Bobbie
Hi! I took up roller coasters late in life, 8 years ago at the age of 59 and am trying to make up for lost time. Most of my favorite coasters were made by Intamin and lately, Rocky Mountain Construction. I love Hersheypark not only because it's the sweetest place on earth but because the three major coasters are Intamins. In real life I work in the legal profession.
Why Not Take A Free Spin in 4D?
4D coasters are nothing new. X2 from Arrow Dynamics opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain in 2002 and operates with a controlled spin. Then came Intamin’s ZacSpin, on which the seats spin freely. This was improved upon when S&S Worldwide, the successor to Arrow, developed a free spin coaster which has been installed at five Six Flags parks. It’s known as The Joker at Six Flags Great Adventure...
Why Not Be Impulsive?
Why Not Be Impulsive? The impulse coaster is a model manufactured by Intamin, inverted and featuring multiple launches. There are currently five installations in the USA: Vertical Velocity at Six Flags Great America, V2: Vertical Velocity at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, Wicked Twister at Cedar Point, Steel Venom at Valleyfair and Possessed at Dorney Park (pictured.) They’re not all the same al...
Showdown: Kumba vs. Bizarro
Overview Although I hesitate to compare a traditional “sitting coaster” to a floorless coaster, in this case the reason for doing so is a compelling one. After riding Kumba at Busch Gardens Tampa within the past several months, I tried to think of a coaster I’d ridden which was the most similar in design and the one that immediately came to mind is Bizarro at Six Flags Great Adventure. (Other po...
Adrenaline Peak To Open At Oaks Amusement Park
Adrenaline Peak to Open at Oaks Amusement Park Oaks Amusement Park in Portland, OR has announced that their new for 2018 attraction, Adrenaline Peak, will open on March 24. The 72-foot tall Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter features 1,050 feet of track, a beyond- vertical drop and three inversions: 97-foot loop, Immelmann turn and heartline roll. (Note that whereas Oaks refers to the second inversion as a...
Great American Scream Machine To Run Backwards
Yesterday Six Flags Over Georgia announced that their classic wooden coaster, The Great American Scream Machine, will run backwards as of March 10. It will be a limited run. A national landmark, the coaster previously ran backwards in 1992. Now that I’ve seen the latest video, I must say that this looks totally insane! I’ve ridden an invert backwards – no sweat! – but ...
Worst Coaster Trip Ever – Argument in Favor of Fast Lane
Disaster in Ohio Of all the trips I’ve taken in order to experience world class coasters, my trip to Kings Island almost six years ago was unquestionably the worst. It would be difficult to imagine a more dismal or disastrous scenario. Because my flight from Philly didn’t arrive in Ohio until midafternoon, by the time I arrived at Kings Island it was almost 3:30. Once inside the park I drove aro...
Showdown: New Texas Giant vs. Wicked Cyclone
Overview What these two have in common is that they’re former wooden coasters transformed into steel/hybrid coasters featuring modifications to the layout while retaining a wooden structure by RMC (Rocky Mountain Construction), with amazing results. New Texas Giant was the first coaster to get an RMC makeover and Wicked Cyclone was the fifth. Layout and Theming New Texas Giant, operating with Ger...
Stinger Gone From Dorney and For Sale
It became known sometime in December that Dorney Park was going to get rid of its Vekoma shuttle coaster, Stinger. (See my post of December 17, 2017, Showdown and Rant: Goliath vs. Stinger.) Since then it’s been confirmed that Stinger has left Dorney. And the park didn’t waste any time disposing of it. Amid speculation as to whether the coaster would be scrapped or relocated, I discovered that...
Roller Coaster Trivia – Fun Facts
Did you know that Kumba at Busch Gardens Tampa was the first B&M (Bolliger & Mabillard) coaster with interlocking corkscrews? It’s also one of only three coasters with a vertical loop encircling the lift hill. How cool is that? Can you name the other two?
Alton Towers Announces Wicker Man Wooden Coaster
It’s now official. Alton Towers has announced that their project named Secret Weapon 8 will be Wicker Man, a new ride from GCI (Great Coasters International) and the first wooden coaster to be built in the UK in over 20 years as well as the first wooden coaster ever to appear at Alton Towers. The ride will feature 2,028 feet of track with a drop of 46 feet and if that doesn’t sound exactly awe-ins...
Review: Wicked at Lagoon
Overview Wicked is a Zierer LSM launched steel coaster at Lagoon Amusement Park in Farmington, Utah. Opened in 2007, it operates with six trains consisting of two rows seating four across for a total capacity of eight riders. The restraint is a lap bar. The fact that the trains are only two rows long forces Lagoon to deviate from its standard policy. Lagoon has a rather unusual policy in that s...
Review: Tempesto at Busch Gardens Williamsburg
Overview Tempesto at Busch Gardens Williamsburg is by no means unique. It’s the second installation of the Premier Rides Skyrocket II coaster. The same model operates at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom as Superman Ultimate Flight, at Lake Compounce as Phobia Phear and will open in 2018 as Electric Eel at Sea World San Diego. Don’t like clones? That could open up a whole new debate. I have no obje...