Lightning Rod vs Wicked Cyclone
card comparison
| Stat | Lightning Rod | Wicked Cyclone | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 206 ft | 109 ft | |
| Speed | 73 mph | 55 mph | |
| Inversions | 0 | 3 | |
| Throughputest. | 1250 rph | 1200 rph | |
| Build Costest. | 22 $m | 10 $m | |
| Vintage | 2016 | 2015 |
Vintage is the reversed stat — the older ride wins. Every number here is the same one printed on the card; see /methodology for how Build Cost and Throughput are sourced.
The verdict
Lightning Rod takes it 4–2, and the 2 Wicked Cyclone does win are the whole of its case.
Lightning Rod is a hybrid Topper Track (partially retracked with IBox) coaster at Dollywood, US, built by Rocky Mountain Construction. Wicked Cyclone is a hybrid IBox Track (Cyclone conversion) coaster at Six Flags New England, US, built by Rocky Mountain Construction.
Both are in US, which puts them in the same conversation for anyone planning a trip there.
They come from the same drawing office: Rocky Mountain Construction. That makes the gaps below a question of brief and budget rather than engineering house style.
Both are hybrid-track, so nothing here is the usual steel-versus-wood argument in disguise.
They are near-contemporaries — 2015 and 2016 — so they were competing for the same riders when they opened.
Stat by stat
- Height goes to Lightning Rod at 206 ft against 109 ft — nearly double.
- Speed goes to Lightning Rod at 73 mph against 55 mph — well clear.
- Wicked Cyclone inverts 3 times against nothing at all from Lightning Rod — the widest kind of gap there is on this stat.
- Throughput goes to Lightning Rod at 1,250 rph against 1,200 rph — ahead by a whisker.
- Build Cost goes to Lightning Rod at 22 $m against 10 $m — more than double.
- Wicked Cyclone (2015) beats Lightning Rod (2016) to Vintage by a single season.