Chance Toboggans are one of the most infamous coaster models of all-time and the final one
still operating in the United States can be found in Wisconsin at Little Amerricka.
Swiss Toboggan is the park’s tallest roller coaster at 45 feet or 14 meters tall, but
it certainly has a bite to it.
But is that a good thing?
Find out in this review.
This particular installation started at Dogpatch USA in Arkansas where it ran from roughly
1970 until 1988.
During this time, it was named Earthquake McGoon’s Brain Rattler, which is one of
the best coaster names ever.
It’s so goofy and it describes the experience perfectly.
It was then relocated to Seven Peaks Water Park Duneland in Indiana for a very short
stint before that park closed after the 1990 season.
A recently opened park in Wisconsin named Little Amerricka then swooped in and bought
both of the park’s adult roller coasters.
Toboggan was the pricier of the two costing $30,000, but that was a fraction of what you’d
have to pay for a new coaster.
The Swiss Toboggan opened at its new home in 1993.
Chance built 32 of these toboggans, mostly in the 1970s.
Most have been scrapped, but some still operate on the fair circuit.
One additional one is in storage and another one is opening this year at an indoor amusement
park in Brazil named Animalia.
These super compact coasters were designed to be transported.
Most of the coaster takes place in and around a central column.
Then the ride has a final series of small bunny hills that wrap back around to the station.
The ride looks pretty cool off-ride, as that never-ending helix around the tower is mesmerizing
to watch.
The ride does look dated though and every bit as old as it is.
This ride has awful capacity.
Each car seats up to two riders, but if you try to cram two adults into one vehicle, it’s
pretty darn cramped.
Little Amerricka had two cars on the course, but they wouldn’t load the next vehicle
until the prior one completed the course in full and was unloaded.
So the ride would have had the same capacity with just one car.
Thankfully, this coaster is fairly short and Little Amerricka doesn’t get heavy crowds,
so the line was never more than 10 minutes.
These trains are some of the worst out there.
If you’ve ever ridden a Chance Zipper, imagine that cage placed on a coaster track.
That’s basically what you get with Swiss Toboggan.
You sit on the floor of the vehicle with your legs stretched out.
The operator then closes a cage around you.
This is necessary because of the super tight clearances on this coaster.
The sightlines aren’t the greatest because of the cage and it is extremely claustrophobic.
You are pressed against the seatback by this thick and padded lap bar.
And if I sat upright, my head was grazing against the roof of the car and I’m just
5’10”.
I shudder to think how uncomfortable this would be for a taller rider.
The most important tip I can give you is to slouch downwards.
If you cannot get some space between your head and the car’s ceiling, you are in for
a rough time.
I wouldn’t be surprised if this coaster has caused some concussions over the years.
Once dispatched, you slowly roll into the center column and ascend the world’s most
frightening vertical lift.
The element is far more common nowadays, but it’s typically found on ultra modern steel
coasters.
This one looks and feels antiquated.
I think this model was the first to ever feature a vertical lift, so you spend the whole lift
praying those anti-rollbacks work.
Especially since the ride op kept looking in the tower before dispatching a train.
When you emerge, you descend the tower.
It’s one continuous spiral.
You wrap around the tower at least six times gradually building speed.
The turn radius is ultra compact.
You won’t get any laterals, but this maneuver is very dizzying since it lasts forever.
Everything up to this point is reasonably smooth.
But this finale is one of the most uncomfortable on any coaster.
If your head is by the car’s roof, I take pity on you.
99% of the time, I want airtime.
Usually the more, the merrier.
The stronger, the better.
But this is the 1%.
You do not want airtime on this coaster.
And unfortunately, it has some.
With a full head of steam, you snap down this steep dip.
It’s super sharp and it does unfortunately pop you out of your seat.
So hopefully have clearance with the roof or else you will get your bell rung.
You then abruptly shoot upwards into a turnaround, again getting another abrupt pop of airtime.
You then have one last bunny hill, getting no airtime.
This three drop sequence is also pretty shaky.
Just look at my on-ride POV.
That was taken with a chest mounted Go Pro with HyperSmooth on.
It will rattle you good.
You then hit the first set of brakes, which appeared to be disabled, and then are whipped
around an unbanked turn into the station.
With the added speed, you get some surprising laterals here.
You then abruptly slam to a stop in the station, which is a very fitting end for this coaster.
This coaster has just 450 feet or 137 meters of track, but it can certainly make its mark
if you aren’t careful.
So what would I rate Swiss Toboggan?
I would give this coaster a 2 out of 10.
You must ride this coaster defensively.
Otherwise, you can pay dearly.
I do enjoy the downward spiral.
It messes up my equilibrium more than most flats, but that final sequence is always looming
in the back of my mind.
I found a way to ride this without getting concussed, but it required some uncomfortable
slouching.
I’m not surprised this has become a super rare coaster model.
It’s very rough around the edges.
If you haven’t ridden a Chance Toboggan, I don’t think you’re missing anything,
unless you want a candidate for the bottom of your coaster rankings.
But this one is near the Wisconsin Dells if you find yourself in the area and I honestly
don’t know how much time this coaster has left.
So those are my thoughts on the Swiss Toboggan, one of the jankiest rides in the world.
Have you ridden one of these Chance creations?
If so, let me know if you found the experience rough or uncomfortable.
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