Shivering Timbers

Shivering Timbers is a wooden roller coaster located at Michigan's Adventure in Muskegon County, Michigan. It was developed and built by Custom Coasters International. Opened in May 1998, Shivering Timbers debuted for the park's 32nd year in operation and was a success. Construction for the ride began in 1997. The trains were made by Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters. The ride's out and back layout is 5,383 feet (1,641 m) long, making it the fourth-longest wooden roller coaster in the world. The ride has been re-tracked by Martin & Vleminckx and Great Coasters International.^[1] Shivering Timbers is the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Michigan.

Shivering Timbers
As seen from Midway near Wolverine Wildcat
Michigan's Adventure
Location	Michigan's Adventure
Coordinates	43°20′32″N 86°16′34″W / 43.34222°N 86.27611°W / 43.34222; -86.27611
Status	Operating
Opening date	May 23, 1998 (1998-05-23)
Cost	$4.5 million
General statistics
Type	Wood
Manufacturer	Custom Coasters International
Track layout	Out and Back
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	122 ft (37 m)
Length	5,383 ft (1,641 m)
Speed	57 mph (92 km/h)
Duration	2:30
Max vertical angle	53.3°
Trains	2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train.
Shivering Timbers at RCDB

Ride experience

The ride starts with a left turn out of the station and onto the 122 feet (37 m) lift hill. At the base of the first drop, the train reaches its maximum speed of 57 mph (92 km/h). Following the lift hill are two camelback hills. In both, riders experience "ejector air-time". The train then jumps a bunny hop and another camelback hill and a double uphill, before turning around for the second half of its course. After the turnaround, the train hits another bunny hop and another double uphill. After the double uphill, there is a series of six bunny hop hills. After the last hill, there is an on-ride photo camera and the ride's finale, a 630-degree helix, in which riders experience lateral g-force. After the helix, the train slides onto the final brake run and executes a U-turn back into the station.^{[citation needed]}

Incidents

On June 19, 2021, a train with guests was stopped by the ride's computer on the final emergency brakes set on the brake run after slipping past the first set due to persistent rain. Maintenance arrived shortly on the scene and deactivated the E-Stop. This caused the emergency brakes to disengage and released the stopped train, thus colliding with the second empty train in the station. The collision was not at high speed, and none of the guests faced severe injuries. The ride was closed afterward for two weeks to repair and reinforce the damaged track caused by the collision. The ride was later reopened on July 3, 2021, with only one train in operation.^{[citation needed]} The ride has since gone back to having two trains in operation for the 2022 season.

Rankings

Shivering Timbers has been consistently ranked as being among the best wooden roller coasters in the Golden Ticket Awards, having always been ranked in the top 25.

Golden Ticket Awards: Top wood Roller Coasters

Year	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2021	2022	2023
Ranking	4^[2]	2^[3]	2^[4]	2^[5]	2^[6]	2^[7]	3^[8]	6^[9]	6^[10]	7^[11]	10^[12]	11^[13]	9^[14]	9^[15]	10^[16]	15^[17]	20^[18]	19^[19]	25^[20]	21 (tie)^[21]	15^[22]	21^[23]	19^[24]	17^[25]

NAPHA Survey: Favorite Wood Roller Coaster^[26]
Year	2006
Ranking	3

References

1. . Martin & Vleminckx. Archived from the original on June 15, 2015. Retrieved November 11, 2022.
2. "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. August 1999. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
3. "Top 25 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. August 2000. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
4. (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. August 2001. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
5. (PDF). Amusement Today: 6B. September 2002. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
6. (PDF). Amusement Today: 10–11B. September 2003. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
7. (PDF). Amusement Today: 14–15B. September 2004. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 3, 2007. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
8. (PDF). Amusement Today: 22–23B. September 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
9. (PDF). Amusement Today: 30–31B. September 2006. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
10. (PDF). Amusement Today. 11 (6.2): 42–43. September 2007. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
11. (PDF). Amusement Today. 12 (6.2): 42–43. September 2008. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
12. (PDF). Amusement Today. 13 (6.2): 38–39. September 2009. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
13. (PDF). Amusement Today. 14 (6.2): 38–39. September 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
14. (PDF). Amusement Today. 15 (6.2): 46–47. September 2011. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
15. "Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 16 (6.2): 46–47. September 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
16. (PDF). Amusement Today. 17 (6.2): 40–41. September 2013. Archived from the original (PDF) on October 19, 2013. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
17. "2014 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 18 (6.2): 38–39. September 2014. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
18. "2015 Top 50 wood Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. 19 (6.2): 45–46. September 2015. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
19. "2016 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2016. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
20. "2017 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2017. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
21. "2018 Top 50 Wooden Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2018. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
22. "2019 Top 50 Wood Coasters". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2019. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
23. "2021 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2021. from the original on November 15, 2021. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
24. "2022 Golden Ticket Award Winners". Golden Ticket Awards. Amusement Today. September 2022. from the original on September 12, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
25. . Amusement Today. 27 (6.2): 71–72. September 2023. Archived from the original on September 10, 2023. Retrieved September 13, 2016.
26. Surveys – National Amusement Park Historical Association

External links

 

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shivering Timbers.

• Official page