The newest Coney Island roller coaster, The Thunderbolt, will officially open Memorial Day weekend, sending thrill-seekers through vertical loops, drops and a zero-gravity roll at up to 55 mph.
Breaking ground Monday on the site of the original wooden Thunderbolt, the ride will be Coney Island’s first custom roller coaster since 1927, when the Cyclone was built.
The new coaster will stand at 115 feet tall with 2,233 feet of track.
“The approximately 2-minute ride begins with a jaw-dropping 90-degree vertical drop, followed by a 100 foot vertical loop, a 80 foot zero-g roll, a 112 degree over-banked turn, a unique heartline dive, a corkscrew, and several airtime hills,” according to a release from Luna Park, where the roller coaster will be built.
The ride will also be the first roller coaster in the area since 1910 to send riders on a vertical loop.
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