Rampage (roller coaster)

Rampage is a wooden roller coaster located at Alabama Splash Adventure in Bessemer, Alabama. Manufactured by Custom Coasters International, the ride opened to the public on May 23, 1998. On March 15, 2014, shortly after an announcement that the park had been purchased by Koch Family Parks of Holiday World & Splashin' Safari, new management announced that the roller coaster would be refurbished. It reopened for the 2015 season.HistoryConstruction of the coaster would commence in the fall of 1997, and the ride would celebrate its topping out ceremony on December 2, 1997. The name Rampage was selected as the winner of a name that ride contest in December 1997. The Rampage moniker was submitted by local Pleasant Grove High School student Eric C. Avery with Scorpion's Tail and Jaguar coming in second and third place, respectively. The ride's opening would coincide with the opening of VisionLand on May 23, 1998. Rampage was received well and would be rated as the 3rd best wooden coaster and the 5th best overall coaster by Amusement Business in December 1998.After a successful first year, the park saw a significant drop in attendance, resulting in the shuttering of the coaster for the 2002 season. Following the sale of the park to Southland Entertainment Group, Rampage was renovated by John Hinde Enterprises and reopened for the 2003 season.Rampage gave its last public ride in 2011, before being shut down for four years. In spring 2012, Alabama Adventure was sold to a new management that chose to focus only on the water park. In the spring of 2014, the park was sold to its current operator, Koch Family Parks. The new owners announced a five-year plan to re-open Alabama Splash Adventure with a refurbished "Rampage" coaster as its centerpiece in 2015. The ride re-opened to the public on May 23, 2015.