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From the late 1990s until the mid-2000s, coaster enthusiasts became accustomed to—and perhaps a little spoiled by—mammoth coasters that were constantly setting records for height, length, speed, and acceleration. Record-breakers were an annual occurrence, as were $20 million-plus price tags. But lately economics have forced parks to build far fewer of these enormous undertakings and compelled designers to look for other unique and surprising ways to thrill riders.
This is certainly the theme in 2011. From a coaster remake of an entertainment icon’s favorite ride, to one that features an impossible-looking 121-degree beyond vertical drop, to another with track that weaves and twists its way through park attractions like a tangle of vines, this year’s rides find new ways to attract riders and get the most out of their smaller sizes and smaller budgets.
‘Krake’
Heide-Park | Bolliger & Mabillard
Germany joined the ranks of countries with dive coasters when Heide-Park in Soltau, Lower Saxony, Germany, opened “Krake” April 16. The €12 million (US$17.1 million) floorless coaster by Bolliger & Mabillard has a maximum speed of 64 mph and is themed on an encounter with the Kraken, a sea monster. After reaching a height of 135 feet, riders drop straight down into the mouth of the beast, then shoot through a dark shipwreck and back above the water’s surface. www.heide-park.de ‘Takabisha’
Fuji-Q Highland | Gerstlauer
 Coaster enthusiasts are thrilled whenever parks speak of big vertical or near-vertical drops on roller coasters because these elements give a wonderful feeling of weightlessness, and the sensation of staring straight down at the ground is hard to match. This year Fuji- Q Highland in Fujiyoshida, Yamanashi, Japan, goes way beyond vertical with its new coaster.
“Takabisha,” which at press time was scheduled to open in July, has an astounding 121-degree first drop from a height of 141 feet. “We believe this specific Euro-Fighter coaster is the first to have a regular coaster drop at this angle,” says Adam Sandy, sales director for Ride Entertainment Group, which represents the ride’s manufacturer, Gerstlauer. “Our ride runs free after it’s released from the 45-degree friction holding brake—it is wild.” The 3,280-foot ride reaches its maximum speed of 62 mph in two seconds from an linear synchronous motor launch, “followed by a series of very dramatic and huge inversions,” says Sandy. “And just when you think the ride is over, you get to the vertical lift … and the 121-degree drop, which is followed by more great inversions.” www.fuji-q.com The ‘Wooden Warrior’
 Quassy Amusement Park | The Gravity Group
One coaster that maximizes its modest size is “The Wooden Warrior,” which opened April 23 at Quassy Amusement Park in Middlebury, Connecticut. It is long on thrills for a relatively short track length: “It’s only 1,200 feet long, but it’s really a thrill ride,” says Mike Graham, engineer and partner at The Gravity Group, which designed the coaster. “The layout itself makes it special.”
“The Wooden Warrior” features The Gravity Group’s Timberliner coaster trains, and Graham credits these vehicles for allowing his company to create greater thrills on wooden coasters. “The Timberliners enable the smaller coasters to have a thrill,” he says. “They are a new breed of coaster trains. You can twist faster, turn quicker, and it’s a lot smoother ride.”
Early rider reaction to the coaster has been very positive. “‘Amazing airtime for a medium-sized ride’—we’ve heard that a lot,” says Ron Gustafson, Quassy’s director of public relations. “The tunneled turnaround is a smash hit as the train dives into it and makes a sharp banked right turn, emerging for another airtime sensation and final large drop. The ride is really smooth, and a lot of folks have compared the smoothness to that of an all-steel coaster, yet providing the excitement and elements of a classic woodie.” www.quassy.com
‘Zippin Pippin’
Bay Beach Amusement Park | The Gravity Group
In 2010 Bay Beach Amusement Park in Green Bay, Wisconsin, bought the rights to the name and design of “Zippin Pippin,” the John Miller ride that operated for decades in Memphis, Tennessee, and gained fame as legendary singer Elvis Presley’s favorite roller coaster. The coaster would roll no more when its last owner, Libertyland Amusement Park, closed in 2005. Bay Beach retained The Gravity Group to build a new coaster after the original ride was deemed unsalvageable.
 “We had a lot of information about [the original] and we followed it religiously,” Mike Graham of The Gravity Group tells Funworld. “We tried to stay true to the original design, and we also did a lot of work in the station to make the style as original as modern standards allow.” The 2,500-foot-long coaster has drops as high as 70 feet and reaches speeds up to 40 mph.
The coaster gives Bay Beach not only the new signature attraction it was looking for, but a link to its roots. “It’s been 75 years since we’ve had a roller coaster out here and people are anxious to get it back,” says Bay Beach’s special facilities manager, Tina Westergaard. “In the early 1920s, our two coasters were John Miller designs. A [signature ride] was one of the things we talked about when we did our master plan, and this will kind of bring the park up to the next level.” www.baybeach.org
‘Dare Devil Dive’
 Six Flags Over Georgia | Gerstlauer
Having opened major coasters “Superman—The Ultimate Flight” and “Goliath” in 2002 and 2006, respectively, Six Flags Over Georgia knew it had to live up to some high expectations when it announced its newest coaster, “Dare Devil Dive,” for 2011.
The park knew the ride had to have some unusual features to please guests, so the thrills start the moment the train leaves the station: a 10-story vertical rise to start, and then a beyond vertical drop at 95 degrees. Says Adam Sandy, sales director for Ride Entertainment Group, the U.S. representative for the ride’s manufacturer, Gerstlauer: “Even though this doesn’t shatter any records, it’s a very different experience and the uniqueness of it will really draw guests.”
The coaster’s V-shaped trains should also please guests because their stadium-style seats are spaced so all riders have great sightlines. The park also likes the ride’s theming and family-friendly style. “If you look at the overall theming of the ride, it’s based on old-time stunt pilots going through an aerial stunt course, with the air control towers and the tunnels, and the inversions are similar to maneuvers pilots did with aerial acrobatics, like the back loop and the Immelman,” says Brad Malone, the park’s communications manager. “Our other coasters the past few years have had the 54-inch height requirement, but this one is only 48 inches, which makes it family friendly.” www.sixflags.com/overgeorgia
‘Raptor’
Gardaland | Bolliger & Mabillard
 Italy welcomes its first winged coaster with “Raptor,” which began flying at Gardaland in Castelnuovo Del Garda, Verona, on April 1, 2011.
One of the special features of the ride is that it glides just a few inches above a lake on two occasions and uses the water to its advantage for splash effects. “Two sequential water systems have been installed, utilizing artisanal pumps and nozzles set up on the surface of the water,” says Aldo Vigevani, divisional director of Gardaland. “A sensor, upon passage of the train, activates the sequence, making one believe it’s the wings of the creature grazing the surface of the swamp.”
The 2,526-foot-long ride, designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, starts from an underground station inspired by a government research lab. The steel coaster’s theme (developed by Merlin Studios in London) is that an unknown winged creature has been awakened from a long sleep and has begun to devastate Earth to seek vengeance on humans. The large, beautifully decorated 28- passenger trains position riders to the side of the track rather than above it as they wing through three head-over-heels inversions. www.gardaland.it
‘Twister’
 GrönaLund | The Gravity Group
As amusement parks age and continue to add more and more attractions, room to grow has become an issue for many. To compensate, it is not unusual to see roller coasters winding around other attractions sharing the same space (see this month’s cover story on “Cheetah Hunt,” for instance). In the case of its new “Twister” coaster, GrönaLund in Stockholm, Sweden, took this mingling effect to a level rarely seen.
The ride twists, turns, passes over, dives under, and races beside several other rides and attractions, including the park’s “Jetline,” “Vilda Musen,” and “Kvasten” coasters; the “Bla Taget” ghost train ride; the “Rock-Jet” music express attraction; as well as restaurants and shops.
“It was a huge challenge to make sure that all the structures and rides didn’t interfere with one another,” says Mike Graham, engineer and partner with The Gravity Group. “As you go up the lift hill, you go under ‘Jetline,’ and [‘Vilda Musen’] is just a few feet on the right. Later it goes up and over ‘Kvasten’ and ‘Rock-Jet.’ For the riders, there’s the random aspect of other trains and tracks passing by. It’s really highlighted the new breed of wood coaster.” www.gronalund.com
‘Green Lantern: First Flight’
Six Flags Magic Mountain | Intamin
Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California, describes one of its three new coasters in 2011, “Green Lantern: First Flight,” as the “first-in-the-U.S.-vertical-track spinning coaster.” The ride is made by Intamin and themed on the DC Comics superhero famous for his all-powerful ring. The first ZacSpin coaster in North America allows riders to experience a completely vertical zigzag pattern while sitting in eight-person vehicles. Riders sit four abreast and back-to-back, with each vehicle rotating independently. The two-minute ride starts with a trip up a 107-foot lift before the ride vehicles move down 825 feet of twisted vertical track at up to 35 mph, with three 360-degree head-over-heels spins. www.sixflags.com/magicmountain
 ‘Treasure Island’
Djurs Sommerland | Mack Rides
Djurs Sommerland in Nimtofte, Denmark, this year opened “Treasure Island,” a new 1,493-foot-long water coaster by Mack Rides, which the park says is one of only five of its kind in the world. Riders take a coaster car through a pirate-themed landscape, climb to 92 feet above the ground, then drop 72 feet at 43 mph into a water-splash finale. Theme features include a sunken pirate ship and giant skull rock. www.djurssommerland.dk
Contact News Editor Keith Miller at kmiller@IAAPA.org.
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