A short-lived world record holder and now dismantled, Shockwave was a massive multielement roller coaster located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL. When Shockwave opened on June 3rd, 1988 it held the record for the world's longest drop but was quickly defeated by Magnum XL-200, and lost by 40 feet. Built by Arrow Dynamics, Shockwave was to be a world contender but in its later years was nearly forgotten. Shockwave was shutdown in 2002 and dismantled in 2003 to make room for a new flying coaster: Superman - Ultimate Flight.
Riders strap in with OTSR (Over The Shoulder Restraints) then depart to face the 170-foot lift hill. After cresting the top, adrenaline junkies see the massive drop, complete with a twist going into it, which plummets riders 155 feet. Cruising at 65 mph the riders are greeted with intense vertical g-forces as they ride through three vertical loops before the midcourse brakes. The second half of this beast ushers riders through a twin corkscrew and a Kamikaze Curve for a total of seven inversions during the two minute and twenty second ride.
Shockwave
Operated 1988 - 2002
- Built by: Arrow Dynamics
- Length: 3900 feet
- Max speed: 65 mph
- Max height: 170 feet
- Drop length: 155 feet
- Duration: 2:20
- Inversions: 7
Resouces include, but are never limited to: roller coaster database, rec.roller-coasters, and endless screams through those intense vertical loops.