The Coaster Critic / October 13, 2011
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 Indoor Family Coaster, but there’s
The Coaster Critic / October 6, 2011
Golden Ticket Awards – Top Steel Roller Coasters of 2011 In 2010, I noted that Bizarro was bumped out of the top spot for the first time in four years by Millennium Force. The ride’s transformation from Superman: Ride of Steel to Bizarro may have had something to do with that. Millennium Force retained its title this year and once
The Coaster Critic / September 19, 2011
What is a Wing Rider Roller Coaster? With the number of wing coasters on the rise, I figured it was time to add a post about them in my series of Coasterology 101 posts. Wing rider roller coasters have seats positioned on either side of the track rather than above or below it. They look similar to 4th dimension coasters,
The Coaster Critic / August 2, 2011
Hersheypark’s New Skyrush Roller Coaster to Provide a One-of-a-Kind Ride in 2012 A 200-foot tall winged coaster called Skyrush will dominate Hersheypark’s skyline in 2012. The PA park’s 12th roller coaster will feature a hyper coaster-like layout with high speeds, banked curves, and airtime hills. Skyrush will also add an interesting twist to the genre via its winged cars. There will
The Coaster Critic / July 23, 2011
Friday night riders were stuck on California Screamin’ at Disney’s California Adventure. According to this tweet from Windows to the Magic: BREAKING NEWS: Train stops on Ca Screamin’ at DCA. Guests stuck after the loop. ANAHEIM FD has been dispatched! @wttm (Window to the Magic) UPDATE – The Orange County Register has reported that the incident was caused by a backpack
The Coaster Critic / July 15, 2011
A reader suggested that I write a post asking everyone how Intimidator 305 was this year. The Giga coaster (meaning taller than 300 feet), is among the tallest roller coasters in the World. That extreme height, means a massive drop, and that drop generated some intense grey out-inducing g-forces when it opened last year. So, this past winter Kings Dominion gave
The Coaster Critic / July 12, 2011
Green Lantern: First Flight Opens as Six Flags Magic Mountain’s 18th Roller Coaster Magic Mountain recently unveiled their second new roller coaster in the same year as Green Lantern: First Flight opened as the park’s 18th roller coaster. At 18, Six Flags Magic Mountain has the most roller coasters of any theme park in the World. The strange looking ride
The Coaster Critic / July 9, 2011
There was sad news out of the Buffalo, New York area yesterday as an Iraq war veteran died while riding Darien Lake’s Ride of Steel roller coaster. Apparently, the man, Sgt. James Hackemer, was a double amputee as he lost both legs in a roadside bombing in Iraq. Ride of Steel (formerly Superman – Ride of Steel) is nearly identical to Six
The Coaster Critic / May 31, 2011
Cheetah Hunt at Busch Gardens Tampa – Early Reviews & a Video My pick for the most anticipated roller coaster of 2011 opened this past weekend. The opening wasn’t as smooth as Busch would have wanted and I’m not referring to how it tracked. According to Tampa Bay Online, Cheetah Hunt was down from 9:30 AM until about 2 PM
The Coaster Critic / April 16, 2011
Everyone knows Bizarro (formerly Superman Ride of Steel) as the tall hyper coaster at Six Flags New England. It’s steep climb next to the Connecticut River and subsequent large hills are the highlight of its first half. Part of the reason I love this coaster so much (it’s my top coaster), is the variation in its layout. The second half
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