The Coaster Critic's Blog

Take A Spin Goliath - The Jewel of the SouthEast
Goliath is a towering hyper coaster built at Six Flags Over Georgia in 2006. It may mark the end of an era for Six Flags. Newly appointed CEO Mark Shapiro pointed at the $20 million roller coaster in an interview and said "No more of those." The year it was built Dan Snyder and Mark Shapiro assumed control of Six Flags. They planned to steer the large theme park chain to more family friendly rides and attractions. Goliath towers over Austell, Georgia at 200 feet (roughly 20 stories). Like other Bolliger & Mabillard hyper coasters it offers large camel back hills, a buttery smooth ride, and speed.

Goliath's station had some type of neo-50's theme. The roller coaster's name speaks to the chains continued uncreativity. A la, it's big, we'll name it Goliath. Not to mention the name is used at several other parks. Anyway, I got to the park on Wednesday morning, June 4th. I bought my season pass (that I'd be using later for my trip to Magic Mountain) and headed straight for Goliath. It was a walk-on and I was able to by-pass the now mandatory lockers for storing bags & other loose items. The small crowd that had gathered in the station was quickly dispatched thanks to Goliath's 32 passenger, 4 across, ultra-comfortable trains.

Politics in a Theme Park?
The ride op sounded like he aspired to be a club D.J. He had the station hyped up with and screaming 'yeah' on cue. I appreciated the active and fun ride op until he gave an inappropriate shout out Barrack Obama for clinching the Democratic nomination. There was a weak smattering of applause in response likely from the Georgia Tech and University of Georgia students. I think most, like me, were wondering why this guy brought politics into a theme park. He was young like most ride ops and obviously didn't know any better.

Goliath - The Trip Out
After boarding the comfortable trains, Goliath makes its twenty story climb right over the pathways in 50'sville. There's a great view of the surrounding area and then the first 170 foot drop. As usual, the drop was much better in the back of the train as it makes the relatively (compared to other hypers) short drop feel much longer. The second drop is actually 5 feet longer and then the 3rd offers some excellent floater air time. At the bottom, the train flies close to a pond below and you can really feel the ride's speed. The train climbs up once again to set up a great downward helix. The unorthodox helix has a 'down the drain' feeling and pulls some great g-forces. It trumps sister coaster Nitro's upward helix by a mile.
Goliath - The Trip Back
The next hill drops the train by some trees that the park was smart to keep and next is the highlight of the ride. The train rises back up and does a quick overbanked turn to the right. It a much short overbanked turn than Nitro's hammerhead, but it's very effective. You feel as if you're going to be dumped into the pond below. After, the train traverses a number of bunny hills with decent amounts of air. The final bunny hill drops the train right into the station brakes. Goliath is a solid hyper coaster. It's not only the park's best roller coaster, but arguably the best coaster in the South East (south of Virginia). We're lucky that it was built before the Snyder-Shapiro rule. Final Rating 9.0 (Excellent)

Check out this onride video of Goliath at Six Flags Over Georgia:

Cheezonastick Supports Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro for President?
The guys over at Cheezonastick are asking you to vote today, for Mark Shapiro. To be honest I'm not really sure if the guys are spoofing Mark Shapiro's reign as Six Flags CEO or are in support of it. Check out the Shapiro-Snyder '08 campaign site and decide for yourself.

Either way, the ballot is pretty funny. You can vote for Shapiro, Richard Kinzel, CEO of Cedar Fair, or the independent candidate, Will Koch of Holiday World. I won't give them away, but the three proposals on the ballot are funny too. So after you do your civic duty today and vote in the real election have some fun with Cheezonastick's 2008 Amusement Industry Ballot.

Would you vote for Mark Shapiro for President? How do you think Six Flags has been run in the last couple of years? Leave a comment below.

Six Flags Great Adventure's Medusa Gets the X2 Treatment
Medusa opened in 1999 as the world's first floorless roller coaster. Read more about floorless coasters. Now, Six Flags Great Adventure has announced that it will get the makeover treatment in the off season. This is a growing trend with Six Flags these days after this year's X2 re-launch and next year's (risky) Superman: Ride of Steel renovations.

According to the press release:
"The Medusa redesign will deliver a multi-sensory ride experience with all-new thematics and innovative, state-of-the-art visual, audio and sensory effects launching it into another dimension of thrills and excitement."

"Six Flags Great Adventure continues to push the envelope -- going far beyond traditional coasters to offer thrill seekers the exhilaration of a roller coaster combined with unique storytelling and high tech elements incorporating fire, fog, water and precisely orchestrated audio production designed to assault the senses for a world class "show" on a roller coaster. "

Take a ride on Medusa 1.0 with the video below:

Magic Mountain Announces Details of Terminator: The Coaster
Terminator: The Coaster will be a Great Coasters International twister woodie. Twisters offer lots of banked turns and speed. The ride will also feature a station fly-through like the acclaimed Thunderhead at Dollywood. Also, like Thunderhead, Terminator will feature GCI's Millennium Flyer trains. That's about where the similarites end as the new coaster does not look like a complete clone of Thunderhead. And even if it were that would not necessarily be a bad thing. Thunderhead is very popular and has won the Golden Ticket Award for best wooden coaster. If that coaster's success is any indication, Terminator will be an excellent addition.

Terminator: The Coaster will be 100' feet tall (10 stories), over 2,800 feet long, and reach speeds of 55 mph. There's also mentions of a "state-of-the-art sound package" and "on-board entertainment" in the official press release. If this means on-board speakers like on the Led Zeppelin Coaster, it would be the first I can remember seeing such technology on a wooden coaster. The total cost of the project will be $10 million.

An Important Coaster for Magic Mountain & California
Not only will Terminator add a much needed woodie to Magic Mountain's huge collection, it will be the park's 16th coaster, it will bring something to the entire state. While California is both the most populous state and also has the most roller coasters, it's collection is not among the best. The state particularly falls short on quality wooden roller coasters. To illustrate this point, Terminator will take the place of the much maligned Psyclone. Psyclone and Great America's Grizzly placed at the very bottom of Mitch Hawker's Internet Poll basically ranking as the World's Worst Wooden Coasters.

Knott's Berry Farm's Ghostrider is popular, but by most accounts has seen better days. The Giant Dipper at the Santa Cruz Beach Boardwalk was the best ranked wooden coaster in the state at 39th. And I also hear some buzz from time to time about the Giant Dipper at Belmont Park. See the entire 2007 wooden coaster poll results. Regardless, Cali's woodies couldn't hold a candle to many other state's and Terminator will help with this shortcoming.

Questionable Theming?
Lastly, I think the theming is a bit of a mismatch. A wooden coaster tied to a movie about evil machines that take over the world? Maybe the riders, as members of the resistance prefer good old-fashioned, natural wood because they don't trust steel anymore. But, as I said in a previous post, Six Flags is likely looking for that fun, family friendly ride that will have wider appeal. Under the Dan Snyder-Mark Shapiro regime, going after the families and away from the massive, expensive thrill rides has been the company's m.o. So all-in-all, this should be a great and much needed addition to the coaster landscape out West.

Get a preview, check out the Terminator coaster video below:

Recent Theme Park News Stories - Transformers, Terminator, & More
Since I've been busy working on Coaster Portal, I've missed a few news stories. Here's a recap of the biggest stories from the past month or so:

Gravity Group Launches Blog & Podcast - Gravitycast
The Gravity Group, acclaimed wooden roller coaster designers, recently launched their blog and podcast known as Gravitycast. If you're not familiar with their coasters check out my reviews of The Voyage, Hades, and Ravine Flyer II. They're all amazing and all three are in my Top Ten. Gravitycast looks to be more than just a place for the designers to post updates (which would be enough for coaster geeks out there like myself), they've essentially opened up a conversation with the fans. Read more at: Coaster Portal

Magic Mountain to Announce Details of the Terminator Coaster
UPDATE 10/23 - Six Flags Announces Details of the Terminator Coaster.

The LA Times Funland Blog has information on the new GCI Terminator wooden coaster coming to Six Flags Magic Mountain in 2009. Six Flags is expected to make an official announcement later this week. I still think it's a little odd that a Terminator-themed coaster wouldn't be a steel coaster, but Six Flags is likely looking for that fun, family friendly ride that will have wider appeal. Plus, Magic Mountain could use another woodie as they only have the old racing coaster, Colossus. Read more at the LA Times Funland Blog.

Universal Announces Transformers Ride for 2011
Also on the LA Times Funland Blog, are a few details confirming the rumored Transformers ride. Universal will build a dark ride that sounds similar to the Spider-Man ride at Islands of Adventure and Curse of Darkastle at Busch Gardens Europe. Read more about those rides on my Top 3 Dark Rides post. One major difference with the Transformers ride will be that this ride will built many years lafter those rides and will benefit from enhancement in high definition 3D technology. Not only that, but it will feature two-story tall robots going at it all around you. Universal will build the ride at the Universal Hollywood park as well as the Universal Singapore park. Sorry East Coasters. Read more at The LA Times Funland Blog.

Dollywood Cancels 2009 Attraction - Adventure Mountain
We may have one of the first 2009 projects to fall victim to the struggling economy. Recently, Dollywood had to unannounce their 2009 attraction known as Adventure Mountain. They sight the economic downturn as the reason for putting the ride on hold. I give them credit for coming out with a statement rather than just sweeping the project under the rug. Read the full announcement.

What do you think of this news? Leave a comment below.

California Theme Park Trip Report - Part 2

The Conclusion of the SoCal Theme Park Blitz featuring A Night at Knott's Berry
It was getting late and I figured if I was going to squeeze in Knott's it was time to head to X2 (4:40) and face my long wait fate. Luckily, the wait was drastically reduced. Instead of over 2 hours it was only about 50 minutes. Halfway through my wait in the extreme-themed queue I realized I had lost my cell phone. I hoped that I'd find it later and stayed in line. X2 was quite an experience. The woman next to me said she saw her life pass before her eyes on the first drop and she was dead serious when she said it. She looked like someone had just robbed her at gun point as we pulled into the station. Read my full X2 review.

For the next 2 hours I searched for my phone, visited guest relations to file a report, bought some souvenirs, and rode Deja Vu, Batman, & Tatsu one more time. I never did find my phone, but I tried to make the best of my time and ride as much as I could before heading to Knott's. Ninja's line was too long, I knew I'd probably regret Viper having ridden Great Adventure's Scream Machine (read review) and countless other aging Arrow loopers. Plus, I figured I'd already given Superman 25 minutes of my precious time. I knew I could get right on Tatsu with the pass and I was glad that I did. I enjoyed it much more the second time with a more secure fastening of the restraints.

To Knott's!
By the time I arrived at Knott's Berry Farm it was 8:30. Parking was a bit confusing, but I found a lot and dragged my tired body to the guest relations window to pick up my media priced ticket. It was only a little cheaper than the twilight rate, but every dollar counts, right? I dashed into the park as best I could. My calves started locking up from all the speed walking and poor hydration. I heard 'sorry for the inconvenience' being announced as I walked near Ghostrider, so I turned around and headed for Pony Express. After about a 10 or 15 minute wait, I rode it. It was kind of a long wait for a short ride, but it was new for this year, plus it was cool seeing how it matched up to Darien Lake's MotoCoaster.

I moved across the back of the park toward Xcelerator. I hadn't seen a train running on it and started to get worried. Just as I entered the queue a train stormed by. Two or three trains later, I was enjoying a short, but thrilling ride. The starry and quiet experience towards the top of the top hat hill was awesome! I would've loved a re-ride, but there was no time. I worked my way over to Silver Bullet. It was a walk on for the front seat. After that I got turned around trying to get to Montezuma. It was 9:50-ish by now and I was jogging. As I had heard, Montezuma was fun. I'm glad that I had heard good things about it, otherwise I might've overlooked it.

I exited Montezuma at 9:56 and I tried to decide whether I should just re-ride someting nearby, call it a night, or make a run for Ghostrider. I figured it wasn't likely I'd make it, but I might as well try to find my way over there before they closed down the line. I ended up being the last rider they let in the queue. So, somehow I jammed five coasters into about an hour and a half. I left the park at about 10:15. Surprisingly, Ghostrider's station was easily the busiest at the park. Exhausted, I found my rental car and headed back to LAX for my 12:30 AM red eye flight back East.

Image 3 courtesy of CoasterImage.

My Insane 11 Hour Blitz of the Los Angeles Theme Parks
Part 1 - Pacific Park at the Santa Monica Pier & Six Flags Magic Mountain
Thanks to all of the readers and those on the various message boards out there for the tips. I landed at LAX at around 10:30 in the morning on Thursday, August the 14th.

After finding out how close the airport was to the beach and Pacific Park I figured I'd start my adventure there. I wasn't expecting much from the West Coaster, but I had seen the park in so many TV shows and movies and I wanted to see a bit more of Cali. The park was really small and the West coaster was nothing to write home about, but at least the ride op ran us through twice. So with the view of the ocean, two consecutive rides, and the ride credit, I got my $5 worth.

While only diverting from Six Flags Magic Mountain for about 40 minutes, I was back on my way to the park. I got to the park around 1-ish. I knew that lines would be bad so I got a flash pass. Unfortunately, I waited until the night before my trip to buy one and they were sold out of regular flash passes. So I had to get a thrill pass.

My first coaster was Revolution at 1:30 after not being able to stomach X2's 2 hour wait. Next, I darted to Tatsu (1:40) and bypassed a pretty bad looking line with the flash pass. Then I climbed the hill and headed for Superman The Escape. The cool air inside the 'Fortress of Solitude'-themed station felt great, but after 20 minutes of waiting Superman broke down. I slipped out the wheel chair exit and headed over to Goldrusher (2:30) which was a walk on.

Riddler (2:55) was about a fifteen minute wait even with the flash pass. The station was about as unorganized as I've ever seen. I really enjoyed the ride. I put it right there with Chang as the co-kings of the stand-ups. Then I headed over to Colossus (3:10) which was a three train wait. It wasn't terrible on the spectrum of bad, rough woodies, but it wasn't that good either. Would've helped if they were running both sides, but with the low ridership I can see why they weren't.

Though I'd ridden Medusa at Six Flags Great Adventure, I figured I'd tackle its clone Scream! (3:30). I blame this surprisingly rough parking lot looper for stealing my cell phone! Ok, so it was my fault for not putting it my cargo pockets with zippers like I had been all day, but the last time I remember having it was right before boarding Scream and with its surprisingly forceful ride it likely dumped the phone out of my pocket on that camelback inversion that really throws you.

Unaware that my phone was missing, or maybe I still had it this point, I quickly walked to Goliath (3:45 & 3:55). I was looking forward to it all day because I love hyper coasters. The gentle slope of the first drop really disappointed me. There's a little air on the third hill and the helices are okay. I will say the longest helix that was really low to the ground has blackout potential. All in all, Goliath was good not great.

At 4:00 I had lunch at the Mooseburger Lodge because I had a free buffet that came with the Thrill Pass. It sounded like a great bonus, but the food was sub par and I'm not really used to mounted moose heads serenading me while I eat.

Stay tuned for the conclusion of my California trip including my ride on X2 and night visit to Knott's Berry Farm. Any questions or comments about my trip? Leave a comment below.

Six Flags America's Troubled Two Face Coaster Up for Sale
After numerous high-profile breakdowns, Six Flags America located near Washington D.C., has decided to sell Two Face: The Flip Side. With at least three break downs in only a few years, Two Face hasn't helped the park's already sub par image. Two face is an inverted shuttle roller coaster where riders face each other while the train navigates through three inversions forward and backward. During the last breakdown, riders were stranded 10 stories in the air for two hours.

Check out the for sale listing here. You'll also find Six Flags Great America's (Chicago) removed Deja Vu coaster listed. If I ever win the lottery I know where to go for some good coasters on the cheap. One has to wonder if they'll be able to sell it or it will meet the same fate as Kings Dominion's Hypersonic XLC and be sold for scrap metal.

What do you think of Two Face's removal? From a theming standpoint, it kind of stinks now that the Two Face character is actually relevant again thanks to the recent Dark Knight movie. Leave a comment below.

Will the Best Coaster on the Planet Still Be the Best?
When I first saw the news that Six Flags was going to add new enhancements to their masterpiece, Superman - Ride of Steel at Six Flags New England, I was cautiously pessimistic at best. I'm generally a very positive, easy-going guy, but I'm a bit concerned that Six Flags is messing with the best roller coaster on the planet. Since it's debut in 2000, Superman has won 4 Golden Ticket Awards and its placed at the top of Mitch's Internet Poll several times. It's worth noting that Six Flags re-uses the Superman name on many of their roller coasters, but New England's Superman is a completely unique and awe-inspiring ride.

According to the press release:
"Going above and beyond traditional steel coasters, this state-of-the-art invention will undergo a revolutionary makeover. The adventure will send riders up 20 stories while flying through fog banks, fire bursts and heart-pumping audio for three minutes and twenty two seconds of extreme thrills."
I'm fine with the enhancements above, but the transformation will also include newly renovated trains. The trains are my biggest concern. Today, Superman offers an amazing, air-time packed ride. Although, I've heard that recently the ride is starting to show some age. I caught some flack for my negativity in a few message boards, but I'm just nervous and feel that it's not a forgone conclusion that these enhancements won't hurt the ride. I'm slowly being talked down from the ledge. Hopefully, I'm over-reacting and Superman will be as good as ever.

Read the full press release for more details.
Read my full review of Superman @ Six Flags New England.

What do you think about these enhancements? Do you think Superman will turn out better, worse, or the same. Images courtesy of CoasterImage.

Man Hit by Ninja at Six Flags Magic Mountain
Over the weekend, a man was hit by a roller coaster at Six Flags Magic Mountain. According to the man's brother-in-law, he was trying to retrieve a hat that he lost on a nearby ride. This sounds a lot like the fatal accident at Six Flags Over Georgia earlier this summer. Just like that accident, you really can't blame Six Flags as the man trespassed before he was injured.

The park released a statement saying; “As required by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM), Ninja is surrounded by 6-foot and 7-foot fences that are clearly marked by signs stating the area is restricted to authorized personnel only.”

More at KHTS.

Have you ever lost something on a roller coaster? Did you try to retrieve it? Leave a comment below. Image courtesy of CoasterImage.

Theme Parks Gear Up for Halloween 2008 Transformations
This month, theme parks across the country will begin their transformation for Halloween-themed events like Six Flags' popular Fright Fests. Typically on weekends in the month of October, parks will take on a whole new look with spooky decorations, haunted houses, fog, and strange and disturbing performers roaming around the park.

Halloween events are NOT for small children and many brand their events as PG-13. Each park and/or chain has a name for their event. Below are links to some of the most popular Halloween theme park promotions:

Fright Fest at Six Flags Park

Halloween Horror Nights at Universal Studios

Halloween Haunts at:
Kings Dominion
Kings Island
Knott's Berry Farms
Dorney Park
Worlds of Fun

HalloWeekends at Cedar Point
ValleyScare at Valleyfair
Scarowinds at Carowinds

Howl-O-Scream at Busch Gardens Tampa & Williamsburg

Hersheypark in the Dark at Hersheypark

Hallowboo! at Idlewild

Phantom Fright Nights at Kennywood

Frightmares at Lagoon

Phobia at Wild Adventures

Haunted Graveyard at Lake Compounce

Check out my Scarowinds trip report from 2007. Also, here's a preview for Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights 18:

The Coaster Critic Faces the Most Extreme Coaster on the Planet
The main attraction of my first ever West coast coaster trip was the newly redesigned and much hyped X2. I was lucky enough to catch the ride when the 2 hour wait was only about 50 minutes. It was about 4 in the afternoon on a Thursday in mid-August.

X2's theming was better than expected. Six Flags took the 'extreme' theme and ran with it. There were huge flat panel televisions in the never ending queue showing homemade and professional stunts gone wrong. Many were from Break.com and they were an excellent way to pass to the time in the queue. There were the occasional wipe outs that had everyone in the queue cringing or laughing. In the station, there was a recurring weird, ethereal loop of a woman whispering 'X2' and a man saying 'Is everybody in?.' I guess I get what they were going for, but the poor ride ops must be ready to jump off of the Magic Mountain tower by the end of the season.

The Ride
I'm not even going to try to do my usual play-by-play and take you through the elements. I'll just recount what I can remember. The 20 foot wide trains look really cool and elicit lots of 'oohs' and 'ahhs' from people in the queues. The trains have eight rows that are four across with two riders on either side of the track. The restraints were pretty comfortable and felt secure. I sat in the third row from the front next to a middle aged woman who was also a first-time rider. I was in the outside-right seat. We exited the station to the applause of the riders and the seats begin to rock and rotate gently on their own.

The speakers next to our heads started to play Sinatra's 'It Had to Be You' and then switched to Metallica's 'Enter Sandman', and finally a Rage Against the Machine song. It was like a broken radio and I didn't really get the point. We were reclined back in our seats looking out onto the park as we climbed the lift. At the top, we dropped a little and then we rotated over and flew down the 215' drop face-down. After that insane experience, X2 rotated us every which way though the train actually only inverted twice. At times your facing the front of the train with the track above the center of the train and at times you're facing the backwards with the train over the track. While you're facing backwards, the new fire effect cooks you as you pass by the flames. I'm assuming that I didn't see the lightning or fog effects because they are saved for night rides, but I'm not sure.

Roughness & The Aftermath
At at least two points (I'm not sure where I was in the layout) you get shaken like a rag doll. These were probably at the lower points where the g-forces and speed was at a maximum. It wasn't painful, but it was far from enjoyable. But I would imagine it's got to be at least a little painful for some riders (ie. women). The final inversion (a fly to lie) was fun and a bit disorienting and the train smoothly rides into the the station. The woman next to me looked like she'd just been held at gunpoint. She told me in all seriousness that she had just seen her entire life pass before her eyes on the first drop. She yelled back to a girl (I'm assuming was her daughter) for dragging her on the ride. She swore off X2 as the worse coaster (maybe even experience) of her life. While I wasn't in her traumatized state, I tried to sympathize a bit but when you've ridden over 150 roller coasters it would take Devil's Flight from Final Destination 3 to really scare you.

A Thrill Ride That's Not for Everyone
Like the extreme sports and stunts from the videos in the queue, X2 is not for everyone. Because X2 is so unique, thrill riders will love it. Most of the people I saw exiting the ride were still pumped with adrenaline. People like this will be able to overlook the ride's flaws, but those who are typical, traditional roller coasters fans and expect a smooth ride will be greatly disappointed. The inside seats are supposed to be smoother, but the ride the outside seats gave was ultra rough at times. X2 is hard to rate as there's really nothing to compare it to. Going down my rating scale I would have to say X2 falls in the '8' category. It's definitely not a 10 and is slightly too flawed to be a 9.

It can be difficult to separate its uniqueness and the aura around X2 from the actual ride it gives. At the bottom of some of the hills I felt like I was being shaken like I was having a seizure, but at other times the view and perspectives were unparalleled. Final Rating - 8.5 (Great Approaching - Excellent)

A video does nothing to really give you an idea of the disorienting and intense ride that X2 gives, but here's one anyway. Check out this on-ride video of X2 @ Magic Mountain:

Top 3 Old School Looping Roller Coasters
Most enthusiasts top 10 lists are littered with modern thrill machines boasting the latest technological advances. Many don't even have a single roller coaster from the last millennium. There's nothing wrong with that, it's just important to recognize that there are some gems out there that don't hold any current world records.

This week I'm counting down the top 3 roller coasters that pre-date me. I'm also ashamed to admit that I skipped Space Mountain at Walt Disney World. I was too scared and was far from the roller coaster connoisseur that I am today. I was 8. Here's my list in order of old-schoolness:

3 - Loch Ness Monster @ Busch Gardens Europe (1978)

Busch Gardens Europe's Loch Ness Monster turned 30 this year. Even at its advanced age it still wows thousands every year. Using the Virginia park's natural terrain, Nessie features a steep 11-story drop to the Rhine River and the world's first (and currently only) set of interlocking loops. You really have to give Busch and Arrow credit. Back in '78 most looping coasters were mild loop and corkscrew coasters. Park goers were excited just to be turned upside down, so not much attention was payed to the layouts of these early steel loopers. Nessie also boasts an extra long downward helix in complete darkness. I gave it an 8 out 10. Read my full Loch Ness Monster review.

2 - Mind Bender @ Six Flags Over Georgia (1978)
Mind Bender is one of the acclaimed Anton Schwarzkopf's most popular creations. Like all of the Schwarzkopf loopers, Mind Bender uses a lapbar restraint system instead of the more common over the shoulder restraints. Its terrain layout features two vertical loops, an overbanked turn, a tunnel and a helix. It's a fun and still surprisingly forceful ride that still has trains returning to the station with happy riders.

3 - Demon @ Six Flags Great America (1976)
Demon completely caught me by surprise on my visit to Great America. It opened in 1976 as Turn of the Century. It was one of the first roller coasters to feature two corkscrews. Then in 1980, it was remodeled to include two more loops. Aside from the new, wildly popular vertical loops, the ride was re-themed with a new name, rock formations, tunnels, and a water fall of red blood.

The second tunnel had (at the time) a sophisticated lighting system.The lights are so disco-esque and 70's that it's not even funny. I'm so glad that Great America hasn't updated this ride. It was such a surprise and so much of a fun and fairly smooth ride that it nearly overshadowed the park's signature coaster, Raging Bull. Don't miss the equally corny and dated 'Demon' theme song that plays in the queue.

Check out my new favorite YouTube video. It's a commercial advertising the newly remodeled Demon at Great America for the 1980 season. Note that it was called Marriot's Great America, in the pre-Six Flags days.

The Most Extreme Theme Park on the Planet
I'm taking my first coaster trip to the left coast. California's known for Disneyland, but it's also home to what's possibly the most extreme theme park anywhere, Six Flags Magic Mountain. Magic Mountain boasts 15 roller coasters with an another one, Terminator, coming in 2009. Just a few years ago, the SoCal park had more coasters than Cedar Point.

More Twisted Steel Than Anywhere on Earth
With a total of 35 inversions (loops) in the entire park, Magic Mountain's steel lineup has the most inversions of any park by far. (Next, is Six Flags Great Adventure with 21.) Included in the inversions, is a roller coaster landmark. Revolution has the world's first modern vertical loop. The recently enhanced X2 is the only 4th dimension roller coaster and it's said to be an unbelievable experience. Tatsu is the most impressive looking flying coaster around. Superman - The Escape was formerly one of the fastest coasters with a top speed of 100 mph. Lastly, Riddler's Revenge is a record-holding stand up coaster and Goliath boasts the 6th longest drop in the world.

I'll be visiting the park this Thursday. Anyone have any ride tips or general park tips for a first timer? Leave a comment below.

Haunted House Burns Down at Six Flags America
Six Flags America, located just east of Washington DC, has had its share of accidents in the past few years. Riders have been stuck on the Two Face roller coaster three times in the last 2 years. And last August a girl fell from a flat ride. This doesn't include the criminal activity that has occurred at the park.

Six Flags America Had A Haunted House?
Add to that list, the fire that recently burned down a haunted house. Thankfully, no one was injured. Before moving to NC, Six Flags America was my closest theme park, but I couldn't remember it having a haunted house until I saw the news footage. If you're familiar with the park it's right next to Roar. It was kind of thrown up for Fright Fest in October. During the rest of the season you probably didn't even notice it was there. So while it stinks that the park has completely lost this attraction, it's not a year-round true haunted house gem like Knoebels Haunted Mansion.

With all this bad luck for the park I have to start wondering if the Redskin curse is spreading to Six Flags. Things have gotten worse since 'Skins owner Dan Snyder gained control of the theme park chain. No matter what great players they get on their roster, they can never seem to put together a great season. It all stems from that hateful team name. OK honestly, I don't believe in curses, but I'll take any chance I can to take a shot at the Redskins.

Check out Washington DC's ABC affiliate WJLA's coverage of the fire: 'Fire Engulfs Haunted House Attraction.' The local news site doesn't quite have the video embedding capability working right, so here's our news correspondent Julian0197 from YouTube with an on the spot report:

The Best Batman-Themed Roller Coasters
With the Dark Knight movie on pace to set a new box office record (look out Titanic), I figured counting down the top Batman-themed roller coasters would be appropriate. This year's new Dark Knight coaster isn't getting the best reviews, but this week's Top 3 has the most popular Batman coasters around.

3 - Batman & Robin: The Chiller @ Six Flags Great Adventure
The Chiller operated at Great Adventure from 1998 until 2007. As the name suggests, it features a Batman and a Robin track that dueled at two points. While the Batman train performed a top hat, the Robin train did a cobra roll. Then, both of them did corkscrews together as they reached the pike, before they repeated the trip in reverse. Unfortunately, on both of my visits to the park it was closed. Likely because of the frequent downtime, Chiller was scrapped in 2007. Again, I never got ride it, but the theming looked pretty strong and the concept was definitely unique. Dueling launched shuttle coasters don't grow on trees.

2 - Batwing @ Six Flags America
Batwing is a Vekoma flying coaster that does an excellent job of simulating flight. Riders 'fly' face down while the track performs several inversions and swooping turns. It's easily one of Six Flags America's best rides. It's similar to Firehawk at Kings Island and Nighthawk at Carowinds.

1 - Batman - The Ride @ Various Six Flags Parks
Bolliger & Mabillard changed the game in 1992 with this popular inverted coaster that's credited for revolutionizing the coaster industry. First built at Six Flags Great America near Chicago, the ride was so successful it was cloned at 8 other Six Flags parks. Then the same layout was applied to five other coasters around the world. Click here to see all the Batman clones. The ride is short and bit compact for today's standards, but as a prototype it is still quite impressive. The 2700' course is packed with 5 inversions including a loop, zero-g roll, loop, corkscrew and another corkscrew. Check out this onride video at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

Best Bat-Villain Coasters
Riddler's Revenge is a record-holding stand-up looper at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Mr. Freeze is a launched shuttle coaster at Six Flags St. Louis. Joker's Jinx is a launched looper at Six Flags America. It's an outdoor version of Flight of Fear at Kings Dominion. Read a full review here.

What's your favorite Batman-themed coaster? Leave a comment below.

Horrifying Accident at Six Flags Over Georgia, Teen Decapitated
A tragedy occurred at Six Flags Over Georgia on Saturday when a 17 year old boy was killed when he was struck by a roller coaster. Two teens had left the park for lunch and then returned. Instead of going back through the main gate they took a shortcut by jumping two six foot fences and entering a restricted area near Batman - The Ride. A clone of the ride at Great Adventure is in the picture to the right. The police report said that one of the boys jumped to try to touch the feet of the riders on the passing train. The boy was beheaded.

This is a sad story, but hopefully it will deter other kids from going into restricted areas and sneaking into theme parks. On my Kings Island trip last summer I remember seeing some teens hanging out in the woods near Top Gun. They had likely found a way to sneak into the park and were trespassing like the boys at Six Flags Over Georgia.

Below is a video of CNN's coverage:

New Wooden Coaster to have a Terminator Theme?
UPDATE 10/23 - Six Flags Announces Details of the Terminator Coaster

For a while now there have been confirmed mentions from Six Flags that Magic Mountain will get a new Great Coasters International (GCI) wooden coaster in 2009. Apparently at an American Coaster Enthusiast conference, Mark Shapiro CEO of Six Flags spilled the beans about the new coaster. He announced that the new GCI woodie will be themed after Terminator. This will likely coincide with the release of the 2009 Terminator: Salvation movie starring Christian Bale and directed by McG (from Charlie's Angels!)

One glance at Magic Mountain's lineup and you can see the park's lack of wood. SFMM boasts an incredible 15 roller coasters, but only one woodie. When Mark Shapiro ascended to the throne of Six Flags, he said the days of the large, ultra expensive thrill rides would be over. He wants the chain to focus more on family rides and attractions. For these two reasons a wooden coaster for Magic Mountain makes a lot of sense.

But one themed after Terminator seems a bit weird. I'm usually all about theming and at least its better than recycling another one of their overused names like Vortex or Goliath. But how will they theme a good old traditional wooden coaster after a movie about a dark future where robots hunt humans down and terminate them like pests. It doesn't really fit the family feel their going for.

And I can't fault Six Flags for trying to do a tie-in, but it's not really working out with the Dark Knight coasters at Great America and Great Adventure. Those coasters are getting hammered by my readers. As I wrote in the 'Does Theming Matter' round table discussion it all comes down to the quality of the ride.

What do you think about Magic Mountain's Terminator coaster? Leave a comment below.

Raging Bull @ Six Flags Great America | Coaster Reviews
Raging Bull's a Bolliger & Mabillard hypercoaster from the same designers of the popular Nitro at Six Flags Great Adventure and Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Europe. So I was excited when I arrived at Great America on a dreary day in 2006. Raging Bull has a more compact twister-style layout and I was curious how it matched up to the Nitro and Apollo's out-and-back design.

After boarding the ultra comfortable seats and pulling down the snug lapbars, the train departs and begins a long, slow 20-story climb. At the top, the track dips a little to pull the last cars off the lift hill, then Raging Bull unleashes a 208-foot drop at 65 degrees. The train reaches speeds over 70 mph and roars through a short underground tunnel at the bottom of the hill. It's a strong opening. Next, the train soars up into a banked curve and then back down to the earth. The following hill is a perfectly executed camel back that offers the best airtime on the entire ride.

The next few turns and hills are fun, but nothing to write home about. Closer to ground now, the train enters the mid-course brake run. The train dives out the flat brake run with an immediate drop offering some good airtime. Another short drop follows that's equally as good and the ride sets up for its finale. The twisted, low to the ground finish is another one of Raging Bull's best moments. Most other hypercoasters spend the majority of their time in the clouds and it was refreshing to see the opposite, especially considering how fast Raging Bull is even towards the end.

Raging Bull doesn't quite reach the level of its sister coasters in New Jersey and Virginia, but it comes close. The 200' drop into the tunnel, the speed, and the twisted finale are all strong points. The swooping turns early on were fun, but I prefer the airtime hills on similar coasters. That said, Raging Bull is top-notch and Chicagoans are lucky to have one of the four B&M hypers in the U.S. in nearby Gurnee. Final Rating - 8.0 (Great)

See my complete rating scale. Here's an onride video of Raging Bull:

Daring New GCI Woodie Debuts at Six Flags St. Louis
Today, Six Flags St. Louis' opened its ninth roller coaster with the debut of Evel Knievel. The Great Coaster International woodie was my #4 pick for the Top New Roller Coasters of 2008. Knievel's a clone, but in this case that's a good thing.

It's based on Thunderbird at PowerPark in Finland, which came ranked 10th on the 2007 Internet Coaster Poll. If this design was a success once, it should be again. Six Flags could have another world-class wooden coaster. For more, check out the propaganda, I mean press release.

Until there's an onride video of Evel Knievel, (probably being uploaded to YouTube as you're reading this) check out this press video of Evel Knievel coaster: