Recently, I was asked about the highlights of my 5 years of blogging. Getting to talk to the people behind our favorite theme parks and roller coasters has to be one of the biggest thrills of this adventure. Back in 2009, I had the opportunity to speak with Louis Alfieri who was one of the designers behind Rip Ride Rockit.
It was unbelievably cool to hear specifics behind the design process of a new custom roller coaster. For Rockit at least, it was a collaboration with different people adding ideas to the project. Elements like the ride’s treble clef were sketched out by Alfieri while he and the other members of the team contributed other ideas like the first-of-its-kind non-inverting loop (pictured above), the jump cut, and the incorporation of the ride’s extensive track list. (See Rip Ride Rockit’s full track list.) The process was so creative and collaborative that it reminded me of a rock band working on an album.
I think it’s easy to forget that there are real people behind our favorite creations. Other than when we daydream about being a roller coaster designer I doubt we give much thought into how the rides came to be or who brought them to life.
Read my interview with Louis Alfieri.
What’s Your Take?
What do you think of Rip Ride Rockit? What do you think of this photo? Leave a comment below.
Photos, content, and the most insightful, entertaining, or amusing reader comments from my Photo of the Week posts will be included my new book. Read more about my book project. All images are the property of TheCoasterCritic.com
June 21, 2011 at 04:19
That loop looks so sweet!
June 21, 2011 at 10:01
Rip Ride Rockit is pretty cool. The one negative thing that you'll hear about the ride is the multiple break (five total). It does slow down the pacing of the ride, but you still get a decent amount of airtime at the beginning and end of each break run. If the break runs didn't COMPLETELY kill your momentum, then the ride would rate off the charts. It's still a solid 9 to me though. You can't help but get excited as the music you picked blasts around your ears. And it's location in the park allows you to pose, preen, and shout at onlookers (a staple of mine on coasters) to your heart's content.
June 21, 2011 at 13:13
I went on the rockit 11 times in one day, it waws near easter, almost felt like ert
June 21, 2011 at 17:17
I almost completeley forgot about this ride until I saw this post. The hype about it died down after the first few months of being open to the public, as it usualy dose. I forgot how fun this thing looked.
PS-Leave a reply to my comment if you tried to replicate this ride's loop as soon as you saw the pictures, I know that I did.
June 21, 2011 at 17:22
Wow i looked on wikipedia and this was designed by maurer sohne, you know the wild mouse designing company. Looks pretty good though. What i don't understand though is why vertical lift and not vertical drop? Still it looks fun and definitley unique and one of a kind.
June 21, 2011 at 17:50
As cool as it would be to meet some designers, I would probably geek out way too much and ask a million questions
June 24, 2011 at 15:12
The ride was overrated. The double-take was the only true part I got in line for. Is its lift steeper than its main drop.
June 26, 2011 at 09:12
Love this ride. In my opinion it is much better than the Hulk. A big complaints are it is almost always down and is inconsistent. One time I loved the ride thinking it might be my favorite. Next ride was was good but it definitely couldn't compare.