Classic ride. A little short but the unique layout and use of terrain really makes up for it. A perfect coaster to ride all day. Also, youll find the best laterals on any coaster on the spaghetti bowl/helix. An amazing ride at night if your lucky enough to have a Phantoms Revenge train speeding through the structure as you drop through the valley. An overall fun coaster.

After hearing TONS of hype about this coaster, I couldnt wait to get on it. The fact that somebody passed out on the coaster just 30 minutes before I rode it only hyped it up more. In the end it was only ho-hum. The only reason I gave it a 6 is because it was remarkably roomy for a tall guy like me (6ft 5+) and it was amazingly smooth. Better woodies like the Mean Streak, Beast and Son of...practically beat you to death, but are a lot more fun.

I wanted to really like this one, especially after looking at its layout, but it just wasnt there for me. Someday Ill get to ride it again and i really hope i enjoy it more.

A very good ride and I like woodies, but not in the same class as the great ones: Phoneix, The Beast or CI Cyclone. I love the history of it and the unique layout tailored to the terrain but the thrill was not there for me.

Edit: Sept. 2004: much more forceful lats than I remember, upgrading the rating from a 7 to an 8. I still prefer air over lats in a woodie and still cant put this in the class of my favorite woodies

GREAT! Defenetally the best woodie Ive ever been on!

A true gem at Kennywood, a great wooden coaster that is quite intese, but not rough at all. The last drop is its best, at a nice 95 feet! The drop right out of the station is a nice touch as well. The greatest terrain coaster in the country, and one of the best woodies! A true classic!

Thunderbolt is a good classic with nice airtime. Because of the terrain, the layout is very strange, and I mean strange in a good way!

Overall, this is a very good classic wooden roller coaster and unique every step of the way. I honestly cant compare it to any other wooden coaster Ive been on, so it gets some points for originality. The building (and nearby painting), the styled trains, and the valley run make this a one of a kind masterpiece of a coaster. Wild and intense every step of the way, I would shudder to think what this mustve been like to riders in the days before the mega-monster-coasters we have now.

I forgot how much fun this coaster is. A brilliant and thoroughly unique design, this ride is thrilling and combines the best elements of out and backs with the lateral forces of a twister. First drop out of the station to the final drop off the top of the station, this ride deserves every ounce of praise and appreciation lauded upon it.

Thunderbolt is a true coaster classic! To me, it defines what a fun wooden coaster should be. Plenty of great drops, good speed, and a unique layout. The middle helix-style drops are fantastic, and this bad boy hides its best (and biggest) drop at the very end! Great wooden gem at a park where woodies rule!