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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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» weird and unusual

  • Volcano Coaster Causes UFO Over Kings Dominion

    Written by The Coaster Critic 10 Comments
    Last Updated: June 20, 2009
    Volcano Coaster Causes UFO Over Kings Dominion
    Volcano Coaster Produces UFO & Garners National Attention I’m a little late on this one, but recently a UFO was spotted hovering over Kings Dominion near Doswell (rhymes with Roswell), Virginia. The ring shaped figure hovered over the park for about ten minutes. The UFO sighting received national attention and it was even featured on CNN. The park and many regulars to the park have expla...
    • Roller Coasters at Ski Resorts

      Written by The Coaster Critic 24 Comments
      Last Updated: January 5, 2009
      Roller Coasters at Ski Resorts
      Who says you can’t get your roller coaster fix in the winter? Typically, if you live outside of Florida and California you have to wait until at least March for your nearest amusement park to open. In the last few years, German company Wiegand, has installed their Alpine Coasters at many ski resorts throughout the World including four in the States. They’re not in the RCDB, so they ma...
      • Vote Mark Shapiro For President?

        Written by The Coaster Critic No Comments
        Last Updated: November 4, 2008
        Vote Mark Shapiro For President?
        Cheezonastick Supports Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro for President?The guys over at Cheezonastick are asking you to vote today, for Mark Shapiro. To be honest I’m not really sure if the guys are spoofing Mark Shapiro’s reign as Six Flags CEO or are in support of it. Check out the Shapiro-Snyder ‘08 campaign site and decide for yourself. Either way, the ballot is pretty funny. You ca...
        • World’s First People-Powered Roller Coaster

          Written by The Coaster Critic 1 Comment
          Last Updated: April 22, 2008
          World’s First People-Powered Roller Coaster
          People-Powered Green Dragon | Greenest Roller Coaster on EarthHappy Earth Day! Today, I thought I’d write about the most eco-friendly roller coaster. Not only is it good for the environment, it even gives the riders some exercise. The aptly named Green Dragon located at the UK amusement park Greenwood Forest was the world’s first people-powered roller coaster when it opened in 2004. It...
          • Scattered Ashes Found on Disneyland Rides

            Written by The Coaster Critic 1 Comment
            Last Updated: November 15, 2007
            Scattered Ashes Found on Disneyland Rides
            Human Remains Found on Disneyland Rides So it’s a slow news week in the coaster world, but this story caught my eye on TMZ. Apparently, some park guests are scattering the ashes of loved ones on several Disneyland attractions. Last Friday, security cameras caught a woman dumping a white powder into the water on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride. According to Al Lutz, who runs MiceAge, this h...
            • Kids Banned from Busch Gardens for Griffon Stunt

              Written by The Coaster Critic 6 Comments
              Last Updated: September 10, 2007
              Kids Banned from Busch Gardens for Griffon Stunt
              Stunt Results in 2 Year Ban from Busch Gardens EuropeTwo college kids were banned from Busch Gardens Europe after they were accused of tampering with the park’s new roller coaster, Griffon. One of them was stuck in his restraint holding up the line and the two full trains waiting to be unloaded. Meanwhile, the other taped the incident with his cell phone. Sounds innocent enough until Busch r...
              • Alton Towers Seeks to Control Weather

                Written by The Coaster Critic 2 Comments
                Last Updated: September 4, 2007
                Alton Towers Seeks to Control Weather
                Alton Towers Seeks to Control Weather to Improve AttendanceAlton Towers, located in Staffordshire, England, is home to a world-class roller coaster in the B&M invert Nemesis, and other notable coasters like Oblivion, Air, & Rita Queen of Speed. The park is also home to some pretty dreary weather. Their looking to change all of that with the same cloud seeding technology that China is usin...
                • Girls Feet Cut Off @ Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

                  Written by The Coaster Critic 24 Comments
                  Last Updated: June 21, 2007
                  Girls Feet Cut Off @ Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom
                  Girls Feet Severed on Thrill Ride at Louisville Six Flags Needless to say, this season hasn’t been without its share of amusement park accidents. This most recent incident is by far the most gruesome. On Thursday, a 13-year old girl had her feet severed while riding Superman Power of Tower at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville. The Power of Tower is a drop ride that stands 177 feet tal...
                  • Crazy Wedding Promotion at Six Flags on 7/7/7

                    Written by The Coaster Critic 2 Comments
                    Last Updated: June 19, 2007
                    Crazy Wedding Promotion at Six Flags on 7/7/7
                    Get Married on the Luckiest Day Ever!I thought the roach eating promotion Six Flags did last season was strange, in a way this promotion is even weirder. Saturday July 7th, 2007 (07.07.07) is thought to be the luckiest day in history by the superstitious. People have been booking weddings for that date for years hoping that the luck would extend to their marriages. Obviously by 2007 that day is co...
                    • X Coaster Leaves Riders Hanging | Roller Coaster Accidents

                      Written by The Coaster Critic 2 Comments
                      Last Updated: June 11, 2007
                      X Coaster Leaves Riders Hanging | Roller Coaster Accidents
                      X Coaster at Magic Springs Hangs Rider 150′ In the AirMagic Springs & Crystal Falls (Hot Springs, Arkansas) was the site of an unnerving scene on Sunday. A Maurer Söhne X-Car Coaster named X Coaster left 12 riders suspended upside down 150 feet up, when the park experienced a power outage. The riders were upside down for 30 minutes until firefighters were able to rescue them with a lad...
                      • Mayhem at Atlanta Six Flags

                        Written by The Coaster Critic 1 Comment
                        Last Updated: April 11, 2007
                        Mayhem at Atlanta Six Flags
                        Free Admission Promo at Six Flags Over GeorgiaTurns into a Massive DebacleWhat appeared to be a smart move to gain some positive press turned into the exact opposite. A local radio station, Q100.5, had bought out Six Flags Over Georgia and planned to give away free admission between 6 am and 9 am on Thursday April 5th. The promotion had people lining up as early as 3:30am, some even spent the nigh...
                        • NASA’s Coaster Escape System

                          Written by The Coaster Critic 2 Comments
                          Last Updated: November 14, 2006
                          NASA’s Coaster Escape System
                          Ares Program Will Use An Interesting Escape SystemNASA has announced that it will use a rollercoaster-like escape system for it’s new Ares space program. In the next few years NASA will retire its shuttle program and begin the new Ares rocket program. It will take the best of what NASA has learned from the Apollo and shuttle programs and will take man back to the Moon and eventually to Mars....
                          • TomKat & Dan Snyder Visit Six Flags America

                            Written by The Coaster Critic No Comments
                            Last Updated: September 23, 2006
                            TomKat & Dan Snyder Visit Six Flags America
                            How the Top 1% LiveI bet you never thought I’d be using one of those celebrity couple nicknames on this site. Earlier this month, Washington Post reported that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes attended the Monday Night Football Game at Fedex Field in Maryland. If you tuned into that game, maybe you remember the camera showing Dan Snyder with Tom Cruise up in the press box. Snyder is a slick entre...
                            • Eat Roach & Skip Lines @ Six Flags Over Texas

                              Written by The Coaster Critic No Comments
                              Last Updated: September 21, 2006
                              Eat Roach & Skip Lines @ Six Flags Over Texas
                              Six Flags Over Texas Serving Up Some Bad Theme Park FoodChalk this one up as one of the strangest park promotions ever. Dallas/Fort Worth’s Star-Telegram reports that park-goers can skip lines at Six Flags Over Texas by eating a roach. Not just any roach, but a 3-inch long Madagascar hissing cockroach. Down one of these crunchy babies and you get a Flash Pass for the rest of the day. I loved...
                              • Backyard Coasters

                                Written by The Coaster Critic 2 Comments
                                Last Updated: May 28, 2006
                                Backyard Coasters
                                DIY Movement in the Coaster WorldThe Blue Flash is quite an achivement. It’s not only a backyard, home-made steel coaster, but it has a loop. I don’t want to know how the testing went for that loop or how many times it didn’t work. The creator’s even working on Blue 2, his follow-up to the Blue Flash. Blue 2 will be a family coaster and it will seat four instead of just one...
                                • Hulk Saves Woman

                                  Written by The Coaster Critic No Comments
                                  Last Updated: May 5, 2006
                                  Hulk Saves Woman
                                  The Flipside of Roller Coaster AccidentsThere’s been a lot of news lately about coaster accidents. You’re still a lot safer on a roller coaster than pretty much all other moving vehicles. It’s the percieved danger that makes it fun. In a car chances of death are 1 in 18,000 and in a plane chances of death are 1 in 350,000. You even have a better chance of dying from parts falling...
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