Thunder Run at Kentucky Kingdom has been in operation since 1990. Designed and manufactured by the Dinn Corporation with those classic trains provided by Philadelphia Toboggan Company (PTC). This compact wooden coaster has one of the more unique layouts which should please most any thrill-seeker.
Thunder Run Experience
This wooden coaster sits about the middle of the way into the park. It is one of the most prominently displayed wooden coasters we have ever seen. Usually, they are put on the sides of the park and you can view fifty percent of it. Here you are able to walk around the entire structure.
Riders will need to be at least 48 inches to experience Thunder Run. When you make it through the line you can choose which row you would like. There aren’t really any bad seats on this but we did prefer the front seat on this one. Any wooden coaster that focuses on hills, go for the back, any coaster that focuses on sharp turns, go for the front.
A lap bar and seatbelt will keep you safe. Upon leaving the station you will rise up the 90-foot chain lift. This coaster will give you a great view of the park from up there. When you plunge down the first drop you are in for speeds of 53 mph, some decent airtime, and great lateral forces. Once the coaster comes back into the station you are able to remove your restraints and exit safely.
Thunder Run: The Good
Our expectations of this coaster were very low the first time riding it. This coaster is one of the only Dinn Corporation coasters left still running and they aren’t known for aging well. We are so happy to report that Kentucky Kingdom has taken incredibly good care of this wooden classic. You would expect this to be rough and painful. You would be wrong. This doesn’t feel like a brand new coaster, but it certainly doesn’t feel like a Dinn from 1990!
Our favorite thing about this coaster is the genius layout. Coasters work on momentum. A chain will bring them to the top. Then they spend the rest of the ride burning off the energy of being up that high and dropping. With Thunder Run, you will notice every hill is a little shorter than the one before it. Also, the coaster keeps getting to the edge of its boundaries and does this really intense banked turn to go the other way. Those turns get sharper and therefore more intense as the ride progresses.
The result of the design is that the coaster never feels like it is slowing down. The hills are shorter but that doesn’t make them boring. You may actually be going slower later but the sharper you take a turn the more intense it is. Just truly great stuff.
The Bad
There are some basic complaints that can be made about Thunder Run. We praised how good it runs for a coaster like this but that isn’t to say it is smooth. It is rough. However not so much as to make it an uncomfortable ride for us. Also, we have never liked the type of lap bar restraint that PTC puts on these. They always make for an uncomfortable ride experience.
Final Verdict
Thunder Run is a shockingly good coaster for Kentucky Kingdom. We went to this park to ride Storm Chaser and Lightning Run. This coaster was one we barely were thinking about. With its okay airtime, great laterals, and impressive layout this coaster is the sleeper hit for the park. The complaints are generic. We don’t think this will be many people’s favorite coaster in the park but it will likely impress you more than you would think it will. Because of these reasons, Thunder Run gets an eight out of ten.
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