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Cedar Fair is at it again, introducing the American motorsport of NASCAR in the form of a coaster at yet another park, this just days after Kings Dominion announced Intimidator 305. The park on the map for this latest installation is Carowinds, under the same name, though without the 305.
Carowinds version of Intimidator will be built by Bolliger and Mabillard instead of Intamin, using a hyper coaster to get the point across. The L-shaped layout shall start by lifting riders 232 ft. above terra firma before plummeting 211 ft. at 74 degrees to a top speed of 75 mph. Seven air time hills are present to represent the seven NASCAR championships that the real Intimidator, Dale Earnhardt Sr. racked up in his impressive career before his death at the 2001 Daytona 500 in 2001. Also included among the features of the 5316 ft course will be a s-curved 2nd drop, a hammerhead-like maneuver dubbed the panoramic u-turn, and a twisted, hilly helix finale. As with Cedar Fair's previous B&M hypers, Diamondback at Kings Island and Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland, the trains will be the 4 across staggered seating, meaning the two outside seats shall be set just behind the 2 center seats. A stockcar-like impression shall adorn the front as well as the Intimidator's infamous 3. As the thirteenth coaster at Carowinds, Intimidator shall be the largest. In fact, the first four drops will be larger than any other coaster at Carowinds. Intimidator is also Carowinds 3rd coaster built by B&M, the other two being Afterburn and Vortex. The grand opening is set for spring of 2010.
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 The long awaited announcement of Kings Dominion's new ride finally came today. Speculation and rumors have been flying ever since photos of supports and track hit the web. Well, the wait is finally over. Today Kings Dominion announced the details of its new Intamin AG giga coaster, Intimidator 305.
Standing at 305ft tall and boasting a 300ft drop, Intimidator 305 will become just the second giga coaster in the western hemisphere. A giga coaster is a complete circuit coaster with a height between 300ft and 400ft. The other giga coaster, Millennium Force, resides at Cedar Point. Intimidator 305's 300ft tall drop comes in at a staggering 85degrees, just five degrees shy of being completely vertical. Also, that drop will get the stock car themed trains moving at speeds in excess of 90mph. This ride is more than just a big drop, however. Intimidator 305 features six airtime humps, including S-curve transitions. The largest airtime hill comes soon after the first drop; the two hills are separated by a high speed ground turn similar to the opening manuever of Intamin's popular Mega-Lite models. In addition to the six airtime humps, Intimidator 305 has three ground level high speed turns. These turns are designed to simulate the experience of driving a stock car through high speed turns on a race track. Intimidator 305 will also sport trains themed to stock car racing. The trains will be designed to look like the stock car of racing legend Dale Earnhardt, who tragically lost his life in an accident at the Daytona 500 in 2001. Intimidator 305 draws its name from the nickname of Dale Earnhardt. He was knows as "The Intimidator" due to his aggressive driving style, which this ride attempts to imitate. Coming in at $25 million, Intimidator 305 will be the single largest capital investment in the history of Kings Dominion. Holiday World continues to push the envelope with water rides with their latest addition for 2010. Hot off the drawing boards of Pro Slide Technology Inc.
The addition comes after the park has just added a water laden monster in Pilgrim's Plunge, currently the tallest water ride in the world at 135 ft. The new slide, called Wildebeest, will be the worlds longest water coaster. Water coasters are similar to slides in that riders are taken through the lengths of tubes via water flow. However, a water coaster features Linear Induction Motors, allowing for up hill accelerations and a layout with less concerns for gravity. Wildebeest shall be about a third of a mile long, or, as the park boasts, 1,710 ft. Wildebeest shall feature 8 sets of LIM's. While venturing through the 2 minute, 30 second course, riders shall also encounter a 38 ft, 45 degree angle drop, speeds around 36 ft/sec., 7 drops, and 3 tunnels, two of which are underground. |
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