Adventureland Amusement Park
Altoona, Iowa
July 18, 2013
Page Three






After a few rides on Outlaw it was time for a little pain and suffering, namely The Dragon.  The Dragon is one of the thankfully few coasters made by Hopkins who are better known for log flumes and rapid rides. 

You're wondering why I'm showing you this stretch of track?  In any ride there is a margin of error between designing, manufacturing the parts and building the ride.  With modern computer aided design and GPS based hyper accurate surveying the margin of error for modern coasters is about the width of a piece of paper.  For Hopkins and the Dragon the margin of error is here where you see the 1-2 inch gap in the track.  Needless to say with such a noticeable margin of error the Dragon isn't the smoothest of rides.



The Dragon being situated between the Tornado and the lake looks really cool but looks can be decieving.



This was actually my third and final ride on The Dragon.  I first rode it in 2000 and hated it.  I gave it a second chance when I last visited in 2008 and it was still painful.  This year I said I'd take Bond for his first ride on it so I prepared for the pain and gritted my teeth and got locked into one of the most uncomfortable coaster cars out there.



What is so uncomfortable about The Dragon's trains?  Rock hard "foam" that covers the over the shoulder restraints and is used for the seat.  This seat "padding" forms a hard point right about mid way up your skull giving you something even more painful to bash your head into when you're not slamming the side of your head into the restraints.  Sounds fun doesn't it?




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Paul B. Drabek