Race forwards ... and backwards ... in a high speed racing car...
Race forwards ... and backwards ... in a high speed racing car...
| Theme Park | Drayton Manor |
|---|---|
| Park Area | Aerial Park |
| Type | Rollercoaster |
| Audience | Families |
| Opened | 21 April 2011 (as "Ben 10: Ultimate Mission") 2017 ("Accelerator" retheme) |
| Manufacturer | Vekoma |
| Model | Family Boomerang |
| Height | 66 ft |
| Length | 607 ft |
| Inversions | 0 |
| Max Speed | 37 mph |
At the top of the lift hill
Accelerator is Drayton Manor's car racing themed family friendly junior boomerang rollercoaster.
The ride opened in April 2011 as the first Vekoma Family Boomerang coaster in the world. It was originally known as "Ben 10 Ultimate Mission" and featured an alien-busting cartoon character theme. It was rethemed in 2011 when the original Ben 10 licencing deal expired.
Once riders board in the station, Accelerator's train is pulled slowly backwards 65 feet up the ride's lift hill. At the top, it is released and speeds back downwards, racing through the station and around the track. After navigating a helix element that snakes around the station building, the train climbs another large hill towards a rocket theming element at the top. The train runs out of energy before it crashes into the rocket, and begins falling back down the hill and back through the layout ... in reverse!
The ride succeeds in taking all the fun elements of Vekoma's full size boomerang coasters and packages them up into a more child friendly non-inverting rollercoaster. Thankfully, Vekoma's Family Boomerangs are also a lot smoother and less rough than their big brother counterparts.
Accelerator is one of Drayton Manor's best rollercoasters (although that's not saying much compared to the roughness of Shockwave and the stomach crushing uncomfortable ride of the former G-Force). Despite being family friendly, it packs enough of a punch to provide excitement for older riders in search of thrills too. It's great fun at all times of day, but a night ride is even more special.
Accelerator entrance
Helix
Zooming through the station
Flying out of the station
Mid-ride thrills
Climbing towards the rocket
Backwards
Accelerator station
Queueline
Queueline theming
Family Boomerang
Accelerator seen from across the park
The rollercoaster with its original Ben 10 theme.
Train coming through the station
Ben 10 speeding past
Coming backwards
Queueline theming
Train at the top of the lift
Fun times on Ben 10 Ultimate Mission
In the station
A train speeds past the station window
Ben 10: Ultimate Mission
Coming down the lift
Night rides on Ben 10 during fireworks events added a whole new dimension to the ride.
Queuing at night
Ben 10 station
Accelerating down the lift hill
Zooming through the station
Ben 10 night time photo spot
Returning to the station
Ben 10 Ultimate Mission POV
