Poltergeist
Specific Type: LIM Coaster
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A supernatural force appeared at San Antonio's Six Flags Fiesta Texas when Poltergeist took the form of a 2,-foot long LIM-launched steel coaster in of 1999. The ghostly Texas coaster joined forces with Six Flags America's Joker's Jinx as the last two of Premier Rides' 'spaghetti bowl' coasters to open, a year after Suzuka, Japan's Mad Cobra blasted off, and three years since the very first Linear Induction Motor-launchers were unveiled with the two Flight of FearParamount Park indoor coasters. Helping to bring Premier's LIM spaghetti bowl layout to the outdoor American park scene for the first time, Poltergeist became Fiesta Texas' sixth coaster track upon opening, residing in the theme park's Rockville section. The steel twister
launches trainloads of 24 passengers off to 60 miles per hour to start off their ride experiences before they ascend into a yellow and teal maze of track and columns. Thought up by famed German designer Werner Stengel, the coasters' layout takes riders upside down four times, in a initial three-inversion punch and final flip to end the ride, with an additional 10 curves in between bringing a total ride duration to nearly a minute and a half. And to add to the thrills, thrillseekers ride Poltergeist with nothing over their shoulders since 2002 - just a double restraint over the lap and feet - providing the most smooth and thrilling ride possible. Guests wander through the line and into an abandon house where a mysterious train waits to be boarded. Once riders have loaded onto one of Poltergeist's two trains, the Linear Induction launch kicks off the ride immediately by propelling passengers down a tunnel to reach the 60 mile-an-hour top speed just 3 seconds after leaving the boarding area. Reaching the end of the tunnel, the train rockets skyward into the coaster's twisted spaghetti-bowl of steel. Teal columns fly by within inches of riders as the track twists through the double-inverting 180-degree course-reversing cobra roll and dives down the maneuver's conclusion to immediately begin the third 360-degree vertical twist - the Sidewinder. The pace slows momentarily as the track wraps around to the coaster's highest point, around 540 degrees of curves leading to a straightaway, giving riders just enough time to catch their breaths. The speed begins to pick up again as the train plunges back down into the mayhemic curvature with a spiraling dive to the left. The train quickly navigates through a second dive and begins changing direction again with a Figure-Eight formation to ground level. After another banked curve, the final corkscrew flips the track over once more and sends the train speeding up into the brakes, with a final S-turn and U-curve taking riders back into the station. |
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