Sidewinder (Elitch Gardens)

Sidewinder is a steel roller coaster located at Elitch Gardens in Denver, Colorado.This is a fairly simple coaster that takes rides through one loop. Instead of starting from the ground, riders have to ascend stairs fifty feet up to the loading station. The train is launched down a hill, goes into the loop, then ascends a slope opposite of the station with a braking section. The train repeats the layout backwards, and returns to the station.Before being operated at Elitch Gardens this roller coaster was at the Magic Springs & Crystal Falls amusement park as the Roaring Tornado.It is one of only three Arrow Dynamics launched loop coasters to be operating around the world. While mild compared to today's roller coasters, airtime is produced when the Sidewinder shuttles backwards or forwards over the drops. It is a good start for younger children who have never been on a looping roller coaster.The ride has received new paint for the 2010 season, and is now more of a lime green than the darker shade it has been since being repainted from its original white.The ride is also identical to Revolution (Pleasure Beach Blackpool) at Blackpool Pleasure Beach except that the cars in the train have 4, instead of 6.