| Gold Rush | |
| Location: | Drayton Manor Resort |
| Section: | Frontier Falls |
| Year: | 2024 |
| Previousattraction: | Apocalypse Pandemonium Big Wheel |
| Type: | Steel |
| Type2: | Family |
| Status: | Operating |
| Manufacturer: | Intamin |
| Model: | Lift & Launch |
| Lift: | Drive tire lift hill and launch |
| Height Ft: | 56 |
| Custom Label 1: | Physical Length |
| Custom Value 1: | 1945feet |
| Custom Label 2: | Total length Traversed |
| Custom Value 2: | 2650feet |
| Speed Mph: | 37.3 |
| Duration: | 2:00 |
| Restriction Cm: | 100 |
| Trains: | 2 |
| Carspertrain: | 4 |
| Rowspercar: | 3 |
| Ridersperrow: | 2 |
| Virtual Queue Name: | Fast Pass |
| Custom Label 3: | Website |
| Rcdb Number: | 20608 |
Gold Rush is a steel family roller coaster located at Drayton Manor Resort in Staffordshire, England, UK. The coaster opened as a part of a strategic multimillion-pound investment and the new Frontier Falls area, and features two different layout sequences in which the ride switches track routes.[1] [2]
Drayton Manor Resort was bought out from administration by European theme park operator Looping Group in August 2020, with the Bryan family – the park's longtime owners – staying on in key management roles.[3] [4] Tasked with revitalizing the park, Looping Group shifted its focus towards families; over the following years, new themed areas and attractions were brought in while a handful of thrill rides were phased out.[5] Consequently, Pandemonium, an inverted swing ride, and Apocalypse, a 54m (177feet) drop tower, were respectively retired at the end of the 2021 and 2022 seasons.[6] [7] Both attractions were explicitly removed to allow for future development; Looping Group CEO Laurent Bruloy first publicly referred to a "very big project for 2024" as early as March 2022.[1]
Managing director Victoria Lynn hinted at a new "family thrill roller coaster" to take its place in January 2023.[8] Drayton Manor Resort officially announced on 13 July 2023 that Liechtenstein-based Intamin would provide a "Lift and Launch" roller coaster for the 2024 season.[9] The park began constructing foundations for the coaster in September 2023, with ride hardware also beginning to show up at this time.[10] [11] RCS GmbH handled the installation of track and supports, lasting through January and February 2024.[12] Trains subsequently arrived on site in February and were quickly placed on the track.[13]
To accommodate the new coaster, Drayton Manor refreshed the surrounding Wild West area into Frontier Falls, officially opening it on 24 March with the transformed Blasting Barrels ride and Falls Theatre.[14] Drayton Manor later announced Gold Rush as the attraction's name on 3 July 2024, subsequently opening it to the public on 26 July.[15] [16]
Guests walk through a tunnel adorned with posters for various merchants of the town and a switchback pen near the launch shed barn. A path then navigates back through the ride area to the station, which is accessible through three flights of stairs. Theming around the attraction includes an old decoration once used on The Wave in 1994 and a tombstone to the former Apocalypse drop tower.[2]
Due to the nature of Gold Rush's switch track layouts, there are two different sequences available for the ride experience. Riders will always begin by depart the station facing forwards and ascend the lift hill. The first of two switch tracks will reset at this time, connecting another track to the lift hill as opposed to the station.
In the first mode, the train will fail to clear the lift hill and instead roll back into the forwards/reverse section, traveling backwards until reaching the barn and launch track. Filled with smoking barrels of dynamite, a voice warns riders to "Get out while you can!" before they're propelled forwards through the track and back to the lift hill. This time riders fully ascend and clear the lift hill; an elevated righthand turnaround leads to a drop underneath the lift, a rise into a descending lefthand turnaround, and another airtime hill. Riders turn into the second switch track, routing them back into the launch barn; the train is launched forwards through an s-bend and into the brake run. A final left-hand turn leads back to the station building.
The second mode is similar except for the sequence of the forwards and reverse sections. Here, riders will clear the lift hill first and follow that route to the launch shed; the switch track will then activate and riders will be propelled backwards through the other section of track. Riders partially ascend the lift hill in reverse before rolling down and forwards once again, traversing the same route back to the launch shed. Once again the train is launched forwards into the return journey to the brake run.
Gold Rush has a physical track length of 1945feet, a maximum height of 56feet, and a top speed of 37.3mi/h. Due to the coaster's ability to traverse a section of track twice, approximately 2650feet is travelled during the ride. Gold Rush operates with two six-car trains, each car of which seat four riders in two rows of two for a total occupancy of 24 passengers.