''Rattlesnake'' is a steel wild mouse style
roller coaster
A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides ar ...
ride which opened in 1998 at the
Chessington World of Adventures Resort
Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around southwest of Central London. The complex opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, with the theme park being developed alon ...
in southwest
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...
.
History

''Rattlesnake'' is a steel wild mouse style
roller coaster
A roller coaster, or rollercoaster, is a type of amusement ride that employs a form of elevated railroad track designed with tight turns, steep slopes, and sometimes inversions. Passengers ride along the track in open cars, and the rides ar ...
ride which opened in 1998 at
Chessington World of Adventures Resort
Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around southwest of Central London. The complex opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, with the theme park being developed alon ...
as the theme park's third coaster. It was designed by Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH and manufactured by
Maurer Söhne
Maurer AG, formerly known as Maurer Söhne GmbH & Co. KG, is a steel construction company and roller coaster manufacturer. Founded in 1876 in Munich, Germany, the company has built many styles of steel buildings, ranging from bridges, industrial ...
/ Wilde Maus Classic. it is over 1000 feet long.
Due to local planning restrictions (a result of the park being on
green belt
A green belt is a policy and land-use zone designation used in land-use planning to retain areas of largely undeveloped, wilderness, wild, or agricultural landscape, land surrounding or neighboring urban areas. Similar concepts are greenway (lan ...
land ) the land designated for the ride area was excavated, resulting in the ride being partially submerged below ground level. The layout consists of a steep lift hill, sharp turns and small airtime hills.
In June 2015, both Rattlesnake and
Dragon's Fury were closed down when an accident happened on
The Smiler
The Smiler is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, it opened in 2013 as the world's first Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster. It is located in the X-Sector area of the park. With ...
at
Alton Towers
Alton Towers Resort ( ) (often referred to as Alton Towers) is a theme park and resort complex in Staffordshire, England, near the village of Alton. The park is operated by Merlin Entertainments Group and incorporates a theme park, water pa ...
.
Ride experience
''The Rattlesnake'' is themed around a
Mexican
Mexican may refer to:
Mexico and its culture
*Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America
** People
*** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants
*** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...
mine of the
Wild West
The American frontier, also known as the Old West or the Wild West, encompasses the geography, history, folklore, and culture associated with the forward wave of American expansion in mainland North America that began with European colonial ...
era, with the cars resembling mine carts and a number of wooden structures and animated figures. The installation of the ride prompted the renaming of the park's 'Calamity Canyon' area to '
Mexicana', which remains today.
The layout starts with a large climb up a 45-degree angle lift hill. Once disengaging from the chain you turn right and continue to snake your way down a length of slightly sloped track making 180 degree turns every now and then. Then you travel around an elongated 270 degree right hand turn into a straight. You go up a small slope and then into some brakes. A 180-degree turn follows with a large drop down and up. Another 180-degree right-hand turn follows into a number of air time hills into a building themed to look damaged at which point the on-ride photo is taken. You then travel through another 180 degree turn into another air time hill before going into the final set of brakes which will halt you hard.
Restrictions
''Rattlesnake'' has a height restriction: minimum 1.4 metres, maximum 1.96 metres. There are also chest restrictions for waist measurements 51 inches or above. However, if the lap-bar cannot fit over one's legs, then one cannot ride as they cannot be kept restrained.
The ride is quite rough and jerky, and therefore anyone with back and neck problems cannot ride.
Gallery
See also
*
Chessington World of Adventures
Chessington World of Adventures Resort is a theme park, zoo and hotel complex in Chessington, Greater London, England, around southwest of Central London. The complex opened as Chessington Zoo in 1931, with the theme park being developed alo ...
References
External links
Rattlesnakeat ThemeParks-UK
{{John Wardley
1998 establishments in England
Roller coasters in the United Kingdom
Roller coasters operated by Merlin Entertainments
Chessington World of Adventures rides
Roller coasters introduced in 1998