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» 2009 coasters
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2009 Theme Park Year in Review
Happy New Year! It’s time once again to recap the biggest theme park news stories of 2009. The Roller Coaster Class of 2009 The two huge roller coasters that opened in Orlando had very different fates. SeaWorld’s Manta opened early to rave reviews while Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit opened several months late with mixed reviews. To be fair, Rockit is a one-of-a-kind ride with several techn...
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The Tallest Steel Coaster in South Central Montana!
A Look at Silly Roller Coaster Records and Weak Distinctions To wrap up “Record Breaking Roller Coasters Week”, I wanted to discuss marketing hype with regards to records. Theme Parks looking to make a splash with a new attraction love to tout that their new ride has a distinction tied to some record. For example, over the past few years we’ve had: The Steepest Roller Coaster in ...
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2009 Golden Ticket Awards | Best Roller Coasters
2009 Golden Ticket Awards: Best Roller Coasters of 2009 Once again, Amusement Today has announced the winners of their annual Golden Ticket Awards. Here are the lists of the top wooden and steel coasters based on the votes received by the industry publication. Golden Ticket Awards – Top Wooden Coasters of 2009 There’s not usually a whole lot of movement in the annual top ten. But, this... -
Ring°Racer Opens: New World’s Fastest Roller Coaster
Today, the roller coaster speed crown passes from New Jersey to Nürburg as Ring°Racer is set to officially open at Nürburgring, Germany. The former record holder Six Flags Great Adventure’s Kingda Ka, tops out at a blistering 128 mph. Ring°Racer will push the envelope even further with a top speed of 134 mph (217 km/h). The world’s new fastest coaster will have an appropriate home. Accordi... -
Song List for Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Released
Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit’s bright red track has changed the skyline of the Universal Studios Orlando with it’s 167 foot vertical lift and one-of-a-kind non-inverting loop. Aside from the roller coaster’s unique layout, riders will be able to choose their own soundtrack for their ride, and afterwards, cut their own personalized music video of their ride. Today, Universal Studi... -
Cliffhanger Open at Ghost Town in the Sky
Mountain Coaster Reopens With A New Look & New Train Ghost Town in the Sky is a western-themed amusement park on the top of a mountain in the Great Smoky Mountains of Western North Carolina. The park just reopened their steel looper now dubbed Cliff Hanger. It has been renovated, repainted, and best of all given an all new train that touts a lap bar instead of an over the shoulder restraint (... -
Superman Ride of Steel Goes Bizarro at Six Flags New England
I’ve been nervous to even write about the new Bizarro at Six Flags New England. Obviously, the revamped Intamin hyper coaster isn’t really new. It’s another in a line of renovated roller coasters in Six Flags’ new era of roller coaster makeovers. Why would I be nervous? Superman Ride of Steel is my #1 ranked roller coaster and I consider it the best roller coaster I’...
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Bizarro @ Six Flags Great Adventure
From Medusa to Bizarro at Six Flags Great Adventure: The World’s First Floorless Roller Coaster Takes a Bizarre Twist Back when new CEO Mark Shapiro took over Six Flags he was interviewed at Six Flags Over Georgia. He pointed at the brand new 20-story hyper coaster Goliath and stated “No more of those.” Now, after 2008’s X2 at Magic Mountainand this year’s Bizarro-the... -
Manta @ SeaWorld Orlando | Roller Coaster Review
Manta – SeaWorld Orlando’s New Signature Attraction After the eight hour drive down to Orlando for the Manta Grand Opening and Media Day, I was hoping to not be disappointed and thankfully I wasn’t. It was my first time to SeaWorld, but right away I recognized that I was at a Busch-owned theme park. The park was clean and beautifully-themed. Manta is the much-hyped flying roller ...
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Interview: Designer of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit Louis Alfieri
While I was in Orlando last week, I was lucky enough to be able to interview Universal Studio’s Creative Director Louis Alfieri. He’s one of the minds behind their new ground-breaking roller coaster Hollywood: Rip Ride Rockit. I was eager to learn more about the new roller coaster that combines state-of-the-art audio and visual technology with a unique ride. Lights Camera Action! &#...
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Terminator Salvation Coaster Construction
Six Flags Magic Mountain’s Terminator Salvation coaster is coming along well. The track work appears to be about complete. The LA Times Funland Blog has a first look at the ride’s trains. And ThemeParkReview has construction photos. Also, the LA Times announced details on the roller coaster’s $1 million in theming which will include a pre-show starring Common and Moon Bloodgood... -
Prowler Opens at Worlds of Fun | POV Video
Another weekend and another 2009 roller coaster makes its debut. On May 2nd, Worlds of Fun’s (Kansas City, MO) new Great Coasters International woodie, Prowler, opened to the public. CoasterCommunity was there for the media day on Friday and they have some great photos and reviews. Jason from CoasterCommunity reported that the Prowler is fast with some surprising moments of airtime. He also... -
New Rip Ride Rockit Promo Video
Universal Studio’s new interactive thrill ride Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit has unfortunately been delayed. It was set to open Spring 2009 and will now open Late Spring/Early Summer. At least there’s a new promo video showing off the ride’s unique elements and multi-media experience. See all of my Rip Ride Rockit posts. Also, check out ScreamScape for construction photos. Check out... -
Manta Set to Take Flight at SeaWorld Orlando
SeaWorld Orlando’s Manta is about a month from opening and it looks great. As Florida’s only flying roller coaster Manta could take that genre of rides to a new level. At one point during the ride, the winged manta-themed trains will fly riders face down right over water. I’m not sure, but that huge stingray shaped piece at the front may actually dip into the water and cause the... -
Diamondback Coverage & Early Reviews
This past weekend the opening of Kings Island’s Diamondback dominated theme park news sites across the Web. The ride’s opening had both the enthusiast community and likely southern Ohio in a frenzy. Since I couldn’t be there to give you my own coverage, here’s some of the best coverage I’ve found on the Web. Kings Island fan sites like KIExtreme and KICentral had in-... -
Top 9 New Roller Coasters for 2009
A List of the World’s Best New Roller Coasters Opening in 2009 With the arrival of Spring and theme parks around the country opening for the season, it’s time to look at the new roller coasters opening in 2009. With the recession and the decrease in major new roller coasters, I wasn’t able to pull together a strong Top 10 list. So this year, a Top 9 will have to do. From sta... -
Busch Gardens Opens New Roller Coaster & Sesame Street Forest
The CoasterCrew attended Busch Gardens Europe’s recent media day which was all about the park’s new Sesame Street Forest of Fun. The new section includes a number of new rides for the little ones. The centerpiece is the park’s sixth roller coaster, Grover’s Alpine Express. I’m sure many little Virginian’s will get their first taste of roller coasters on the 24&#... -
Superman Ride of Steel Goes Bizarro?
For the most popular super hero of all time, Superman has the absolute worst villians. His best villain is easily Lex Luthor and he’s just a criminal mastermind constantly after real estate (see the plots for the Superman, Superman 2, and Superman Returns movies). So as Six Flags New England announced an upgrade for the best steel roller coaster on the planet, then repainted it purple and c... -
Carolina Cobra Review & Media Day at Carowinds
It was a rainy day, but the Carolina Cobra media day had a positive feel and pointed to a bright future for Carowinds. The event was attended by the local media, park officials, live snakes, and some Nick characters. A local cover band played a few crowd-pleasers while Dora, Diego, and the Rugrats entertained guests. Next, the park addressed the media. Then, an official ribbon cutting was followed... -
New Diamondback Test Video & Images
It’s that time of the year when coaster geeks will start drooling over test run videos of the new roller coasters opening this year. A great test video of King’s Island’s Diamondback has been posted on YouTube by KICentral. Note the empty pool towards the end of the video. This will be where the train takes a dive into the splash section. Don’t expect to get wet though. I...
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