Iron Dragon

Iron Dragon is another classic Arrow designed suspended coaster, the same design as the Big Bad Wolf at Busch Gardens, Williamsburg. The 4-passenger cars are suspended below the track on hinged carriages that allow the cars to swing left and right as the train negotiates turns and spirals. Like the Big Bad Wolf, Iron Dragon has two lift hills, the first dropping riders into a swinging slalom through the treetops. After the second lift, the trains emerge into the open and around a tight helix over the midway lagoon. Mist and spray heighten the thrill of the ride.

As suspended coasters go, Dexter has expressed his preference for the more modern B&M style inverted coasters, which are constructed to allow loops, flips and other inversions. Raptor, also at Cedar Point, is one of the best examples, maybe the best to date, of this B&M style thrill ride. Even so, Iron Dragon provides a fun ride, especially the final helix over the water and the swinging turn into the final brake run (best experienced in the first car, as the swinging is dampened in the rear as the train slows). Compared to Big Bad Wolf, Iron Dragon is lacking the nice long drop and turn after the second lift hill. Drops are not very significant at all on Iron Dragon. However each ride offers a unique experience.

Due to high construction costs and high maintenance costs, not many of these Arrow suspended coasters were built, and several of the originals were taken down in recent years. Iron Dragon and the Big Bad Wolf stand as a working tribute to the history of the evolution of rollercoasters.