The Coaster Critic's Blog

Coaster Construction Updates - Diamondback, Prowler, & More
Carowind's relocated boomerang coaster, Carolina Cobra is coming along nicely. The park's mini site for the new attraction has tons of photos and even a live web cam, likely perched from the park's observation tower. As Carowinds is my home park I'm looking forward to reporting on whether or not the coaster's new trains will improve the ride. Check out the official Carolina Cobra site for more.

Kings Island's Diamondback is Going Up
One of the most anticipated roller coasters opening in 2009 is the new B&M hyper coaster being built at Kings Island. Diamondback's site also has a web cam, a huge photo gallery, as well as some goodies to download. Hopefully, they're sparing as many trees as they can. Part of the ride's appeal will be its trip into the wilderness behind the park like its legendary neighbor Beast. See the Diamondback site for more. Also, head over NewPlusNotes and enter a contest to ride it on opening day.

Prowler - Worlds of Fun's Woodie is Taking Shape
After a lot of land clearing, Prowler is starting to go vertical. Prowler will kick off with an 85-foot drop into a ravine. The rest of the ride will closely hug the terrain as it reaches speeds in excess of 50 mph. For more, check out Worlds of Fun's Prowler site.


Ground Prep for Magic Mountain's Terminator Coaster
While it doesn't looked to have gone vertical yet, WestCoaster.net has some photos of the construction site for the new Terminator coaster that's coming to Magic Mountain. The GCI woodie will be 100' feet tall (10 stories), over 2,800 feet long, and reach speeds of 55 mph. Californians will enjoy quite an upgrade as its replacing the horrible, worst-rated, Pysclone that was demolished in 2007. The funny thing is that on my recent trip to Magic Mountain, as I rode Deja Vu, I didn't realize I was near the former site of Pysclone much less the site of a new coaster for '09. See WestCoaster.net's photos.

Stay tuned for more construction updates on coasters like Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit, Manta, Ring°Racer and more. Which of these 2009 coasters are you most excited about? Leave a comment below.

Kings Island Releases Details on Their 2009 Hyper Coaster, Diamondback

A Mile Long Journey into the Wilderness
Earlier this week Kings Island, located outside of Cincinnati, OH, released details on their highly anticipated roller coaster for the 2009 season. Diamondback will be a Bolliger & Mabillard hyper coaster that will offer a high-speed ride with many drops and lots of airtime. Unlike earlier reports that described the new coaster as being 4,200 feet long, Diamondback will be massive at 5,280 feet long (a mile long). Instead of being on the smaller side of B&M hyper coasters it will be about mid-range. It will be longer than Busch Gardens Europe's Apollo's Chariot (4,882 ft) and Six Flags Great America's Raging Bull (5,057 ft), but shorter than Six Flags Great Adventure's Nitro (5,394 ft). The setting of Diamondback could help set it a part. Like Kings Island's legendary wooden coaster Beast, Diamondback will send riders on a journey into the Ohio wilderness behind the park. It will boasts 10 drops with a first drop of 215' and four more large drops of 193', 131', 129', 110', and 106'.

Special Seating & A Splashdown Section
Diamondback will feature the same staggered seating layout that debuted on Canada's Wonderland's Behemoth this year. It will also boast a splashdown section splash section similar to Griffon and SheiKra. This is a first for hyper coasters as previously this was only found on dive coasters. On those two rides, the riders don't actually get wet. Splash sections are more for effect as it looks cool and its an innovative way to slow the train down towards the end of its course.

Kings Island Teased Diamondback
Kings Island has been teasing their 2009 roller coaster project for a while now. There was no hiding that they were working on something as construction began months ago. Then, Kings Island started to tease with clues that had enthusiasts scratching their heads. An early teaser sign that featured 'Ride Sally Ride' had enthusiasts sure that the new B&M would be called 'Mustang'. Then a teaser page appeared on Kings Island's site that hinted at a reptilian theme. Diamondback was among the names floating around the 'Net, but the fact that Cedar Fair already had another roller coaster by that name at Frontier City kept most enthusiasts off the trail.

Diamondback - A Signature Steel Coaster for Kings Island
While Kings Island has a strong lineup featuring Beast, Son of Beast, Vortex, and the newly reborn Firehawk, die hard Kings Island fans have been waiting for their park to have a 'signature steel coaster.' Diamondback will easily fill this role. The ride is set to open in April 2009.

Here's a POV video of the Diamondback at Kings Island:

Kings Island Teases Fans with New Mini Site & Clues
Early guesses that the new B&M hyper coaster will be named 'Mustang', largely based Internet chatter and on this 'Ride Sally Ride!' teaser poster seen in this post, may be wrong. Kings Island's new teaser site shows a reptilian eye that follows your mouse around the page. It also features three short videos of something moving quickly along the ground. But I can't quite tell if it's slithering.

The only connection I can make from the 'Ride Sally Ride' mention and this new reptilian hint, is that there's a special edition of a Mustang called a Cobra. Kings Island also used to have a Togo stand-up coaster called King Cobra. Might this ride be King Cobra II?

The now completed water splash section (seen here) could also tie in with the reptilian creature. Alligators and crocodiles love the water, but they don't really go with the desert video footage. Anyone know of a lizard that might fit these clues? How about the 'Gila Monster' coaster? Yeah, I didn't think so. Anaconda's love water, but sister park Kings Dominion already has an Anaconda (review) and I don't think that name really fits a hyper coaster.

The official announcement will be made on August 6th, so we'll find out the juicy details soon. For now check out Kings Island's teaser page. Anyone have any guesses? Leave a comment below.

Clues Surface About Kings Island's Hyper Coaster, Mustang
Rumors that Kings Island will be getting a Bolliger & Mabillard hyper coaster are looking more and more like fact. On Tuesday an article was written which pretty much confirmed the coaster. The Dayton Daily News reported on the details they were able to discern from the drawings Kings Island filed with the city of Mason Planning Department.

The plans describe a 4,200 foot long roller coaster. The article describes where it will be located: "It will span from just behind International Street and the Eiffel Tower and over the Rivertown area, between The Crypt and Potato Works and over into what appears to be a wooded area."

At the same time, construction signs are popping up around the park that tease the new attraction. This particular construction photo (pictured right) lends some weight to the rumored name, Mustang. As in the song, "Mustang Sally". The Dayton Daily News has photos of the blueprints. In the blueprints you can see that the new hyper coaster will feature the same staggered seating layout that debuted on Canada's Wonderland's Behemoth this year.

Mustang should be a great ride. At 4,200 feet, it will be shorter than the other B&M hyper coasters like Nitro (5,394 ft), Raging Bull (5,057 ft), and Apollo's Chariot (4,882 ft). But it will feature a ride out into the woods, the aforementioned staggered seating and splash section similar to Griffon and SheiKra. So Mustang will be somewhat unique. And as with all B&M's riders will be treated to an ultra-smooth ride.

Read the full story at the Dayton Daily News.

**UPDATE** 7/23 - Kings Island has launched a teaser page with hints on their new coaster. Read more at: Kings Island Teases 2009 Coaster

Check out this on ride video of a simulation that a coaster enthusiast made with No Limits: