Boardwalk Bullet is a Gravity Group wooden roller coaster at Kemah Boardwalk. Located on
the Texas Gulf Coast, Boardwalk Bullet is the self-proclaimed coolest coaster on the coast.
This coaster takes up just 1 acre of space, which is remarkable for a coaster of this scale.
So in this video, I will review Boardwalk Bullet and explain why you should get out
to Kemah Boardwalk to ride it. Kemah Boardwalk is one of the
smallest amusement parks in the country. The entire complex is 60 acres in size,
but a majority of that is taken up by hotels, shops, restaurants, and parking lots.
The amusement park itself only takes up a fraction of that space.
So it’s no surprise Kemah Boardwalk prioritized compact flat rides for most of its existence.
That all changed in 2007. Kemah Boardwalk made a bold statement with Boardwalk Bullet.
Designed by the Gravity Group, this wood coaster would stand 96 feet or 29 meters tall, reach a
top speed of 51 mph or 82 kph, and have a total of 3236 feet or 986 meters of track. But there were
two other stats that stood out above the rest- the coaster’s size and number of crossovers.
Boardwalk Bullet occupies just one acre of land. That is ridiculously compact for a coaster on the
scale of Boardwalk Bullet. This was achieved through a record-setting number of crossovers.
Boardwalk Bullet crosses over and under itself a whopping 42 times. There was no other way to cram
a coaster of this size into 1 acre of land. It’s even more remarkable when you realize
Boardwalk Bullet uses Philadelphia Toboggan Company, or PTC, trains. That is a stark contrast
to the other compact coasters Gravity Group has been designing as of late. When you look at rides
like Oscar’s Wacky Taxi and Mine Blower, you’ll notice they use the company’s Timberliner trains.
These single car trains have a far tighter turning radius- they can
make a 180 degree turn in just a 6 foot radius! Gravity Group had yet to successfully implement
their Timberliner trains when they were designing Boardwalk Bullet. They were still being tested at
Holiday World. Had these trains been available, I imagine the design process for Boardwalk Bullet
would have been a bit easier and the ride may have included some different elements.
But I have to give Gravity Group a ton of credit for designing a coaster like this
given the space constraints and I think it’s one of the most impressive layouts ever devised.
It was a stark contrast to their first two coasters in the sprawling Hades 360
at Mt. Olympus and Voyage at Holiday World. But designing Boardwalk Bullet was only one piece
of the puzzle. This coaster was built by Martin & Vleminckx. The company was founded in 1984.
They got their start in the industry installing rides for all sorts of companies:
Vekoma, Bolliger & Mabillard, and Intamin- just to name a few.
In 2004, Martin & Vleminckz manufactured their first roller coaster in Triple Hurricane at
Cyprus Gardens, which now runs as Coastersaurus at Legoland Florida. This junior wood coaster
stood just 40 feet or 12 meters tall and had 1365 feet or 416 meters of track.
The next coaster they’d manufacture would Boardwalk Bullet in 2007. This would
be the beginning of a long, successful relationship between the two companies.
But it’s fair to say their relationship got off to a rocky start. Boardwalk Bullet’s
original trackwork was suspect. This was a far more complicated ride that Coastersaurus,
as it was much taller, longer, and more twisted.
The ride’s profiling didn’t match the ride’s design. This caused the coaster to run both
rougher and slower than intended. The coaster valleyed several times during testing and this
is why anti-rollbacks were installed at several points throughout the layout.
The trackwork was so bad that almost the entire coaster has since been retracked,
but the silver lining is that Boardwalk Bullet now runs better than ever.
The coaster is much smoother than you’d expect considering just how aggressive its layout is. And
it runs much closer to its intended speed now. Most of Kemah Boardwalk’s rides are clustered
together, but Boardwalk Bullet is off by itself next to the Saltgrass Steak House,
which I sort of like since you smell the wonderful aroma of steak while you’re queuing
for this ride. Boardwalk Bullet has a long queue line interwined with the coaster’s structure.
So when the train is making its way through the layout, those in the queue line feel like
they’re experiencing a minor earthquake. Each time I’ve ridden Boardwalk Bullet,
the line has started in the station. The park was deserted in my 2020 visits, but Kemah
Boardwalk was buzzing in my 2018 visit. On that visit, I had to wait 20-30 minutes each ride.
Boardwalk Bullet’s operations are very slow. The coaster has two trains, but I’ve only
seen it operate one on all my visits. The ride is decently long. It’s about a minute and 45 seconds
from the station to the brake run, but then it takes another minute to go from the brake run to
the station. Yes, you heard that last part right. The brake run brings the trains to a full stop
and the incline into the station is so gradual that it takes a minute for the
coaster to finally make its way back. Paint dries faster than this coaster returns to the station.
The ride’s throughput is also hurt by slow dispatches.
The ride has a tedious seatbelt and lap bar check compared to other coasters with similar trains.
These two factors meant you’d see a train dispatched on average every 5 to 6 minutes.
Another thing I ran into in 2018 was that Boardwalk Bullet closed midday for a planned
inspection. When this happened, the park closed the ride and cleared out the queue.
So there was a 1-2 hour block when the ride was offline for people to enter the queue line. I
didn’t notice an inspection in 2020, but the park had much shorter hours compared to my 2018 visit.
In terms of the best seat, I’m torn. The front is more consistent start to finish
while the back has a superior first half. I strongly recommend trying both.
And I hinted at it earlier, but this coaster runs like a dream now. So you don’t have to be nervous
riding on a wheel seat. I had no issue marathoning this coaster for hours in any seat. It’s a very
smooth ride. And I don’t see that changing any time soon. Kemah Boardwalk performs trackwork
on this coaster every year. Because they have no additional space for new rides, it makes sense
they should invest what they can into keeping their signature ride running in peak form.
Boardwalk Bullet begins with a turn out of the station and then you make your way up the lift.
Unfortunately, the lift is positioned away from the bay, so you have to turn around if
you want to take in the gorgeous view. Once at the top, you traverse a 270 degree turn,
which allows you to build up some speed before the first drop.
And that drop is exceptional. The drop has a maximum angle of descent of 55 degrees, but it
feels far steeper. And the profiling is quite odd too. The drop starts by subtly banking to the left
and then you aggressively bank to the right as you dive into the ride’s dense support structure.
If you’re in the back row, it delivers some powerful ejector airtime. It’s about on par with
the first drop of Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer. The aforementioned pullout is quite sharp,
so you experience some shockingly strong positive Gs for a traditional wood coaster.
And while this turn is banked, it’s not banked enough so you simultaneously experience some
great laterals as well. And it feels like you’re going way faster than the posted 51 mph top speed
since you’re in a sea of supports. This leads into a twisted double up,
that delivers two powerful pops of ejector airtime. This element reminds me of something
you’d see on a RMC from the twisted profiling and the absolutely violent pops of airtime.
The airtime is a bit stronger up front, but it’s still downright aggressive in the back car.
You then fly around a turnaround, still stunned from the ride’s insane start.
The exit of this turnaround is this dip downwards that gives a weak pop of airtime in every row.
You then rise up into the second turnaround, which reminds me of a turnaround you’d see on a GCI.
The hill has a sharp crest at the top and then you bank to the side.
Front row riders get a very abrupt pop of airtime as you’d expect, but even back row riders get a
weak bit of floater airtime cresting this hill. That’s how sharp the top of this hill is.
You then wrap upwards. When the ride initially opened, the apex of this hill was a valley risk.
But now, the train clears this hill with ease even in the morning with an empty train.
And then you crest the third drop with a decent head of speed. So if you’re in the back,
you get sustained ejector airtime on the way down. The drop reminded me of GhostRider’s 5th drop for
the strength of the airtime and because of how you dive into the ride’s support structure.
That’s followed by a speed hill. Up front, you get some nice fl-jector airtime.
Towards, the back, you are pulled over this hill and get sustained floater airtime.
You then zip around a low turn and traverse back to back bunny hills.
These hills deliver some nice sustained floater airtime throughout the train
since you take them with a good amount of speed. You then wind around the far end of the coaster
and curve up a hill, getting an itty bitty pop of airtime at the top up front. You then plunge
underneath the station. Despite the drop’s size and steepness, it oddly delivered no airtime in
the back row. But the headchopper with the station is great. You really feel boxed in on all sides.
After this drop, you quickly bank to the right and charge over another speed hill. This one delivers
a strong pop of ejector airtime for everyone. This is followed by a compact turn that delivers
a nice combination of positive Gs and laterals. This turn rises up into a curved airtime hill
giving front row riders some decent floater airtime and back row riders
some weak floater airtime. But this is the last airtime back row riders will get.
Boardwalk Bullet then rises up another airtime hill. If you’re up front, you get a decent pop
of airtime and a pinch of laterals. However, you also feel the ride starting to lose its speed.
You then plunge back into the structure and roar around a low turn.
You then hop up a small hill that gives front row riders another pop of airtime.
You then make your way around one last turn and rise up into the brake run. The entrance into the
brake run gives some nice laterals for all and if you’re up front, you get one last pop of airtime.
You then hit the brakes after you just experienced 60 seconds of chaos.
Boardwalk Bullet has great pacing up front. Outside of a few turns here and there,
almost every element delivers airtime and the other turns either offer laterals or positive Gs.
Towards the back, the finale does feel a bit weak since you don’t get the pops of airtime
like you do up front, but the pacing is fantastic for the rest of the ride and the powerful airtime
on the two largest drops is worth the tradeoff. I also want to note that I’ve ridden this coaster
in two extremes. A stifling hot 90 degree summer day and a cool- by Texas standards- 60 degree day.
The trains were fully loaded on the 90 degree day and partially loaded on the
60 degree day. Regardless of the temperature, time of day, or way the trains were loaded,
the ride was consistently great. So what would I rate Boardwalk Bullet? I
would give this coaster a 9 out of 10. This wooden coaster is intense. This ride executes maneuvers
you wouldn’t expect a traditional wood coaster to and it executes them with ease. The recent
trackwork has this coaster running better than it ever has. The ride has an exciting
layout that goes on forever. It has everything I could want. It has great pacing, good airtime,
and some decent laterals too. The ride doesn’t excel in any one category, but it’s above average
in all those areas which is why Boardwalk Bullet is one of my favorite wood coasters. It placed
in my top 15 out of 155 wood coasters in my most recent list, which is quite the accomplishment.
So those are my thoughts on Boardwalk Bullet, the signature ride at Kemah Boardwalk.
Have you ridden this coaster? What are your thoughts on this Gravity Group wood coaster?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
appreciate it if you gave this video a like and you considered subscribing since there will be a
lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!