Storm Runner

Storm Runner opened in 2004 using Intamin's hydraulic launch system, which stores energy in a hydraulic accumulator and releases it almost instantaneously to fire the train from a dead stop to 72 mph in under two seconds. That launch remains one of the most abrupt acceleration moments on any coaster in the park, noticeably sharper than the more gradual linear-motor launches used on newer rides like West Coast Racers-style designs elsewhere in the industry.

Immediately after the launch, the train climbs a 180-foot top hat element — a near-vertical rise followed by a near-vertical drop on the other side — before threading through three inversions on its way back to the station. The entire ride cycle takes less than a minute, concentrating its intensity into a short but forceful sequence rather than a long, sustained layout.

Storm Runner's hydraulic launch technology has become less common in newer coaster construction as manufacturers have shifted toward LSM and LIM launch systems, which makes Storm Runner an increasingly distinctive example of a launch mechanism that briefly defined a generation of early-2000s thrill coasters.