Thunderbolt is the oldest operating roller coaster at Six Flags New England. This classic wood
coaster is often overshadowed by the park’s larger and newer attractions, but it still holds its own.
A lot of people have been praising a particular hill on Bay Beach’s Zippin’ Pippin.
Well, Thunderbolt is another unassuming wood coaster that also happens to have a completely
unexpected and super wild moment of ejector airtime. Find out which hill does this to you and
everything else about Thunderbolt in this review. Thunderbolt was actually relocated to Six Flags
New England. The coaster originally opened as the Cyclone for the 1939 New York World’s Fair.
The coaster was designed by both Harry Baker and Harry Traver. This amusement park operated through
the end of the 1940 season and the site today is home to Fantasy Forest at the Flushing Meadows.
After the park and Cyclone closed in 1940, a small park in Massachusetts purchased the track,
trains, and plans for the Cyclone roller coaster. And that small park would be Riverside,
who would later be renamed Six Flags New England at the turn of the millennium.
Joseph Drambour rebuilt the Cyclone for Riverside and it would reopen for the 1941 season.
The ride was still called Cyclone through the 1963 season, but from 1964 onwards the
coaster has been known as Thunderbolt. And the name certainly is unmistakable
today given the ride’s massive sign. It’s one of my favorite signs on any coaster. It’s
a giant yellow neon sign with the coaster’s name written out vertically.
Then there are two blue lightning bolts on the side. The sign looks great by day, but it’s
especially a beauty when its all lit up at night. This coaster as a whole looks really nice.
I love the classic white paint scheme for this old wood coaster.
And its placement at the end of Main Street serves as a nice backdrop as you enter into the park.
The coaster has 2600 feet or 790 meters of track. The layout forms a contained figure 8.
So off-ride, you can only really see the turnarounds since a line of trees
and shops block the center of the layout. Wait times for Thunderbolt are oddly consistent
regardless when you visit Six Flags New England. The line usually starts just
past the base of the station ramp. It doesn’t matter if it’s a spring day, a hot summer day,
or a frigid winter night, Thunderbolt’s line is probably going to be 20-30 minutes. This is the
only coaster Six Flags New England kept open for 2021’s Holiday in the Park and it has been
running as temperatures approach freezing. Thunderbolt has two trains, but it can only
run one at a time due to the current set-up of the skid brakes. The ride
also is a slow-loader. Unlike most rides where the restraints automatically release,
the operators need to run the length of the train after each cycle to manually unlock each car.
Thunderbolt has 3 bench PTC trains. Each train is comprised of 4 cars, so each train seats up
to 24 riders. The trains originally had buzz bars, but they were unfortunately switched to individual
ratcheting lap bars in 2009. Along with the lap bars, you also have a seat-belt. While
I preferred the freedom of the older buzz bars, the current restraints are fine. I just recommend
holding onto the bar after it’s checked or it can sometimes staple you in the ride’s valleys.
If you want a specific seat, you may be out of luck on Thunderbolt.
Due to how narrow the station is, the operators fill the station front to back.
Sometimes the operators will allow you to wait an extra cycle for the front or back,
but it’s not guaranteed. The other wrinkle is that Flash Pass users
come up the exit. If they don’t request a row, the staff typically reserves the back for them.
But occasionally they’ll ask for the front. I definitely prefer the back car on this one.
Sometimes you need to watch out for specific seats on old wood coasters like this,
but Thunderbolt is thankfully pretty smooth regardless where you’re sitting.
There’s just a little shaking on some valleys. It’s a little smoother if you avoid a wheel seat,
or the back of a car, but this coaster is well taken care of.
Once dispatched, you slowly round a corner that runs along the queue line’s switchbacks.
You then ascend the 70 foot or 21 meter tall lift hill. Once at the top, you round another slow
turn before the excitement starts. The first drop isn’t overly steep so you don’t get any airtime.
The pullout from the drop turns slightly to the left and despite the lack of banking,
it oddly offers no laterals. There’s just some gentle bouncing. I’m sure this would be rougher
if the coaster went faster, but Thunderbolt only has a top speed of 40 mph or 64 kph.
You then ascend a turnaround. Up front, you’ll get a decent floater pop into this element.
After another slow turn, you navigate a fun double down. The front won’t get any
airtime on this element, but those in back will get two ok pops of air on each dip.
The entry into the next turnaround won’t give front row riders airtime,
but it will instead give a weak little lateral jolt as they’re pushed into the turn. After
another slow turn, the drop off the turnaround gives a decent pop of air for those in back.
You then zoom over this hill in the middle of the layout. It rises semi-high but still gives a good
pop of airtime for those up front. The resultant dip doesn’t go all the way back down to the ground
and only gives a weaker pop towards the back. You then rise up into another turnaround. The
front again won’t get airtime, but instead they’ll get a lateral jolt as they enter the turn.
This turn is taken a bit faster than the prior ones, so it sets up a nice finale.
The drop off this turnaround really pops those in the back car out of their seat,
but get ready for the next hill. It’s the hill I foreshadowed at the start of the review.
This backside bunny hill will absolutely catapult you from your seat.
You’ll see some trim brakes on the hill, but they do nothing. The way the hill is profiled is odd
though. Unlike most bunny hills that feel like one continuous motion, this one briefly levels
off at the top before dipping back down. This odd shaping results in some strong ejector airtime.
Those up front get a single violent ejector pop while you level off. Those in the back
are in for a real treat. They get two powerful pops of airtime. One ascending
the hill and another descending the hill. This is the moment that I ride Thunderbolt for.
The entry into the final turnaround gives a decent pop of airtime for those up front and
then everyone gets some mild laterals on the turn. There is a trim brake that hits before the final
drop, so you won’t get one last airtime moment. You then hop into the brake run, ending the ride.
The coaster’s pacing isn’t amazing, especially since it has so many slow turns,
but it’s a solid family coaster with some personality at points.
So what would I rate Thunderbolt? I would give this classic wood coaster a 6 out of 10. This
is a well-maintained and fun wood coaster. The ride isn’t a speed demon, but the layout has some
tricks such as a concealed double down and several pops of airtime, including that crazy ejector pop
on the final bunny hill. That hill doesn’t get talked about enough. I wish the rest of
the ride matched the power of that hill, but the ride fills its niche as a family coaster well.
While I prefer several of the park’s steel coasters to Thunderbolt,
this historic attraction is still a delight for all ages. And I hope the park continues to keep
it running smoothly for many years to come. So those are my thoughts on Thunderbolt,
the oldest operating roller coaster at Six Flags New England. What are your thoughts
on Thunderbolt? Do you agree that final bunny hill is as good as I think it is?
I would love to hear your thoughts on this ride down below. 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!