» Defunct Roller Coasters

• 5 Most Missed Defunct Roller Coasters

  Written by The Coaster Critic 16 Comments
  Last Updated: August 11, 2010
  

  I hope that you have some tissues nearby. This post could be a real tear jerker if you’re still missing a rollercoasterthat’s no longer with us. I invite you to let go. A good cry could help you move on. A recent comment on the Drachen Fire post inspired me to take a look at some of the most missed defunct roller coasters of the past decade or so. Unfortunately, I don’t have the ...

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• Nara Dreamland | Abandoned Amusement Parks

  Written by The Coaster Critic 13 Comments
  Last Updated: February 12, 2010
  

  Nara Dreamland: Former Disneyland Knock-Off, Now Creepy Abandoned Amusement Park As I was doing research for The Final Project! (insert Europe’s “Final Countdown” music here), I came across the enigma that was Nara Dreamland. It was a Disneyland clone in Japan that closed a few years ago. From looking at a photo trip report from Theme Park Review, I’m not surprised that it ...

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• Six Flags Closes Kentucky Kingdom

  Written by The Coaster Critic 17 Comments
  Last Updated: February 4, 2010
  

  Six Flags announced today that they will close their Louisville, Kentucky park known as Kentucky Kingdom due to a disagreement over the lease for the land that the park is located on. Here’s part of the official statement: Six Flags announced today that as it nears the scheduled end of its restructuring process, it has decided to reject its lease with the Kentucky State Fair Board relating t...

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• Roller Coaster Museum Comes to Texas

  Written by The Coaster Critic 5 Comments
  Last Updated: January 2, 2010
  

  Plainview, Texas is Home to the Roller Coaster Museum On a recent edition of the Season Pass Podcast I learned about the new roller coaster museum in Texas. When I heard that it was in Plainview, which is 7 hours from the closest major theme park (Six Flags Over Texas) I was a bit puzzled. I always thought that an amusement park filled state like Pennsylvania would be perfect for the museum. But,...

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• Arrow’s 700 Foot Tall Fish-Hook Roller Coaster

  Written by The Coaster Critic 20 Comments
  Last Updated: November 14, 2009
  

  Arrow’s 700 Foot Tall Fish-Hook Roller Coaster I was recently contacted by a television production company doing research on roller coasters. They wanted to know if there were any strata coasters currently being built. Strata coasters are over 400′ tall and currently there are only two in the World in that lofty category. Kingda Ka & Top Thrill Dragster. I told the producer that th...

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• Big Bad Wolf: A Legend Reaches Its Expiration Date

  Written by The Coaster Critic 38 Comments
  Last Updated: September 8, 2009
  

  More Insight Into Big Bad Wolf’s Closing: “Service Life” Defined Yesterday, the Big Bad Wolf made its final run. While on the Busch Garden’s Roller Coaster Tour over the weekend, the tour guide Zach Gray admitted he was sad to see Big Bad Wolf go just like everyone else. Like many locals his age, it was his first roller coaster. He explained that the ride was closing becaus...

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• Busch Gardens to Close Big Bad Wolf in September

  Written by The Coaster Critic 36 Comments
  Last Updated: July 25, 2009
  Busch Gardens Williamsburg submitted a press release today stating what many coaster enthusiasts had feared. Big Bad Wolf will be no more after this season. In fact, they gave Monday, September 7th (Labor Day) as the last day of operation for the classic coaster. ‘Wolf is arguably, the most popular suspended roller coaster in the World and it will be missed. I imagine that quite a few enthus...

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• Big Bad Wolf to be Removed?

  Written by The Coaster Critic 26 Comments
  Last Updated: July 14, 2009
  Big Bad Wolf is a world-class suspended roller coaster at Busch Gardens Europe. It’s unique layout uses the terrain of the hilly, wooded, park giving you an experience that would be nearly impossible to find anywhere else. It’s a suspended terrain coaster that flies you through a Bavarian village then plummets you to a river. Also, Big Bad Wolf is a classic Arrow suspended coaster. T...

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• Knoebels Removes High Speed Thrill Coaster, Adds New Ride

  Written by The Coaster Critic 5 Comments
  Last Updated: January 29, 2009
  Knoebels is a Central Pennsylvania park that’s small, but beloved by enthusiasts for its old school traditional feel. This winter, the park removed the ironically-named High Speed Thrill Coaster. I skipped the coaster when I was at the park, but from the looks of it, it wouldn’t be a high speed thrill for my two year old. I know that parks need kiddie and family attractions, I just thi...

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• Rye Playland Book Review

  Written by The Coaster Critic No Comments
  Last Updated: July 11, 2008
  Book Chronicles Playland Park’s Rich HistoryLocated on the shores of the Long Island Sound, about 45 minutes from New York City, there’s an amusement park that’s been a summer getaway for 80 years. Katherine W. Burke’s new book Playland chronicles the rich history of the park. With a plethora of black and white photos readers are taken from the park’s humble beginning...

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• Drachen Fire @ Busch Gardens | Defunct Roller Coasters

  Written by The Coaster Critic 51 Comments
  Last Updated: November 8, 2007
  A Look Back at the Legendary Drachen Fire at Busch Gardens Drachen Fire was an infamous roller coaster that lived in the Rhineland, Germany section of Busch Gardens Williamsburg from 1992 to 1998. While it had a short run, it’s easily one of the most well-known defunct coasters in past years. I will relay the background story I’ve seen several times on the coaster enthusiast circuit. I...

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• Hercules @ Dorney Park | Defunct Roller Coasters

  Written by The Coaster Critic No Comments
  Last Updated: August 12, 2007
  Hercules at Dorney Park | Defunct Roller CoastersHercules reigned over Dorney Park in Allentown, PA from 1989 to 2003. It was a massive wooden roller coaster. When it debuted it had the longest drop of any wooden coaster in the world. It was a big draw for Dorney before it had Steel Force and Talon to bring in the masses. By the time I rode it in 2003, Hercules was on its last legs. It had such a ...

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• Steel Phantom @ Kennywood | Defunct Roller Coasters

  Written by The Coaster Critic 4 Comments
  Last Updated: May 5, 2007
  Kennywood Offered a Unique Hyper Coaster in Steel PhantomPhantom’s Revenge was originally known as Steel Phantom. It was Kennywood’s entry in the Coaster Arms Race of the 1990’s. Theme parks around the world were trying to one-up each other in boasting the tallest roller coaster in the world. Coaster designer Arrow had a large part to play in the Race. In most cases they were bro...

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• Hypersonic XLC @ Kings Dominion | Coaster Reviews

  Written by The Coaster Critic 13 Comments
  Last Updated: January 15, 2007
  More of a Thrill Ride than a Coaster, Too Bad the Thrills Are Short-LivedIn 2001, Kings Dominion already had more launch coasters than most parks in the world with Flight of Fear and Volcano The Blast Coaster. With the addition of a third launch coaster, Kings Dominion was a certified destination for coaster enthusiasts and thrill junkies. With a compressed air launch that takes riders from 0 to 8...

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