Thunderhawk (Michigan's Adventure)
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Thunderhawk is an
inverted roller coaster An inverted roller coaster is a type of steel roller coaster in which the train runs under the track with the seats directly attached to the wheel carriage. Riders are seated in open cars, letting their feet swing freely. The inverted coaster wa ...
located at
Michigan's Adventure Michigan's Adventure is a amusement park in Muskegon County, Michigan, about halfway between Muskegon and Whitehall. It is the largest amusement park in the state and has been owned and operated by Six Flags since 2024. The park was previo ...
amusement park in
Muskegon, Michigan Muskegon ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Muskegon County, Michigan, United States. Situated around a harbor of Lake Michigan, Muskegon is known for fishing, sailing regattas, and boating. It is the most populous city along Lake Michigan' ...
. Designed and built by
Vekoma Vekoma Rides Manufacturing is an amusement ride manufacturer. Vekoma is a syllabic abbreviation of Veld Koning Machinefabriek (Veld Koning Machine Factory) which was established in 1926 by Hendrik op het Veld. History The company originally manu ...
, the roller coaster originally debuted in 1998 as Serial Thriller at
Geauga Lake Geauga Lake was an amusement park in Bainbridge Township, Geauga County, Ohio, Bainbridge Township and Aurora, Ohio, Aurora, Ohio. It was established in 1887, in what had been a local recreation area adjacent to Geauga Lake (lake), a lake of th ...
in
Aurora, Ohio Aurora is a city in northwestern Portage County, Ohio, United States. A suburb in between Akron and Cleveland, the population was 17,239 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Akron metropolitan area. Some say Aurora was the name of the daught ...
. It was renamed Thunderhawk in 2004 following
Cedar Fair Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, or simply Cedar Fair, was an American company headquartered at its flagship Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. The company was a publicly traded master limited partnership that origina ...
's acquisition of the park. After Geauga Lake's permanent closure in 2007, Thunderhawk was dismantled and moved to Michigan's Adventure, where it reopened in 2008.


History

The ride originally opened at
Geauga Lake Geauga Lake was an amusement park in Bainbridge Township, Geauga County, Ohio, Bainbridge Township and Aurora, Ohio, Aurora, Ohio. It was established in 1887, in what had been a local recreation area adjacent to Geauga Lake (lake), a lake of th ...
as Serial Thriller on May 9, 1998. It was constructed over what was previously marshland along the shores of Geauga Lake. A small, man-made island was constructed, and to keep it dry, a pump was installed near the ride's entrance. Much of the track and its supports were built over water. The track was originally red and the supports were originally green. Serial Thriller was kept in operation following the park's ownership changes over the years involving
Six Flags Six Flags Entertainment Corporation is an American amusement park company headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina, United States. It was formed on July 2, 2024, following a merger between longtime rivals Cedar Fair and the former Six Flags ...
and
Cedar Fair Cedar Fair Entertainment Company, or simply Cedar Fair, was an American company headquartered at its flagship Cedar Point amusement park in Sandusky, Ohio, United States. The company was a publicly traded master limited partnership that origina ...
. After Cedar Fair purchased the park in 2004, the ride's name was changed to Thunderhawk. The following year, the track was repainted orange while the supports were repainted yellow. On September 21, 2007, Cedar Fair announced that the amusement park side of Geauga Lake would close, leaving only the water park, Wildwater Kingdom, in operation. On October 2, 2007, it was announced that Thunderhawk would be relocated to
Michigan's Adventure Michigan's Adventure is a amusement park in Muskegon County, Michigan, about halfway between Muskegon and Whitehall. It is the largest amusement park in the state and has been owned and operated by Six Flags since 2024. The park was previo ...
under the same name. The ride's structure began to be reconstructed in January 2008. During construction of Thunderhawk, the roller coaster was repainted with red track and the supports remained yellow. Its padding and restraints on the trains were replaced as well in accordance with the new color scheme, as well as to improve the ride experience. Michigan's Adventure also made full-length ride
DVD The DVD (common abbreviation for digital video disc or digital versatile disc) is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 1995 and first released on November 1, 1996, in Japan. The medium can store any ki ...
s available for purchase by riders. Thunderhawk opened at its current location on May 17, 2008. For the 2021 season the supports were repainted dark brown, while the track remained red.


Ride experience

After riders board the train, they are pulled up the
lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from t ...
. After cresting its highest point, it turns right and drops , reaching speeds of up to . The train then ascends into a roll over, in which the train goes through an Immelmann immediately followed by a
dive loop Roller coasters are widely known for their drops, inversions, airtime (rides), airtime, and other intense ride elements that contribute to the ride. They are also made up of a variety of features and components responsible for the mechanical opera ...
. This element inverts riders twice and is shaped like a heart. Next, the train travels through a banked hill and into a sidewinder, followed by a 270 degree downward helix into a double
inline twist Roller coasters are widely known for their drops, inversions, airtime, and other intense ride elements that contribute to the ride. They are also made up of a variety of features and components responsible for the mechanical operation and safety ...
that features multiple footchopper effects. The train curves again, dips, and rises up into the final
brake run A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track that utilizes some form of brakes to slow or stop a roller coaster train. There are various types of braking methods employed on roller coasters, including friction brakes, skid brakes, a ...
. As the train returns to the station, it curves to the right passing by its maintenance track.


Incident

On May 29, 2017, passengers were trapped on Thunderhawk for 90 minutes after a lift motor malfunction. One train was in the station while the other was on the lift hill. The ride was closed for the remainder of the day.


References


External links


Official page
{{Geauga Lake Geauga Lake Michigan's Adventure Roller coasters in Michigan Roller coasters operated by Six Flags Former roller coasters in Ohio Amusement rides that closed in 2007