Steel Curtain: Review
Overview Located at Kennywood Park in West Mifflin, PA, Steel Curtain is one of two record-breaking steel roller coasters from S&S – Sansei Technologies to open in the USA during 2019. (The other is Maxx Force at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL.) It sets a record for tallest inversion (197 feet), tallest looping coaster, tallest coaster in Pennsylvania (220 feet) and most inversions of...[Read More]
Review: The Coaster at Goats on the Roof | Mountain Coaster
Mountain coasters (also known as alpine coasters) feature sled-like cars that fit up to two people (snugly) and allow for the riders to adjust their speed. In recent years, there’s been a bit of a boom as they’ve been popping up more and more in the United States at ski resorts and in mountainous tourist areas. On a past trip to the Smoky Mountains in Eastern Tennessee, I rode my first...[Read More]
Review: Lightning Rod at Dollywood
Lightning Rod is located in Dollywood’s 1950’s-themed Jukebox Junction area. Both the station and the coaster’s trains reflect that era. One of Dollywood’s strengths is the park’s use of its mountainous terrain. Several of the roller coasters are terrain rides which not only make them unique, but also hides much of the layout from a spectator’s view. Like wing c...[Read More]
Review: Dragonflier at Dollywood
Dragonflier is a family roller coaster that serves as the signature attraction at Dollywood’s new Wildwood Grove area. Wildwood Grove’s focus on family attractions means that the area has something for the entire family from toddlers to adults. Dragonflier is a suspended Vekoma roller coaster, where you ride below the track rather than on top of the track. Located in the far end of Wil...[Read More]
Ride Review: Copperhead Strike
Overview Located at Carowinds on the border of North and South Carolina, Copperhead Strike is one of several noteworthy coasters to open in 2019. It’s a dual launch coaster from Germany’s Mack Rides with a whimsical storyline involving snakes and moonshine. Layout, Elements and Theming Copperhead Strike features an out and back layout with 3,255 feet of track and five inversions: heartline roll, ...[Read More]
Review: Mine Blower at Fun Spot America
Overview Located at Fun Spot America in Kissimmee, FL, Mine Blower is a hybrid wooden coaster. It’s hybrid to the extent that it has a steel support structure but the track is made of wood and it rides like a woodie so for all intents and purposes it’s a wooden coaster. Opened in 2017, it was designed by The Gravity Group (The Voyage, Ravine Flyer II) and built by sister company Gravitykraft. Lay...[Read More]
Review: Cobra’s Curse
Overview Located at Busch Gardens Tampa Bay, Cobra’s Curse is a spinning family coaster manufactured by Germany’s Mack Rides. It’s one of two Mack coasters in the park; the other is Sand Serpent, a family wild mouse ride relocated from Busch Gardens Williamsburg in 2004. Cobra’s Curse opened in 2016, in the Egypt section of the park across from Montu and not far from the entrance to Cheetah Hunt...[Read More]
Review: Talon at Dorney Park
Dorney Park is a smallish theme park located in Dorney, Pennsylvania. If you’re not from Eastern PA or New Jersey, you may not have heard of it. Part of the Cedar Fair chain of parks, it currently has a roster of 7 roller coasters with three real eye-catching standouts: a Morgan hyper coaster (Steel Force), a floorless B&M looper (Hydra: The Revenge), and a B&M inverted coaster (Talo...[Read More]
Review: The Raven at Holiday World
The Raven is a classic wooden roller coaster at Holiday World in little Santa Claus, Indiana. This is a park well known for its wooden coasters, and it was The Raven that kicked off this reputation! It was the very first woodie they added, built by Custom Coasters International back in 1995 (which actually makes the ride surprisingly young). And as Holiday World will be the first to tell you, The ...[Read More]
Review: Laff Trakk at Hersheypark
Laff Trakk at Hersheypark is an indoor roller coaster that debuted back in 2015 at Hersheypark. The 13th coaster at the park was a spinning coaster manufactured by Maurer Söhne, which has identical twins at Lagoon in Salt Lake City, Utah and Waldameer in Erie, PA. What sets Laff Trakk apart is its setting–an indoor, glow-in-the-dark environment to further add to the disorientation and fun of...[Read More]
Review: Goliath at Six Flags Great America
When I first heard that my hometown park was removing a roller coaster I’d grown up with – the venerable Iron Wolf, B&M’s 1st stand-up coaster – I said “they better replace it with something really good.” In 2014, they did just that, by debuting the world’s fastest, steepest wooden coaster**: Goliath. **Actually, both El Toro and T-Express are greater in height, however their drops are not as ...[Read More]
Review: Superman: Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Great Adventure
Overview Superman: Ultimate Flight is a B&M (Bolliger & Mabillard) flying coaster located at Six Flags Over Georgia, Six Flags Great Adventure and Six Flags Great America. The first installation was at Six Flags Over Georgia in 2002; installations at the other two parks followed in 2003. This was the second flying coaster model designed by B&M, preceded by Air (now known as Galactic...[Read More]