A song. A three-chord rawk archetype, part of the I-IV-V "La Bamba" lineage that included "Louie Louie", The Rascals' "Good Lovin'", and several nodes worth of subsequent classix. Maybe the most appropriate cover version would be the one by the famously-lascivious Jimi Hendrix, who helped fully liberate rock music from surface Eisenhower-era sexuality - beneath the surface, it was always about doing the WILD thing. Just ask Hank Ballard and Big Joe Turner.

Written by Chip Taylor and first recorded by The Wild Ones, the song was made popular by The Troggs. Their version (which, due to the limited access they had to the studio, was recorded in less than ten minutes) was #1 on the charts for two weeks in 1966. It has also been covered by Jimi Hendrix, X, and Animal from the Muppets.

Wild Thing is the tallest roller coaster located at Valleyfair! amusement park at 207 feet. Wild Thing was built in 1996 and made Valleyfair! become a major competitor in the Upper Midwest region for amusement parks. It claimed space opened up by the removal of the second amphitheater, which once featured a high-dive show and a dolphin show in the park's early years. Built by Morgan Manufacturing (now Chance-Morgan), it is the first coaster in the Morgan trilogy for Cedar Fair Amusement Parks. The other rollercoasters in the trilogy are Mamba of Worlds of Fun and Steel Force of Dorney Park. Wild Thing differs from the other coasters in the trilogy due to its two s-curves, relatively shorter second hill (which creates a feeling of coasting over the hill rather than near-stoppage), end of ride tunnel and yellow and neon green color scheme. This steel sit-down non-looping out and back hypercoaster claims the longest low-gravity section for any roller coaster. Strong rumor indicates that there was to be a longer bunny hill section after the tunnel to slow down the trains before entering the trim brakes. However, for some reason, this was not done and the ride will end at a very abrupt stop if the ride operators are moving slowly on a three-train operation day. Unfortunately, there is no theme song played in the station for the roller coaster.

Statistics:

  • Length of Track: 5469 ft.
  • Length of Ride: ~3 minutes
  • Top Speed: 74 mph
  • Theoretical Capacity: 1700 passengers per hour
  • Height: first hill - 207 ft; second hill - 103 ft; third hill - 130 ft; fourth hill - 103 ft
  • Trains: 3 with 6 cars each. 3 rows of 2 persons per car.
  • Staff required: Minimum-6; Maximum-9

sources: personal experience and www.valleyfair.com

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