News & Notes
| Archived News: Spring 2001 | Coaster News | |
Roller Coaster Freefall ComboThe Hinzens, a travelling dutch showfamily, is said to be working with the Italian company SBF/Visa on a ride that combines a Freefall tower with a roller coaster. Little is known about this ride except that its highest point will be at the top of a 30m (100') tower. The ride, which is currently code-named "Cool & Fresh", should debut this summer with models travelling in Germany and Holland. |
||
New Giant Wheel for JapanA new giant Ferris wheel is being constructed in Japan by Ride Trade, an Intamin company. The wheel will be 120m (400') in diameter and will rotate once every 20 minutes. It is equipped with 60 fully enclosed, air-conditioned, eight person gondolas. The ride's capacity is predicted at 1600 people per hour. Ride Trade has not yet released the location of the wheel yet, except that it will be erected in Japan. |
||
Two Coasters For Fantasy IslandFantasy Island (Skegness, England) has begun construction work for two new roller coasters. The largest of the two, which CoasterGlobe previously reported, is the inverted "Odyssey" from Vekoma. This massive coaster will be the longest, tallest, and fastest ride in British theme park history. New for this year is the "Beast" roller coaster, a 1.5 million (USD) investment. This 60kph (37mph) ride will end with a triple roll maneuver. Fantasy Island currently has three roller coasters, including Vekoma's thrilling "Millennium Roller Coaster", which opened in 1999. |
||
Hypercoaster Headed For Europa ParkMack will be constructing their first hypercoaster for an opening in 2002. The 70m (229') tall ride will be installed at Europa Park in Rust, Germany. Mack GmbH own Europa park and use it as a testbed for their innovations. The park is already home to several Mack firsts, including their spinning coasters prototype "Euro-Mir". Construction of the coaster's footers and supports will begin in late 2001 before the hanging of 1620m (5314') of track in early 2002. |
||
New park planned for Washington StateAs far as amusement parks go, light has finally been cast on the Northwest. A 130 million dollar, 80 acre park has been proposed for the City of Lakewood, Washington by The Great Northwest Development Company. The park is planned to have five seperate themed sections, each containing different varieties of attractions. Record-breaking thrill rides have been discussed, such as a hyper coaster and a freefall tower. With a projected staff basis in the thousands and yearly attendance in excess of one million, the park is looking to gain a major presence in the region. This is largely because people are not only expected to be drawn from Washington itself but also bordering states, and British Columbia, Canada. |
||
Flying Dutchman JuniorVekoma has developed a new variation of their Flying Dutchman roller coaster. This smaller, two-seat version of the ride will be ideally suited for smaller parks. Vekoma hopes to widen the scope of the market on their award-winning flying coaster technology with this smaller, more affordable version of the ride. The junior version of the Flying Dutchman will make its debut in 2002. |
||
Dorney Park's Talon Coming Together FastAs you may know, Dorney Park of Allentown, Pennsylvania is recieving a brand new inverted roller coaster for 2001. Dubbed Talon, the ride will include a 50 degree, 120 foot drop sending brave riders through 4 inversions at speeds in excess of 58 mph. Dorney Park's website has posted brand new construction photos of Talon, including new shots of the Immelmann maneuver, and the inclined spiral. The website also has said that up to 6 sections of track are being put together daily by workers, which is quite fast for a new roller coaster. This ride promises to be a winner in the hearts of all roller coaster fans. |
||
Arrow expands, plans record-breakerArrow Dynamics has awed the amusement industry with the recent announcements of several unpresedented upcoming ride installations. The most recent of these rides, the company's first freefall, is slated to open in early 2002. Arrow CEO Fred Bolingbroke said that this ride will break all existing roller coaster records. "We’re prototyping many rides that will appear in the next few years that are new to the industry. One is a spinning coaster. One is a freefall shuttle. One is a new style of flying coaster", said Bolingbroke. Arrow plans to aim other rides toward medium sized parks, allowing expansion with managable price ranges. With the future of the company taken into consideration, Arrow recently doubled its manufacturing work force. As said by Bolingbroke, "Arrow’s back to stay". |
||
Six Flags Belgium announces 2001 plansA press conference on January 12th revealed what Six Flags plans to do with the former Walibi Wavre. Apart from the new title, three major rides will be constructed, all from Vekoma. The first is a "Mad House" themed to Arabian 1001 Nights. A boomerang production model will be one of two new coasters, the other one being and out and back wooden. Names have not been announced as of yet. Along with these attractions will be a variety of flat rides and the standard Six Flags Batman Thrill stunt show. |
||
Cyclone Racer Rides Again?According to Larry Osterhoudt, project designer for Classic Coasters, the organization is "currently working on something right now that is classified and it's going to blow everybody's mind when it is announced later this year." Classic Coasters is a group dedicated to rebuilding the Cyclone Racer, roller coaster that opened in 1930. The roller coaster was featured in numerous movies, and was one of the most famous rides ever built. It was the favorite ride of its designer, Harry Traver, who is most well known for his diabolical "Crystal Beach Cyclone". Classic Coasters is not releasing any other details at the moment. |
||
Flying Dutchman Mark IIVekoma has made some improvements to its Flying Dutchman design. The new version includes a double station, to reduce loading and unloading times. Also, the reclining mechanism for the seats is onboard the trains, and they will tilt back as the they nears the peak of the lift hill. This will allow for higher throughput and a better view from the lift. The ride's layout has also been modified. The corkscrew section has been inverted, allowing riders to ride on the outside of the element. A final, high speed helix has also been added to increase the sensation of speed near the end of the ride. The new model will make its debut at Six Flags Ohio in 2001, under the name "X-Flight". |
||
Enchanted Village Plans Major ExpansionEnchanted Village (Federal Way, Washington) has announced major expansion plans. Six Flags Inc, the company that recently purchased the park, plans to construct two major roller coasters there by 2003. One of the two will be a 36.6m (120') tall wooden coaster at a length of 1250m (4100'). No details of the 70-acre park's second coaster have been revealed, except that it will be steel-tracked. These roller coasters will join the park's "Wild Thing" to make this the premier amusement venue in the pacific northwest. It has not been said yet if the parks attached waterpark, Wild Waves, will be undergoing similar expansion. |
Industry Notes |
||
Zamplerla's flying coaster prototype is nearing completion. The ride will feature single-car trains with four-abreast seating. The original Werner Stengel layout includes a spiral lift hill and a unique loading mechanism. The coaster reaches a height of 18m (60') at the peak of its brief, 382m (1253') course. The International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions, or IAAPA, has awarded their award for Best New Technology Applied to Amusements to Vekoma corporation. The Netherlands-based firm won their award for their recent innovation, the "Flying Dutchman". The Flying Dutchman is a roller coaster design that holds riders in a horizontal position, to simulate the sensation of flight. |
||
© Coasterglobe.com