Thunderbolt at Luna Park is one of the most polarizing roller coasters in America.
This super narrow steel coaster has some exciting elements- including a vertical drop, 4 inversions,
and powerful airtime hills.
However, many find the coaster too uncomfortable or rough to enjoy?
So do I find the coaster underrated or is it as cruddy as the reputation suggests?
Find out in this review!
Now this steel coaster isn’t the first Thunderbolt at Coney Island.
Heck, it isn’t even the second.
The first was a John A. Miller wood coaster that operated from 1925 to 1982.
This coaster stood where the steel Thunderbolt does today.
Then Deno’s Wonder Wheel Park added and still owns a Chance flying bobs named Thunderbolt.
In 2010, Zamperla took over operation of Luna Park.
They immediately populated the park with a collection of their roller coasters and flat
rides.
Zamperla has continued to invest in the park and have used it as a show floor, adding several
prototype rides over the years.
And the most notable is Thunderbolt.
Announced in 2013, this would be Zamperla’s new generation thrill coaster.
Thunderbolt would be Zamperla’s largest coaster to date, standing 115 feet or 35 meters
tall and featuring 2234 feet or 681 meters of track.
And it would amazingly fit on a piece of land just 50 feet wide.
The limited land prompted Zamperla to include an elevator lift in the initial rendering,
but the final version would feature a vertical lift.
This coaster would have a lot of similarities to the highly popular Gerstlauer EuroFighters
between the steep drop, inversion-centric layout, and short trains.
Thunderbolt opened in 2014 and it has quite the presence on Coney Island’s skyline.
The orange track looks good by day, but the coaster looks exceptional at night with the
multi-colored lighting package.
It’s one of the best-looking coasters at night in my opinion.
I also love the signage for this attraction.
The coaster’s name is on both sides of the lift hill and the main entrance off the boardwalk
also features a large sign.
Now this coaster’s placement is a bit weird.
While it’s owned by Luna Park and included on wristbands, it’s all by itself at the
end of the amusement boardwalk.
Thunderbolt runs right up against West 15th Street and Surf Avenue, so you can get super
close to this slender coaster.
If you want to ride Thunderbolt you can either pay $10 per ride or purchase the pricey Luna
Park wristband.
I always opt for the latter since I always want to marathon the Cyclone and get a handful
of rides on Thunderbolt as well.
Thunderbolt usually has a modest 10-20 minute wait.
The high price point helps keep lines down even on weekends and the coaster always runs
multiple cars.
There can only be one on the main circuit at any given time, but by running 2-3 cars,
they have separate load and unload areas so they can prepare multiple cars at once.
This keeps the line moving on busy days despite the small size of the vehicles.
It also helps that you can’t bring any loose articles to the ride platform.
Before the final section of the queue, there is a complimentary bag and loose article check.
Thunderbolt’s cars hold just 9, yes 9, riders.
It’s sort of an awkward number as the cars feature 3 rows with 3 guests in each.
So if you’re a single rider, you can often skip past the last part of the line.
Once you reach the station, seating is on a first-come, first-served basis.
And you cannot wait for a specific seat.
Almost everyone fills in the front first, so it can be tricky to get this unobstructed
view.
However, I actually prefer the back since the airtime is a little better back there.
Now let’s talk about the restraints.
And this is one of the biggest sticking points about the ride.
They are overhead lap bars that swivel.
And the operators will 100% staple you.
They usually throw all their might into the restraint and crush your thighs like a panini
press.
It’s not comfortable due to how tight they are, but I don’t find it painful.
Then you also have these flimsy shoulder straps.
Zamperla admitted this coaster can run without them, but they added them for the comfort
of guests.
For me, they’re a non-factor since they don’t inhibit my ability to experience this
coaster’s airtime or hangtime.
The other point of contention with Thunderbolt is its roughness.
I first rode this coaster in 2016, but Zamperla made some improvements to this coaster between
2014 and 2015.
That offseason, I tried interviewing with Zamperla for a position out of college.
The interview took place at Coney Island and one of the projects they were working on was
to improve Thunderbolt’s alignment in the valleys.
Work was actively taking place on the pullout from the first drop and it’s possible similar
work was done elsewhere on the ride.
I didn’t ride Thunderbolt until 2016, but it sounds like the coaster was considerably
shakier in its initial season.
Thunderbolt has used these learnings on their subsequent installations such as Rollin’
Thunder at OWA.
While I haven’t ridden that coaster, those who have ridden both Thunderbolt and Rollin’
Thunder all seem to agree that Rollin’ Thunder is less jostly.
Thunderbolt undeniably has a shake to it, but it’s not a dealbraker for me.
The restraints don’t cause any headbanging since they come nowhere near your head.
So I can tolerate the shaking since the elements around it are fantastic.
How well you can tolerate this shake and the tight lap bars will impact your ability to
enjoy this coaster.
Thunderbolt begins with a slow U-turn out of the station and then you ascend the vertical
lift hill.
To your left, you get a neat view of the Brooklyn Cyclones baseball stadium.
To the right, you get a full view of Coney Island.
And if you look behind you, you can see the beach and Atlantic Ocean.
The views are fantastic, even if they are at weird angles.
Once at the top, you head down the vertical drop.
Everyone gets a good initial pop of ejector airtime, but it feels a little stronger in
the back.
You’re then quickly pulled back into your seat due to a trim brake.
I wish the trim was located further down, but the drop still delivers a strong start.
The pullout has some solid positive Gs and you also get a little shaking.
You then navigate a large vertical loop.
Due to how much you decelerate at the top, you get a little bit of hangtime.
The loop’s pullout is the shakiest on the ride, but again I don’t find it unbearable.
You then navigate a zero-G roll.
This element has an abrupt twist at the top, so it delivers some strong and forceful hangtime.
This flip is a bit jerky though, so you’ll get some unintended lateral shuffling along
with that awesome hangtime.
You then soar through a large and funky banked hill.
It looks sort of like a wave turn.
This element does nothing up front, but you get some faint floater airtime in the back
of the car.
That’s followed by the most extreme inversion on the ride, the dive loop.
And this element is bizarrely profiled.
It feels off-axis at points.
The snappy twist into the element delivers an upside-down pop of airtime.
And then the dive downwards is very forceful.
The positive Gs try and bend you over the restraint.
This maneuver will also jostle you quite a bit, but I’m too busy enjoying the combo
of hangtime and positives to be bothered.
Thunderbolt then rips over back-to-back bunny hills.
The first one has a trim brake that usually will slow you down a bit, but the next two
hills offer some great airtime.
Everyone gets sustained ejector airtime, but it’s a little stronger in the back.
You then whip through a corkscrew.
This element offers some good hangtime paired with wild laterals because of its compactness.
Thunderbolt has one final off-axis hill and this is the one most impacted by the trim
at the start of the return run.
If the trim doesn’t hit, you’ll get some more ejector airtime.
When the trim hits, you’ll only get sustained floater airtime.
You then pop into the brake run, giving those up front one last little airtime pop, before
hitting the brakes.
While the smoothness is questionable, the ride’s pacing is undeniably fantastic.
Outside of maybe the wave turn, every other element is amazing.
The inversions offer wild hangtime and all of the airtime hills really throw you from
your seat.
So what would I rate Thunderbolt?
I would personally give this Zamperla creation an 8 out of 10.
This is a fun albeit flawed coaster.
The restraints are super tight and the ride is quite shaky at points, but the ride never
caused me pain.
The ride was just a bit uncomfortable at points.
While I wish it tracked better, I keep coming back for what this coaster does well.
Getting ejector airtime on a looping coaster like this is a real treat.
And all four inversions get me out of my seat.
And the way the elements are thrown at you in rapid-fire succession is wonderful.
I can’t wait to see what Zamperla does in the future.
They’ve revealed updated trains at IAAPA and if they can continue to improve the smoothness
of their coasters, I think they have a bright future since Thunderbolt shows their willingness
to build dynamic layouts.
So those are my thoughts on Thunderbolt at Luna Park.
Do you agree with me that this coaster is underrated?
Or do you find this coaster too rough or uncomfortable?
I would love to hear your thoughts down in the comments.
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