Sandy's Blasting Bronco
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Sandy's Blasting Bronco is a compact
steel Steel is an alloy of iron and carbon that demonstrates improved mechanical properties compared to the pure form of iron. Due to steel's high Young's modulus, elastic modulus, Yield (engineering), yield strength, Fracture, fracture strength a ...
launched
roller coaster A roller coaster is a type of list of amusement rides, amusement ride employing a form of elevated Railway track, railroad track that carries passengers on a roller coaster train, train through tight turns, steep slopes, and other elements, usua ...
at
Nickelodeon Universe Nickelodeon Universe is the name of two indoor amusement parks located at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota and American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with a third location under construction at the Mall of China in Chongq ...
amusement park, within the
American Dream Meadowlands American Dream is a large retail and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, and is the second largest mall in the United Sta ...
shopping and entertainment complex, at the
Meadowlands Sports Complex The Meadowlands Sports Complex is a sports complex located in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The facility is owned and operated by the New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority (NJSEA). It is named for the New Jersey Meadowlands ...
in
East Rutherford East Rutherford is a borough in Bergen County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is an inner-ring suburb of New York City, located west of Midtown Manhattan. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 10,022, an inc ...
,
New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...
, United States. The coaster is located indoors and launches riders both forwards and backwards through a compact layout.


History

In September 2016, following Triple Five's takeover of the project five years earlier, officials at the long-delayed
American Dream Meadowlands American Dream is a large retail and entertainment complex in the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, East Rutherford, Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, and is the second largest mall in the United Sta ...
shopping mall announced that the
Nickelodeon Universe Nickelodeon Universe is the name of two indoor amusement parks located at Mall of America in Bloomington, Minnesota and American Dream in East Rutherford, New Jersey, with a third location under construction at the Mall of China in Chongq ...
theme park would be built within the mall. Concept artwork from as early as November 2017 showed the then-unnamed compact launch coaster located at the back of the park, and in January 2019, construction company
Ride Entertainment Group Ride Entertainment is a firm based in the United States specializing in the construction, sales, service, and operation of List of amusement rides, amusement rides and attractions. Divisions Sales Responsible for the sale of amusement rides, a ...
would share images of the coaster layout. On February 2, 2019, American Dream officials held a press conference at the
ACE An ace is a playing card, die or domino with a single pip. In the standard French deck, an ace has a single suit symbol (a heart, diamond, spade, or a club) located in the middle of the card, sometimes large and decorated, especially in the ...
''EastCoaster'' event at
Hersheypark Hersheypark (known as Hershey Park until 1970) is a family theme park in Hershey, Pennsylvania, about east of Harrisburg, and west of Philadelphia. The park was founded in 1906, by Milton S. Hershey as a leisure park for the employees of the ...
in
Hershey, Pennsylvania Hershey is an Unincorporated area, unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Derry Township, Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is home to the Hershey Company, which was founded by candy magnate Milton S. Hershey ...
, where four of the park's coasters were revealed. Sandy's Blasting Bronco was revealed to be the name of the coaster, presumably tying in with the ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' character
Sandy Cheeks Sandy Cheeks is a fictional character in the American animated comedy television series ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' and the Nickelodeon franchise of the same name. She is voiced by Carolyn Lawrence and first appeared in the episode "Tea at the ...
. Although the Nickelodeon Universe Theme Park would open to the public on October 25, 2019, Sandy's Blasting Bronco would not open until nearly a year later. It was initially among a group of rides that had not yet been certified by the
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs is a governmental agency of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Function The NJDCA provides "administrative guidance, financial support, and technical assistance to local governments, community develop ...
as ready to operate. Speculation on the cause(s) would ensue for several months, with various unverified reports and rumors attempting to explain its delayed opening until the park was forced to shut down in March due to the emerging
COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...
. With no reopening date for the American Dream mall set by summer 2020, as well as various reports of financial trouble from Triple Five, the mall's future was brought into question, and a possibility of the complex not reopening became widely discussed. In August 2020, Triple Five struck an agreement with lenders in order to avoid foreclosure on the
Mall of America Mall of America (MoA) is a large shopping mall located in Bloomington, Minnesota. Located within the Minneapolis–Saint Paul metropolitan area, the mall lies southeast of the junction of Interstate 494 and Minnesota State Highway 77, north ...
, thus aiding in keeping the American Dream mall, and Nickelodeon Universe afloat. After State Governor
Phil Murphy Philip Dunton Murphy (born August 16, 1957) is an American politician, diplomat, and financier serving as the 56th governor of New Jersey since 2018. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he was elected governor i ...
green-lit the reopening of indoor amusement parks, Nickelodeon Universe reopened on October 1, 2020. Sandy's Blasting Bronco, as reported for some time previously, opened with the park and began regular operations for the public.


Characteristics


Ride experience

The train is immediately launched out of the station, hitting a top speed of . The train quickly navigates a back-to-back pair of Immelmann inversions. The train exits into a final Roll over (two inversions) before coming to a complete stop in the station. The turntable station then proceeds to spin the train a full 180° around, facing the train backwards. The train then goes for its second lap, navigating the launch and layout once again, although with the riders facing backwards. Once the train has returned to the station, the turntable once again rotates the train into a forwards-facing position, and riders then unboard.


Statistics

Sandy's Blasting Bronco packs 4 inversions and of track into an extremely compact site, where it stands as tall as . The ride is powered by a Linear Synchronous Motor (LSM)
launch Launch or launched may refer to: Involving vehicles * Launch (boat), one of several different sorts of boat ** Motor launch (naval), a small military vessel used by the Royal Navy * Air launch, the practice of dropping an aircraft, rocket, or ...
, which can send riders into a top speed of , whether the train is positioned forwards or backwards. The station platform also doubles as a
turntable A phonograph, later called a gramophone, and since the 1940s a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogue reproduction of sound. The sound vibration waveforms are recorded as corresponding phys ...
, which can rotate the train to take the layout both facing forwards and backwards. It can also lead to a maintenance track designated for the attraction's single 12 passenger train. Sandy's Blasting Bronco was designed and manufactured by
Liechtenstein Liechtenstein (, ; ; ), officially the Principality of Liechtenstein ( ), is a Landlocked country#Doubly landlocked, doubly landlocked Swiss Standard German, German-speaking microstate in the Central European Alps, between Austria in the east ...
-based Swiss manufacturer
Intamin Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing Amusement ride, thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other e ...
, and is the first installation of their recent Vertical LSM Model. It is the first Intamin product to feature a track lighting package from
Iowa Iowa ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the upper Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders the Mississippi River to the east and the Missouri River and Big Sioux River to the west; Wisconsin to the northeast, Ill ...
based KCL Engineering, who had installed similar, extravagant packages on various
Gerstlauer Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH is a German manufacturer of stationary and transportable amusement rides and roller coasters, located in Münsterhausen, Germany. As of May 2024, all 113 Gerstlauer-made rollercoasters are still in operation an ...
coasters, including the neighboring
TMNT Shellraiser TMNT Shellraiser is a steel indoor roller coaster at Nickelodeon Universe amusement park, within the American Dream Meadowlands, American Dream shopping mall, mall, in East Rutherford, New Jersey, East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The ...
. The Monster, TMNT Shellraiser and subsequent rides lighting system's originator and designer, Mike Lambert, was recognized with (2) Illuminating Engineering Society (IES) Illumination Awards for Innovation in Design.


References


External links


Sandy's Blasting Bronco
at
Intamin Intamin Amusement Rides is a design and manufacturing company in Schaan, Liechtenstein, best-known for designing and constructing Amusement ride, thrill rides and roller coasters at dozens of international theme parks, amusement parks and other e ...
{{Intamin SpongeBob SquarePants in amusement parks Roller coasters in New Jersey Roller coasters manufactured by Intamin Nickelodeon Universe East Rutherford, New Jersey