Valleyfair is giving one of its veteran attractions a fresh coat of paint in advance of the park’s 2022 season.

All photos courtesy of Valleyfair

High Roller is the oldest coaster at Valleyfair, opening with the Shakopee, Minnesota amusement park in 1976. It stands  70 feet tall, stretches 2,982 feet in length and features a top speed of 50 mph.

All photos courtesy of Valleyfair

Though guests suggested uncommon (for a wooden coaster) color schemes such as yellow or black, the park opted to keep the coaster in its original color of all white.

In total, the new coat of paint will total about 1,200 gallons of paint.

This is the coaster’s first full coat of new paint in about 10 years.

Painting the coaster is the last step in the process. Crews must first degrease, pressure wash and scrape any remaining paint off the wood.

Scott Wagner, Valleyfair’s painting foreman, described the complex and delicate process of painting the wooden coaster track and its support structure.

“Even though painting a wooden roller coaster is like painting a house, there are no flat surfaces that you can just set up a sprayer or grab a paint roller and do the job. They require painting from many different angles.”

You finish a spot, and you go back and look at it, and you say how did I miss that spot or how am I ever going to reach that.”

Though initially thought to be a 3-4 week process, repainting High Roller will take about 5 weeks due to delays caused by poor weather conditions

The video below includes additional insightful commentary from Scott, who has worked at Valleyfair for 28 years and has been painting since 2010:

Below, watch an on-ride video of High Roller (before the new coat of paint):

Kudos to Valleyfair for giving one of their oldest rides some TLC.

Valleyfair opens for the 2022 season on May 14 for a season pass holder preview and to the general public on May 20.

For more information about High Roller’s new coat of paint, visit the Valleyfair website.

This is the most underrated coaster at the park. In the back, the floater on the drop is some of the best I’ve experienced on any coaster and the last two bunny hills give great ejector. Glad to see one of my favorite coasters getting fresh coat of paint.

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

Coaster101.com is your online destination for all of the ins-and-outs and twists-and-turns of roller coasters and the amusement industry. Learn more about us here. Looking for something specific? Use the search bar below:

Valleyfair Repainting High Roller Wooden Coaster for 2022

Sidewinder Safari Construction Tour at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Celebrating The Carolinas at Carowinds’ State Line Celebration

The Coaster101 Podcast: Virginia is for Coaster Lovers

Coaster101.com, LLC © 2021. All Rights Reserved.