Desert Race at Heide Park is one of the smallest Intamin accelerators. This ride is routinely
overshadowed by the model’s larger coasters, but this one does some things better. Mainly,
it offers a more complete layout. Find out why this is actually a
really good launch coaster in this review. Intamin debuted the accelerator coaster in 2002.
The hallmark of this model was a hydraulic launch. This method produced some of the fastest
accelerations of any coaster. The model has been plagued by reliability issues and none have been
built since 2010. In fact, some have closed in recent years. But in the 2000s, Intamin sold 14
of them and 3 are still operated by Merlin. Alton Towers opened Rita in 2005. At the time,
this was the world’s smallest accelerator. Rita was a fraction of the size of the first three,
primarily due to the height restrictions imposed on the British theme park. But it
was well-received by locals for the intense launch and sense of speed.
So when Heide Park needed a new coaster in 2007, it’s not too surprising they added an
accelerator coaster of their own. And Desert Race would be a near clone.
It was 7 feet shorter, but 2 mph faster. And the layout was nearly identical. Both rides consist
of a series of overlapping s-hills and low turns. However, Desert Race featured a modified finale.
Rita’s 4th hill is a hop into the final brake run. The coaster then slowly crawls back to the
station. On Desert Race, the 4th hill is a bunny hill with a trim that saps most of your momentum.
You then have a slightly faster return to the station.
While Desert Race doesn’t dominate the skyline like some accelerator coasters, it still looks
quite good. As the name suggests, the ride is themed to a high-speed joyride through a desert.
The track is black with yellowish supports. The red and blue trains contrast nicely with this.
Then there is a giant helicopter above the launch track that doubles as the operator booth.
The station itself is pretty bare appearance-wise, but it does have a catchy soundtrack that’ll get
you amped up for your ride. It’s one of the more underrated coaster soundtracks in my opinion.
This ride usually has a bit of a line. It has routinely had a 30ish minute wait in my visits.
Compared to the other hydraulic launch coasters,
this one seems to be more reliable. I haven’t seen it go down for any
mechanical issues in my visits to Heide, nor have I heard about it having major issues.
However, you do need to be careful on a rainy day. This coaster will not run while it’s raining.
So if rain is in the forecast, ride it right away if it’s open.
Desert Race features 2 trains and I’ve always seen both in use. Each train is comprised of
5 cars and each car seats 4 riders in 2 rows of 2, so the trains can accommodate
a max of 20 people. And they usually are fully loaded. That’s because of the station set-up.
At the end of the queue line, there is a turnstile letting exactly 20 people
into the station to fill each seat on the ride. And if there’s a single seat leftover,
the attendant will aggressively call for singles. This definitely keeps the line moving.
However, it can be tricky if you want a specific seat. It’s first-come, first-served. And the
attendants don’t seem to let you wait for an extra cycle, even if you ask nicely. Fortunately
the seat doesn’t matter too much on this one. Like many accelerator coasters, I do think the
front is a bit better for the blast of wind on the launch, but the other elements feel identical.
Most people will take the front first, so if you want that seat, you really need to be at
the front of the turnstile to get it. You also need to move quickly. There are double-sided
cubbies for your loose articles. If you stop here, people will pass you.
It’s also worth noting that even if you walk to the row you want, the attendants
sometimes will move smaller groups and singles to make sure larger parties can sit together.
Desert Race’s station is set-up with separate load and unload platforms. This definitely helps
the crew dispatch the trains as fast as possible. They can check the restraints quickly. The biggest
limiter seems to be the launch position. Desert Race takes off directly from the station. So the
train on the unload platform cannot advance until after the train ahead has cleared the first hill.
This ride features over-the-shoulder harnesses like those on Six Flags Great Adventure’s Kingda
Ka. You have a thick cylindrical portion that rests over your lap and hard straps.
I know the latter get quite a bit of attention, but they don’t bother me since Desert Race is
pretty darn smooth and free of headbanging. I’d prefer just a lap bar for the added
freedom, but these restraints are ok. Once secured, the launch sequence begins.
You roll backwards as the train engages with the catch car and racing lights ahead of you blink in
sequence. And when those lights turn green, you take off like a rocket. You go from 0 to 63 mph
or 100 kph in just 2.4 seconds. While the larger accelerator coasters undoubtedly have more power,
this launch is no slouch. It accelerates faster than most magnetic launch coasters,
especially since it occurs from a standstill. You really get yanked down the launch track.
You then zoom around a low turn. It has a bit of a shuffle to it,
but it’s a great element between the speed and decent sustained positive Gs.
You then fly over the first and largest of three s-hills. Everyone gets a decent ejector pop as
you crest it. You then twist back to the ground and fluidly transition into another low turn.
This one is even more forceful than the first, applying even more positives.
This leads into another s-hill. This one has a sweet headchopper with the first one,
as you shoot beneath it. Then everyone gets some weak ejector airtime with a pinch of laterals.
This leads into another- you guessed it- low turn.
It’s not as intense as the first two, but it still has some force to it.
You then fly over a small s-hill. Those in back get a good pop of airtime. It does weaken
as you move forwards, but it’s still solid. And then everyone gets a dash of laterals as well.
You then head into the fourth and final hill. Everyone will sharply lift out of their seat for
an instant, but you quickly come back down when the trim brake engages at the top of the descent.
It’s a bummer that brake couldn’t be placed lower.
You then slowly twist around the maintenance shed and head back to the unload platform,
ending the 2133 foot or 650 meter long coaster. Desert Race is short. You have approximately
25 seconds of ride time from the moment you launch until you hit the trim on the 4th hill.
But it still feels like a more complete ride than some of the other accelerator coasters
since it packs in more elements. You have 4 hills that dish out airtime plus some forceful turns.
So what would I rate Desert Race? I would give this Intamin accelerator coaster an 8 out of 10.
Heide Park’s only launch coaster is a good one. While the bigger accelerators feature
better launches, this one is still well above-average and extremely thrilling.
Then I really like this ride’s pacing. The ride carries its speed start to finish.
It feels like you never slow down, even as you’re cresting the s-hills.
And every element until that brake either offers airtime or positives.
Just because this ride doesn’t have the stats of its larger brethren,
doesn’t mean this ride is bad. I genuinely like this coaster and think it’s pretty underrated.
So those are my thoughts on Desert Race at Heide Park. What are your thoughts on this
hydraulic launch coaster? Do you think this ride does enough between the launch and layout?
Let me know down below in the comments. If you enjoyed this review, I’d appreciate it if you
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more roller coaster and amusement park videos here at Canobie Coaster. Thanks for watching!