With a site titled, “We Were Inverted,” you best bet we welcome the chance to land a new inverted coaster credit. While B&M Inverts are some of our favorite, we’ve enjoyed a ride or two on an S&S or Vekoma Family Invert too. Heck, we rode one at Dollywood a couple of days before in Dragonflier. We even managed to find a bizarre inverted coaster at Rowdy Bear’s Smoky Mountain Snowpark called Ski Lift Shootout Coaster. Talk about weird. Well, until you see see the inverted coaster we finished our Tennessee trip riding.
I give you the Rocky Top Glider inside Wilderness at the Smokies – an indoor invert. One with one car trains with seating for, um, one. Maybe the Ski Lift Shootout isn’t so weird after all?
For the Low Cost of $12
One ride on Phoenix at Knoebels – $4.50. One ride on Boardwalk Bullet at Kemah Boardwalk – $8. One ride on Giant Dipper at Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk – $8. One ride on Giant Dipper at Belmont Park – $8. One ride on the Coney Island Cyclone at Luna Park – $10. One ride on The Great White at Morey’s Piers – $10.23 (approximate ticket cost). One ride on ArieForce One at Funspot America in Atlanta – $12. One ride on the Rocky Top Glider at Wilderness at the Smokies – $12. That’s right. You can ride all those historic coasters for less than it costs you to ride this oddball coaster. It literally costs the same as one of the best coasters in entire United States in AerieForce One. So that makes it just as amazing and better than all the rest, right? Right?
Rocky Top Glider
We knew we were going to be in for a weird one before we ever stepped foot inside Wilderness at the Smokies. Indoor coasters are usually small and not too wild. I didn’t see too many photos for this one online before our trip, not even on the Roller Coaster Database (RCDB). Don’t worry, I’ve submitted some of mine for consideration. I’ll also have a POV hitting the site’s YouTube channel soon. I know you’re all dying to see how this ride unfolds.
After walking upstairs to board the coaster, only one of its three “trains” were being used. The two that weren’t still cycled, but without a rider. I’m not sure why or if that’s normally the case, but that was how it operated during our stop.
Jen jumped on first and since all of us couldn’t ride one after the other, I used this opportunity to take some photos of her and Sam during their rides. No one else was riding the coaster other than us, so if I wanted shots of the ride in action, that was all I could do. Sure, it was a slow evening when we arrived and on a Monday, no less, but still, I have a funny feeling the $12 price tag keeps people away.
When it came time for me to ride, I boarded and waited for my train to depart. I was immediately surprised at how much forward and backward sway I experienced going out onto the lift hill and on most of the ride elements for that matter. I didn’t know what to expect going in, but it does make sense. This is just a seat attached to a long arm, attached to the housing on the wheel assembly. It has to have some kind of sway. I’m sure the stress from the stress/weight on the arm holding the seat wouldn’t be ideal if it didn’t allow that sway
Other than moving across the ceiling above the arcade, there are cutouts in the wall where the train travels over mini-golf course and bowling alley. Those rooms are separate from the arcade, but this the square cutouts have the coaster make a turn before heading back into the arcade. A second lift then give you some speed to make your way back into the station to complete the epic, $12 journey.
Final Ride Counts
Rocky Top Glider (1)
Was it Worth it?
If you were with us, you would have heard Sam say how that was the worst $12 she ever spent. I reminded her of a horrible sandwich we bought at an Orioles game at Camden Yards a few years back. She changed her mind and said it was the second worst $12 she ever spent. Jen shrugged her shoulders like Jen does, but you could see she had some fun in the photos I snapped during her ride. As for me, I was on vacation. It was $12 that I could have spent on other stupid stuff. I got to do something related to my hobby and for that, I did enjoy the stop.
Now, do I recommend this stop? Eh… it really depends. There are better attractions in the area for coaster lovers to spend $12 if you’re tight on cash. I seriously doubt many people ride this thing, so it might be worth the $12 to say you rode such a weird coaster. That was part of the reason why I wanted to stop. I just have this feeling that something like this isn’t overly popular and wonder if it has a long shelf life. I could be totally wrong though. Have you visited Wilderness at the Smokies? Did you ride or see others riding Rocky Top Glider? I’d love to know what kind of ridership this ride gets from resort guests and/or passers by.
Wilderness at the Smokies Photo Gallery - October 21, 2024
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CREW MANIFEST
The following flight crew members attended this park, & earned the respective credits below:
Patrick
CAG
New Credit(s): Rocky Top Glider
Sam
Admiral
New Credit(s): Rocky Top Glider
Jen
Captain
New Credit(s): Rocky Top Glider
