Happy Earth Day To All The Green Coasters

Dear Coaster Friends,

Today is Earth Day and I thought we could celebrate by hearing me gush over my favorite green coasters! OK you can tell me about your favorite green coaster too. I wanted to highlight a few green coasters that are literally green, but I also wanted to point out some actual examples of being good for the Earth. I live in the Northeastern part of the country and Great Adventure is my home park, they have done a massive solar energy project at the park. It was a significant investment for them that will ultimately lower their operating costs and allow them to sell their excess energy when the park is closed. Great for  the park and the Earth. Dorney is another local park to me and as much as I tease them about not building roller coasters, because they don't, they do have a recycling program that I benefit from. I do really enjoy Demon Drop and Possessed, maybe next year will be the year for Dorney to finally get a new coaster. I also wanted to tip my hat to RMC, their Iron Horse conversions are awesome crowd pleasers and make the best use of a preexisting structure, it is extending the life of these materials instead of throwing them out. With that said, on to the green coasters.

Kingda Ka, the tallest in the world and the fastest in the hemisphere. This green monster is one of my favorite coasters no matter what the color. I know it is often criticized for being a gimmick, or discounted for having a short duration. To that I say going high and fast is the whole appeal of roller coasters, and if you think it is too short there is a fix for that too. Go on it again, then do it again, OK do it again, and one more time go again. I do keep track of how many coasters I have been on, but not how many times I have ridden each one. I find Kingda Ka addictive and I have easily taken over 100 laps on it.

Fury 325, wow is this a completely insane ride. I recently went on my first trip to Carowinds to kick off the season and instantly knew this was one special coaster that will no doubt lure me back to Charlotte in the future. The drop is amazing, the sensation of speed is maintained throughout the course and there is a nice variety of maneuvers and sensations. If you hate on Kingda Ka for a short duration, then Fury is immune from such criticism. Fury 325 is the longest steel roller coaster in North America, and literally passes from North Carolina into South Carolina and back again.

Boulder Dash, OK it isn't exactly a green coaster but it has a green train. The reason I feel that it is a green coaster is because of the woods. The trip out along the side of the mountain ripping through the woods is a major characteristic of the experience. The airtime is awesome but the closeness to the branches and trees add to the excitement and sensation of speed.

Feel free to send a happy Earth Day to your favorite green coaster in the comments.


Author

Jeff Goodman