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A signature ride at Six Flags Fiesta Texas is about to get a Texas sized makeover for 2013. Iron Rattler will transform the outgoing Rattler from a wood coaster to a steel coaster. The ride will be one of the tallest steel coasters with a wooden support structure, known to most as a hybrid coaster, whereas they use one material for the track and another for the structure. Rocky Mountain Construction will be incorporating much of Rattler's existing wood structure as well as new sections with a totally different layout than the wood coaster used to be.
The ride will be 171 ft tall, diving into the ravine at 70 mph. The drop will reach 81 degrees. Other elements included are a barrel roll just after the first drop and 4 over banked turns, all firsts for hybrid coasters. Six Flags Fiesta Texas President Martin Bozer commented in the press release as well. Quote: Six Flags has innovation as part of our DNA and the Iron Rattler will take extreme innovation to a new level with a taller drop, faster speed and steeper banks. This cutting-edge coaster truly marries the best of both classic and modern coaster designs to deliver heart-pounding thrills. Also, according to Tim Baldwin of Rollercoaster! Magazine; Quote: The Rattler’s transformation is expected to be nothing short of spectacular. This innovation is so new in the amusement industry; it has only been done once before. The results were tremendous, and Six Flags Fiesta Texas' project should be equally amazing. The park hopes to open Iron Rattler in spring of 2013.
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Six Flags Magic Mountain hopes to push the pedal to the metal with their new coaster, Full Throttle. The multi-launch steel coaster, which will be designed by Premier Rides, will be the park's 18th roller coaster, more than any other park in the world. It will also take place of the Log Jammer log flume that was taken out months ago.
Full Throttle will set out to claim the worlds tallest vertical loop at 160 ft. That occurs just after a 0-70 mph launch. The ride stretches out with a high speed curve after the loop, which then ascends towards the plaza that's home to Superman: Escape from Krypton. A dive loop drops into a tunnel, once used by the park's old monorail. The train then comes to a complete stop and backwards launches back up the dive loop. A second pass through the tunnel takes riders back up to 70 mph before a hill that outlines the top of the loop, which then drops back into the final brakes. At 70 mph, the ride will be the fastest ride with a vertical loop, tied with Six Flags Fiesta Texas' Superman Krypton Coaster. California's Great America will set out to claim the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in Northern California in 2013 as they now announce Gold Striker. The park's 8th coaster will also be the park's second wooden coaster next to Grizzly. The ride will be built by Great Coaster's International.
The ride will be 108.2 ft high with a 103.3 ft drop, the highest in Northern California with the previous record belonging to Roar of Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. The coaster will reach a top speed of 53.7 mph, the fastest in the region. The ride sprawls out over 3,197 ft of track with a first drop, which is considered a double-down, that curls around the 200 ft Star Tower, then passes the station at break neck speeds, and the rest of the course is filled with lots of sudden drops, high speed elevated banked turns, and tons of cross-throughs. The ride will have banking as high as 80 degrees and a duration of 2 minutes and 30 seconds. The trains are the standard issue stock from Great Coasters International, which are their famous Millennium Flyer trains decked in orange. The trains consist of each row of 2 seats that are their own individual car, known as an articulating train. There will be 12 cars, thus the ride will hold 24 riders. The ride will use 2 of these trains in hopes of getting 850 riders an hour as its capacity rating. Universal Studios Hollywood is bumping the scare level up this year with Halloween Horror Nights. They are featuring many new mazes and scare zones this year.
The first maze is called "The Texas Chainsaw Massacre." Based on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie, this maze will re-live the nightmare that the movie did in a brand new slaughter-house like haunted house. This new maze will allow park guests to "step into the inner workings of a slaughterhouse maze" and "be gripped with vivid telltale signs of imminent doom." The movie is about five young friends who unsuspectingly get mashed into a homicidal Texas clan. And now John Murdy (creative director at Universal Studios Hollywood) and his team of animators will bring attempt to take guests through a living, nightmare with similar events that occurred in the movie. The second new maze for 2012 is The Walking Dead: Dead Inside. This brand new immersive maze is based on the AMC Television show, "The Walking Dead." Guests will enter a maze where the dead are the predators, and the living are the prey. According to Entertainment Weekly's Popwatch, John Murdy says that there will be around 11 to 12 different environments in this post-apocalyptic world. The park is also working with Greg Nicotero, who is one of The Walking Dead's makeup artists and just plain zombie fanatic. Other mazes for 2012 include Welcome to Silent Hill, La Llorona: La Cazadora de los Niños (The Child Hunter), Alice Cooper goes to Hell 3D, and Universal Monsters Remix. After a few months of relative silence, it seems things surrounding the SBNO Kentucky Kingdom amusement park in Louisville, Kentucky have picked back up once again. According to a report from the Courier Journal last week, Ed Hart and other business leaders were proposing a $40 million proposal to reopen the park by 2014.
This is Hart’s second time trying to get the park back open, after being refuted by the Kentucky State Fair Board back in October of last year. At that time, he had committed $1 million in personal funding, $5.6 million in equity, and $23 million in private funds from the Al J. Schneider Company of hotels, and was seeking $20 million from the Kentucky General Assembly. After talks had concluded, the Fair Board essentially wrote Hart off stating “Hart is out of the picture as a potential Kentucky Kingdom operator.” The latest proposal from Hart comes right on the heels of Governor Steve Beshear asked the Fair Board to request proposals for operators of the park. Hart continues to push forward with strongly supported proposals, but also continues to be turned down by the Fair Board with little or no explanation. Now he’s offering up nearly $10 million in upfront equity, and an additional $30 million from lenders. As reported by the Courier Journal, Hart’s proposal expects the same $400,000 first-year rent offered to Bluegrass Boardwalk, increasing to $750,000 down the line, and discussions on how to split parking revenue. Wave3 reported that the $30 million from lenders would be loan money, which Beshear is concerned could come from taxpayers which “raises a question or two in [his] mind.” Hart argues though, that the $30 million would be used on rides and equipment, which could all be used as collateral on the loan, lowering the risk for taxpayers and other potential loan parties. Hart’s biggest concern for the park is the fact that every year the park sits, the more it deteriorates, the more expensive it becomes to fix back up, and the more bleak it’s future becomes. The last ray of hope for Kentucky Kingdom came from the Koch family, owners of the thriving Holiday World just hours north, who planned to reopen the park as Bluegrass Boardwalk. With $16.5 million ready to go, a plan set for the future of the park, and even a new logo created, the Koch’s finally walked after months of “red tape” frustrated their efforts. It seems the Fair Board will be putting in a request for proposals within 30 days, at which point it will likely have 30-45 days set aside for submissions. The board would then review all proposals and hopefully find a good one which would allow them to negotiate a lease for the park. Ron Carmicle, Chairman of the fair board said that they had received interest from several potential operators after the Koch family deal fell through, and hope to find a deal that works for all parties involved to get the park back in operation. The moment coaster enthusiasts have been waiting for has finally arrived as Cedar Point has officially announcedGatekeeper, their new coaster coming for the 2013 season. The park will be receiving their very own Bolliger and Mabillard Wing Coaster. Of course, it would not be true Cedar Point fashion if they didn't break a few records along the way as well.
With its announced height of 170 feet with a 163-foot vertical drop, speed of 67 miles per hour, and length of 4,164 linear feet Gatekeeper will steal the record for biggest drop, length, and speed by a wing coaster from Dollywood's Wild Eagle. But it won't stop there, with its inverting first drop it will also grab the record for largest inversion on any type of coaster. Gatekeeper will also sport a layout featuring six inversions, including a Wing Over Drop, Immelmann, Giant Flat Spin, Inclined Dive Loop, Spiral, and a Zero-G roll as the ride passes over the entrance to the park. The impact Gatekeeper will have will go beyond just its eye popping stats. It will bring new life to the front of the park, especially the entrance. One of the coaster's star elements comes as the track soars right over the park gate while gracefully inverting through two tight keyhole passes. Another one of the gifts that Gatekeeper will bring is a bit of beautification towards the front of the park. The ride will be replacing the now defunct Disaster Transport. In doing so it open up the view of Lake Erie and present the park with a much more attractive looking coaster. Gatekeeper will be Cedar Point's first B&M coaster since Mantis in 1996 and Raptor in 1994. It will also be the park's first non-Intamin AG coaster addition since Mantis as Millennium Force,Wicked Twister, Top Thrill Dragster, and Maverick were all Intamin installations. It will also bring the park's coaster count back up to 16. Park goers at Silver Dollar City have had a tease going on all year. Since opening day, signs of construction on something fairly large loomed at the park, though if you asked any park employee, they'd say it didn't exist, though that was due to keeping it quiet until August 9th. Well, wait no longer as Silver Dollar City has announced its 6th coaster, Outlaw Run.
The ride is being manufactured by the Rocky Mountain Construction, who has had recent success in their Iron Horse design at Six Flags Over Texas's New Texas Giant as well as adapting their topper track to existing wooden coasters. Outlaw Run will feature a layout composed entirely of the topper track. The ride has a few records it will hold once it starts operation in 2013. The ride will start up a 107 ft lift. However, using Silver Dollar City's hilly terrain, the hill will drop to 162 ft. The first drop will also angle all the way up to 81 degrees, making it the steepest wooden coaster in the world. It will feature 9 areas of airtime and near weightlessness. Also along the 2,937 ft of track, the wood coaster will do something no other wooden coaster has done since the now defunct Son of Beast, which will be it will go upside down. Three times in fact, one through a roll at 153 degrees on top of the 2nd hill and twin barrel rolls at the very end. This will make it be the wooden coaster with the most inversions, though no other wooden coaster goes upside down as of yet. Along with the first drop, most of the elements play to the park's rolling hills. There will be two 24 passenger trains and it will cost $10 million. Other elements of note stated on the fact sheet include a 100 ft double down, a 70 ft double up, and a u-bar lap restraint system. |
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