High Roller is the classic wooden roller coaster at Valleyfair. The park’s oldest
coaster was designed by International Amusement Devices and it is still one of their more popular
attractions. Find out why in this review. High Roller was one of two coasters that
opened with Valleyfair back in 1976. While the ride was never relocated, its location in the
park has changed. The ride’s entrance is now awkwardly in the back of Planet Snoopy.
So you have all these colorful kiddie rides and then an old wood coaster in the back.
The L-shaped layout runs along the perimeter of Planet Snoopy and the front midway. High Roller
has a classic white paint scheme for the track and supports. The ride now runs two,
3 bench PTC trains. Each train can seat up to 24 riders total across 4 cars.
High Roller typically runs two trains. In my visits to Valleyfair,
it typically has had a 15-30 minute wait, which is more than reasonable for a coaster like this.
Once you reach the end of the line, you can choose whatever row you please
and I recommend the back. You have some better air on the outward leg in that seat.
And don’t be afraid to sit in a wheel seat or the back of a car on this one.
There are some bumps, but this ride is quite smooth for a 45 year old wood coaster.
The ride used to have single position lap bars,
but it now has seatbelts and individual ratcheting lap bars like most wood coasters.
Once dispatched, you’ll hear the employee draw out the ride’s name.
You then turn towards the lift and ascend the 70 foot or 21 meter tall lift hill. If you look left,
you can see some of the haunt attractions. The first drop looks unassuming, but the
drop actually hits a max angle of 52 degrees and those in back get a decent pop of ejector airtime.
You get the same airtime in the subsequent camelback in the back row as well.
Those up front get a phenomenon on the camelback that I call bumpy airtime. It’s a type of
airtime you only get on classic wood coasters. Rather than having one fluid airtime moment,
you get bounced out of your seat 2-3 times. It’s not the strongest airtime, but it’s different.
The entry into the far turnaround delivers bumpy airtime for those up front yet again.
The turn is pretty slow, but you’re about to get a whole lot slower.
There is a harsh trim brake at the end of the turn. I can only imagine how strong the
return run would be without that brake. Despite the speed loss, the drop off that
turnaround still manages to give weak airtime for those in back.
You then navigate a bunny hill. This gives bumpy airtime for all.
Next is a larger hill. This one gives nice lifter airtime for those up front,
but unfortunately no airtime if you’re further back in the train.
You then cruise over another bunny hill. This again gives bumpy airtime for those up front.
Those in back get a moderate pop of airtime on the drop.
High Roller then enters an L-turnaround. It’s too gradual to offer any airtime
entering or exiting the element, but High Roller has one last trick up its sleeve.
The final bunny hill delivers a good ejector pop for everyone.
It really sneaks up on you after the relatively mild series of bunny hills on the return run.
It’s the best part of the ride by far. You then enter the final turnaround.
You get one final burst of weak airtime up front and then you turn into the final brake run, ending
the 2982 foot or 909 meter long coaster. High Roller supposedly has a top speed of 50 mph
or 80 kph, but I think that speed is widely exaggerated. This coaster does not feel fast at
all. Thankfully, many hills still manage to give some degree of airtime despite the lack of speed.
So what would I rate High Roller? I would give this classic wood coaster a 6 out of 10.
This is a solid attraction. There are some nice airtime pops, particularly in the back row,
and the ride is very smooth given its age. The ride isn’t the fastest nor wildest,
but it is a reasonably fun coaster for all ages. So those are my thoughts on High
Roller at Valleyfair. What are your thoughts on Valleyfair’s oldest wood coaster? Do you like
this attraction? Let me know your thoughts down below. If you enjoyed this review, I’d
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lot more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!