http://www.coaster-net.com/ Editorials about the amusement industry from our staff writers! en-us Copyright (C) 2011 COASTER-net.com The 2012 season started out early for me, with my annual trip to Florida in late February/early March, and ended about as late as any season can, with Holiday events in Texas. The Florida trip also marked the beginning of my tenure here at COASTER-net. Now that the book has closed on 2012, I’d like to take the chance to look back on the year that was, and then look ahead to what 2013 may hold for me on a personal level. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/105-a-year-in-review/ Fri, 18 Jan 2013 15:28:28 -0500 As the off-season rolls along (no pun intended), we are seeing great developments in both the steel and wooden roller coaster industries. Before the 2012 season, I wrote an editorial about the new wing coaster fad that is continuing into 2013. Today however, I switch gears and would like to talk about what very well may be the next generation of wooden coasters. IRON RATTLER – Okay so it isn’t going to be a wooden coaster anymore, but like New Texas Giant, it once was, and all signs point to it being turned in to a spectacular steel coaster. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/104-wood-you-believe-it-entering-a-new-era-of-wooden-coasters/ Thu, 22 Nov 2012 11:48:11 -0500 Numerous years in the making, the New Fantasyland expansion at the Magic Kingdom is the biggest and most expensive addition to the park in it’s 41 year history. New Fantasyland encompasses 26 acres, nearly doubling the size of Fantasyland. The project which cost around an estimated 600 million dollars and still has a ways to go before it’s fully complete. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/103-new-fantasyland-soft-opening-review-part-1/ Wed, 17 Oct 2012 22:00:14 -0400 With so many types of roller coasters that exist, it seems as though the usual methods of identifying things such as inversions and such go by the wayside. While we let parks and manufactures tell us what certain rides do, people often forget to just look at what’s in front of them to know what qualifies as what. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/102-redefining-new-technology/ Mon, 27 Aug 2012 13:17:19 -0400 Well now that I have gone on my long awaited trip to California, I have now been to both Cedar Point and Six Flags Magic Mountain, the two parks that constantly vie for the title of “Roller Coaster Capital of the World.” I’ll start off by saying that I am going to attempt to keep this very unbiased and non-coaster nerdish. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/101-cedar-point-vs-magic-mountain-i-ve-now-been-to-both-parks-so-which-is-better/ Wed, 04 Jul 2012 21:35:47 -0400 Located about 20 minutes away from The Walt Disney World, Universal Orlando and SeaWorld Orlando you’ll find the Give Kids The World Village. Give Kids The World is a resort for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. Imagine being faced with a life-threatening illness as a child. You’d spend lots of time in hospitals or doctors’ offices and would not get to play or enjoy being a kid. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/100-what-give-kids-the-world-is-and-how-you-can-make-a-difference-with-coasting-for-kids/ Mon, 14 May 2012 23:27:38 -0400 It was just over a year ago that the first ever Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M) wing rider coaster opened at Gardaland in Italy. Raptor, as it was dubbed, is a very modest 108 feet tall, and is a rather short 2,526 feet in track length, fairly small for coasters this day in age. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/98-wing-rider-invasion-why-the-newest-coaster-breed-is-here-to-stay/ Sun, 22 Apr 2012 00:16:09 -0400 An Interview with Mr.Marc Plogstedt, Chief Operating Officer of ITEC Entertainment. Theme Park design is built on two broad concepts. Technical know how and Creativity. Walt Disney branded the term Imagineer back in 1955 for the small group of individuals that created the attractions for Disneyland. Those individuals were a mix of Walt's best artists and technicians. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/96-itec-entertainment-a-look-behind-the-scenes-at-how-theme-park-attractions-are-created/ Thu, 01 Mar 2012 21:57:33 -0500 In Round 1 of the Park Showdown series, I looked at two very similar southern amusement parks to see which one reigned supreme, Carowinds and Six Flags Over Georgia. Flagship parks in the region for Cedar Fair and Six Flags respectively, the two parks compared favorably in terms of their coaster and ride selections, as well as food, landscaping (or lack thereof), and many other aspects. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/94-park-showdown-round-2-bge-vs-bga/ Tue, 23 Aug 2011 15:23:45 -0400 2. The Interface- What does this button do? At a glance, the Newton 2 interface may come across fairly straight forward or rather complicated. I will start off first with the view navigation. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/93-newton-2-tutorial-no-2-the-interface/ Sat, 16 Jul 2011 03:50:07 -0400 1. The Basics- Acceleration, Gs, Transitions Newton 2 can be downloaded here: No Limits Exchange Before we can even talk about Newton 2, it is important to have a good understanding of what acceleration, G’s, and velocity are. You may be thinking, “Acceleration is when you speed up, and G’s are the pull you feel when you go around a loop, and velocity is how fast you’re going.” While that is partially correct, there is much more to it. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/92-newton-2-tutorial-no-1-the-basics/ Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:22:09 -0400 These days, a coaster site is basically there for the coaster simulators/games. One such game, Nolimits, has become the most popular realistic coaster builder out there. Anyone who lays their hands on it preaches that it has an extremely steep learning curve, but eventually it will all pay off. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/90-hand-built-vs-tooled-a-heated-dilemma-in-nolimits-coaster-building/ Wed, 10 Feb 2010 16:21:19 -0500 I know, this entry seems like a mute point. With all the drama around the prolific wooden hyper, it seems like it will suffer the same fate as Big Bad Wolf earlier this season. However, there are many things to take into consideration here. First, how did everything get to this point? http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/89-the-story-of-son-of-beast/ Mon, 28 Sep 2009 16:04:47 -0400 Some times it can be hard to find out what pieces are in what custom scenery sets for Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. Hiznik from the Atari community has made this wonderfully set of picture to help make that job a lot easer. Version two, contains all the information in the previous set, along with new information, and various updates. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/88-roller-coaster-tycoon-3-custom-scenery-set-pictures-v2-by-hiznik/ Fri, 08 May 2009 19:49:42 -0400 Some times it can be hard to find out what pieces are in what custom scenery sets for Roller Coaster Tycoon 3. Hiznik from the Atari community has made this wonderfully set of picture to help make that job a lot easer. Note while this page contains 100 pictures it does not cover all Custom Scenery Sets or where to download them, for more information about Custom Scenery visit here. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/87-roller-coaster-tycoon-3-custom-scenery-set-pictures-by-hiznik/ Tue, 07 Apr 2009 18:29:27 -0400 COASTER-net.com’s own correspondent Ryan Peake sat down with one of the minds behind Hard Rock Park several weeks ago as the theme park prepared to make its grand debut. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/86-interview-with-jon-binkowski-hard-rock-park-cco/ Sat, 07 Jun 2008 10:42:24 -0400 The Magic Kingdom, Disney’s Animal Kingdom, Disney’s California Adventure, Disneyland Paris, Hong Kong Disneyland, and Tokyo Disneyland. As every theme park enthusiast knows the six aforementioned theme parks are among the most popular in the world and are currently among eleven Disney theme parks. Disneyland and the Magic Kingdom are now household names, but what about WestCOT, Port Disney and Disney’s America? http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/85-disney-s-forgotten-parks/ Sat, 26 Jan 2008 08:47:11 -0500 It’s 1930 and you walk into your favorite amusement park, Astroland. You look at all the roller coasters around you. All are different, but they all have something in common. There’s one tall one, one small one, and every single one is wooden.Now, it’s seventy-six years later and you walk into your favorite amusement park, Six Flags Great Adventure . http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/83-the-fallen-coaster/ Mon, 08 Jan 2007 15:04:31 -0500 © Clint Novak Forty-five years ago, a small theme park opened in Texas. It’s name was Six Flags over Texas. This park would start a theme park chain. Which would grow to become the world's largest theme park chain. Six Flags would soon get the nickname the thrill-parks, where people could ride some of the tallest and fastest roller coasters on the planet. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/82-the-new-six-flags/ Wed, 23 Aug 2006 05:47:39 -0400 Josh: Hello COASTER-net.com, Josh here with an exciting interview with one of the best roller coaster designers in the world, well at least with K'nex. Meet Brandon "BD" Davis! Hello Brandon, how are you today? http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/81-modeling-new-records-an-interview-with-brandon-davis/ Sat, 22 Jul 2006 07:29:27 -0400 In 1959, the Matterhorn Bobsleds were introduced at Disneyland in Anaheim, California, and the ride led to a new revolution of coasters--the use of tubular steel track instead of wooden track. With tubular steel track, the possibilities were endless. Roller coasters were made at heights, speeds, and forces that people could have never imagined. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/80-the-end-of-the-coaster-wars/ Fri, 07 Jul 2006 18:31:26 -0400 A trip back in time Ten years ago this morning, hundreds of earthlings lined up in Ohio and Virginia to pay homage to a new milestone in the history of roller coasters. They lined up to get catapulted beyond the known limits of roller coaster technology to "a world where the imperfections of human existence are a thing of the past; where hunger and poverty are unknown; where everything is beauty, tranquility, and peace." Yes, that Tuesday morning of June 18th, 1996, a new pair of roller coasters individually named Outer Limits: Flight of Fear took Paramount's parks Kings Dominion and Kings Island one step beyond the competition and into the future. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/79-flight-of-fear-a-10th-anniversary-tribute/ Sat, 17 Jun 2006 20:22:00 -0400 © Amusementpics.com and edited by Josh Davidson For mere mortals, feeling the sudden rush of speed going through your body is unique, entering different worlds and seeing nature's greatest force on the human body, from precision enginering to shaking up your primal extincts. This is the story of Six Flags Great Adventure, considered to be a thrill capital among amusement parks. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/77-behind-the-thrills-six-flags-great-adventure/ Tue, 13 Jun 2006 08:57:29 -0400 Behind the Magic - Part One© Josh Davidson Over forty miles of family fun with rides, attractions, and shows. One of the most known theme resorts of the world. It can only be, Walt Disney World! It is the true place for which magic is told, and memories are born. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/76-behind-the-magic-part-one/ Sun, 21 May 2006 05:40:38 -0400 There are some modern coasters now, which instead of being pulled up a chain, get shot straight out and then go up an ascent. These coasters are called launched coasters, which brings us to our next topic. The launch coaster did not appear until the 1990’s so it is still fairly new to the amusement world. http://www.coaster-net.com/editorials/72-the-engineering-behind-coasters-part-3-launch-systems/ Mon, 10 Apr 2006 17:37:39 -0400