Tac Talks Coasters - Post 123: #47
Photo Sources: First two photos are mine / x
Switchback at ZDT's Amusement Park!
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Opened: 2015 Closed: 2025 Manufacturer: Gravity Group Height: 65 ft (20 m) Speed: 40 mph (65 kph) Length: 1,196 ft (364.5 m) My most recent ride: 2017
Here we have another unfortunate casualty of the recent trends of ride closures across the amusement industry over the last year or so. But this one is not Six Flags' fault for once actually. That doesn't make the ride's closure, which actually only happened a few days ago (as of writing this) on August 17th, any less sad though because this was a really awesome and unique little ride. ZDT's shutting down completely is a real bummer as well, because during my one visit there in 2017, I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would going in! Who knew such an awesome coaster could have been at this little family entertainment center in Texas.
But this post isn't about ZDT's as a whole, it's about Switchback, which was easily what put them on the map. Switchback is, or I guess was at this point, the world's only wooden shuttle coaster. This meant the track was not a full circuit and the layout had a vertical spike halfway through to send the train backwards through the layout. And this layout was awesome. Despite the ride not being very big at all, this thing felt really out of control all the way through. A big factor in that was just how ZDT's and the Gravity Group managed to cram this thing in here.
If you ever went to ZDT's, you know how small of a park it was. The fact that Switchback fit in here at all is nothing short of a miracle of engineering. The ride had some of the tightest turns I've ever seen on a coaster, especially a wooden one, passed though a pre-existing building at two separate points, featured some great airtime pops, and a really fast, low to the ground overbanked turn. I can absolutely see why the spike and shuttle layout was done here, because there is no way the space they had to work with would have allowed for a full circuit layout.
During my visit to ZDT's in 2017, I think I got 5 or 6 laps in on it because there was basically no line all day, which was great. The ride was running very smoothly and super fast. I'd heard the ride developed a bit of a rattle or shuffle later in its life, but for me I didn't notice anything egregious in that regard at all. The forward pass on the layout is fast, powerful and full of blink-and-you'll-miss-it moments, like the overbank or the passes through the building. Going up the spike was also always a really cool moment and offered some good airtime, especially in the front row. The backwards pass, while not as fast as going forward, still felt out of control and more disorienting since you couldn't tell what element was coming next.
In hindsight looking back on Switchback, I can definitely see the similarities between Switchback and the other two Gravity Group wooden coasters I've ridden since then. Those being Boardwalk Bullet at Kemah Boardwalk (which I rode during the same Texas trip where I rode Swtichback), and Mine Blower at Fun Spot Kissimmee, which I rode in 2021. They all have a similar fast-paced, relentless feel to them, which makes me want to ride more of the Gravity Group's coasters all the more. Voyage at Holiday World and Ravine Flyer II at Waldameer in particular hehe.
But as for Switchback, it is sad to see that it shut down with its park earlier this week. On the bright side though, this might not be the end for the ride! ZDT's released a post recently saying that there were at least 4 parties interested in buying Switchback! Hopefully it will go to someone who will commit to taking care of it, especially since it's a relatively new ride at only 10 years old. I'm kind of surprised it got this possible second chance, because like I've said before, wooden coasters just aren't relocated very much, if at all, in this day and age. I mean, just look at the fact that Wild One will probably die with Six Flags America at the end of the year, but I digress. Hopefully we will be able to see Switchback reverse course again and come back to life somewhere else in the next year or two.
Thanks for checking out today's coaster post! Keep an eye out for tomorrow's coaster!