Rip Roaring Rampage Returns

It is with great happiness I get to post this blog topic today. In this blog I am going to report on a trip I recently took to my home park Alabama Splash Adventure. The reason for this trip was because the park was holding an enthusiast event Rip Roaring Rampage Returns. The reason the event was even possible was because of the Koch family. I will go into a little background here about how this event came to be, as well as how the event was, and where the park is headed in the future.

Awesome Entrance

 
The Rampage roller coaster was closed after the 2011 park season. The previous owners of Alabama Adventure sold all of the amusement park rides and opened just the waterpark for the previous two seasons in 2012 and 2013. The Koch family bought Alabama Splash Adventure in the spring of 2014. They then began to completely renovate the park to the tune of ten million dollars because it was in bad shape when they took over. I spoke with Dan Koch (parks owner) regarding this and he said the park was in such awful shape they had to spend most of their money fixing everything that was broken. When I heard him say that I was sad because I can’t imagine any management team neglecting a park like that. It made me realize that they didn’t have any care for my home park and that didn’t make me happy.

You know where I am

 

Well the good news is that the Koch family is now in charge and I can assure you they will care about this park. When I had heard the Koch family bought the park back in March of this year I was so happy and excited for what was to come. For those of you who don’t know who the Koch family is I will explain them to you. They come from a long history in the amusement park industry. Their family started the highly successful Holiday World amusement park (see previous blog post about Holiday World) in Santa Claus, IN in 1946.

Holiday World is now a thriving amusement park with over one million visitors a year. Most of you, who have followed my blog, know how much I love Holiday World so the new owners bring a lot of promise to my hometown amusement park.

Dan Koch speaking to the group

Pat Koch speaking to the group

  

Dan Koch bought Alabama Splash Adventure and his mother Pat Koch came down with him. They have laid out a 5-year plan for the park and bringing back the Rampage roller coaster was in that plan. Dan Koch said that plenty of man hours were spent re-tracking Rampage. He stated that they would work 60 hour weeks fixing the coaster. They re-tracked the entire ride, put in new brakes, re-furbished the train, and put in a new lift hill chain. Dan said he wanted the ride to be ready by August of this year but a delay in some parts delaying the opening. Once the part came in and the ride was ready the Koch family graciously set up a coaster enthusiast event with ACE so that coaster enthusiasts would get the first chance to ride! When I saw that there was going to be an event for the re-opening of the coaster I just knew I had to go. I mean a coaster enthusiast event right in my home town. This was a no brainer! It was like I had just received an incredible gift.

Welcome ACE to Alabama Splash Adventure!

 

The Rip Roaring Rampage Returns event took place on October 25, 2014. It was held from 5:00 pm to 10:00 pm. I arrived at the park around 4:30 pm to check into the event. I noticed that there were already a decent amount of people parked and checking in for the event too. They gave us a ticket to get in, a “surprise” ticket, and a lanyard with the event itinerary. I noticed right away Mrs. Pat Koch smiling and greeting enthusiasts as they were signing in for the event. I also noticed Mr. Dan Koch in his awesome purple suit, purple top hat, and black and white cane. It was like he was summoning the inner Willy Wonka or something. I could instantly tell that both Dan Koch and Pat Koch were happy and excited to have us enthusiasts in their park.

Willy Wonka or Dan Koch?

 

After I entered the park I went to redeem my “surprise” ticket. The actual surprise was a Halloween bag with candy, a Rampage key chain, Alabama Adventure cup, and an Alabama Adventure photo ID holder. They also gave everyone a chance to pick out a nice short sleeved polo shirt with park logo with varying colors. Again, I knew that the Koch’s were grateful to have us in the park. After I grabbed the surprises I met and talked with Dan Koch briefly. He said he liked my “This Guy Loves Roller Coasters” shirt. He also talked to me as well as a few others about purchasing the park and the shape it was in when he bought it. He was very honest and you could just see the passion he had for the place.

Cool free stuff!

 

I then made my way to the building they were serving dinner. Before the dinner they showed us a video about the park that they had put together. It was a mix of aerial shots of the park, park employees, and humorous moments thrown in. Dan Koch then said a few words to the group introducing his entire management team to everyone. Pat Koch also said a few words as well as said a blessing on the dinner which was a nice touch. They had BBQ and Turkey with beans, green beans, mashed potatoes, and corn. They also had Rampage cake and Dippin’ Dots for dessert. It was all delicious!

Food was Great!

 

Coaster Cake!

 

 

They had a ribbon cutting ceremony before we all made our way up to the coaster. I was on the first full Rampage train out in row two. I was really impressed with the ride. I could tell that the re-track work was a success. The ride was running very smooth and fast. The 120 foot lift hill was nice followed by the 102 foot air time drop. After reaching maximum speeds of 56 mph you hit a nice air time hill followed by a lateral turnaround then air time drop into another air time hill. At this point you hit a hard lateral turn and wind your way into another air time drop followed by a nice air time hill. The coaster then makes another lateral turnaround followed by my favorite part of the ride. The next drop is really intense with great air time followed by a smaller yet extreme air time hill. The rest of the ride just flies through the course with a little small air time moment followed by a nice sized air time drop with air time up into the brake run.

Rampage

 

Phew! What a ride! If you lost count I typed the word “air time” 11 times in that description. That’s what makes this coaster a success. It has air time and some extreme lateral turnaround action. What I love about the air time on this coaster is that you get soft floater air time to extreme ejector air time. It was a good mix. There are also moments, especially if ridden at night, which surprise you. The end of the ride features a unique dip and then drop into the station.

Dan Koch showing off the coaster

 

I was lucky enough to ride Rampage 18 times with some people riding it as much as 27 times over the course of the 3 hour ERT session. From the looks of it everyone was having a blast. As the train left the station people were giving high fives as well as when the train returned to the station. Pat Koch (who is 83 years old mind you) was checking restraints with a smile on her face. Dan Koch was talking to everyone and riding along with everyone. It was an incredible sight. Let me also give a shout out to coaster credit #163 the Centi-Speed kids coaster. It is new to the park this year and they let us crazy enthusiasts ride.  

I love this ride!

 

The event finally came to an end and Dan and Pat Koch gave out autographed pictures taken of them on the Rampage (see below). I saw Pat Koch giving hugs to people so I decided to get one as well. It was a remarkable time and I feel extremely grateful that the Koch family has taken over ownership of Alabama Splash Adventure. I know that the park is headed in the right direction. They have already implemented free parking, free sunscreen, free WIFI, and free tubes (in the waterpark). They announced to the group that they will have free soft drinks for the next season as well! That was a huge surprise and something that I thought they might implement in the future but not this soon. The free soda perk has been a great success at Holiday World so I am sure it will do the same here.  

Thank-you Koch Family!

 

The Koch family are so genuine and passionate about the amusement industry. I cannot thank them enough for this event and the years to come for this park. For those of you that are close to this park I urge you to visit and give Alabama Splash Adventure a chance. I trust in the Koch family and know that Alabama Splash Adventure is headed in the right direction.

This guy paid $80 for the first ride with Dan

 

"We are not in this for the money but to make families happy. We want Alabama Splash Adventure to be the #1 family amusement park destination in the Southeast." - Dan Koch