Their openings are often delayed and their known for having downtime even after they are open. But, how can you not applaud the creativity and ingenuity of roller coaster prototypes? These firsts expand on existing designs and concepts and take them a step further. Launch coasters come to mind as suffering from delays and downtime. [...]

These lucky plastic dummies are often the first riders on the roller coasters that we’re itching to ride. I assume that they’re meant to simulate a weighted train packed with live riders. They’ve been featured in countless test videos on YouTube (like this one of the Battlestar Galactica coaster), but I never thought I’d get [...]

This is a photo of Skull Mountain at Six Flags Great Adventure. It illustrates just how much of an impact theming can make on a ride. Inside this rocky building you’ll find a pretty benign Intamin family coaster. It’s almost like an over-grown version of the neighboring Blackbeard’s Lost Treasure. RCDB calls Skull Mountain an [...]

The Family That Dries Together? Maybe you’ve noticed these nifty family-sized dryers at your local theme park. Maybe you’ve even used one. I think they’re a neat idea. Some people don’t want to walk around the park after they’ve been soaked by a log flume or some other water ride; especially if it happens to [...]

I took this shot back in 1999 in the pre-digital camera era. Well, it was well before I had my own digital camera at least. It was on this trip to Kennywood early in my theme park travel adventures that I gained a newfound respect for woodies. Before Kennywood’s still electrifying Thunderbolt, I only had [...]

Six Flags America’s Two Face was one of the roller coasters that Six Flags added to Adventure World when it bought  the park. Along with launch coaster Joker’s Jinx, hyper coaster Superman: Ride of Steel and flying coaster Batwing, the park’s lineup of modern thrill rides boomed in only a few years. Two Face had [...]

A ride to the top of Kings Dominion’s 305 foot tall Drop Tower: Scream Zone is quite a harrowing ascent even for a seasoned coaster vet like myself. There’s quite a difference between a roller coaster car and just seats with restraints. At the top, Drop Tower holds its ring of 56 seats for a [...]

Busch Gardens Williamsburg’s dive coaster, Griffon, begins by holding riders on the edge of a twenty-story drop. Onlookers point and shake their heads as they marvel at what to many looks like a torturous experience. Griffon’s finale could be just as interesting from a spectators standpoint . The wide trains charge into a shallow pool [...]

If this image startled you, I apologize. That’s Boom the Troll from Myrtle Beach’s defunct Freestyle Music Park. He wasn’t a well-known mascot, but he was one of the most active I’ve ever seen. His job didn’t end after strolling around the park and posing for photos. Boom tweeted, made YouTube appearances around town, and [...]

I took this photo back in 2003 near the end of a Knoebels & Dorney Park trip. The hyper coaster, Steel Force, dominates the skyline at the Allentown, PA park. And here, it dominates the classic woodie Thunderhawk. Steel Force’s peak reaches the 200 foot mark while the wooden coaster in the foreground is only [...]