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There's another aspect of excitement in the world of thrill rides. There's the excitement of the latest announcements of upcoming rides from an industry as secretive as the military at times, and the excitement of all the latest happenings at parks around the world. Sometimes the news is good, sometimes the news is bad, but our aim is to bring you the fairest, timeliest, most accurate details on everything that concerns you. COASTER-net's team of journalists is hard at work around the clock to bring you the in-depth scoop!
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Busch Gardens Williamsburg, Williamsburg, VA, USA 02/29/04 - By: Carsten Anderson -
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Voted world's "Most Beautiful Theme Park," for 12 consecutive years, Busch Gardens has long been renowned as a showplace.
There are going to be many new inprovments and here they are, a hilarious live-action animal show debuts April 3, and features the zany antics of dogs, cats, birds and other animals. The four-legged celebrities will amaze guests with their high-speed hijinks and high-wire acts. This will be nice to see. "Theme park visitors want a complete experience when they visit our park - rides, shows, and quality family time. 'Pet Shenanigans' adds even more to the Busch Gardens experience," This will get many people to come and see the show and also the wonderful park said Donnie Mills, executive vice president.
Also they are now going to have familys take the stage this year in there plans with an all-new "Imaginique" debuting June 19. This immersive, sensory experience enchants guests on summer evenings through August 18. They say that the Royal Palace Theatre will be transformed into all kinds of colors.
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The National Association of Amusement Ride Safety Officials, announced that Ron Fussner, a corporate director for loss prevention for Cedar Fair L.P was named the "Jimmy Floyd Safety Man of the Year" at their annual safety seminar in Charlotte, N.C. The "Jimmy Floyd Safety Man of the Year" award is given to someone who has dedicated the most to an amusement park safety for the previous year.
He has been with Cedar Fair since 1980 and is one of the great ones.
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Disneyland, Anaheim, CA, USA 02/22/04 - By: Carl F -
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Around six months ago, the Big Thunder Mountain Raildroad coaster at Disneyland in California derailed, killing one and injuring ten others. If the coaster passes a thorough review next week, it could reopen in time for the spring season for the park.
Dean Fryer, a spokesman for the state, was quote saying, "It will be a comprehensive review of the ride, its operation and procedures." Among the list of things Disneyland was required to work on, the state asked them to retrain the managers and mechanics that work in the area of the coaster, begin a policy that will require a ride operator to shut down a ride if they here unusual noises, and that the mechanics that perform the work will be able to sign logs that say the work was completed.
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Tivoli Gardens, Copenhagen, Denmark 02/21/04 - By: Kevin Russell -
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One of the most speculated rides for the 2004 season has had its track construction completed. Demon at Tivoli Gardens' track was completed just the other day.
The unique, strangely-designed coaster is a Bolliger and Mabillard Floorless roller coaster. The ride is compact because they had little space to fit it in.
This will be the first major inversion roller coaster for the park. The last piece put in place was the middle of the Zero-G Roll. The park opens on April 16.
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DelGrosso’s Amusement Park, Tipton, PA, USA 02/20/04 - By: Kevin Russell -
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In a press release today, DelGrosso's annouced that they are adding the biggest addition ever to the park.
In November, the park annouced that they were adding a spinning wild mouse. But now they are also adding a free fall ride made by Moser Rides in Ostiglia, Italy. The third ride they are adding is a Preston Wacky Worm coaster.
This will be the biggest expansion in a single year in the park's history.
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SeaWorld San Diego, San Diego, CA, USA 02/20/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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SeaWorld San Diego's Journey to Atlantis is still scheduled to open Memorial Day, May 31st, with progress on the new water-coaster unhindered despite recent claims against SeaWorld over a former toxic waste site close to the park.
Environmentalists at the California Earth Corps recently accused SeaWorld of building the ride on a potentially hazardous site, and furthermore, withholding a study on soil conditions from the state. Coastal Commission officials, however, discredited the claim, citing a lack of evidence behind it.
The area of toxic waste in question is located underground around 300 feet from the Journey to Atlantis site, outside of actual theme park grounds.
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Loudoun Castle, Galston, Scotland 02/20/04 - By: Carl F -
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Guests of the Loudoun Castle theme park will soon have a whole new way to look at the park. The park is going to build a chairlift that will be around 1500 feet long to transport guests from point to point throughout the park while giving them a stunning view of everything.
Loudoun Castle is also set to spend £2m in the next 12 months to improve the look of the park. The chairlift project only received a couple objections, which were about the ride's impact on the surrounding landscape. The park is set to open for the 2004 season on April 3rd.
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Kemah Boardwalk, Kemah, TX, USA 02/20/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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Seven new rides of various sizes will be introduced to the midway of the Kemah Boardwalk as part of a major expansion to the Houston, Texas-local park.
The largest of the rides will be the first observation tower from Chance-Morgan, an 18-story tower with a vehicle carrying two-dozen riders per cycle. Chance-Morgan will also deliver one of their 'Inverter' and 'Aviator' attractions to Kemah.
Kemah Boardwalk's other four new rides will be a 'Red Baron' flat ride and 'Spring Ride' kiddie freefall from Rides-4-U, along with 'Submarine' and 'Balloon Wheel' attractions from Zamperla.
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Pictura Theme Park, Goulburn, Australia 02/20/04 - By: Carl F -
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Believe it or not, not everyone looks at the upcoming closing of Wonderland Sydney as a bad thing. The heads of the proposed theme park named Pictura hopes that the closing of one theme park, will help lead to the opening of theirs.
Despite this hope for Pictura, there has been no progression in the project since January. It was reported that the group is waiting on the Department of Infrastructure, Planning, and Natural Resources.
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Gillian's Wonderland Pier, Ocean City, NJ, USA 02/20/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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A new thrill ride has been confirmed to be headed to New Jersey's Gillian's Wonderland Pier this year.
A twelve-story 'Slingshot' ride from Chance-Morgan will replace the Pier's portable Alpine Bobs flat ride, also a Chance-Morgan ride, and launch twelve riders at a time into the sky.
Along with the new ride, improvements will be made to Gillian's star attraction. The park's major coaster, Anton Schwarzkopf's City Jet, will operate with two new two-car trains from the company of Anton's son, Wieland Schwarzkopf GmbH Amusement Rides & Part Services.
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Waldameer Park, Erie, PA, USA 02/18/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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Following years of delays on the approval and construction of the long-planned Ravine Flyer 2 wooden terrain coaster, Waldameer Park's owner has taken a step to try and speed up the process.
Paul Nelson has gone directly to the Waldameer Zoning Board for permission to begin construction without the completion of an environmental study on the impact of the possible coaster.
Nelson's goal is to have the coaster operational for the park's 2006 season for the amusement park's 110th anniversary. Ravine Flyer 2 would be named after Waldameer's original Ravine Flyer from John Miller and Harry Baker which was demolished after closing in 1938.
The Zoning Board will hear the park owner's request on March 3rd. In the meantime, Waldameer Park will be erecting a new Maurer-Sohne-designed spinning steel coaster which will open this year.
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Visionland, Bessemer, AL, USA 02/18/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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Visionland and its Splash Beach waterpark will be expanding this year with new water rides and shops when it opens on May 15th.
Owning company Southland Entertainment Group has two attractions planned for the waterpark to be installed in 2004 and 2005, but it has not yet been determined which one of the two will open this season.
Celebration Street, a 'park' linking the dry ride portion of Visionland with the Splash Beach waterpark, will be receiving several new shops and eateries.
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Wonderland Sydney, Eastern Creek, Australia 02/18/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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Just a year short of its twentieth anniversary, Australia's Wonderland Sydney will be closing permanently this April.
The theme park is closing as a result of underperformance and lacking attendence, attributed by the park to multiple occurances around the world that resulted in decreased travel, starting with the September 11th, 2001 terrorist attacks.
Wonderland Sydney is home to three coasters: the Vekoma Boomerang model Demon; Bush Beast, a clone of Paramount's Kings Dominion's Grizzly; and Beastie, a clone of Paramount junior wooden coasters.
The 140-acre theme park has already been purchased for $52.5 million with plans to convert it into an industrial development.
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Transvaal Park, Moscow, Russia 02/15/04 - By: Carl F -
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At least 24 people are dead and around 106 left injured after a roof collapsed on the Moscow water park named Transvaal Park.
The roof reportedly collapsed at around 7:30 p.m. At the time, there were around 800 people in the park, of which, around 350 of them were in the pool area. At the time of this report, no single cause had been identified, but a few were talked about. They include a very heavy buildup of snow on the roof of the complex, the extreme difference in the temperature outside the park and inside the park, and seepage into the concrete supports of the building.
Possibly the worst part of this story is that at the time of the incident, there was a child's birthday party in progress in the pool area. At last report, there were 3 dead children and 19 other children that were hospitalized.
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Indiana Beach, Monticello, IN, USA 02/15/04 - By: Carl F -
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It has been confirmed that Indiana Beach will be receiving a new flying scooter ride for the 2004 season. The new ride will be named Air Crow and will be placed on a platform that will be over the water. Not only will riders get the effect of being over the water, they will also feel the effect of coming close to a couple of the park's more well known coasters, the Hoosier Hurricane and the Cornball Express.
The ride is yet to be installed, but should be in place by the middle of March. The Air Crow is currently being built in Texas and the estimated cost for the ride is around $500,000.
Indiana Beach will also be receiving other improvements for the upcoming season. Some of the improvements include sidewalk reworking, dark ride enhancements, and other enhancements to the park's water ski shows.
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Six Flags over Georgia, Austell / White Water, Marietta, GA, USA 02/12/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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Six Flags over Georgia has officially announced details on all 2004 additions, and sister waterpark White Water has made official a new attraction as well. The new rides for Over Georgia, five in all, will include a kiddie coaster, new flat rides, and park improvements.
The Wile E. Coyote Canyon Blaster from Chance-Morgan Rides will become the park's tenth coaster and the longest ride of its type from the company. This near-30 mile per hour coaster designed for younger riders will reside in the Bugs Bunny World / Spanish area of the park.
Two other additions to Bugs Bunny World will be the Rockin' Tug flat ride; and Up, Up and Away, a spinning balloon ride; both from Zamperla. This expansion will be made possible due to a new pathway and bridge connecting the area to the nearby Carousel Hill section.
Other rides will consist of Gotham City Crime Wave, a Wave Swinger from Zierer, and the 50's-themed enclosed scrambler ride named Shake, Rattle and Roll from Eli Bridge.
In addition to Six Flags over Georgia's new additions, the Austell, Georgia theme park's Marietta sister water park has been confirmed to be the third Six Flags-owned water property to be receiving a ProSlide-crafted Tornado slide in 2004.
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A costumed Disney World employee was run over and killed by a float during a parade at the Magic Kingdom. The Death was backstage near the Splash Mountain ride said Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Disney spokeswoman Rena Langley said Javier Cruz, 38, of Orlando, was right about to enter the park when he was hit and did not know if there were any eyes witnessed what happened.
Cruz has worked at the park since 1995 and was pluto in the parade. The Sheriff's spokesman said the investigation showed the death was accidental.
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Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH, USA 02/11/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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Work moves along on Cedar Point's 2004 improvements, as the walls rise for the adjoining indoor waterpark, Castaway Bay, the Lighthouse Point cabin collection is expanded, and Iron Dragon receives a new paint scheme.
Currently, the first structure of Castaway Bay is up on the outskirts of the amusement park, while new cabins are on site in the parking lot, and the suspended tracks of Iron Dragon shine with fresh reddish-orange paint on yellow supports, a clear change from its former red on gray scheme to compliment the colors of the towering Top Thrill Dragster nearby.
COASTER-net's Ohiocoasterman has exclusive pictures for us illustrating the current progress around Cedar Point, and you can view all of the pictures on this page.
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Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, Santa Cruz, CA, USA 02/11/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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After appealing to a decision made in mid-January denying plans for the construction of a 125-foot launched freefall tower, Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk has finally won its case with a unanimous ruling from the city of Santa Cruz.
Following the January 15th decision blocking Seaside Company, owners of Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk, from erecting the tower, the case was appealed and taken before the city where it was ruled on yesterday.
Opponants previously voiced views that the tower would be an eyesore or lessen views of the ocean, with some even claiming that it would become a danger to birds. But many Santa Cruz residents showed favor to the plans due partly to the ride's potential tax revenue for the city.
In response to the concerns over the ride's visual impact on the city, the Beach Boardwalk announced that they would use ground lighting of the tower only, and only during operating hours. This comes after original plans for a 17-story tower were scaled down.
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La Ronde, Montreal, Canada 02/11/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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Details on improvements and additions to La Ronde have been made public today by the park. This year, La Ronde will introduce two major attractions: a splashdown water ride and a 3D family-geared experience.
The Splash will be La Ronde's new five-story tall water ride, while an unnamed 3D simulator will take the place of a former show in an existing theatre.
Major improvements to the Canadian park will consist of the addition of a new gathering facility, upgraded eateries, and new games appearing on the midways.
The full package of improvements and new attractions will total $6.2 million.
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Idlewild Park, Ligonier, PA, USA 02/10/04 - By: Carl F -
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Idlewild Park has announced that they will be getting a new Tornado ride made by Wisdom Industries for the 2004 season. This ride will be named the Howler and will find its home in the center of the Hootin' Holler section of the park.
Along with the ride will come a strobe light package that is sure to catch the eye's of the guests along with a brushed aluminum center.
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STAR TREK: The Experience, Las Vegas, NV, USA 02/10/04 - By: Carl F -
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It seems that there will be another ride debuting in 2004 with the much loved name BORG. The BORG Invasion 4D is set to open on March 18th at Star Trek: the Experience in Las Vegas. No specific amount was released, but it was said that this will be a multi-million dollar investment.
This 4D film will be a completely original story starring actors such as Robert Picardo, Alice Krige, and Kate Mulgrew.
You can click here to see the official page for this ride on STAR TREK: the Experience's website.
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Cedar Point, Sandusky, OH, USA 02/10/04 - By: Carl F -
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The 8% parking tax that Cedar Point threatened to sue Sandusky over has been repealed. The city council met on the 9th and repealed the tax with a 4 to 2 vote.
There were a few that spoke out against dropping the tax, claiming that the tax has raised almost $400,000 for road repairs and other public costs. The tax will end 30 days from this decision.
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Luna Park, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia 02/08/04 - By: Carl F -
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Sydney's residents will be very happy to hear that Luna Park will finally be reopening to thrill more guests.
The park is slated to reopen on April 2, 2004, complete with a new $72 million renovation. The Coney Island area will still be a familiar face to the guests along with the old Wild Mouse coaster. Part of the renovation will include exhibition facilities, a public park and restaurant, new conference facilities, and a 2,000 seat space that will be capable of holding circuses.
Luna Park has had a rough time in its 69 year history. After opening in 1935, the park closed in 1979 after a tragic fire that occured on its Ghost Train ride. The park reopened 3 years later in 1982 but only operated until 1988 when the park closed again. In 1995, Luna Park reopened and debuted its new Arrow looping coaster named Big Dipper. Irony is that the Big Dipper caused the park to close the next year because of noise complaints of people screaming while on the coaster. The park also operated for a short time when the Olympics came to Sydney.
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Dorney Park, Allentown, PA, USA 02/07/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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Cedar Fair made it official yesterday that Dorney Park will receive a 'mid-sized thrillride' this year as part of $25 million in improvements being distributed throughout the national amusement park chain for 2004.
A name has yet to be revealed, but it has been confirmed that the attraction will be a Revolution spinning ride from Chance-Morgan. This type of ride swings 32 passengers in groups of four in a vertical arc while the circular arrangement of seats rotates.
The Revolution ride can already be found at several parks including Dorney's sister park in California, Knott's Berry Farm as La Revolucion, and nearby Hersheypark under the name Claw.
Last year, Dorney experienced a 10-percent drop in attendence despite $6 million in improvements, which was attributed to poor weather at the height of the operating season.
In 2005, Dorney Park will be erecting a $13 million floorless-type steel looping coaster from Bolliger and Mabillard in place of the wooden Hercules which has been demolished.
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Alton Towers, Alton, Staffordshire, England, UK 02/07/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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Although Alton Towers has been known for being a park that has been limited from building to considerable heights in the past, the UK park's latest attraction being planned would take guests over 600 feet into the sky.
Although not strictly considered a traditional theme park 'ride,' the park hopes to add a hot air balloon attraction which would be secured to a central concrete pad.
The Alton Parish Council, however, is resisting any additional expansion to Alton Towers pending the construction of a new eastern road to the park.
In the past, the theme park has been limited from building tall structures due to concern over visual impact and noise by local residents. Oblivion is Alton's tallest coaster, at 65 feet in height, and 2004's Spinball Whizzer spinning coaster tops out at just over 55 feet.
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Twin Grove Park/Campground, Pinegrove, PA, USA 02/06/04 - By: Carl F -
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After failing to find a buyer on eBay, the 1955 Herschell carousel has been purchased by Twin Grove Park and Campground in Pennsylvania.
The park purchased the classic full sized carousel for $40,000. Officials of Twin Grove Park said that this carousel will be the focal point of Phase 1 of their redevelopment plans.
The carousel is 36 feet in diameter and features 20 horses and 2 chariots for riders to enjoy. The total capacity of the ride is 28 passengers per cycle. Among the places this carousel has operated at, Silver Dollar City and Dollywood was its home for around 15 years.
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It has been confirmed that Chris Sawyer, creator of the hit 1999 game RollerCoaster Tycoon and its 2002 sequel RollerCoaster Tycoon 2, is creating a 3-D version of the theme park simulator.
The RollerCoaster Tycoon 3-D sim is set to be released towards the end of this year, although details on the game have yet to be made public.
Atari officially announced the news yesterday.
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Proposed Theme Park, Melbourne, Australia 02/03/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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A small theme park may be on the way to Australia and is estimated to cost $100 million, one third the expense of a redevelopment of the Royal Melbourne Showgrounds that the park would be a part of.
ABC hopes to incorporate its TV themes into the park with recreations of sets for various ABC shows, although supporters of ABC have voiced opposition to involvement in the park, saying that ABC lacks the resources to go through with the proposal and that such plans would be overcommercialization.
The entire park would be just over 22 acres in size.
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Proposed Theme Park, Williams, AZ, USA 02/03/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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A proposed $32 million theme park for Arizona has cleared its first hurdle in the road to becoming reality.
The theme park, proposed to be built in the town of Williams, Arizona, was given preliminary approval by the Williams City Council.
Themed to 1890s Arizona, the park would be built on a 158-acre site, with a planned opening in 2006. No thrillrides are currently planned for first phase of the park.
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Greenwood Forest Park, Wales, UK 02/02/04 - By: Devin Olson -
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Green Dragon will soon be opening in the United Kingdom as the first coaster anywhere that will produce more energy than it consumes.
That's because the new coaster at Greenwood Forest Park will have its claim to fame as being the first modern ride to be powered by passengers.
The 460,000-pound (or 845,000-dollar) coaster is currently under construction, and is expected to be completed by the end of the month.
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