Powder Keg: A Blast into the Wilderness
Powder Keg: A Blast Into The Wilderness (commonly referred to as Powder Keg) is a steel launched roller coaster located at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. Manufactured by S&S – Sansei Technologies and installed by Ride Entertainment Group, the ride opened to the public in 2005. Powder Keg is the longest ride at Silver Dollar City. To save on construction costs, elements of the former Buzzsaw Falls Water Coaster, which was manufactured by Premier Rides and was replaced by Powder Keg, were used for the new ride; namely the lift hill structure. Other  tributes to the former ride can be found in the thematic elements surrounding the queue line, such as an old Buzzsaw Falls car stuck in the roof of the first queue building, and a piece of old Buzzsaw track sticking out of the queue building's roof. History. Buzzsaw Falls (1999–2003). On September 25, 1998, Silver Dollar City announced that they would be building their next roller coaster. It would be scheduled to open in 1999, six years after Thunderation. The park hired Premier Rides to design a one-of-a-kind prototype model known as a Liquid Coaster. This  new water coaster model would feature a log flume portion and a roller coaster portion. It would sit in a plot of land surrounded by trees and hilly terrain. While the ride was set to be named Ripsaw Falls, the name was changed to Buzzsaw Falls. The ride would cost $7 million to build. The attraction was going to open on May 16, 1999, but the opening was delayed due to mechanical flaws. Buzzsaw Falls would officially open to the general public on July 3, 1999. Buzzsaw Falls operated sporadically due to several maintenance issues. Each ride vehicle featured  plastic shields on both sides to prevent flooding. They were movable and wouldn't allow guests to enter or exit the vehicle. The ride featured infrared sensors, which became extremely sensitive to interference. Plus, Buzzsaw Falls wasn't able to run with no water, so it had to be pumped constantly. This ongoing issue led to high operational costs. Powder Keg: A Blast Into The Wilderness (2005–present). In 2003, Buzzsaw Falls was closed to undergo a major refurbishment. S&S Worldwide would convert the water coaster into a launched coaster. The remodel would feature a new track and compressed air  launch, while keeping the original track and chain lift hill from Buzzsaw Falls. On November 6, 2004, it was announced that the new ride would be named Powder Keg: A Blast Into The Wilderness. In March 2005, the ride completed its first test runs. At a cost of $10 million, Powder Keg would open on April 8, 2005. Audio track and launch sequence. Before the train launches, a short audio track plays. A man with a deep voice says three lines, as of the 2017 season. The train moves forward out of the nitro shed and a siren goes  off and the stop lights go red-yellow-yellow-green and flames would shoot out of the nitro shed. Soon after, the train launches using compressed air, and the ride starts. In 2007 one more modification to the pre-launch sequence was made where stoplights were added on the launch section to go from red-yellow-yellow-green while making a siren sound and then launching like usual. Before the 2007 season the nitro shed would just shoot flames and the train would launch soon after. Rider experience. After being launched out onto the track, riders go up a relatively  small hill and down a very steep drop. Riders go up and down hills many times and go through several tight turns before slowly traveling up a chainlift hill equipped with audio speakers playing bluegrass music. The train goes through a 90-degree left turn before going down another steep drop onto a small spray-painted blue section of the track. At the final end of the ride, the train travels through a large helix that almost turns the track completely upside down before the train slams into the final brakes and turns into the station. Powder Keg: A Blast