Silverwood: General Discussion

[Matt N]

Silverwood, a small theme park in Idaho, has today announced that they are going to build Stunt Pilot, an RMC Raptor, for 2021:

The ride looks to be the Prototype layout (think Wonder Woman/RailBlazer), and it is inspired by the daily air shows that the park used to run back in the 1980s/1990s.

I think this looks like a phenomenal addition, so I thought it might be nice to give Silverwood its own topic to celebrate! In terms of other things at the park, they also have Aftershock, one of the few Vekoma Giant Inverted Boomerangs ever built, as well as two CCI woodies in the form of Tremors and Timber Terror. Interestingly, I think the park is actually very near to the RMC headquarters; could this have possibly led them to build an RMC?

What do you guys think of Stunt Pilot, or Silverwood in general?

 

[Rick]

Fred Grubb has a long history with Silverwood as an employee and a consultant, so that's presumably related.

They're great rides and I am sure it will do wonders for the park. They have some great bits and bobs, it's all very charming.

 

[Pleasure Beach Valhalla]

I always expected this and it's a almost clone of RailBlazer btw @Matt N ! It'll be good to see Silverwood get a new coaster since Aftershock!

 

[Thameslink Rail]

How much does an RMC Raptor cost? I can't find any figures on Wikipedia or RCDB, my guess is the cost is probably cheap enough for a small park with ambition outside the UK but too much for even the big players in the UK.

 

[MakoMania]

How much does an RMC Raptor cost? I can't find any figures on Wikipedia or RCDB, my guess is the cost is probably cheap enough for a small park with ambition outside the UK but too much for even the big players in the UK.

I believe they’re remarkably cheap. One was being sold off at IAAPA 2019 for less than $1 million, obviously not including shipping and construction etc...

Knock down the bowladrome and throw one of these cheap clones in that space I say!

 

[Matt N]

I think there are numerous parks in the UK that could easily afford a Raptor; Merlin and Blackpool probably could, for a start, and it wouldn’t surprise me if somewhere like Paultons, Drayton or Flamingoland could quite easily buy one! Especially if they’re allegedly as cheap as @MakoMania is making out!

Judging by the overwhelmingly positive reception of them, RMC Raptors look like a coaster model where parks get a huge bang for their buck, possibly more so than even the vast majority of other compact, low cost coaster types!

 

[MakoMania]

Now I don’t think less than $1m is the normal price, they probably got a cancellation and needed to get rid of one quickly, but if it’s being sold off that cheap they can’t be hugely expensive rides to buy.​

 

[Pleasure Beach Valhalla]

So are there any construction photos for how Stunt Pilot is getting along?

 

[Matt N]

Stunt Pilot opened on 29th May to rave reviews; the ride seems to be going down a treat so far, although there have apparently been some minor alterations to the ride compared to the prototype layout, including a less steep first drop, 2 additional rows, and a few other subtle changes in profiling.


In other, less positive, news, there was an arson attempt at Silverwood last week: https://www.spokesman.com/stories/2021/jun/05/silverwood-roller-coaster-set-ablaze-by-arsonist-d/


The ride being set on fire was Timber Terror. Thankfully, only a small section of the ride caught fire, and this section was quickly put out and replaced; the ride was open again for guests later in the day.