Storm Chaser at Kentucky Kingdom is a Rocky Mountain Construction I-box roller coaster
and many consider it to be among the most powerful of the RMCs.
So in this video, I will review Storm Chaser and share how I think it stacks up to the
rest of the company’s offerings.
Storm Chaser was a conversion of the former Twisted Twins roller coaster.
Twisted Twins was a Custom Coasters International dueling wooden roller coaster built in 1998
when Six Flags owned the park.
The ride was originally named Twisted Sisters, but the Twisted Sister rock band threatened
to sue Six Flags if they didn’t change the name.
Twisted Twins operated until the end of the 2007 season.
That was the year Kentucky Kingdom had the tragic accident on the Superman Tower of Power
drop tower.
The backlash from that incident combined with the debt of Six Flags caused the park to close
the entire Northwest section of the park that included Twisted Twins.
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom closed after the 2009 season and sat idle for 5 years until
Ed Hart saved the park and reopened it as just Kentucky Kingdom in 2014.
The reopening was highlighted by an all-new Chance Morgan Hyper-GTX roller coaster called
Lightning Run, but the entire back section of the park remained closed.
In 2015, Kentucky Kingdom announced they would convert Twisted Twins into an RMC steel coaster
called Storm Chaser.
This was a bold move for the Louisville park, but Ed Hart stated that coasters were the
key to driving attendance.
And the conversion of Twisted Twins was interesting for several reasons.
One, it’s the smallest coaster RMC has converted to date.
Twisted Twins was just 80 feet or 24 meters tall and 3000 feet or 914 meters in length.
Two, Twisted Twins was already a hybrid coaster.
This was built during the time period when a majority of CCI’s coasters had steel support
structures.
So Storm Chaser is just barely a hybrid coaster.
Most of the ride follows the Lola side of Twisted Twins, so a majority of the steel
support structure was reused.
Some wood was added to increase the ride’s height and adjust the profiling though.
When Storm Chaser was announced, I remember many enthusiasts saying RMC was mailing it
in with this ride.
But this ride quickly silenced its critics once it opened in 2016.
I’ve ridden Storm Chaser several times- in 2016, 2018, 2019, and 2020.
Many people rode it in 2020 for Keys to the Kingdom and it was running slower than it
has for me in the past.
I don’t think the half-loaded trains were the reason.
That is how I usually ride Storm Chaser.
Because the coaster is located in the very back of the park- with very few rides around
it- you can often marathon it the first 1-2 hours of the day.
And it usually is still no more than a 1-2 train wait even in the afternoon.
It’s a treat when a signature coaster like this is a walk-on from an enthusiast’s standpoint.
Storm Chaser runs the first generation RMC trains.
The restraints and shin guards really box you in, but I have no issues from a comfort
standpoint.
And I find the crew operating this ride doesn’t tend to push down that hard on the restraints,
so you often have more room than other RMCs to experience the airtime.
In terms of the best seat, I prefer the back by a slim margin.
I think the airtime is a little more abrupt back there, but every row gives incredible
airtime.
Storm Chaser begins with a 100 foot tall or 30.5 meter tall lift.
At the top, you perform a U-turn and then head down America’s first barrel roll drop.
This inversion has some incredible hangtime.
And it’s interesting to see how the profiling was adjusted on Twisted Timbers.
The barrel roll drop on Twisted Timbers is steeper, so it’s more whippy.
The one on Storm Chaser is more drawn out and sustains the hangtime for longer.
That’s followed by my favorite part of the ride- the second hill.
This giant camelback has some powerful and sustained ejector airtime.
It’s more reminiscent of an Intamin than a RMC, as the latter usually focuses on quicker
and more abrupt pops.
Then comes a 135-degree overbank, which technically counts as the ride’s second inversion.
It doesn’t really feel like an inversion to me, but it’s a decent element.
It has a little bit of float to it, but more importantly, some wicked headchoppers with
the supports.
And on that note, I need to talk about one of the most frightening headchoppers in the
world you can experience on Storm Chaser if you’re lucky.
This park is located in downtown Louisville less than 2 miles from the airport.
So it you time it right, a plane may fly overhead which is one of the most jarring sights you
can experience on a roller coaster.
But back to Storm Chaser, after that pseudo-inversion, you traverse the far turnaround.
The entrance and exit to this element give strong pops of ejector airtime in the back.
Usually the front does the same, but in 2020, only the entrance gave a strong pop of ejector.
The exit to this turnaround was just giving a weak pop in 2020.
That’s followed by a forgettable overbank.
It doesn’t really add anything to the ride; it just changes your direction.
But it leads into a picturesque bunny hill with some glorious sustained airtime.
Usually this is strong ejector, but in 2020 it was more of the fl-jector variety.
However, I didn’t mind too much since it was just as sustained as ever.
You then whip through a zero-G roll.
I always forget how snappy this inversion is on Storm Chaser.
You seem to take it with more speed than the zero-G rolls on the other mid-sized RMCs.
And then this leads into the famous trick-track double up.
For many, this is their favorite part of Storm Chaser, but I prefer the more sustained airtime
hills earlier in the ride.
That being said, this element has some strong airtime pops, particularly if the ride is
running fast.
That’s followed by a double down.
This is another element that’s stronger in the back, as the airtime pops are considerably
more violent.
But you still get two pops of airtime up front.
Then comes a rather dull and slow helix.
By this point, Storm Chaser has run out of gas and is just limping back to the brake
run.
The pop into the brake run is sharp though, so it gives a weak pop of airtime and laterals
if you’re riding up front.
If the ride is running faster, these forces become more pronounced, but they still pale
in comparison to the airtime earlier in the ride.
Like all the RMC hybrids, Storm Chaser is immaculately smooth.
Storm Chaser also has several great airtime hills.
Where the ride does suffer a bit is in the pacing department.
The ride has good pacing overall, but there are some filler elements.
The overbanks are just ok and the final helix is pretty poor, so you don’t quite finish
with a bang.
So what do I rank Storm Chaser?
I would give this RMC creation a 9 out of 10.
This ride has a nice mix of sustained airtime hills, abrupt ejector pops, and thrilling
inversions.
It showcases everything RMC does best even if it is smaller than many of their other
rides.
I think Storm Chaser is in the middle of the pack for the RMCs- around rides like Twisted
Timbers, Twisted Cyclone, Wicked Cyclone, and Joker.
How fast Storm Chaser is running depends if it’s in the upper or lower half of that
grouping.
The most interesting debate for me is whether it’s the best ride at Kentucky Kingdom.
Right now, I think I prefer Lightning Run, but it’s splitting hairs.
I like the sequencing of elements on that coaster better.
I like how Lightning Run has great airtime throughout and finishes with a bang with four
of the most aggressive airtime hills out there.
So those are my thoughts on Storm Chaser, the RMC hybrid coaster at Kentucky Kingdom.
Have you ridden this coaster?
How do you think it compares to Lightning Run and the other RMCs?
I would love to hear what you think down in the comments.
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