Type: Mega Looper Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard Speed: 65mph Height: 155ft Inversions: 6 Opened: 2008

Photos

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Zeppelin's first inversions.	Rock and Roll Heaven's big ride.
First drop.	First loop.
The cobra roll.	Diving out of the helix
Inside the station.	Waiting for the preshow.

Review from Opening Day by Brian Andrelczyk (CedarPoint6).

Led Zeppelin: The Ride is the icon of Hard Rock Park when it comes to rides. Standing 155ft. tall, it’s the tallest thing in the park and the first thing most guests flock to after entering.

Due to a nearby (and I mean VERY nearby) airport, 155ft is the tallest the ride can go, but it’s plenty big enough for the park. Occupying a narrow strip of land along one side of the park, the ride performs 6 inversions to Led Zeppelin’s “Whole Lotta Love.”

Upon entering the queue line, guests can see variety of Led Zep memorabilia along the walls. Once in the upper room of the queue area, guests can choose whether to wait for the front seat or take other seats. You’re assigned to a number corresponding with your seat on the ride and also to a preshow room.

There are 5 pre-show rooms to keep things moving, named after the 4 band members and the record company Swan Song. At intervals, the doors to the preshow room opens and guests watch a 5-minute video talking about the band’s popularity and featuring several interviews with the band members. At the end, a music video of “Whole Lotta Love” begins and guests hear the first several minutes of the song in here. After the preshow, doors open to the loading platform where guests go to their row they were assigned previously.

Since the trains are already empty (thanks to a separate unload platform), the loading is quick. Another 20 or 30 seconds of the song is played in the stations as trains depart the zeppelin shaped station. Halfway up the lift hill the last part of the song kicks in and picks up right as the trains dive over the first drop and finishing as the trains hit the final brakes.

The track was specially designed for the song in terms of length and elements. The ride itself is good. While lacking in the super intensity of the some of the early B&Ms, the ride is very fun and quite smooth. The trim brake before the zero g roll does grab a little, but doesn’t effect the first part of the ride. I was disappointed with how much the mid course brake run slowed the trains, but hopefully it might be loosened a bit in the future. It also seems to be at an odd position so late into the ride, but it makes for a great, uninterrupted first half.

The preshow and theme really add to the quality of the ride, although enthusiasts may be a bit disappointed in the lack of ability to do re-rides due to the pre-show element. In terms of the park, this (along the Bohemian Rhapsody show) was the very first thing planned after the initial park concept. Led Zeppelin was CEO Steve Goodwin’s first choice for a band. He got his wish after 3 years of negotiations under the stipulation that the entire 6-minute song be played (giving rise to the preshow, in-station music, and ride music).

As a signature ride, Led Zeppelin delivers—guests are blown away with the ride. With the closest park being Carowinds, for many guests this is the largest ride they’ve ever experienced. As the only proper ride in the Rock and Roll Heaven section (the other being an interactive water play structure), Led Zeppelin anchors the area and induces most people to turn left once inside the park to experience this ride first.

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wash
Posts: 336 Location: Location Location	A good ride, but nothing compared to Kumba or Hulk. The Time Machine/Zep lacks the forcefulness of its brothers and is actually quite shakey considering it's a new B&M. Also, this ride had THE worst operation of any B&M I've ever been on. When I was there, they onl ran one train, making the separate loading, unloading set up add at least a minute or two to an already slow cycle. All said,only about one train was loaded every six minutes, making the capacity of the ride lower than even a boomerang. Still, it's fun and the best ride in the park. 7/10 - 8/10
meanstreak1000
Posts: 0 Location:	An awesome ride. The zero g and cobra roll are sweet!!! Very photogentic?? Preshow sucks after the 2nd time. i rode it 50 times!
Griffonfreak!
Posts: 2 Location: Virginia,USA	The Inversions look simply mouthwatering! lol! The Cobra Roll and zero G r 2 die 4!
madhjsp
Posts: 685 Location: THE University of Virginia	The zero-g roll is to die for
ciallkennett
Posts: 3085 Location: Oooh! Who lives in MK and not in the sea...CI-ALL KENNETT!	Rerides would be a problem, especially withe the preshow, but certainly one to head for in the future...
hardrocker
Posts: 6 Location:	Great coaster, especially for a brand new park. The queue gets a little longwinded if you ride it multiple times in one day but Zeppelin would not let HRP use the song without the whole thing being played. The speakers are LOUD as the on board audio can be heard from the ground. The height restriction is not too big of a deal since the first drop is still great and the zero g roll is the best I have ever experienced. My only wish was that the ride had more turns and was about 20 seconds longer. Also, the ride will run faster on hot days (over 85 degrees) giving a more intense experience, but the trim break will also grab harder in these conditions. Overall, this is a great first landmark coaster for HRP and hopefully the park will continue to build bigger and better coasters.