Santa’s Village in Jefferson, New Hampshire recently announced Rudy’s Rapid Transit Coaster
will be retiring later this year. This is a nostalgic coaster for many in the New England
region. It was the first coaster for many of us, myself included. So in this video, I will discuss
why this ride is closing, share what I think will happen next, and also briefly review the ride.
Bensons Animal Farm was a zoo in Hudson, New Hampshire that opened back in 1926. With
declining business in the 1980s, the park tried to rebrand themselves as an amusement park named New
England Playworld. They added a few amusement rides, including the Firefly Roller Coaster.
This was a large Tivoli coaster from Zierer that opened back in 1981.
But New England Playworld closed in 1987. The nearby Santa’s
Village theme park saw an opportunity. This Christmas themed amusement park had
been open since 1953. The park is an absolute favorite with kids and families in the region.
But until this point, they did not have any roller coasters. That changed in 1988. They purchased the
former Firefly coaster and relocated it 2 hours north to their park. The ride was rebranded as
Rudy’s Rapid Transit Coaster and the lead car was changed to Rudolph the Red-Noses Reindeer.
For nearly 3 decades, this was the park’s only roller coaster until they added a SBF Visa spinner
in Poogee Penguin’s Spin Out for the 2016 season. Just a few days ago on Social Media,
Santa’s Village announced that Rudy’s Rapid Transit would be closing in fall of 2023.
So why is this ride closing later this year? There are a few things to consider.
First, while the ride’s manufacturer in Zierer is still in business,
they no longer produce the Tivoli coaster. This model has been replaced by the Force coaster.
The latter has entirely different hardware between the track and trains.
Santa’s Village confirmed it has become harder and costlier to get replacement parts.
Second, multiple Zierer Tivoli coasters have reached the end of their service life.
We’ve seen several outright removed like Keverbaan at Bellewaerde. Others have needed a nearly full
track replacement to continue operating such as #LikeMe Coaster at Plopsaland de Panne or
SOS Numerobis at Parc Asterix. Considering Rudy’s Rapid Transit Coaster is one of the
older ones and endures harsh winters annually, it’s likely the ride is due for some retracking.
Third, look at the date the park is closing the ride. They said it will close in Fall 2023.
Santa’s Village is open through New Year’s Eve and the winter season is
one of their busiest times of year, which makes sense for a Christmas themed park.
And Rudy’s Rapid Transit usually operates that time of year. Heck,
I’ve ridden this coaster in the snow! But the ride will cease operating earlier than usual.
So what do I think will happen? Santa’s Village has been doing
quite well in recent years. They still have a reservation system in place and it’s not uncommon
for them to sellout. It’s almost a guarantee on weekends and possible on weekdays too.
This is even with them raising their ticket prices significantly over the past decade; it now costs
nearly $50 for adults to enter the park. So they are likely turning a considerable profit.
Evidence of this is the 2020 refurbishment to the Great Humbug Adventure shooting dark ride.
Santa’s Village completely renovated the ride, adding animatronics, new vehicles,
and a new targeting system. This was not a cheap upgrade, but it has been well-received.
While the park could have given Rudy’s Rapid Transit a full refurbishment,
I suspect the park looked at the cost and found it more beneficial to just build an all-new ride. I
believe the reason this coaster is closing before the end of the 2023 season is so that the park
has time to demolish it and build something new in its place for the start of the 2024 season.
But what will replace it? I think there are two options.
The first is a new roller coaster. Since the park is removing their biggest and
most popular coaster, it would make sense they’d want to replace it with a new one.
Given the park’s audience, I suspect they’d go with a family coaster. A lot of manufacturers
can build a rides like this, but I’d love to see either a Vekoma family boomerang or one
of their suspended family coasters. I think either of these rides would be an excellent
fit for the park’s audience between their thrill level and low height requirements.
But you can get similar rides nowadays from other manufacturers like Gerstlauer as well,
so the park definitely has choices. The second option is a water park expansion.
Santa’s Water Park is located right next to where Rudy’s is located. Across from
Rudy’s is a wet/dry water slide currently in the amusement section of the park. I’m not sure the
water park can expand in the other directions between the road and the park’s property line,
so I could potentially see the park using the plot of their former coaster to double the size
of their water park. The water park currently doesn’t have any tube slides, so they could fit a
few over there to really expand their offerings. I would prefer a new coaster, but the water park
expansion may be more logical given where Rudy’s is located. If this were to happen,
I suspect a new coaster would be added down the road somewhere else in the park.
Rudy’s Rapid Transit has a special place in my heart as my first coaster.
I remember marathoning this ride for hours as a kid. While this ride may be closing, the
same experience can still be had nearby. Catwoman Whip at Six Flags New England is an exact clone.
The most striking thing about this coaster- and all the large Tivoli coasters- is the comically
long train. It is one of the longest in the world, being comprised of 20 rows. Since the
ride could accommodate upwards of 40 riders per cycle, Rudy’s was rarely more than a 1 cycle wait
even on days the park sold out. And that was even with the park giving two laps per ride.
Seating is on a first-come basis. Most people run towards the front to sit behind Rudolph,
but the back row is the place to be on these large Tivoli coasters. You get some underrated
whip on the first two drops back there. Once dispatched, you turn out the station and
ascend a 26 foot or 8 meter tall lift hill powered by booster tires. Once at the top, you navigate
a swooping drop to the left. This drop is weird because of the crazy long train. The front crawls
to the bottom. It reaches the bottom before the back even crests the top of the lift. This means
those in back get whipped down the drop. You get some shockingly good laterals back there.
The second hill is a giant s-hill. It is another mild element for most rows,
but those in back are again pulled down the drop and get another decent dose of laterals.
The rest of the ride consists of a series of twists and turns. No real forces, but there are
some fun visuals. Several turns hug the ground. You can definitely touch the grass if you try.
Then there also are some terrifying headchoppers with other track sections and supports.
This is one ride where I’m too terrified to raise my hands.
The coaster covers 1181 feet or 360 meters of track, but remember, you get two laps. So it’s
a pretty long coaster all things considered. And even after 4 plus decades of operation,
it is still riding very smoothly. The reason for its removal is not declining popularity.
It’s even bit as fun today as it was when it originally opened.
So what would I rate Rudy’s Rapid Transit Coaster. I’d give this coaster a 5 out of
10. It’s smooth and accommodating. But if you want some thrills, you could get some whip
in back on the first two drops. It’s a fine family coaster, but I think there are better
options out there today. So between this and the ride’s age, I get why it’s time to retire it.
So those are my thoughts on Rudy’s Rapid Transit Coaster. Let me know what you think
about the ride, its closure, or what you think will come next. If you enjoyed this video, 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!