Switchback Review, ZDT's Amusement Park | World's Steepest & Only Wooden Shuttle Coaster

[@CoasterDash]

This was honestly rougher than I was expecting but it doesn’t bother me at all. Really, it just adds character. great little ride!

[@CanobieCoaster]

I had no trouble at all, but I have a high roughness tolerance.

[@CoasterDash]

@@CanobieCoaster same here

[@matthewsouthwell9653]

@@CanobieCoaster same, hence why I love Grand National way more than most people 😂

[@matthewappel5683]

I don’t know about rough but the high bank turns are intense

[@matthewsouthwell9653]

Hopefully another one of these pops up at Dorney Park. They really need a new stand-out coaster!

[@CanobieCoaster]

I agree! It would be nice to have a ride like this on the east coast.

[@AirtimeProductions]

You post the best reviews and there is no changing my mind...

[@CanobieCoaster]

Thank you!

[@appalachianenthusiast9499]

If I would have designed this coaster, I would have added two small LSM fins at the bottom of the spike. That would have not only increased the speed when you go in reverse, but it also would take you farther up the spike.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I would have loved that.

[@alexlents4689]

Rides like this are why I love Gravity Group. There really is NO project they’ll say no to. You want a 3,200-foot-long woodie on a 1-acre plot on a boardwalk, DONE! Want a coaster that weaves through an old grocery store and has a vertical spike, no problem!

[@CanobieCoaster]

They really make great layouts.

[@seugoi7460]

Gravity Group can do no wrong. My favourite manufacturer.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I love their rides- big and small.

[@JC-bh6gu]

this was very interesting I didn't know this ride even existed. keep up the great work.

[@CanobieCoaster]

Thanks, will do!

[@OutlawRunnerSDC]

Great review! I've never ridden this and I'm very intrigued by it. Maybe when I go on my trip to San Antonio from where I live in Missouri to visit SFFT, SFOT, and Frontier City, maybe I can find some extra time to come and ride this

[@CanobieCoaster]

It can be done the same day as one of the San Antonio parks.

[@Adar512]

My review of ZDT's Amusment Park: ZDT's Amusement Park is a little off the beaten path (but not much- about 40 minutes outside of San Antonio) but is worth the bit of effort if you're open to a laid-back alternative to the region's busy theme parks. Switchback- the park's signature attraction- is a small wood roller coaster that packs a punch significantly more powerful than appearances suggest. It's also the only ride of its kind anywhere in the country- a wood roller coaster that moves forwards AND backwards. There's a handful of other carnival-style rides, rock-climbing walls (on the sides of old silos), a go-kart track running through a building, a water roller coaster (operating in the hot summer months) and an arcade with both recent and classic video games. Despite being very small, ZDT's offers quite a few ways to spend a decent amount of time, and at a reasonable price. This is the kind of business worthy of support, especially in these weird times- family-owned and wonderfully friendly, offering something that's become nearly extinct in recent years (the neighborhood amusement park). This is well-worth the drive to Sequin and after a visit, you'll be like me and looking forward to the next.

[@CanobieCoaster]

I agree. It's a great FEC that dabbles in everything.

[@invertedthrills144]

I'm riding this in June, I'm very excited

[@CanobieCoaster]

Enjoy!

[@CoasterRoaster]

1:44 Lol I think they forgot what they were doing with this animation for a second there lol

[@CanobieCoaster]

I really wonder what happened to the twisted spike.

[@roxynano]

@@CanobieCoaster I honestly think the software they used to do the animation didn’t support the ability to make a straight vertical spike so they had to do what they could do.

[@micoasters]

I’m a sucker for wood coasters, this looks absolutely amazing. I would have liked some lsm motors before the spike so you would climb more

[@CanobieCoaster]

That would be sweet.

[@Joypyf]

You mentioned quite a few moments of airtime...were any of them ejector moments??

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yes, the first drop and speed hill (going forwards).

[@annoyingperson2255]

If it was at ceder point 1:worlds first wooden shuttle coaster 2:worlds only wooden shuttle coaster 3:worlds longest wooden shuttle coaster 4:most records on a wood coaster 5:most records on a wooden shuttle coaster. 6:worlds steepest wooden coaster 7:worlds steepest wooden shuttle coaster. 8:longest wooden shuttle coaster with 90 degree turn 9:longest wooden shuttle coaster in western hemisphere 10:longest wooden shuttle coaster in north America Click here for page 2

[@annoyingperson2255]

Theres 100 more

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's the Cedar Point way.

[@MillenniumForceMan]

That tilted spike looked so messed up

[@CanobieCoaster]

Especially on a wood ride.

[@MillenniumForceMan]

@@CanobieCoaster yeah

[@Spiderific]

I really hope one like this opens in Pennsylvania like it seems cause I have no clue when I would make it to Texas and I really want to ride it

[@CanobieCoaster]

I'd love to have a ride like this closer to home.

[@OklahomaCoasterFan]

I visited on a Monday afternoon in June 2018. I got 20 rides in under 3 hours, in addition to getting on a couple other rides. It rode a little rough, but it wasn't too bad. Around lap 15, I started getting a little headache, but I wanted to keep going to reach 20.

[@CanobieCoaster]

Makes sense for that nice round number.

[@maxhagenauer24]

Speaking of this, do you think Dorney Park will get a Gravity Group shuttle wooden coaster to replace possessed?

[@CanobieCoaster]

I expect that to happen. It was probably just delayed.

[@flatrideenthused2264]

Its the best gravity group coaster I been on yet

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's a fun ride.

[@coasterb1]

I enjoyed this coaster, even not being a fan of ridding backwards. Also of note, the climbing wall silos have the tallest outdoor auto belay system in the USA.

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yes, it's a cool attraction.

[@maxhagenauer24]

If this was in the form of a boomerang with 2 lift hills, do you think it would be better?

[@CanobieCoaster]

I think so. It would be cool to have the backwards portion with the same speed.

[@johnodavidson]

How about a Mr Freeze type speed kick right before the top to give it the same speed on the way back and give back seat would get a bit more angle

[@maxhagenauer24]

@@johnodavidson It would have to have a launch if it did that which GG has not used yet.

[@jaydenchrist6152]

I think this is coming to Dorney park?

[@CanobieCoaster]

Yes. I think it was just delayed a year or two due to covid.

[@toptiercomments840]

If I owned a small park and could only have one compact roller coaster that had to appeal to the broadest possible audience, I'd call the Gravity Group. I'm super disappointed that I haven't been able to squeeze ZDT's in on either of my recent San Antonio trips. Soon, hopefully.

[@CanobieCoaster]

And they're affordable too.

[@stevensales7502]

I love the gravity group

[@CanobieCoaster]

Me too!

[@rollercoasting7990]

Do you use a script for your videos?

[@CanobieCoaster]

For most of them, yes. Either I have a firm script or bullet points.

[@roxynano]

If only my local family entertainment center adds a coaster like Switchback, or an amusement ride at all! It would be awesome to be able to walk from my house to a roller coaster!

[@CanobieCoaster]

I have one arcade in New England with a coaster, but it's just an Orient Express.

[@theheardtheorem]

Rode Switchback for the first time in the back row. Only rode it once because my wife had a very low tolerance for wooden coasters due to back issues. She liked it but wouldn’t ride it again. I found it to be bumpy but not what I would consider rough. I have a hard time deciding between White Lightning or Switchback for which is a better FFC woodie. I think White Lightning is currently smoother but Switchback blows it away in the uniqueness department.

[@CanobieCoaster]

It got rougher since I made this review unfortunately.

[@askjeevescosby2928]

It is technically a full circuit coaster as it comes back to the station through the switch track not over the lift hill.

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's a weird one to classify.

[@timk987]

With GG doing retracking on KI's Racer; hopefully that's not Cedar Fair's way of giving them work while backing out of the Dorney project and more the start of a great future between the two!

[@CanobieCoaster]

I suspect the Dorney project was just delayed.

[@timk987]

@@CanobieCoaster I hope you're right, but if I remember correctly, their was a meeting with city officials or chamber of commerce or something in which Dorney removed themselves from the docket. That was pre- Covid shut down too. Either way I just hope it means more Gravity Group stuff happening chain wide

[@denone5327]

Looks like a fun coaster. I wish ZDTs had a pay per ride option. I travel with a family of four, so it’s hard to justify paying $80-100 to ride this coaster, especially when a season pass for both Six Flags parks in Texas can be had for about $50 each. Nonetheless, thank you for another great review on your channel!

[@CanobieCoaster]

You're welcome! I've heard of some coaster enthusiasts getting a special pay-per-ride deal on the coaster, but it's such a fun ride I'd personally want more than one ride.

[@thecoastergnome8603]

Only one person has to pay if the rest of your family does not want to ride they can get in for free

[@mitchellries256]

Unless I was traveling from San Antonio to Houston and decided to stop her for a couple hours, I am not sure I could see myself coming here. It looks like a fun place to go to but it's not like it's just down the road from Six Flags Fiesta Texas or SeaWorld San Antonio.

[@CanobieCoaster]

It is 45-60 minutes away, but I think Switchback is worth it for the uniqueness. It's on the way to Schlitterbahn if you try pairing the two.

[@mitchellries256]

@@CanobieCoaster I assume you're talking about Schlitterbahn Galveston Island? Because if so, I suppose a visit here is still possible then.

[@CanobieCoaster]

The main one in New Braunfels is near this if I remember correctly.

[@thecoastergnome8603]

This is actually exactly the circumstances in which I road this ride lol

[@jtwoolley]

COOL

[@CanobieCoaster]

Indeed

[@charleskummerer]

The San Antonio/Austin area are easily rollercoaster capital of the South outside of Florida

[@CanobieCoaster]

They have a strong argument.

[@matthewappel5683]

I took my 3 daughters to ZDT during their Christmas break last year. My youngest daughter and I liked the back row whereas my 2 oldest daughters preferred the front. Those sharp turns are disoriented going in reverse

[@CanobieCoaster]

It's a great little park.

[@matthewappel5683]

@@CanobieCoaster indeed! My kids especially enjoyed the go-carts and the simulator

[@coasterb1]

I was surprised to see a free coaster simulator! Thankfully there wasn’t a line during my visit.

[@oofintic5734]

Parks that could get a wooden shuttle coaster Kennywood BPB Holiday World Knoebels Flamingo land Southport Pleasure land Camden Park Lakemont Park Lake Compounce Waldemeer Funtown Splashdown USA if they reopen

[@m244we]

Idk about holiday world imagine in 50 years.... THE WORLD RECORD 50 WOODEN COASTERS

[@CanobieCoaster]

The lower cost of these mini Gravity Group woodies make them great fits for many parks.

[@justiceleaguebattleformetr9239]

I rode Switchback in July 2019, and I thought it was extremely rough the whole ride

[@CanobieCoaster]

I wonder if they did some trackwork when the park was closed.

[@justiceleaguebattleformetr9239]

@@CanobieCoaster either that, or I just caught it on a bad day

[@natevart4156]

I think we are giving them too much credit… you said “how could this 10 acre park possibly fit a wooden coaster? Breh 10 acres is more than enough

[@CanobieCoaster]

It was a 10 acre developed park. Still impressive.

[@natevart4156]

@@CanobieCoaster true I guess the land was fully developed for the most part

[@NorthEasternMotionProductions]

And the train themed zero car pays homage to the railroad tracks............

[@CanobieCoaster]

Sure does!

[@NorthEasternMotionProductions]

@@CanobieCoaster it indeed does, although I made this comment because you said it twice in the video fyi