer diagonally to the left, which is quite odd.
Most transfer tracks are horizontal, but this one is inclined.
It just goes to show how much work S&S had to do to reuse parts of Buzzsaw Falls.
This transfer track brings you into a shed where you’re warned you’re in a restricted
and dangerous area.
You then roll forwards out of the shed onto the launch track.
You hear a series of launch effects and the shed you were in, has some effects that go
off.
Interestingly, you can’t really see these effects on-ride.
They’re more for spectators off-ride.
As the launch is preceded by a fire blast that shoots out of the shed.
Riders meanwhile see a stoplight that counts down the launch.
Once the light turns green, a siren goes off and you rocket down the launch track.
The launch’s stats don’t look all that impressive.
You accelerate from 0 to 53 mph or 85 kph in 2.8 seconds.
But those stats are extremely deceptive.
I think this is one of the most powerful launches in America.
The acceleration packs is gut-wrenching.
The launch causes my stomach to drop, which is something that I typically only experience
on Intamin hydraulic launch coasters like Xcelerator.
I’ve never heard of Powder Keg rolling back, but you may notice something strange behind
the launch track, a spike.
The coaster does not use this spike.
It’s a redundant safety feature incase the ride rolls back and the brakes on the launch
track fail to stop a train.
To my knowledge, this spike has never been used, but it looks cool at least.
After the powerful launch, you rocket over a camelback.
This hill delivers some very strong and sustained fl-jector airtime throughout the train.
That’s especially true in the back because of the sizable drop that follows.
Because of the ride’s location on the hillside, the drop is larger than the ascent.
You plunge 110 feet or 33.5 meters, which allows you to reach the ride’s maximum speed
of 64 mph or 103 kph.
While you don’t have much time atop this camelback, it offers a stunning view of the
Ozark Mountains.
At the bottom of this drop, you bank to the right- getting some laterals- and then fly
over another camelback.
This one delivers equally as amazing sustained fl-jector airtime throughout the train.
You then charge around an overbank.
Unfortunately, this element doesn’t really offer any positive Gs or laterals.
It just turns you around.
But it is followed by another sizable hill.
The entry into this hill is straight, so front row riders get some sustained floater airtime.
The drop twists to the left and finishes atop the hill, so it’s shorter than the ascent.
This drop only gives some weak floater airtime towards the back.
You then wrap around a banked turn and connect with the old Buzzsaw Falls track.
The visual transition is apparent.
The new S&S track has a thick spline while the old Premier track is thinner.
However, you don’t really feel the transition.
Powder Keg is an extremely smooth coaster start to finish.
You then gradually curve to the right down the hillside.
When the coaster was Buzzsaw Falls, you dropped off the lift into this curve.
Power Keg has considerably more speed entering this section.
Since the track was banked for the old speed of Buzzsaw Falls, it’s way underbanked for
the rate Powder Keg is traveling.
So it delivers some great sustained laterals.
And they spike ever higher as wrap up the hill and approach the lift hill.
The transition into this element is extremely tight.
You then rapidly decelerate and begin climbing the old lift hill.
The ascent is faster than you’d expect and it offers you an extended chance to take in
the view.
You then traverse a U-turn and travel down a solid drop.
This drop delivers some good floater airtime if you’re in the back car.
Originally, there was supposed to be a water effect at the base of this drop.
That is why there’s the empty concrete basin adjacent to the pullout.
However, it was scrapped since Powder Keg’s sensors are extremely sensitive to water.
That is one of the reasons the ride does not operate in the rain.
The pullout from this drop is quite sharp and delivers an abrupt dose of positive Gs.
It’s the strongest positives on the ride.
You then rise up into a helix.
This delivers an ejector pop of airtime up front, but it’s a weaker pop towards the
back of the train.
You then spiral around a 270 degree helix that is quite forceful and then jump up into
the brake run.
This final hop not only has a great headchopper with the entrance to the helix, but it delivers
a tiny pop of airtime as well.
It’s a nice way to end the ride.
The only flaw with Powder Keg is that the lift hill in the middle of the ride does disrupt
the pacing.
It’s a similar effect to the lift hills on Takabisha at Fuji-Q Highland or TMNT Shellraiser
at Nickelodeon Universe.
Thankfully, the lift is fairly swift so the interruption is brief.
Beyond that, Powder Keg is great.
So what would I rate Powder Keg?
I would give this coaster an 8.5 out of 10.
It’s a very unique roller coaster that does a little of everything.
It has one of my favorite launches, several hills with great airtime, and it also mixes
in some laterals and positive Gs later in the ride.
And all these elements occur in that wonderful location I mentioned earlier.
The wooded hillside is great any time of day, but its especially nice at night when you
can hardly see anything.
This coaster probably shouldn’t work as well as it does considering it was MacGyvered
from a problematic water coaster, but it’s a very fun and reridable coaster.
This coaster has so many oddities, but the ride delivers a diverse ride experience that
excels in many areas.
It’s one of my favorites at Silver Dollar City.
So those are my thoughts on Powder Keg at Silver Dollar City, the funky conversion of
Buzzsaw Falls.
Have you ridden Powder Keg or Buzzsaw Falls?
What are your thoughts on this ride- whether it be the experience itself of the conversion?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments.
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