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    • Kings Dominion & Carowinds 2010 Roller Coasters
    • Intimidator Coming to Carowinds in 2010
    • Top Thrill Dragster vs. Kingda Ka | Roller Coaster Showdown
    • Thirteen Announced as Alton Towers' 2010 Psychoaster
    • Intimidator 305 Opens: POV Video, Reviews, & a Poll
    • Intimidator 305 Coming to Kings Dominion in 2010
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The Coaster Critic's Blog is your source for opinionated roller coaster reviews, theme park reviews and a coaster enthusiast's take on all the latest theme park news. Read more...
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» Roller Coaster News

  • Dare Devil Dive Coming to Six Flags Over Georgia in 2011

    Written by The Coaster Critic 17 Comments
    Last Updated: September 1, 2010
    Dare Devil Dive Coming to Six Flags Over Georgia in 2011
    We can check off another one of the 11 Rumored Attractions for 2011. Today, Six Flags Over Georgia announced that they’ll be adding Dare Devil Dive in 2011. The looping roller coaster will feature a vertical lift, beyond vertical drop, and three inversions. Here’s more from Six Flags Over Georgia’s web site: Dare Devil Dive’s mission begins as you’re pulled straight u...
    • What Will Cedar Point’s 2011 Ride Be?: Possibilities & a Poll

      Written by The Coaster Critic 11 Comments
      Last Updated: August 8, 2010
      What Will Cedar Point’s 2011 Ride Be?: Possibilities & a Poll
      What do you give the park that has everything? Once again the Web is buzzing over what new ride, roller coaster, or attraction year. Even the Coaster Capital has a hole or two in its massive lineup of thrill rides and roller coasters. To be honest, I don’t follow the park that closely, but I’ll throw out some rumors and thoughts on what the ride could be. Let’s take some time and...
      • 11 Rumored Roller Coasters & Attractions for 2011

        Written by The Coaster Critic 35 Comments
        Last Updated: July 31, 2010
        11 Rumored Roller Coasters & Attractions for 2011
        It’s the time of the year when theme park fans turn into detectives. We scour the Web for documents from public hearings, take pictures of pavement and dirt and proudly upload them, and we bite our nails as we countdown to August and September announcements. Here are 11 confirmed and rumored projects for 2011: Confirmed 2011 Roller Coasters Mr. Six’s DanceCoaster at Six Flags Magic Mou...
        • New B&M Concept Will Debut on X-Raptor at Gardaland in 2011

          Written by The Coaster Critic 22 Comments
          Last Updated: July 19, 2010
          New B&M Concept Will Debut on X-Raptor at Gardaland in 2011
          There’s been talk for years about a new Bolliger & Mabillard roller coaster type. Last week, the rumors about the ride’s design were confirmed as Italian theme park Gardaland released an image of their 2011 roller coaster X-Raptor. Gardaland is pleased to introduce a spectacular new attraction in 2011: X-Raptor – the most extreme roller coasters, the flight that defies limi...
          • Roller Coaster For Sale: Still No Buyers for the Big Dipper

            Written by The Coaster Critic 13 Comments
            Last Updated: July 16, 2010
            Roller Coaster For Sale: Still No Buyers for the Big Dipper
            Big Dipper is the sole survivor of the now defunct Geauga Lake Amusement Park in North Eastern Ohio. In 2007, Cedar Fair closed the amusement park while keeping the adjacent water park, Wildwater Kingdom, open. Several of the park’s largest roller coasters found new homes and others were scrapped. Thunderhawk migrated to Michigan’s Adventure, Head Spin transformed into Carolina Cobra a...
            • Sky Rocket Test Video

              Written by The Coaster Critic 26 Comments
              Last Updated: June 28, 2010
              Sky Rocket Test Video
              Kennywood’s Sky Rocket looks to be about ready to open. As you can see from the video below the coaster has had test runs: As I said in my previous posts, I think Sky Rocket will be a strong addition to Kennywood’s loopless lineup. It will boast all of the ingredients of a solid modern looper. Elements include a launch, two vertical drops, a corkscrew and a barrell roll. The twisting ...
              • Chang Could Replace Great American Scream Machine at Great Adventure

                Written by The Coaster Critic 37 Comments
                Last Updated: June 22, 2010
                Chang Could Replace Great American Scream Machine at Great Adventure
                Chang may not be opening at Six Flags Great America (near Chicago) as everyone had thought. Rumors have the stand-up roller coaster moving to Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, NJ), arguably the company’s flagship theme park. The rumor also has Chang replacing the Arrow looper, Great American Scream Machine. Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom’s Chang started coming down last winter only to re...
                • La Ronde Attacked by Sea Monster Ednör

                  Written by The Coaster Critic 6 Comments
                  Last Updated: April 17, 2010
                  La Ronde Attacked by Sea Monster Ednör
                  This week, Montreal theme park La Ronde announced the name and theme of their new (ish) roller coaster. The Six Flags affiliated park received a Vekoma SLC that was orignially Serial Thriller at Six Flags AstroWorld from 1999 until 2005. When AstroWorld closed, the coaster remained in storage at Great Escape for nearly 4 years. Last winter the ride was shipped to La Ronde where it will get a new l...
                  • Busch Gardens Tampa’s 2011 Roller Coaster

                    Written by The Coaster Critic 32 Comments
                    Last Updated: April 15, 2010
                    Busch Gardens Tampa’s 2011 Roller Coaster
                    Rumors of a new Busch Gardens Tampa roller coaster had been making the rounds on the Web for a while. A member of Orlando United did some digging around and hit the mother lode. They found plans for the 2011 ride in a public folder on a construction contractor’s website. The plans align with the survey markers that have been spotted at the park. The new ride’s station will be located i...
                    • Intimidator 305 Opens: POV Video, Reviews, & a Poll

                      Written by The Coaster Critic 64 Comments
                      Last Updated: April 2, 2010
                      Intimidator 305 Opens: POV Video, Reviews, & a Poll
                      The highly anticipated Intimidator 305 opens to the public today at Kings Dominion (near Richmond, VA). At 305′ or about 30 stories tall, it is one of the tallest roller coasters in the U.S. and the World. Its little brother Intimidator at Carowinds opened last week. They both bear the nickname of the legendary NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt and feature racing themes. Intimidator 305 seems to ...
                      • Carowinds’ Intimidator Reviews, POV Video, & a Poll

                        Written by The Coaster Critic 27 Comments
                        Last Updated: March 28, 2010
                        Carowinds’ Intimidator Reviews, POV Video, & a Poll
                        Carowinds’ new hyper coaster Inimidator opened to the public on Saturday and I’ve been scouring the Web, local news stations, and talking to my friends who have ridden it to see how it is. I live about 30 minutes from the park, but I wasn’t able to make it to Media Day as I was welcoming a new member to our roller coaster loving family. I’m sure I’ll get to ride it so...
                        • Videos Reveal Thirteen’s Secret Weapon

                          Written by The Coaster Critic 22 Comments
                          Last Updated: March 17, 2010
                          Videos Reveal Thirteen’s Secret Weapon
                          Thirteen’s Secret Weapon Revealed! You might not want to read this post if you’re planning on visiting Alton Towers and you want to be completely surprised by Thirteen. British news shows GMTV and ITV were on location to film the first footage of Thirteen, Alton Towers highly anticipated new roller coaster. The park boasted that the ride was going to have a one-of-a-kind, World’s...
                          • Thirteen’s Creepy Blipvert TV Ads

                            Written by The Coaster Critic 23 Comments
                            Last Updated: March 11, 2010
                            Thirteen’s Creepy Blipvert TV Ads
                            Alton Towers has the hype machine going at full speed as the opening for their much anticipated new roller coaster draws near. Not much is known about Thirteen other than that it’s supposed to be so scary that there will be a controversial age limit. There was also talk of a limit to the times per day one could ride, but I would have to imagine that both of these restrictions will be lifted....
                            • First Look at the GT Coaster at Ferrari World

                              Written by The Coaster Critic 14 Comments
                              Last Updated: March 10, 2010
                              First Look at the GT Coaster at Ferrari World
                              Here’s a first look at the new GT Coaster opening this year at Ferrari World in Abu Dhabi. The trains are themed after Ferrari F430 Spiders. Fittingly, the roller coaster will be a launch roller coaster. If the Roller Coaster Database listing is correct (it’s listed as “Emotion Coaster”), it’s being built by Maurer Sohne, the same company that built Hollywood: Rip, Ri...
                              • Texas Giant Goes Steel: Abomination or Giant Improvement?

                                Written by The Coaster Critic 10 Comments
                                Last Updated: March 9, 2010
                                Texas Giant Goes Steel: Abomination or Giant Improvement?
                                Six Flags’ Texas Giant Gets a Steel Makeover for 2011 For months we’ve known that Texas Giant was closed and would not be open until the 2011 season. It was pretty clear that Six Flags was going to give the 24 year old woodie some needed rehab and/or re-tracking. But recently it was announced that Rocky Mountain Construction Group is going to give Texas Giant a first-ever upgrade. The ...
                                • Sky Rocket Construction Photos & Kennywood in the Snow

                                  Written by The Coaster Critic 16 Comments
                                  Last Updated: March 7, 2010
                                  Sky Rocket Construction Photos & Kennywood in the Snow
                                  Longtime reader Judy sent in these great shots of Kennywood. There are a number of cool images of the Pittsburgh area park after a recent snow storm. She also sent a few images that show the construction site for the park’s 2010 roller coaster, Sky Rocket. Although, it doesn’t appear like too much actual construction has taken place. They were taken on 2/27. #gallery-1 { mar...
                                  • Gravity Group’s Timberliner Trains Could Be a Game Changer

                                    Written by The Coaster Critic 23 Comments
                                    Last Updated: February 28, 2010
                                    Gravity Group’s Timberliner Trains Could Be a Game Changer
                                    I’ll start by admitting that this is not a breaking story, but it does deserve a post. The Gravity Group is a wooden roller coaster design company. They’re a fairly young company, but they’ve churned out some amazing coasters in the past five years including Hades, Ravine Flyer II, Fireball (China’s first wooden coaster, and the top rated wooden roller coaster in the World,...
                                    • Kings Dominion’s Intimidator 305 Construction + Test Video

                                      Written by The Coaster Critic 21 Comments
                                      Last Updated: February 27, 2010
                                      Kings Dominion’s Intimidator 305 Construction + Test Video
                                      UPDATE – 4/02/10 Intimidator 305’s open! Watch a POV video and leave or read a review here: Kings Dominion’s Intimidator 305 Reviews & POV Video Intimidator 305: Intimidating Indeed King’s Dominion’s massive Giga coaster is nearing completion. Images on the official mini site (Intimidator 305 Kings Dominion.com) show the red steel track reaching 305 feet into t...
                                      • Presenting The Roller Coaster Wiki

                                        Written by The Coaster Critic 30 Comments
                                        Last Updated: February 22, 2010
                                        Presenting The Roller Coaster Wiki
                                        In a World where roller coaster information was scattered throughout the Web, coaster enthusiasts had to do countless searches in order to do coaster research. Until, one day, a new website rose to the challenge with the help of an excellent group of resources. Now, there was hope. Now, there was the… Roller Coaster Wiki – The Roller Coaster Information Aggregator So what’s in t...
                                        • Top Ten List-O-Rama!

                                          Written by The Coaster Critic 25 Comments
                                          Last Updated: February 9, 2010
                                          Top Ten List-O-Rama!
                                          It seems like coaster enthusiasts stay sane in the off-season by doing polls, top tens, awards, and coaster/ride tournaments. Even I’m starting to get a little tired of them at this point. But, Brady over at the LA Time Funland Blog has done something a little different. He created his top tens based on a panel of coaster ‘experts’ (including me!). The panel includes such lumin...
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