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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!

The Intimidator Speeds into Carowinds
Red B&M Hyper Coaster for 2010

Carowinds, Charlotte, North Carolina 08/26/09 - By: Mike Strobel -

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.

'Intimidator 305' Announced
Kings Dominion reveals giga-coaster

Kings Dominion, Doswell, VA, USA 08/20/09 - By: Tyler Carlton -

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.

© Kings Dominion

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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. Intimidator 305 is scheduled to open in 2010, but until then you can take a virtual ride, view photo galleries, and learn more about this ride at www.intimidator305.com .

Wildebeest on the loose at Holiday World
Presenting the world's longest water coaster

Holiday World, Santa Claus, Indiana 08/13/09 - By: Mike Strobel -

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.

Collision Injures Dozens
Two trains collide on Big Dipper in England

Pleasure Beach, Blackpool, England 08/11/09 - By: Stephen McCarthy -

Dozens of people have been injured at Pleasure Beach in Blackpool England this Tuesday evening after two trains on the Big Dipper collided. After the collision, the two trains came to rest about twenty-feet above the ground. The accident happened around 7:50 local time, and it was reported a rider was still stuck on the ride at 9:00. There have been conflicting reports of how many people were injured, though all were taken to local hospital. It has been confirmed that none are life threatening.

Big Dipper is the oldest of Pleasure Beach’s many classic wooden coasters. It has been in operation since 1923 and was extended in 1936. It has a classic out and back design with a height of 60 feet and a maximum speed of 35 MPH. It is unclear whether this ride has crashed in the past.

The cause of the crash is still unknown.

Riders stranded around 80ft in the air
Vekoma 'Invertigo'-style coaster malfunctions

California's Great America, Santa Clara, CA, USA 08/10/09 - By: Lukas Tyler -

© KTLA

'Invertigo'ing Nowhere Fast: Riders await extraction so they can get back to enjoying the rest of all the fun rides at California's Great America.

At 1:45pm this August 10th 2009 afternoon, the Vekoma manufactured inverted boomerang style roller coaster ride "Invertigo" at California's Great America amusement park malfunctioned. 28 riders remain stranded up to 80 feet above the ground and all of them at a 45-degree angle.

Thankfully, no injuries have been reported. All of the riders appear to be sitting in the shade as they sit and wait to be extracted by Santa Clara Fire Department officials who've brought in ladder and basket trucks. Each rider will have to be removed one at a time from their harness and then lowered into the basket and brought slowly down to safety.

Officials said the process will be very slow and probably take close to two hours to complete. With 40 different fire department and emergency medical personnel on the scene, everything looks to be under control, with no one in harm's way and everyone feeling calm.

Tragedy in the sky
Rider suffers health problems on Firehawk

Kings Island, Kings Mills, Ohio 08/09/09 - By: Mike Strobel -

© Kings Island

This bird grounded:Firehawk will be down as the state of Ohio conducts their ususal post-accident inspections.

All was quiet on August 8, 2009 at Kings Island, with all the rides running as usual, save for the problematic Son of Beast. However, at 3:30 pm, that all changed.

Firehawk, the park's flying coaster, which was transfered to the park from Geauga Lake under the previous name X-Flight, was encountered by a man, who took his turn to ride the Vekoma-made ride. However, 2 minutes after as the ride came back into the final brakes and into the staion, fellow riders and onlookers sighted that the man was undergoing breathing troubles. Kings Island emergancy staff, and later, the Mason Fire Department, came to the aid of the man and was later flown Bethesda North Hosptial where he later passed away from his aflictions. Nothing was released as to the direct cause of death.

While Firehawk is notable for its downtime, this is the first major accident for the ride since it was brought to Kings Island. However, for the park, this isn't the first similar incident. Son of Beast encountered such a conflict as a woman complained of undisclosed trauma after riding it. Son of Beast is still down from that incident.

However, it was made known that the Ohio Department of Agriculter, the people responsable for amusement park safety and operations, begun inspections Sunday morning and the park has re-opened the coaster after the inspection.