Wind Chaser

Wind Chaser
Previously known as Twisted Sisters (1998–2001), Twisted Twins (2002–2007) and Storm Chaser (2016–2024)
Ride entrance
Kentucky Kingdom
Location	Kentucky Kingdom
Park section	Discovery Meadow
Coordinates	38°11′45″N 85°45′01″W / 38.1958°N 85.7503°W / 38.1958; -85.7503
Status	Operating
Soft opening date	April 28, 2016 (2016-04-28)
Opening date	April 30, 2016 (2016-04-30)
Cost	$10 million
Replaced	Twisted Twins
General statistics
Type	Steel
Manufacturer	Rocky Mountain Construction
Designer	Alan Schilke
Model	I-Box – Custom
Lift/launch system	Chain lift hill
Height	100 ft (30 m)
Length	2,744 ft (836 m)
Speed	52 mph (84 km/h)
Inversions	3
Duration	1:40
Max vertical angle	78°
Capacity	960 riders per hour
G-force	3.8
Height restriction	48 in (122 cm)
Trains	2 trains with 6 cars; riders arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train
Wind Chaser at RCDB

Wind Chaser is a steel roller coaster located at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Designed by Alan Schilke and manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) at an estimated cost of $10 million, the ride opened to the public on April 30, 2016. It features three inversions, a 78-degree drop, and a maximum speed of 52 mph (84 km/h), utilizing RMC's patented I-Box tracks.

Originally manufactured by Custom Coasters International (CCI), the ride opened as a wooden dueling coaster named Twisted Sisters in 1998. After the band Twisted Sister threatened to sue the park, the name was changed to Twisted Twins in 2002. It closed indefinitely in 2007 in an attempt to cut costs within the park, and its future became uncertain after Kentucky Kingdom ceased operations following the 2009 season.

RMC was hired to refurbish the ride as Storm Chaser for the 2016 season, two years after the park reopened in 2014. As a budgetary measure, some of the supports from Twisted Twins were reused. It was nominated for Best New Ride of 2016 in Amusement Today's Golden Ticket Awards, placing second behind Dollywood's Lightning Rod, another ride built by RMC.

For the 2025 season, the area around Storm Chaser was converted into a new themed area, Discovery Meadow, prompting the ride's renaming and retheming to Wind Chaser.

History

In September 1997, operation rights for Kentucky Kingdom were sold by Themeparks LLC to Premier Parks for $64 million. Weeks after the deal was finalized in November 1997, the new operators announced plans to build a $5-million dueling roller coaster, called Double Trouble, to open for the 1998 season. The name was later changed to Twisted Sisters prior to the ride's opening. Following the purchase of Six Flags by Premier Parks in June 1998, the park was rebranded as Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom.

In 2002, the heavy metal band Twisted Sister threatened the park with legal action regarding the name of the roller coaster. To avoid a lawsuit, the park changed the ride's name to Twisted Twins. It operated under that name until the end of the 2007 season when the park closed the ride indefinitely, and its Gerstlauer-built trains were relocated to Six Flags St. Louis to be used as spare parts for The Boss, another CCI ride with Gerstlauer trains.

Amid corporate bankruptcy on February 4, 2010, Six Flags announced that the park would cease operations immediately following the rejection of an amended lease by the Kentucky State Fair Board. Former operator of Kentucky Kingdom, Ed Hart, along with several other investors, formed the Kentucky Kingdom Redevelopment Company, with the aim of reopening the park quickly. However, plans were abandoned after sixteen months of negotiations. On February 23, 2012, the Kentucky Fair Board approved a lease agreement which would see the park operate as Bluegrass Boardwalk. The plans called for the removal of Twisted Twins and T2 as a result of safety concerns.^{[citation needed]}

On June 27, 2013, Hart's group negotiated an agreement to spend $36 million to reopen the park in May 2014. They also announced plans to transform Twisted Twins into "a much superior ride" and hoped to reopen it in 2016. RMC was eventually hired to refurbish the roller coaster with their I-Box track. In July 2015, Kentucky Kingdom announced plans to name the renovated ride Storm Chaser and open it for the 2016 season. The estimated cost of the refurbishment was $10 million.

After acquiring Kentucky Kingdom in 2021, Herschend announced an $11 million investment into creating the Discovery Meadow themed section for the 2025 season. This area incorporated Storm Chaser, which was renamed to Wind Chaser. After a ribbon-cutting ceremony on May 8, 2025, Discovery Meadow debuted alongside the newly renamed Wind Chaser, as the park opened for the 2025 season on May 10.

Characteristics

Twisted Twins/Twisted Sisters

In its original form, Twisted Twins was a dueling wooden roller coaster, which featured two roller coaster tracks that departed from opposite ends of a single station. The two tracks followed different paths, passing by each other four times. Both tracks measured 3,000 feet (910 m) in length, stood 80 feet (24 m) tall, and featured top speeds of 55 miles per hour (89 km/h). The ride was one of only two dueling roller coasters manufactured by CCI (the other being Stampida at PortAventura Park). The ride was designed by Dennis McNulty and Larry Bill. Construction of Twisted Twins was handled by Martin & Vleminckx.

Trains manufactured by Gerstlauer ran on each of the tracks. These two trains were named Stella and Lola. Each train seated 28 riders across seven cars configured in two rows of two. These trains required riders to be of a minimum height of 48 inches (120 cm).

Ride experience

Twisted Twins/Twisted Sisters

This section is missing information about the ride's original layout as a wooden coaster. Please expand the section to include this information. Further details may exist on the talk page. (November 2026)

Wind Chaser/Storm Chaser

Wind Chaser departs the station and makes a u-turn to the right to start up its lift hill. After cresting the top of the lift, the train banks left and enters a barrel-roll drop back down to ground level, followed by an airtime hill and an overbanked left-hand turn that inverts the train. It then climbs another hill and banks right before turning to the left and heading back in the opposite direction while rounding an overbanked turn to the right.

The train crests another airtime hill before banking right and entering the final inversion, a corkscrew. Exiting the corkscrew and banking to the left, it passes over a series of camelback hills where the banking varies from side to side. The train then enters a 270-degree banked helix to the right, rises to the left, and enters the final brake run before returning to the station.

Reception

All awards given to the ride were given following its conversion by RMC.

References

External links

• Official website
• Wind Chaser at the Roller Coaster DataBase
• Twisted Twins at the Roller Coaster DataBase
• Storm Chaser at Rocky Mountain Construction
• Media related to Twisted Twins at Wikimedia Commons