Timber Falls and the Dells

[DejaVu The Ride]

This weekend, my family and I decided to head up to the dells for a short trip to just relax and for me to ride Avalanche at Timber Falls. We stayed at the Chula Vista resort(due to us being at every other decent resort on the strip. With the Wilderness being my favorite.)

So on Saturday(August 7, 2004), I decided to get up early and go to Timber Falls and ride Avalanche. I got there right around 10am and hadn't seen any testing going on. So I figured it would open late. So I bought the all-day unlimited ride wristband for $19.99 plus tax, and went to the observation deck to check to see what the finished product looked like(I came in June during construction to speak with the GM). While up there, I noticed workers in the station and saw 3 people walking up to the station, so I decided to head up to the station.

I walked into the station to see them open up the air gates. The station is very small, with wooden trays for loose articles. They had 2 ops opening the ride and had 3 the rest of the day. The spiel said things like, "Fastest roller coaster in Wisconsin", "Hold your breath", and the normal loose article stuff.

The train is red, with 6 rows of 2 riders. There is no logo or anything on the front of the train. Since I could choose any row from 3-6, I chose row 6(back row) first. The ops were quick at getting us started and then sent us out.(I think without any tests.)

The ride starts with a small dip out of the station and then a non-banked left turn in the the speedy lift hill. Then at the top you drop down 75 feet into a huge banked turn to the left, which is only 35 feet high. Then there is a huge bunny hill that the train speeds through. Then there is another highly banked turn around the park entrance area.(This part gives a nice head and hand chopper in the left seat.) Then there is another huge bunny hill which leads into a 180 degree slightly banked turn around the station which leads into 2 consecutive bunny hills at the left of the lift hill. After the two quick hills, you turn into another banked left turn which is the roughest and highest lateral part of the ride.(You also get a slight mist from the waterfalls on this turn.) Then there are 2 more bunny hills that lead into one of the coolest parts of this ride. It is like a high-banked turn that kind of dives to the ground. It was very neat. Then there is one more bunny hill that goes up into the very strong brakes.

All in all, this ride is 70 seconds long from the station to the brakes. It is 35 seconds from the lift hill to the brakes. It is the weirdest and fastest thing that you will see. It hits a little over 60 mph, and is just over 2,100 feet. It is maximum airtime on every hill and what seemed to be in every seat.

I rode a total of well over 60 times throughout the day(about 30 in the morning, 10 or so in the afternoon, and over 20 in the evening). I rode in every seat and my favorite was front row, left seat. The farther back you go, the rougher the ride gets. My legs have bruises from all the airtime and this ride knocks you all over(In a good way), like a wooden roller coaster should. Everyone that rode it, loved it!

Lines were pretty much non-existent the whole day. In the evening, the line was a little bit out of the station but the wait wasn't more than 5-10 minutes maximum. In the day, I had about 5 different rides where I had the train to myself, and they just sent me off right when I got back into the station because no one was there.

Avalanche is a 10/10 in my books. It is my #1 wooden coaster and is tied for number 1 overall with my favorite steel, Top Thrill Dragster.

In the evening, you can pay $13.99 for 5 hours. The park is open from 10-10 and you can ride Avalanche, Timber Wolf Log ride, bumper boats, and mini- golfing. They also have a skyscraper which is $20.00 for one rider and $30.00 for 2.

Oh yeah, I rode the Timber Wolf log ride twice at the end of the night and sat in the back. I didn't get wet at all(Which was good since it was on the cool side). It is the best themed log flume that I have ever seen. It starts with a turn into a lift hill and then a 30 foot drop into a tunnel. It becomes pitch black and then you exit and flow around the parks active volcano that erupts with a huge ball of fire every 15 minutes. Then you go back into the tunnel and move around some more outside of the tunnel. Then you climb up the lift and then you turn into a 50 foot drop into a splash.

It is fun and worth it to relax after the fun beating that I took from Avalanche. I give it a 8/10.

I hope you had fun reading this and try Avalanche whenever you get in the Wisconsin Dells area. I didn't go to Big Chiefs Mt. Olympus because I figured I would just go next year when Hades opens up.

Thanks for reading. Until next time...

[Great America Guy]

Yes I also enjoyed Avalanche alot. It is a great ride too bad I only rode it once since I had too much to do at the Wilderness. The airtime on that ride is incredible.

[SFGA 11]

Avalanche sounds good. I wish it would have been open when I was there. I guess Ill head out there next year. Anyways, nice TR.

[mschulz5]

Damn, that sounds nice. I was there on 4th of July weekend, only a matter of days before it opened. Now that makes me even madder.

[DejaVu The Ride]

Another thing that I forgot to add. On the way home, I noticed that they had a Disk-o set up off of one of the streets near the Polynesian. That thing is much larger than I thought it would be.

[B&M Floorless Wanter]

That skyscraper ride is really fun, when i went on it it was raining and it was still fun

[SfGaMownz]

I'm going to Wisconsin Dells next weekend for a few days and I'll be sure to get the unlimited ride band and go mini-golfing too. I might go to Big Cheifs, considering I have never been there having been to Wisconsin Dells about 10 times in my lifetime that is really sad, I can't wait.

[DejaVu The Ride]

I have been there more than that and still have yet to visit Big Chiefs.

[Virtua Tennis]

Big Chiefs?

Anyway, Avalanch looks nuts. I hope maintenence can keep up with it or it could be quite painful in the future .

[sixflagsguy5]

I made a tr about this before. But anyways, that ride is insane. Its not like other coasters were you hit your top speed once or twice. The whole ride is around 50 mph.

[DejaVu The Ride]

Big Chiefs?

Anyway, Avalanch looks nuts. I hope maintenence can keep up with it or it could be quite painful in the future .

Big Chief's Mt. Olympus. And yeah, I don't know if they do the maintenace that they do at SfGam. It didn't look like they tested the ride, I don't know if someone walked the track, and I don't know how the train could be checked because there is no transfer.(The station also has long boards underneath the train which would make it impossible to check under the train.)


Also, sixflagsguy, The general manager told me that the train goes about 50 mph right after the last bunny hill, so yeah, it maintains the speed the whole ride.

[FParker185]

Maintaince is done in the same fashion as Cornball Express at IB, the final brakes double as the maintaince area. If you look there are gaps in the track (vertically) to be able to access the upstops and all.

[Ilovthevu']

That Disk O reminded me of Jester's Wild Ride on steroids. I didn't see it run though. I didn't think that Skyscraper would cost that much. Last time I was in the Dells area, Mt. Olympus wasn't there. Instead Big Chiefs had a rollercoaster, go karts, and a couple other rides. Now, they made Big Chiefs into a theme park.

What's your order, Am E, Viper, and Avalanche? In other words, which is the best, second, and least favorite?

[DejaVu The Ride]

Avalanche, Viper, and AER, then AEB. To Fparker, I checked the brake run also, and it looked as if wooden boards were under there too which made me weiry whether they did certain maintenance checks.(I've seen that kind of maintenance done on High Roller at Valleyfair! before. It was done right after the station.)