Wild Thing is the tallest, fastest, and longest roller coaster in Minnesota. But is it the
wildest? Not quite. Located at Valleyfair, this giant Morgan hyper coaster dominates the park’s
skyline. With its abundance of camelbacks and bunny hills, Wild Thing looks like it
should in fact be wild. However, many coaster enthusiasts have nicknamed this
coaster Mild Thing. Is that truly fair to this coaster? Find out in this review of Wild Thing.
After the success of Cedar Point’s Magnum XL-200, Cedar Fair wanted to add additional hyper coasters
to their other parks. Their second hyper coaster was originally slated for Dorney Park,
but permit issues led to the plans being shifted to Valleyfair. Most surprisingly, the coaster
wouldn’t be built by Arrow Dynamics. Rather, it would be built by Morgan Manufacturing.
Morgan was founded in the 1980s. They got their start building wood coaster trains,
track-guided car rides, and flat rides. But in the mid-1990s, they dipped their
toes into the coaster market. Two of their first three projects were family coasters.
One was Gilroy Gardens’s Quicksilver Express. This mine train was designed back in 1995, but
not assembled until 2001. Another was the Santa Monica West Coaster at Pacific Park in 1996, which
has a series of graceful helixes and small drops. But their first coaster to open was Wild Thing,
a 207 foot or 63 meter tall hyper coaster. It was a surprising first coaster for Morgan,
but the company was able to utilize Steve Okamoto, who previously worked at Arrow Dynamics.
Wild Thing runs along Highway 101 and Valleyfair’s boundaries.
The giant hills define this park’s skyline and attract prospective customers. Then the turnaround
section is well integrated with the park’s Route 76 section as the helixes run overhead. And I
really like this coaster’s paint scheme too. The bright yellow track and trains both look sleek.
This was part of a trio of hyper coasters that Cedar Fair purchased from Morgan in the mid-1990s.
After the success of Wild Thing, Dorney Park finally got approval for their own
hyper coaster with Steel Force in 1997. Then Worlds of Fun built Mamba in 1998.
These three rides have similar layouts and stats.
Each ride starts with a giant first drop and a large camelback before heading into a large
turnaround section. The coaster then returns back to the station with a series of bunny hills.
However, Wild Thing has a big difference from the other two. The mid-course trim on Wild
Thing hits significantly harder. In my 2019 visit, I was brought almost to a full stop.
In my most recent visit, the train had a bit more speed on the return run, but it still harshly
slowed the train. Compare that to Steel Force that carries way more speed through the second half.
And apparently Mamba’s mid-course trim has been dialed back in 2022 as well,
allowing that coaster to also run faster. It’s a shame Wild Thing isn’t allowed to
run equally as fast. Those final bunny hills could deliver loads of airtime.
So why does Wild Thing trim so severely? There was an accident in May 2006 when one of
the brake mounts came loose, which caused the final car to partially derail, but accounts
from the early 2000s mention that the ride was already trimming extensively before this.
I’ve heard two reasons why the ride trims. One, maintenance. By using less
speed on the return run, Wild Thing puts less wear-and-tear on the coaster’s track and trains.
This particularly helps minimize how often this coaster’s wheels need to be replaced.
Two, the final brake run is short. If Wild Thing runs at its full speed,
it can cause damage to the final brake run. There are reports of the ride running trimless at some
older enthusiast and employee night events, but the ride hasn’t run trimless in several years.
When Wild Thing runs like this, the return run supposedly gives powerful ejector airtime rivaling
that of Magnum. I would love to experience Wild Thing under these conditions and I’m sure the ride
would be viewed more favorably in the coaster community if it could more regularly. However,
it doesn’t sound likely to happen anytime soon. Now while this irks enthusiasts,
Wild Thing is incredibly popular for most guests. So the park doesn’t need to disable trims for
the ride to please most guests. In my most recent weekday visit,
Wild Thing had the longest wait of any coaster. The line hovered around the 40-60 minute mark
most of the afternoon. Thankfully, each train does hold a lot of people. Each is comprised
of 6 cars with guests sitting in 3 rows of two, which means each train can hold up to 36 riders.
In both my visits, Wild Thing has run just two trains. I believe the coaster can operate with
three trains, as I’ve seen Steel Force do, but it’s quite rare to see this happen at Valleyfair.
Two trains should be fine to keep the line moving, but Wild Thing had surprisingly slow
dispatches for a Morgan. The restraints are very simple to check, but the culprits were
how the load platform was managed. There was a long delay until the entrance gates were opened.
It seemed like the crew would wait for the exit platform to be completely clear.
Then after the trains were checked, the attendant needed to lock and unlock the three different
loose article bins, which added more time. I really wish these two policies could be
revisited because Wild Thing should be even more of a people eater than it currently is.
The restraints consist of individual seatbelts and lap bars. Even at the lowest position, most guests
will have a few inches of room. This maximizes any airtime that Wild Thing is able to provide.
As for which seat to choose, I have a slight preference for the front on Wild Thing.
Not only do you have the added sense of speed, but I think every hill minus the first drop
offers better airtime in that car. Once dispatched, you subtly turn out
of the station and ascend the lift hill. This lift is extremely loud. It’s on par
with Steel Vengeance or Twisted Timbers for noise. But if you look off to the left,
you get some great views of the entire park. The first drop does what many Morgan drops do.
You have a drawn out crest, which causes the train to hang over the edge.
The coaster takes its sweet time reaching its max angle of descent of 60 degrees,
but that 196 foot or 60 meter tall drop does give good sustained floater airtime. It’s
just delayed a bit compared to most coasters. The second hill is the highlight of the ride
for me. This camelback is half the height of the first drop and it offers one of the most
sustained airtime moments on any coaster. It’s not the most powerful airtime, as it’s decent floater,
but it’s sustained for 4-5 seconds in any row. I wish Wild Thing had more hills like this!
You then climb a sizable hill that gives some more floater airtime for those up front.
Even those in the back get a faint pop of airtime cresting this hill. You then twist
into the ride’s figure 8 turnaround. I like the visuals cruising above Route 76. You navigate
an elevated overbank before navigating a low and speedy turn. The latter is one of the few points
on the coaster where you can fully feel its speed and it also offers some positive Gs as well.
You then wind upwards into the brake run and without fail, you will slow way down.
You can hear Wild Thing grinding to a near halt from anywhere within the park
You then drop off the mid-course, but unfortunately it has too little
speed to offer any airtime. You then navigate four consecutive bunny hills.
When the trim hits as hard as it usually does, you get weak floater airtime if you’re in the front or
back cars. The most notable part of this sequence is the tunnel containing the third bunny hill. I
honestly think this is one of the ugliest looking tunnels on any coaster. It’s awkwardly tall and
not the most pleasing to look at, but it is fun having a bunny hill in near total darkness.
You then hop into the final brake run, and those up front do get bounced out of their seat.
You then come to a loud stop, catching the attention of everyone in the queue line,
which ends the 5460 foot or 1660 meter long coaster.
The final thing I want to note with Wild Thing is the ride’s smoothness.
The transitions are fluid, but you’ll feel these bumps in the track along the course,
particularly in the valleys and turns. They aren’t painful for me, but they are noticeable
and persistent throughout the layout. The other two Morgan hypers in the Cedar Fair chain have
similar bumps, but they’re less prevalent. So what would I rate Wild Thing? I would give the
original Morgan hyper coaster a 5 out of 10. This is a fun coaster, but this rating reflects how it
compares to other hypers. I think the layout is good. The execution is what’s flawed. I love Wild
Thing’s outward leg, but the final 2/3 of the ride don’t wow me. The turnaround section does a lot
of meandering and the final bunny hills have very little airtime due to the mid-course trim. I wish
Wild Thing could run at its full potential because it most certainly would be a good ride under those
conditions, but it doesn’t seem likely to happen. So those are my thoughts on Wild Thing at
Valleyfair. What are your thoughts on this Morgan hyper coaster. Do you think this ride deserves the
nickname Mild Thing? Or do you enjoy this coaster for what it is? 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!