The Coaster Critic's Blog

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.

People-Powered Green Dragon | Greenest Roller Coaster on Earth
Happy Earth Day! Today, I thought I'd write about the most eco-friendly roller coaster. Not only is it good for the environment, it even gives the riders some exercise. The aptly named Green Dragon located at the UK amusement park Greenwood Forest was the world's first people-powered roller coaster when it opened in 2004.

It's a family coaster that has its riders walk up a hill and gather in a little cabin called a funicular (pictured below). From the weight of the passengers, the cabin slides down an incline. Via a pulley system, it lifts the empty train to the top station. Now riders climb the hill once again and climb aboard their empty train.

Once aboard the train, gravity carries them down a swooping path through the wooded area. At the end of the ride, riders get off at a separate exit station. The next new set of riders climb into the cabin, raising the empty train and the cycle continues. The Roller Coaster Database lists Green Dragon's top speed at only 25 mph, but according to reviews it seems much faster, especially in the helix. For more on Green Dragon and Greenwood Park check out Chris Simon's review.

Pedal-Powered Ride, Not a Roller Coaster
The Skycycle at Washuzan Highland Park in Okayama, Japan received a ton of Internet buzz last year. Everyone deemed it a pedal-powered roller coaster, but it's technically not a roller coaster at all. It's basically a bicycle on a fixed track and doesn't meet the requirements to be considered a coaster. Even worse people confused an actual roller coaster (also with a white track) near the ride as part of the same track, making Skycycle seem even crazier. While it's not actually a coaster, the views from Skycyle look amazing!

What do you think of Green Dragon and Skycyle? Leave a comment below.

Human Remains Found on Disneyland Rides
So it's a slow news week in the coaster world, but this story caught my eye on TMZ. Apparently, some park guests are scattering the ashes of loved ones on several Disneyland attractions. Last Friday, security cameras caught a woman dumping a white powder into the water on the Pirates of the Caribbean ride.

According to Al Lutz, who runs MiceAge, this has been going on for quite a while. Guests have also been spreading ashes on the Haunted Mansion ride for years, he says.

I have to say that while I love theme parks I have no interest in being buried or scattered at one. I thought the seven weddings on 7-7-7 Six Flags promotion was weird, but I think this takes the cake. For more details check out the full story at the LA Times also here's a link to story at LA's ABC 7 that includes a video.

Unless you already live in California, you're most likely going to need t0 book a flight to visit Disneyland. Most domestic flights can fall in the cheap flights category. I've taken a few flights to boston without paying an arm and a leg. It's not out of the question to find an economical deal on flights to london.

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

Stunt Results in 2 Year Ban from Busch Gardens Europe
Two college kids were banned from Busch Gardens Europe after they were accused of tampering with the park's new roller coaster, Griffon. One of them was stuck in his restraint holding up the line and the two full trains waiting to be unloaded. Meanwhile, the other taped the incident with his cell phone.

Sounds innocent enough until Busch reported that out of the 1.5 million riders since May the harness has been stuck at the end of the ride only twice and both times Matthew Sassone, one of the college kids was involved. And the park accused them of using some type of metal object to tamper with the harness. So Busch has revoked their season passes and banned them from the park. Check out the full story at NBC's Wavy TV 10.

Here's 1 of their 3 YouTube videos. Enjoy your 15 seconds of fame guys:


Do you think Busch should've banned the kids? Leave a comment below.

Alton Towers Seeks to Control Weather to Improve Attendance
Alton Towers, located in Staffordshire, England, is home to a world-class roller coaster in the B&M invert Nemesis, and other notable coasters like Oblivion, Air, & Rita Queen of Speed. The park is also home to some pretty dreary weather. Their looking to change all of that with the same cloud seeding technology that China is using for the 2008 Olympic Games. For years both China and Russia have been seeding clouds to ensure that the clouds produce rain before they reach areas where important outdoor events are being held.

Think of the effect on the U.S.'s weather system if Dan Snyder & Mark Shapiro decided to manipulate the weather around all 13 of its parks. Weather control sounds crazy, but it's true. I'm still waiting for my jet pack and flying car. Check out the rest of the story at the UK Daily Mail.

Do you think anyone should be controlling the weather? What about theme parks? Leave a comment below.

Girls Feet Severed on Thrill Ride at Louisville Six Flags
Needless to say, this season hasn't been without its share of amusement park accidents. This most recent incident is by far the most gruesome. On Thursday, a 13-year old girl had her feet severed while riding Superman Power of Tower at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville.

The Power of Tower is a drop ride that stands 177 feet tall with a 157 foot free fall that reaches speeds of 54 miles per hour. (Pictured right) The ride was formerly known as Hellevator. Allegedly, during the drop a cable severed the girl's legs at the ankles.

“When I got up there, the lady was just sitting there and she didn’t have no legs,” Smith said. “She didn’t have no legs at all. She was just calm, probably in shock from everything.”

Read the rest of this sad story here.
Also, more at the WashingtonPost.

Will this recent rash of roller coaster and thrill ride accidents deter you from visiting theme parks this summer? Leave a comment below. Photo courtesy of CoasterImage.

Get Married on the Luckiest Day Ever!
I thought the roach eating promotion Six Flags did last season was strange, in a way this promotion is even weirder. Saturday July 7th, 2007 (07.07.07) is thought to be the luckiest day in history by the superstitious. People have been booking weddings for that date for years hoping that the luck would extend to their marriages. Obviously by 2007 that day is completely booked for traditional wedding locations, but not your local Six Flags park.

All 12 U.S. Six Flags will be holding seven weddings at 7:00 AM on July 7th.

Check out the full story at ThrillNetwork.

X Coaster at Magic Springs Hangs Rider 150' In the Air
Magic Springs & Crystal Falls (Hot Springs, Arkansas) was the site of an unnerving scene on Sunday. A Maurer Söhne X-Car Coaster named X Coaster left 12 riders suspended upside down 150 feet up, when the park experienced a power outage. The riders were upside down for 30 minutes until firefighters were able to rescue them with a ladder.

One of the riders was sent to a local hospital after reporting a headache and neck pain. Everyone else was red in the face but otherwise okay. I wonder if we'll see fewer of these X-Car Coasters installed in the States now. Apparently momentary power outages have occurred at the park in the past with out any problems. The ride is closed while investigation into the cause of the accident continues.

Here's a roller coaster video of X-Coaster & Gauntlet at Magic Springs:

Thanks to SpaceMonk for breaking this story.
Check out the full story here.

Free Admission Promo at Six Flags Over Georgia
Turns into a Massive Debacle
What appeared to be a smart move to gain some positive press turned into the exact opposite. A local radio station, Q100.5, had bought out Six Flags Over Georgia and planned to give away free admission between 6 am and 9 am on Thursday April 5th. The promotion had people lining up as early as 3:30am, some even spent the night in the parking lot.

The park was forced to close it’s gates early on Thursday morning as the promotion, which overlapped morning rush hour, caused a traffic jam in both directions on the I-20. Some gridlocked parents even let their kids out of the car on I20 to try and get into the park. Six Flags had to turn away thousands as the park was filled to capacity almost as soon as the promotion began.

SFoGA obviously didn't plan for the unbelievable response that they got from the Q100.5 promo. I feel sorry for all of those who waited in traffic for hours, just to be turned around. Hopefully, they'll go back another day that's a really nice park and among my favorite Six Flags parks. More ...>>

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.

How the Top 1% Live
I bet you never thought I'd be using one of those celebrity couple nicknames on this site. Earlier this month, Washington Post reported that Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes attended the Monday Night Football Game at Fedex Field in Maryland. If you tuned into that game, maybe you remember the camera showing Dan Snyder with Tom Cruise up in the press box. Snyder is a slick entreprenuer. He owns the Washington Redskins, which is one of the most lucrative franchises in all of professional sports. Also, last fall he bullied his way into ownership of Six Flags.

A few months ago, Paramount announced that it wasn't going to renew its movie contract with Tom Cruise. Reportedly Paramount thought that Cruise's well-documented, strange behaviour had an affect on his last two movies (War of the Worlds, Mission Impossible 3) at the box office. Snyder, along with other investors, stepped in to help finance Cruise's future movie productions.

The night before the Monday Night game, Tom, Katie, and Suri along with Snyder and his family paid a special VIP visit to Six Flags America. The Post reports that the park remained open for the group. So imagine what amounts to a few families having the run of an entire theme park for an evening. The Washington Post had details:

"Aside from riding, Mind Eraser, Joker's Jinx, and the Wild One, there was even an informal closing ceremony at end of the night with the park characters and employees, where Cruise and Snyder led the kids in the Electric Slide, hokeypokey and limbo in the park's town square.The group finished Sunday night at FedEx Field, where they threw on the lights and the kids tossed footballs while the adults sat on the 20-yard line and watched the end of the Colts-Giants game on the Jumbotron. "

Six Flags Over Texas Serving Up Some Bad Theme Park Food
Chalk this one up as one of the strangest park promotions ever. Dallas/Fort Worth's Star-Telegram reports that park-goers can skip lines at Six Flags Over Texas by eating a roach. Not just any roach, but a 3-inch long Madagascar hissing cockroach. Down one of these crunchy babies and you get a Flash Pass for the rest of the day. I loved walking past the 2-hour waits and packed ride queues at Great Adventure thanks to the Flash Pass. But I don't think I'm ready to eat something THAT big and nasty for it. Plus, lines are normally shorter later in the operating season. No thanks!

DIY Movement in the Coaster World
The Blue Flash is quite an achivement. It's not only a backyard, home-made steel coaster, but it has a loop. I don't want to know how the testing went for that loop or how many times it didn't work. The creator's even working on Blue 2, his follow-up to the Blue Flash. Blue 2 will be a family coaster and it will seat four instead of just one.

Jeremy Reid of Oklahoma built a wooden coaster for under $6,000. Sure it only has a top speed of 20 mph, but you got to tip your hat to such a do-it-yourself mentality. If only I had the engineering skills. And a yard. And time. And money. And ...

The Flipside of Roller Coaster Accidents
There's been a lot of news lately about coaster accidents. You're still a lot safer on a roller coaster than pretty much all other moving vehicles. It's the percieved danger that makes it fun. In a car chances of death are 1 in 18,000 and in a plane chances of death are 1 in 350,000. You even have a better chance of dying from parts falling off an airplane (1 in 10,000,000). In comparison, you have a 1 in 1.5 billiion chance of being fatally injured on a coaster. I'll take my chances on that 15-story, looping steel coaster any day over a drive on the Capital Beltway.

Usually the accidents on roller coasters have been a result of rider negligence (ie. standing up or slipping out of a restraint) or a pre-existing condition that someone had prior to riding the coaster. And here's a story of the Incredible Hulk at Islands of Adventure actually saving a life.