Boulder Dash (roller coaster)

Boulder Dash is a wooden roller coaster located at Lake Compounce in Bristol, Connecticut. Construction for the coaster began in June 1999 and was completed in May 2000.^[1] The coaster was built by Custom Coasters International using Southern Yellow Pine wood; while the track is made of Douglas Fir. Amusement Today's annual Golden Ticket Awards ranked Boulder Dash as the world's best wooden roller coaster in 2004 and from 2013 to 2016. The trains were built by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters.^[2]

Boulder Dash
Lake Compounce
Location	Lake Compounce
Coordinates	41°38′21″N 72°55′28″W / 41.639187°N 72.924540°W / 41.639187; -72.924540Coordinates: 41°38′21″N 72°55′28″W / 41.639187°N 72.924540°W / 41.639187; -72.924540
Status	Operating
Opening date	May 21, 2000 (2000-05-21)
Cost	US$6,000,000
General statistics
Type	Wood
Manufacturer	Custom Coasters International
Designer	Dennis McNulty Larry Bill
Track layout	Terrain
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	110 ft (34 m)
Drop	115 ft (35 m)
Length	4,725 ft (1,440 m)
Speed	60 mph (97 km/h)
Duration	2:30
Max vertical angle	59°
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)
Trains	2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train.
Boulder Dash at RCDB

History

Construction for the coaster began in June 1999 and was completed in May 2000.^[1] The ride cost $6 million and was built into the side of a mountain at Lake Compounce.^[3][4] In the four years prior to the ride's opening, Lake Compounce's owners had spent $40 million on improving the park. The opening of Boulder Dash helped increase attendance at Lake Compounce, which had suffered from declining attendance in prior years.^[3]

During the 2007 off-season, about 80 percent of the ride was retracked, and some of the supports replaced, as part of a $3 million renovation. In addition, the end of the ride (which had an intentionally uneven track) was rebuilt.^[5] Lake Compounce bought PTC trains from Hersheypark's Wildcat for the 2008 season. For the 2017 season, Boulder Dash received a retracking by Martin and Vleminckx to help smooth out rough patches and replace rotting wood.^[6] The retracking also removed the triple-up hill located near the end of the ride, replacing it with a double-up hill.^[7]

Characteristics

The 4,672-foot (1,424 m) wooden roller coaster uses Lake Compounce's natural mountainous terrain, complete with trees and boulders within close proximity of the track.^[8] It is the longest wooden coaster on the East Coast.^[9]

The lift climbs the mountainside and then disappears from view. When it reappears, it has completed its first drop of 115 feet^[4][8] and is traveling sixty miles per hour as it crosses over itself and flies over the station. Much of the first half of the ride is hidden as the train climbs and drops along the mountainside.^[8] On the last drop, on-ride photos are taken and can be viewed and bought at the photo booth at the end of the exit line.

Its layout was inspired by the Rollo Coaster, a small wooden coaster at Idlewild Park (both parks are owned by the same company, Parques Reunidos).

Incidents

On June 13, 2001, a 23-year-old worker was killed after being struck by a roller coaster train.^[9][10] Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) officials subsequently visited Lake Compounce and found several safety violations, fining the park $29,000. In November 2001, this fine was halved as part of a settlement between the park and OSHA.^[11][12] The worker's family sued Lake Compounce in 2002 over the accident.^[13]

Awards and rankings

Boulder Dash was voted the world's top wooden roller coaster in 2001 by the National Amusement Park Historical Association.^[3][4] In addition, since 2001, the ride has been one of the top five wooden roller coasters as ranked by Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards. The 2004 Golden Ticket Awards was the first in which Boulder Dash was the top-ranked wooden coaster.^[5][14]

Golden Ticket Awards: Top wood Roller Coasters

Year	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2021	2022
Ranking	12^[15]	3^[16]	3^[17]	3^[18]	1^[14]	2^[19]	3^[20]	4^[21]	5^[22]	2^[23]	4^[24]	4^[25]	5^[26]	1^[27]	1^[28]	1^[29]	1^[30]	3^[31]	4^[32]	4^[33]	4^[34]	4^[35]

NAPHA Survey: Favorite Wood Roller Coaster^[36]
Year	2005
Ranking	2 (tie)^[a]

Notes

1. Tied with The Beast

References

1. . Compounce Lake.com. Archived from the original on June 18, 2000. Retrieved April 29, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
2. "Boulder Dash - Lake Compounce (Bristol, Connecticut, USA)". www.rcdb.com.
3. Gustafson, Ron (July 28, 2002). "Rolling along...again". The Journal Times. p. 51. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
4. "The World-class Boulder Dash". Hartford Courant. April 19, 2001. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
5. Murphy, Mekado (August 19, 2010). "Screaming Through the Trees". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
6. MacDonald, Brady (July 10, 2017). "Does this little amusement park really have the best wooden coaster in the world?". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
7. "Great Coasters International". www.greatcoasters.com. Retrieved November 26, 2018.
8. "Boulder Dash". Compounce Lake.com. Retrieved July 16, 2008.
9. "Attendant struck, killed at Lake Compounce". The Middletown Press. June 14, 2001. Retrieved August 26, 2018.
10. Brown, Matthew Hay; Struzzi, Diane; Waldman, Loretta (June 14, 2001). "Co-Worker: He Had No Warning". Hartford Courant. pp. 111, 122. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
11. Makwana, Rachel R. (January 4, 2002). "Park not responding to OSHA's findings". Record-Journal. p. 11. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
12. Moy, Kimberly W. (December 22, 2001). "Theme Park, OSHA Reach Deal". Hartford Courant. p. 95. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
13. Albin, Stacy (July 10, 2002). "Metro Briefing | Connecticut: Waterbury: Amusement Park Sued". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 12, 2022.
14. (PDF). Amusement Today: 14–15B. September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2007. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
15. "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. August 2000. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
16. (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
17. (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
18. (PDF). Amusement Today: 10–11B. September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
19. (PDF). Amusement Today: 22–23B. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
20. (PDF). Amusement Today: 30–31B. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
21. (PDF). Amusement Today. 11 (6.2): 42–43. September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
22. (PDF). Amusement Today. 12 (6.2): 42–43. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
23. (PDF). Amusement Today. 13 (6.2): 38–39. September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
24. (PDF). Amusement Today. 14 (6.2): 38–39. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
25. (PDF). Amusement Today. 15 (6.2): 46–47. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
26. "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 46–47. September 2012. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
27. (PDF). Amusement Today. 17 (6.2): 40–41. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
28. "2014 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2): 38–39. September 2014. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
29. "2015 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (6.2): 45–46. September 2015. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
30. "2016 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
31. "2017 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
32. "2018 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
33. "2019 Top 50 Wood Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2019. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
34. "2021 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2021. from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
35. "2022 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2022. from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 9, 2019.
36. "Member Survey". napha.org.

External links

• Official website