Lightning Rod vs Zadra
card comparison
| Stat | Lightning Rod | Zadra | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Height | 206 ft | 206 ft | |
| Speed | 73 mph | 75 mph | |
| Inversions | 0 | 3 | |
| Throughputest. | 1250 rph | 1050 rph | |
| Build Costest. | 22 $m | 16.9 $m | |
| Vintage | 2016 | 2019 |
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 shades it 3–2. Close enough that calling the wrong stat hands the round over.
Lightning Rod is a hybrid Topper Track (partially retracked with IBox) coaster at Dollywood, US, built by Rocky Mountain Construction. Zadra is a hybrid IBox Track (ground-up) coaster at Energylandia, PL, built by Rocky Mountain Construction.
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 — 2016 and 2019 — so they were competing for the same riders when they opened.
Stat by stat
- Height splits them not at all: both read 206 ft.
- Speed goes to Zadra at 75 mph against 73 mph — ahead by a whisker.
- Zadra 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 1,050 rph — well clear.
- Build Cost goes to Lightning Rod at 22 $m against 16.9 $m — well clear.
- Vintage is reversed, so Lightning Rod's 2016 takes it from Zadra's 2019 — 3 years in it.