Storm - The Dragon Legend is a 2023 Gerstlauer Infinity Inverted Coaster at Tusenfryd. This is the prototype of their new product line, an inverted spin on their very successful Infinity Coaster model. This is also the first true inverted coaster Gerstlauer has ever built, and we got to say, for a debut ride type, Storm is a respectable addition.

Exciting new possibilities

For a company whose coaster catalogue consisted almost exclusively of Euro-Fighters, Infinity Coasters and family coasters, Storm was a big step in terms of new developments for the German manufacturer.It's also a really exciting addition for a medium sized park with a somewhat old-school ride-lineup and there is no doubt that Storm really helped modernize the park and put it on the map for modern thrill-seekers and park-goers alike.

A vicious little thing

If you have ridden Gerstlauers before, you know that they are all about power. They are not afraid to either throw you about or leave you hanging in fear-inducing positions. Both of these things are true for Storm. Its unique station swing-launch will leave you hanging inverted in the air, on the spike, depending on how far back you sit. In the back row you are fully inverted for a couple of seconds, all while only being secured by a lapbar.The final launch forward really yanks you good and that one airtime hill it has absolutely launches you into the restraints, bringing a downright painful, but oh so sweet, moment of strong ejector. Overall this thing is vicious and powerful and it's one of the main selling points of the coaster.

It is what it is

Given the fact that it's a small scale shuttle coaster that uses the station, it's clear that a few things will probably be true for this coaster: 1. It has bad capacity, though this isn't a huge problem for a park like Tusenfryd but it's still an annoyance on a busy summer day. 2. The ride is very short. The entire layout is the swing-launch, dive loop, airtime hill, another dive loop and a reverse sidewinder, and that's it. It's also a prototype made by Gerstlauer so the tracking isn't perfect but given the very open and comfortable train that only has a lapbar, this also isn't a problem. The point is that while this ride does several things very well, it does still have clear downsides to its ride experience.

Conclusion

Storm - The Dragon Legend is a very unique and fun ride, offering scary hangtime, and a short but fast-paced layout with one moment of violent ejector airtime. It has all the quirks of a powerful Gerstlauer but with new, modern inverted trains and we are so very excited to see what they do with this model. A 7.5 is in order.

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