Dragon Coaster
Specific Type: Wooden, Sit-Down
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Playland Park was the first planned amusement park in the country combining landscape and traditional architecture. It is located on the Long Island Sound in Westchester County, and it features a bathing area, a concourse, and amusement rides. The Dragon Coaster is the iconic attraction that has been operating since 1929. The coaster was designed by roller coaster legend Frederick A. Church. Church was well known for using side friction flanged wheels on his coasters to allow for more aggressive turns, maneuvers, and drops. The Dragon Coaster ran the original trains until the early 1980’s until difficulty in finding rare replacement parts forced them to be replaced with new trains from Morgan Manufacturing. The original lead car is located outside the ride’s exit and can be used for photos. The whole park is a historic landmark because of surviving historic rides like the carousel, a rare Derby Racer, and the Dragon Coaster. The Dragon Coaster is recognised by ACE as a Landmark as well. The ride and park has been in many movies and TV shows and has become ingrained into popular culture. Some significant examples would be; Big with Tom Hanks, Fatal Attraction, and a Mariah Carey’s music video for her song Fantasy.
Once the train is locked and checked it begins the journey up the 80 foot tall lift hill. At the top the track takes a quick dip to give the train a little momentum and it navigates around a turnaround giving riders a quick look around the park and out at the Long Island Sound before plunging down the first drop a 128 foot subterranean plung. The train roars through a trench and the train leaps up into the air and around a turn around at the opposite side of the layout. The train drives again and this time as it ascends the train enters a tunnel in the shape of a dragon. The train enters through the mouth and wraps around under the lift hill’s turn around. When the train emerges from the tail the bright light is shocking and so is the next drop that catches most riders as a surprise. The train dives into another trench and under the track as the layout makes a figure eight. The track turns the train around and soars through a double down, the track jumps up and turns around again. The next drop has a bunny hop at the bottom, and then the track rises and turns once more. The track does a slight bank and turns as the track leads bumping first down and then up, another bank brings the track through the structure of the ride. One final subterranean drop adds a last burst of speed as the train goes back towards the station and into the brake run. The 3,400 foot long circuit is complete and this classic coaster has brought its riders on a thrilling ride through history. |
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