The Coaster Critic's Blog

Six Flags News Orleans May Reopen in 2009
Six Flags New Orleans (formerly Jazzland) has been flooded ever since Hurricane Katrina heavily damaged Louisiana in 2005. An amusement group is interested in reopening the park. Since the flood, Six Flags has done very little. Last winter, they were able to salvage one of the coasters. Batman - The Ride was relocated and re-branded as Goliath at Six Flags Fiesta Texas.

Southern Star Amusement Group is working with Six Flags and city officials on a proposal to reopen Six Flags New Orleans for the 2009 season. The proposal includes:

Installing a water park for 2009, creating a world-class amusement park open year round, providing 60 rides, nearly doubling the 32 rides formerly at Six Flags, adding five entertainment areas with names such as Area 51, Tumble Weed Gulch, Cricket Creek Bog, Fort Thunder and Country Fair, and an RV park so visitors will stay longer.

This could be great news for the New Orleans area. From reading some of the comments below the article some residents are skeptical, but others point out that kids in the area need something to do. Also, there's always the hope that the park will bring jobs and money to the area. Read the full story.

What do you think of Six Flags New Orleans' proposed reopening? Leave a comment below.

Walt Disney World & American Idol Team Up

"Guest performers with the highest votes will compete in an end-of-day Grand Finale show at Walt Disney World, and the winner of the Grand Finale show will receive a guaranteed reservation for a future regional stadium audition -- to ensure no waiting in long lines. But when it comes down to the television show auditions, everyone is treated equal."

We can only hope there's a cheesy host that stops the show for a commercial break just as you're about to find out if you've been voted off or not. The attraction is set to open later this year. I'm really more of a coaster guy than anything else so I can't say I'm really all that interested in the news. It is a neat idea, I guess. For the full press release and a press video click here.

What do you think of the American Idol attraction coming to Disney World? Sounds a little pitchy to me, dawg. Leave a comment below.

Racecoaster: World's Fastest Coaster to Be Built in Germany
Germany may soon be home to the world's fastest roller coaster as Racecoaster at Nurburgring will shatter the current record in 2009. While Six Flags Great Adventure's Kingda Ka tops out at a blistering 128 mph, Racecoaster will push the envelope even further with a top speed of 134 mph (217 km/h).

Unlike Kingda Ka's hydraulic launch, this new coaster will be built by S&S Power using an air launch system (similar to the defunct Hypersonic XLC). The acceleration offered by Racecoaster will be unbelievable. It will provide a 0 to 134 mph in only 2.5 seconds. Kingda Ka doesn't reach it's top speed until 3.5 seconds. The bottom line is that this is going to be one intense launch.

Racecoaster will be built along side an actual race track at Nurburgring. Below are some excerpts from a translated article about the ride:

"Acceleration more powerful than on any race car: "Racecoaster" offers a more authentic version of this experience than any other. The strained feeling before the start, the rising adrenaline, the driver being pushed back into his seat as the traffic light turns to green and the race begins."

"After the passengers enter through a railway station in the new indoor attraction, Racecoaster's launch runs parallel to the Grand Prix stretch on the race track, with its starting point aligned to the starting line of the track. Here, the vehicle accelerates to its top speed of 217 km/h, travels 480 meters (1574.8 ft) along the race track then sharply curves to the left. The coaster's route leads back through the Boulevard and ends again in the railway station. Each of the coaster's two four-car vehicles is capable of transporting eight passengers. Altogether, the coaster travels 1.2 kilometers (3937.01 feet) in its adrenaline-packed course."

Like Top Thrill Dragster and Kingda Ka it sounds like pretty short ride. Racecoaster won't even offer any kind of top hat or hill. But the point will be the launch and the speed and that will likely bring enthusiasts and thrill junkies from all over the world. The full translated article can be found here. Props to CoasterForce for translating the article. It's a great site, especially for information on international theme parks and coasters.

UPDATE - It looks like this coaster has been renamed, ring°racer according to the RCDB listing. It's set to open June 11, 2009 in Rhineland-Palatinate Germany.

Ring°racer's not the first coaster to incorporate cars/automobiles. The Italian Job coasters at three of the former Paramount parks featured Mini Cooper-like trains. Check out my full review of Italian Job at Kings Island. Maximum RPM!, which just opened at the new Hard Rock Park features British convertible sports cars and on-board radios. More on Maximum RPM, including a video. A small park in New Market, Maryland has an old steel coaster called Wildcat. It's cars are designed to look like 60's muscle cars including: Yenko Camaro, SS Camaro, 340 Cuda, 1960's Police Cruiser, Mustang.

Aside from cars, there are also a number of coasters that feature motorcyle-like trains. This year, Darien Lake opened Orange County Choppers MotoCoaster. Check out more information on the motocoaster and its Pony Express and OCC versions.

What do you think of this new record breaking roller coaster? Leave a comment below.

Transformers Could Be Rolling into a Theme Park
Like The World of Harry Potter and The Batman Dark Knight Coasters, the Transformers may be making the move from the big screen to the theme park world. There are rumors that Paramount is planning a theme park attraction based on everyone's favorite robots in disguise. The Transformers attraction is said to be a dark ride and will allegedly open in between Transformers 2 and Transformers 3. Transformers 2 has a release date of June 2009, so the ride would probably open in 2010 at the earliest. To bad Paramount doesn't have their own parks to open the ride in anymore.

Read the full story at Cinema Blend.

What do you think of Transformers Dark Ride? Leave a comment below.

Video Game Company Looks to Expand Theme Park Business
Sega has plans to open an indoor theme park in Dubai according to an article from GamesIndustry. It will be similar to Sega's Joypolis centers in Japan. The park will be part of the 76,000 square foot Dubai Mall and also the site of the world's tallest tower, the amazing Burj Dubai. On a side not, check out this diagram of the world's tallest buildings.

Sega Corp. and Dubai's Emaar Properties have also announced that they will be building additional theme parks in North Africa and South Asia. No word yet on similar parks in the U.S.

What do you think of Sega getting into the theme park industry? Leave a comment below.

Kennywood Gets New Dark Ride in 2008
A few days before Kennywood announced that it and its sister parks were going to be acquired by Parques International, the park announced a new attraction for 2008. Ghostwood Estates will be a state-of-the-art dark ride where Gold Rusher ride used to be.

"The eight room haunted house replaces the Gold Rusher, which was retired this past August. “Ghostwood Estate is clearly an indication of Kennywood’s commitment to dark rides,” explains Jerome Gibas, Kennywood General Manager. “It combines the newest technology available – a trackless conveyance system with cars programmed and monitored by a computer and includes over 200 interactive targets and numerous CGIs (Computer Generated Images).”

Guests will be armed with blasters, developed by LaserStar, Florida. The blasters provide guests the opportunity to compete with others in the vehicle by targeting haunted characters throughout the estate. Each vehicle is also equipped with four individual scoreboards.

The $2 million project is expected to be complete for Kennywood’s opening in May of 2008."

-From Kennywood's press release

Aside from the trackless nature of the ride, Ghostwood Estates sounds a lot like the Scooby Doo's Haunted Mansion rides at the former Paramount Parks like Kings Dominion and Carowinds. I can't remember if they were trackless as well. Hopefully, this new attraction will help draw those Pennsylvanians who are skeptical about the new foreign management.

What do you think about Kennywood's new dark ride? Leave a comment below.

Coney Island Amusement Park Revitalization Plans
Last week New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg unveiled plans for the new Coney Island:

"Coney Island's fabled beach front area would become home to America's largest urban amusement park, about 4,500 new apartments and a bunch of major retail establishments under a grand plan unveiled today by Mayor Bloomberg.

The goal of the rezoning plan is to turn the rundown summer amusement area into a year-round attraction – but without giving up the freakishness for which Coney is so well known."
-NY Post

Great America Gets New Lease on Life
After rumors of selling Great America to Cedar Fair to the San Francisco 49ers, Cedar Fair did a complete 180. On the 25th, the company announced that via a press release that Great America will be renamed California's Great America starting next year. At least this will help avoid any confusion with Six Flags Great America near Chicago.

Also in 2008, the park will add a Huss Top Spin called Firefall. I'm not a flat ride expert but I believe it will be similar to the Tomb Raider ride at Kings Dominion seen to the right.

More importantly, the park will add a Great Coasters International woodie similar to Renegade at Valleyfair! Unfortunately, guests will have to wait until 2009, for the new roller coaster, but it does show that Cedar Fair is not only keeping the park, but investing in it. From what I hear, Great America's a sub par park and the new additions are probably much needed. Check out the official press release here.

Living on the East Coast, I'll obviously need to book a flight to visit Great America. I love flying and tend to get my airline tickets from budget airlines so I can save money. Maybe I'll get the chance to book a flight on hawaiian airlines and even turkish airlines one day.

What do you think of Great America's additions? Leave a comment below.

Geauga Lake to be Changed into a Water Park
Cedar Fair announced today that Geauga Lake, an amusement park in Eastern Ohio, will be transformed into a water park. The proverbial writing was on the wall. As I reported in "Geauga Lake Loses More Coasters", rumors of Cedar Fair moving Dominator and Thunderhawk to other parks have been making the rounds on the 'Net.

Roller Coasters on the Move
Today, Cedar Fair made it official with a press release. Obviously, this is bad news for coaster enthusiasts and Geauga Lake fans in the area (sorry Judy), but their loss could be your gain. If you live near another Cedar Fair park be on the lookout for a new-ish coaster. The wooden roller coasters on their roster like Villain, Raging Wolf Bobs, and the 80 year old Big Dipper will be harder to relocate. But steel coasters, Double Loop, Beaver Land Mine Ride, and Head Spin should find their way to a Cedar Fair park near you. It's a good thing I made it to the park a few years ago.

Check out the full announcement here. Anyone upset about the Geauga's transformation? Any rumors or leads on where the moved coasters will re-appear?

Proposed L.L. Bean Theme Park
"L.L. Bean plans to develop a 700-acre outdoor adventure center in Freeport, with the goal of creating a national recreation destination. Visitors might hike, bike, play golf or cross-country ski on the site off Desert Road, or go kayaking, seal watching or fishing in nearby Casco Bay. Then they could eat and stay the night on the property.

The company also hopes these visitors would stop by the flagship store and buy products and services to help them enjoy the activities."

Check out the full story at Maine Today.
See more future theme park & roller coaster projects.

Harry Potter Attraction Planned for Universal's Islands of Adventure
Warner Brothers and Universal will be teaming up for a new Harry Potter attraction at Orlando's Universal Islands of Adventure. It has been described as the world’s first fully immersive Harry Potter themed environment. Also, as a theme park within a theme park.

Guests will be able to visit the village of Hogsmeade, the mysterious Forbidden Forest, and even Hogwarts castle. The 'Wizarding World of Harry Potter' is expected to open in 2009. An opening that puts it between the Half-Blood Prince (2008) and Deathly Hollow (2010) movies.

Check out the full story at ThrillNetwork

New Led Zeppelin Coaster Underway
White steel track is starting to arrive at the new Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach. The track will be used to erect the Bolliger & Mabillard Led Zeppelin Coaster. The Zeppelin themed roller coaster will feature onboard speakers playing "Whole Lotta Love" and six loops.

The coaster's layout can be seen here. Hard Rock Park is scheduled to open in April 2008. More information at the Hard Rock Park Blog

Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach to Feature a Led Zeppelin Roller Coaster
The new Hard Rock Park set to open in 2008 in Myrtle Beach will feature a large Bolliger & Mabillard looping coaster with themed after legendary rock band Led Zeppelin. The station will be a zeppelin and the ride will be synchronized to their hit "Whole Lotta Love". Members of the band apparently worked with Hard Rock on the theming and picked the song from their catalog.

The layout of the coaster looks great. It will have six inversions (vertical loop, cobra roll, zero-g roll, vertical loop, and a corkscrew) and it will be situated partly over a lagoon. According to the RCDB listing, Hard Rock Park will open with five roller coasters in all. That's quite a way to debut, meaning Hard Rock is putting quite a bit of money into this rock-themed park. Suddenly, I don't feel so bad that the area lost the Myrtle Beach Pavilion.

Check out Hard Rock Park for more.

Alien Apex Theme Park to Invade Roswell
Ever since the 1947 UFO incident, Roswell, New Mexico has become synonomous with aliens. Enter, Byran Temmer, a man on a mission to build an alien-themed amusement park. Though, the park is still three to four years away, Bryan has some lofty goals for one of his roller coasters. In an interview he stated that he wants his alien abduction coaster to break three world records.

Check out this About.com article and CoasterRadio.com podcast featuring interviews with Bryan Temmer.

Wild Escape Amusement Park Is Scheduled to Open in 2008
The 100-acre Wild Escape resort will open in 2008 near Wheeling, West Virginia. The resort will include a full-scale theme park, indoor and outdoor water parks, and a hotel. Wild Escape will be part of the large development project known as "The Highlands."

Wheeling, WV is in the northwest part of the state. With its proximity to Ohio and Western Pennsylvania, it will be great for traveling enthusiasts who want to hit several parks in a couple of days. With the right planning, smaller parks like Idlewild, Lakemont Park, Del Grosso's Amusement Park, and Conneaut Lake Park could be included in a 2 or 3 day road trip along with Wild Escape, Kennywood, and even Geauga Lake.

The Roller Coaster Database has two listings for new coasters at Wild Escape, but there is some confusion whether there will be two or just one. One of them is a Maurer Söhne X-Car Coaster known as ShockTower. It will most likely be similar to X Coaster that opened at Magic Springs & Crystal Falls last year. The other listing is for a launch coaster that was mentioned in an interview with one of the developers. Details on the launch coaster are sketchy. Stay tuned!

Check out Wild Escape for more information.
State Journal article.

Ares Program Will Use An Interesting Escape System
NASA 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. NASA recently chose a coaster-like escape option for the new launch pads that astronauts will use to reach the final frontier. The Ares rocket will debut in 2010. Coaster-Net.com has the full story.