Thunder Dolphin Looks Like Urban Coaster Goodness!
I’ve always been a fan of terrain coasters as they utilize the unique layout of the land that they sit on. A roller coaster like Thunder Dolphin uses the man-made terrain of Tokyo as riding along the top of buildings and diving down through a cut-out in one, and then flying through the hub of a Ferris wheel.
As I’ve argued in the past, every major city should have a signature roller coaster right in the heart of the town. Tokyo’s got there’s. Well, RCDB shows Thunder Dolphin as SBNO (standing but not operating), but let’s hope that it’ll be back up and running soon.
While Robb doesn’t sound too impressed in the video. Maybe the ride’s atmosphere adds a lot too it. Maybe it doesn’t. I think Thunder Dolphin looks cool. Besides it’s the closest thing we have to this fictional coaster weaving it’s away across a city in: “The Best Roller Coaster Commercial Ever“
Here’s a POV video of Thunder Dolphin:
What’s your take? Leave a comment below. Also see: Top 3 Urban Roller Coasters
Image 1 via cc Flickr user – Freakazoid!, Image 2 via cc Flickr user – sweet_redbird
June 23, 2012 at 02:47
t looks pretty cool to me.
Hey, maybe instead of building a Streetcar, Charlotte should build a roller coaster down town.
June 23, 2012 at 10:47
If only I were the mayor. I'd get it done I tell you. Our own Queen City Coaster! Maybe I should start a fund or pledge drive or something.
June 23, 2012 at 05:17
Some of the parts in this coaster look useless and boring .
June 23, 2012 at 10:46
Agreed that one section where Robb complains in the video looks weird. Maybe they thought you'd be feeling like the ride was going to dump you out over the ledge of that building. I'm not sure what they were going for there. They probably just should have stuck with some textbook airtime hills, but for me the rest of looks pretty cool. Especially the first drop.
June 23, 2012 at 16:25
Only Japan would name a roller coaster Thunder Dolphin.
July 12, 2012 at 09:26
I like the name…
June 24, 2012 at 08:42
The Tokyo atmosphere definitely makes the coaster. Put in in an open feild and it really wouldn't be anything special for an Intamin hyper.
June 25, 2012 at 02:10
It looks cool, and the location certainly adds a lot, but what's the point in having a hyper with no airtime? I've been lucky enough to ride most other Intamin hypers, and all of them are better than this one looks, most of them feature at lest 300% more extreme airtime
June 25, 2012 at 08:34
I've wanted to ride this for awhile now even though it looks like it would probably disapoint, that location is awesome.
June 26, 2012 at 21:59
I wouldn't hold my breath about Thunder Dolphin. Tokyo Dome City tore out pretty much all the other rides at the facility, and TD's been down for a long time now. Over a year, in fact. I wouldn't be surprised if it never reopens. If it does, you could be looking at a Steel Dragon 2000 situation where it sits idle for several years.
July 1, 2012 at 16:35
Thunder Dolphin looks great with the setting in Tokyo. But if it weren't in Tokyo, and it wasn't doing all the cool tricks interacting with buildings, etc, then it wouldn't be that great of a ride. It doesn't have any large airtime hills, only small bunny hops. I would like to ride it though, because of the interaction with Tokyo.