New and Relocated Roller Coasters for 2003

Forty-three new coasters worldwide, plus 12 relocated rides spell a memorable summer for thrill seekers and coaster geeks.

Asked to conjure up an image of something that defines amusement parks, most would answer, the roller coaster.

The roller coaster has been the cornerstone of amusement facilities throughout history. Despite the past few years of ever-increasing political scrutiny aimed at roller coasters and thrill rides, the achievements and innovation in roller coasters continues to be astounding.

The media and certain segments of the U.S. Congress have been carefully looking at the industry with the purpose of ensuring that rides offered to the public are meeting an acceptable standard of safety. There have been numerous studies conducted to determine the physical capability and tolerance of riders and how that matches existing ride G forces. As a result of this research, when people enter the queue they can be assured they will be spun, turned, and flipped, all within the realm of scientifically proven safety.

Beyond the safety bar, new coasters are still pushing the envelope. There are 43 new coaster projects listed here along with 12 relocated rides.

Almost half of the facilities that are relocating coasters are part of the Six Flags chain, which shows the value of having the ability to relocate rides to align with demographic needs or to make room for added theming and expansion. Any way you look at it, the preservation and longevity given to these scream machines is good for the amusement industry and the people who look forward to riding them.

A special thanks goes to Duane Marden, developer of the Roller Coaster DataBase, found at www.rcdb.com. Duane, who has attended the IAAPA trade show and brings his passion for roller coasters, is dedicated to presenting information to the public as clearly and concisely as possible on his web site. (Please note, the pictures are not next to their listing.)

The following list comes from his site.

Asteroid
Admiral Vrungel
(Gelendjik, Russia)
PAX—Cobra-2 Shuttle Loop
Height: 164’ (50 m)
Length: 623’ (190 m)
Replacing the former PAX Cobra-1 shuttle loop.

Azteka
Le Pal
(Dompierre Sur Bresle, France)
Soquet—Steel Loop
Aztec-themed running in and round an ancient structure.

Balder
Liseberg
(Göthenburg, Sweden)
Intamin—Wooden
Speed: 56 mph (81 kph)
Height: 118’ (36 m)
Length: 3,511’ (1,070 m)
Themed around the Scandinavian god of justice.

Batflyer
World in Miniature (Cornwall, England)
Caripro—Suspended
Relocated from Lightwater Valley in Ripon, England.

Batman The Ride
Six Flags New Orleans
(New Orleans, La.)
B&M—Inverted
Speed: 50 mph (81 kph)
Height: 56’ (17 m)
Length: 2,693’ (821 m)
Previously operated as the gambit at Thrill Valley in Gotemba, Japan. Originally built with the same track layout as other Batman The Rides, it now shares the same theme.

Bergwerkbahn
Legoland Deutschland (Günzburg, Germany)
Gerstlauer—Family
Originally planned for the park opening in 2002 but delayed until 2003.

Canyon Blaster
Great Escape
(Lake George, N.Y.)
Arrow—Mine Train
Speed: 45 mph (72 kph)
Height: 56’ (17 m)
Length: 2,000 (610 m)
Originally the Rock n’ Roller Coaster from Opryland USA in Nashville, Tenn. It was purchased by Premier Parks and transported to the former site of Old Indiana in Thorntown, Ind. The site was to be redeveloped into the Heartland Festival Entertainment Complex, but the project was canceled and the land was resold.

Caterpillar
Lightwater Valley
(Ripon, England)
Pinfari—Family
Height: 11’ (3 m)
Big Apple model.

Crazy Loop
Brean Leisure Park
(Brean, England)
Pinfari—Single Loop
Height: 36’ (11 m)
Length: 1,198’ (365 m)
Previously operated at Pleasure Island Family Theme Park in Cleethorpes, England.

Deval Train
Les Chemins de Fer du Creusot (Creusot, France)
Vekoma—Family Coaster
The park’s first roller coaster.

Drachenritt
Belantis
(Leipzig, Germany)
Gerstlauer—Bobsled Coaster
New park. The coaster runs around and through a medieval castle.

Fiesta Express
Wild Adventures
(Valdosta, Ga.)
Zamperla—Family
Height: 8’ (2 m)
Length: 262’ (80 m)
Prototype Zamperla Mini Mouse model bought off the IAAPA 2002 show floor. The track layout resembles the upper deck of a traditional wild mouse roller coaster.

Flying Frog
Paultons Park
(Romsey, England)
Zierer—Family
Custom Tivoli model with frog-themed cars.

Furio
Dennlys Parc (Dennebroeucq, France)
Soquet—Family
Locomotive-themed train.

Greezed Lightnin’
Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom (Louisville, Ky.)
Schwarzkopf—Shuttle Loop
Speed: 57 mph (92 kph)
Height: 138’ (42 m)
Length: 863’ (263 m)
Originally the Tidal Wave at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Ill. and later the Viper at Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell, Ga.

Grizzly Bear
Lightwater Valley
(Ripon, England)
Pinfari-Family
Height: 37’ (11 m)
Zyklon Z47 model.

Half Pipe
Särkänniemi Amusement Park (Tampere, Finland)
Intamin—Shuttle
Speed: 44 mph (70 kph)
Height: 99’ (30 m)
Length: 230’ (70 m)
Magnetically launched train themed like a giant skateboard travels through a half-pipe-shaped course.

Hot Tamale
Casino Pier
(Seaside Heights, N.J.)
L&T Systems—Family
L&T Systems Mini Coaster 17x10 model with a Wild Mine-themed train.

Jack Rabbit
Celebration City
(Branson, Mo.)
Miler—Family
Height: 52’ (16 m)
From a new line of larger-than-traditional Miler coasters. This will be a mirror image of the Star Jet at Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, N.J.

Jester
Six Flags New Orleans
(New Orleans, La.)
Vekoma—Triple Loop
Speed: 40 mph (64 kph)
Height: 79’ (24 m)
Length: 1,936’ (590 m)
Formerly Joker’s Revenge from Six Flags Fiesta Texas, riders face backwards though a vertical loop and twin corkscrew.

Looping
Parc Saint Paul
(Saint Paul, France)
Soquet—Single Loop
Single-loop carnival coaster, built in 1982.

Atlantis Adventure
Lotte World
(Seoul, South Korea)
Intamin—Water Coaster
Rumored to be a launched water coaster.

Nemesis Inferno
Thorpe Park
(Chertsey, England)
B&M—Inverted
Speed: 48 mph (77 kph)
Height: 95’ (29 m)
Length: 2,461’ (750 m)
Four inversions—vertical loop, zero G-roll, and two interlocking corkscrews.

Ozark Wildcat
Celebration City
(Branson, Mo.)
GCI—Wooden
Speed: 66 mph (106 kph)
Height: 80’ (24 m)
Length: 2,600’ (793 m)
Traditional twister layout.

Python
Gulliver’s Land
(Milton Keynes, England)
Pinfari-Family
Height: 30’ (9 m)
Length: 764’ (233 m)
Pinfari’s new Mini Mega Coaster model.

Rexo Coaster
Dinorex
(Addison, Ill.)
Wisdom—Family
New indoor family entertainment center facility, third park in the Dinorex chain.

Rugrats Runaway Reptar
Paramount’s Carowinds (Charlotte, N.C.)
Vekoma—Family Inverted
Speed: 26 mph (42 kph)
Height: 49’ (15 m)
Length: 1,122’ (342 m)
Non-looping inverted family roller coaster.

Scream
Six Flags Magic Mountain (Valencia, Calif.)
B&M-Floorless
Speed: 63mph (101 kph)
Height: 150’ (46 m)
Length: 3,985’ (1,215 m)
Seven inversions—vertical loop, dive loop, heartline camelback, boomerang, and interlocking corkscrews.

Spider
Lagoon
(Farmington, Utah)
Maurer Söhne—Spinning Coaster
Speed: 37 mph (60 kph)
Height: 51’ (16 m)
Length: 1,391’ (424 m)
First Spinning Coaster 2000 model in North America. This compact ride features an 82-degree banked curve.

Steel Venom
Valleyfair!
(Shakopee, Minn.)
Intamin—Impulse
Speed: 68 mph (109 kph)
Height: 185’ (56 m)
Length: 630’ (192 m)
Linier Induction Motor (LIM) launched shuttle coaster featuring two vertical towers—one straight and one with a 360-degree twist.

Superman—Ultimate Flight
Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, N. J.)
B&M—Flying
Speed: 50 mph (81 kph)
Height: 115’ (35 m)
Length: 2,798’ (853 m)
Two inversion, pretzel loop and inline twist. A nearly identical model to Superman—Ultimate Flight at Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell, Georgia. The new models have an additional row per train rather than using twin loading stations..

Superman—Ultimate Flight
Six Flags Great America (Gurnee, Ill.)
B&M—Flying
Speed: 50 mph (81 kph)
Height: 115’ (35 m)
Length: 2,798’ (853 m)
Two inversion, pretzel loop and inline twist. Originally planned to replace the park’s Whizzer roller coaster. After a deluge of phone calls, letters and e-mails from loyal Whizzer fans, the Shockwave was replaced instead.

SuperSplash
TusenFryd
(Vinterbro, Norway)
Mack—Water Coaster
Height: 76’ (23 m)
New wider boats
accommodate twice the capacity as previous Mack water coasters.

Swamp Thing
Wild Adventures
(Valdosta, Ga.)
Vekoma—Family Inverted
Speed: 26 mph (42 kph)
Height: 49’ (15 m)
Length: 1,122’ (342 m)
Non-looping family inverted roller coaster.

Thunder Dolphin
LaQua (Tokyo, Japan)
Intamin—Hyper Coaster
Speed: 80 mph (130 kph)
Height: 263’ (80 m)
Length: 3,500’ (1,067 m)
Track travels on top of a building and threads a hubless Ferris wheel.

TimberHawk: Ride of Prey
Wild Waves and Enchanted Village
(Federal Way, Wash.)
S&S Power—Wooden
Speed: 50 mph (81 kph)
Height: 75’ (23 m)
Length: 2,600’ (793 m)
S&S Power’s first wooden roller coaster.

Tizona
Terra Mítica
(Benidorm, Spain)
Vekoma— Inverted
Speed: 55 mph (89 kph)
Height: 115’ (35 m)
Length: 2,170’ (661 m)
Tizona is the name of the Spanish mythical hero El Cid’s sword. Standard Vekoma SLC model.

Toboggan Nordique
La Ronde
(Montréal Canada)
Zamperla—Wild Mouse
Height: 41’ (13 m)
Length: 886’ (270 m)
Zamperla Zig-Zag model.

Top Thrill Dragster
Cedar Point
(Sandusky, Ohio)
Intamin—Strata Coaster
Speed: 120 mph (193 kph)
Height: 420’ (128 m)
Length: 2,800’ (270 m)
Cedar Point removes any doubt about where to find the tallest and fastest roller coaster in the world with this enormous coaster. Standing at 420 feet (128 m) tall, Dragster uses a
hydraulic launch system to accelerate riders from 0 to 120 mph (193 kph) in about four seconds.

Triton
Big Chief Karts and Coasters (Wisconsin Dells, Wisc.)
Miler—Water Coaster
Combination roller coaster and water ride. Miler Coaster, Inc. built the roller coaster portion, while other vendors did the remaining work.

Twist n Shout
Loudoun Castle
(Galston, Scotland)
Schwarzkopf—Single Loop
Speed: 41 mph (66 kph)
Height: 61’ (19 m)
Length: 1,818’ (554 m)
Relocated Schwarzkopf Silver Arrow model from Dreamland in Margate, England. Single vertical loop.

Twizzler Bendz
Adventure Island
(Southend on Sea, England)
Pinfari—Family
Height: 30’ (9 m)
Length: 764’ (233 m)
Pinfari’s new Mini Mega Coaster model.

Unknown
Allou Fun Park
(Athens, Greece)
Vekoma—Inverted
Speed: 56 mph (90 kph)
Height: 135’ (41 m)
Lenght: 1,014’ (309 m)
First Vekoma Invertigo model relocated from Liseberg in Göthenburg, Sweden.
Three inversions: boomerang (two inversions) and a
vertical loop.

Unknown
Al-Shallal Theme Park (Jeddah, Saudi Arabia)
Vekoma—Boomerang
Speed: 48 mph (77 kph)
Height: 125’ (38 m)
Length: 875’ (267 m)
New park owned by Fakieh Poultry Farms, one of Saudi Arabia’s largest companies. Three physical inversions—boomerang (two inversions) and a vertical loop.

Unknown
Berjaya Times Square
(Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia)
Intamin—Indoor Looper
Length: 2,635’ (800 m)
New shopping and
entertainment complex.
Two inversions: vertical loop and zero G-roll.

Unknown
Magic Park Verden (Verden/Aller, Germany)
Zierer—Family
Previously operated as the Colorado Express at Varde Sommerland in Varde, Denmark. The park closed the 2002 season and 16 rides were bought at auction by the Sepe family, owners of Magic Park Verden and Serengeti Park, both in Germany.

Unknown
Playland Park
(Rye, N.Y.)
Zamperla—Wild Mouse
Height: 35’ (11 m)
Length: 885’ (270 m)
Playland Park had announced a new wild mouse for the 2002 season, but problems with the previous manufacturer caused the park to switch to the Zamperla Zig-Zag model.

Unknown
Seaburn Fun Park (Sunderland, England)
Pinfari—Carnival
Billy Joe Butlin reopened the park at the end of the 2002 season after it was idle for over 2 years. The Pinfari Carnival coaster came from New Jersey, USA.

Unknown
Suzhou Amusement Land (Suzhou, China)
Vekoma—Inverted
Speed: 45 mph (72 kph)
Height: 102’ (31 m)
Length: 2,582’ (787 m)
Custom Vekoma SLC model with two helixes.

Vilda Musen
Gröna Lund
(Stockholm, Sweden)
Gerstlauer—Wild Mouse
Speed: 35mph (55kph)
Height: 69’ (21 m)
Length: 1,411’ (430 m)
Custom layout that runs inside and above the park’s exiting Schwarzkopf-built Bergbanan roller coaster.

Vild Svinet
BonBon-Land
(Holme-Olstrup, Denmark)
Gerstlauer—Euro Fighter
Speed: 45 mph (72 kph)
Height: 72’ (22 m)
Length: 1,404’ (428 m)
Single loop model that starts with a beyond-vertical 95-degree first drop and 115-degree banked turns. Vild Svinet is Danish for Wild Boar.

Virtual Reality Coaster
Space Park Bremen
(Bremen, Germany)
Mack—Powered
High-tech new indoor park and shopping complex. This powered coaster incorporates special affects by using virtual reality helmets.

Whirlwind
Camelot Theme Park (Chorley, England)
Maurer Söhne—Spinning Coaster
Speed: 37 mph (60 kph)
Height: 51’ (16 m)
Length: 1,391’ (424 m)
Spinning Coaster 2000 model. This compact ride features curves banked as high as 82 degrees.

Wild Train
Mini Extreme Park (Mariupol, Ukraine)
PAX—Family
Wild Train model.

Zig Zag
Walibi Lorraine
(Maizières-les-Metz, France)
Mack—Wild Mouse
Fair ride being leased by park.

Zonga
Six Flags Marine World (Vallejo, Calif.)
Schwarzkopf—Multi Looper
Height: 115’ (35 m)
Length: 3,675’ (1,120 m)
Anton Schwarzkopf’s masterpiece quad looping traveling coaster originally owned by German showman Oscar Bruch. After traveling the German fair circuit for 11 years, it was purchased by
Six Flags Astroworld.
Premier Rides elevated first two loops to trim the Thriller’s intense G’s before it went to Marine World.
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