The Coaster Critic's Blog

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.

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.

What is a Stand-Up Roller Coaster?

Stand-up roller coasters are steel roller coasters designed so that the riders stand during the course of the ride. Riders straddle a bicycle-like seat that adjusts for the riders height and are restrained by over-the-shoulder restraints. They are very similar to seated looping coasters and some roller coasters designed for sit-down trains have also added stand-up trains. The first coaster designed specifically for stand-up trains was King Cobra at Kings Island. It operated from 1984 to 2001. Like their seated counterparts, stand-up coasters typically offer loops.

Stand-Ups: A Dying Breed
Today, stand-ups are a dying breed. There are currently 15 in operation. There are 2 Intamin, 6 Togo, and 7 Bolliger & Mabillard stand-ups in operation around the world. Darien Lake has Six Flags Astroworld's Batman the Escape in storage. On my recent visit to Darien Lake, I asked park officials and they said the park has no plans for the coaster for now. The last new stand-up coaster was Georgia Scorcher which was built in 1999 at Six Flags Over Georgia. Riddler's Revenge is the current "King of the Stand-Ups" (for whatever it's worth) at 156 feet tall and over 4,300 feet long. It boasts six inversions including: a vertical loop, dive loop, dive loop, inclined loop, & 2 corkscrews.

In my opinion, stand-up coasters don't really add much to the looping coaster format. In fact, some stand-ups are not just rough from the loops, but have also given me an uncomfortable pressure in my lower legs. Mantis at Cedar Point was a big letdown. Check out my review here. And Shockwave at Kings Dominion is bad for a number of reasons. On the other end of the spectrum, I loved Chang at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom and Riddler's Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain was about equally as good.

Notable Stand-Up Coaster Accidents
Last year, there was a death when Fujin Raijin II at Expoland in Japan derailed. According to RCDB, the accident gained national attention and the Japanese government required safety inspections. As a result many parks closed down their coasters when they could not afford the inspections. Read more about this accident. And in 1999 there was death on Shockwave at Kings Dominion. A 20 year-old man freed himself of the restraints and suffered fatal head trauma when he was thrown from the ride into a steel catwalk near the ride's final turn.


Check out this on-ride video of Riddler's Revenge at Magic Mountain:Read more Coasterology 101 entries. What do you think of stand-up roller coasters? Do you think there should be more stand-up roller coasters? Leave a comment below.

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.

Confirmed Roller Coasters & Rumors for 2009
Kings Island will be getting a B&M hyper coaster for 2009. Construction has been pretty apparent even though no official announcement has been made. The layout which first appeared in First Drop magazine last November looks great. It will ride off into the woods behind the Tomb Raider ride, much the way The Beast does.

There's an area being cleared that looks like where the station and a water splash section will be built. The water splash will act to slow the trains down at the end of the ride like on Griffon and SheiKra. So far this new unnamed project is tied for my favorite '09 coaster with Manta. More at ScreamScape. Image courtesy of ScreamScape.

California Gets Two New Woodies
California's Great America in Santa Clara, CA announced a new wooden coaster for 2009 months ago. No details have surfaced. Rumors suggest it will be a GCI, but it is not known if it will be a clone of an existing ride or a custom installation.

A Terminator wooden coaster (?) was not officially announced, but alluded to at a conference by the Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro. More on the Terminator coaster...>>>

Holiday World Mysteriously Clearing Space
Last month on the HoliBlog, Holiday world teased fans with a picture of a clearing with survey stakes in it. Could there be a new coaster coming to the park? Maybe an entire new holiday-themed section like New Year's Day, St. Patrick's Day or dare I say a Valentines Day. For now we'll just have to wait.

Dollywood's Up to Something
Dollywood's been clearing land in the area behind the park known as the Wilderness Pass. The clearing can been seen from the train ride that winds its way around the Smoky Mountains that the park backs up to. Check out this video below of the clearing:

Orlando Offers Two Impressive New Attractions
Orlando will be the place to be in 2009. The new B&M flying coaster Manta will have riders flying face down over water. It was officially announced last month by SeaWorld Orlando. More on Manta...>>

Universal Studios' Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit's main distinction will be the on-board cameras that will allow riders to download a video of their ride and post it on the Web. HRRR will also feature a number of elements and inversions. More on Rip Ride Rockit...>>>

Record Breaking Coaster Coming to Germany
A new S&S launch coaster will be the speed king, for the moment. While Six Flags Great Adventure's Kingda Ka tops out at a blistering 128 mph, Ring°Racer will push the envelope even further with a top speed of 134 mph (217 km/h). This speed demon will be at Nürburgring a famous motorsport race track in Nürburg, Germany. More on Ring°Racer...>>>

China's First Wooden Roller Coaster - Fireball
Fireball will be China's first wooden coaster and it looks awesome. Designed by Gravity Group, Fireball will be on a peninsula at Happy Valley near Shanghai. (pictured right)

What do you think of these new coasters? Do you know of any 2009 rumors or confirmed coasters? Leave a comment below.

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.

Riders Stranded on Sky Cabin at Knotts Berry Farm
The sky cabin is a 225-foot observation tower at Knotts Berry Farm near Los Angeles. Sunday night, 24 passengers were stranded on the ride when it was about 50 feet above the ground. Firefighters rescued the riders after a 2 hour scare. No injuries were reported.

More at the LA Times.

Have you ever ridden the Sky Cabin at Knotts? Have you ever been stuck on an amusement park ride? Leave a comment below.

Large Fire at Universal Studios Hollywood
This morning, a large fire started blazing its way through Universal Studios Hollywood in Los Angeles, California. The fire began in a movie studio, but has also damaged the popular Cyclone ride in the theme park. Thankfully, no injuries have been reported yet. I'll have more details as the story develops.

More at Reuters.

UPDATE - Westcoaster.net has full photo coverage of the Universal fire. According to their report the King Kong ride was completely destroyed. Check out their video of local news enhanced with subtitles pointing out the attractions that were lost:

X2 Officially (Re)Opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain

Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon Buy Six Flags For the Night
Even celebrities can't resist roller coasters. This week, newlyweds Nick Cannon and Mariah Carey bought out Six Flags Magic Mountain for a private party. If you're thinking of doing the same for your next get together, you better have $250,000 laying around, because allegedly that's what it costs. I doubt Tom and Kate Cruise paid a dime when they had Six Flags America all to themselves as they were VIP guests of Six Flags owner Dan Snyder.

I'm not 100% sure, but I think that Nick & Mariah are strapped into B&M flying coaster Tatsu in this picture. If nothing else, maybe it will be some good press for Magic Mountain. Living in L.A., there were a number of theme parks the couple could've visited including Knotts Berry Farm, California Adventures, Disneyland, etc.

Ever wish you could have an entire amusement park to yourself? Leave a comment below. Image courtesy of TheInsiderOnline.

Both Coasts Get Zamperla MotoCoasters in 2008
Zamperla will be bringing their motocoasters to the U.S. in two different installations. MotoCoaster at Darien Lake, near Buffalo, NY will be a stock installation with bikes that riders will mount. Staying in step with Knotts Berry Farm's western theme, the Pony Express will feature horses. ScreamScape has a real picture of the horse trains.

The rides will also have different layouts. Pony Express will zoom a path around Knotts Berry Farm while MotoCoaster will be a more contained ride as it is a clone of Zamperla's prototype. Both coasters will have launch speeds that will be fun, but nowhere near intense. While its only 40 mph, 0 - 40 in 2 seconds will be pretty exhilarating. Besides, both parks could use a ride that appeal to wider audience than those ultra-intense thrill machines.

Check out these construction photos of Pony Express.
Also, check out this video of a MotoCoaster:

Six Flags Magic Mountain's X2 Trains
Robb Alvey from Theme Park Review has posted a video tour of the new X2 trains. X was the world's first 4th dimension roller coaster. Instead of riding above or below the track, riders are positioned beside the track in seats that spin. This summer X will be reborn as X2. Part of the redesign involved upgrades to the ride's trains. Recently, Robb Alvey got a behind the scenes look at the new trains.

Check out this video of Robb Alvey and a Magic Mountain rep giving a tour of the new X2 trains:

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.

Pony Express to be World's First Horse Coaster?
The announcements for new roller coasters just keep on coming. Yesterday, Cedar Fair released a press release detailing the $88 million dollars in expenditures for 2008. Most of the additions were old news. The $21 million investment for Behemoth at Canada's Wonderland is the highlight, but it also mentions Thunderhawk at Michigan's Adventure, Dominator at Kings Dominion, Voodoo at Dorney Park, a new children's area at Cedar Point, and an expansion to Carowinds water park.

The unexpected part of the release was a blurb about a new roller coaster for Knott's Berry Farms:

“Riders will saddle up on one of two, 12-passenger trains, riding “horseback” as they are launched forward at the beginning of the ride. Featuring low-to-the-ground maneuvers, hairpin turns and steep banks, Pony Express will be ready to thrill riders in the Ghost Town section of the park."

I was wondering when we'd see a Vekoma Booster Bike in the states (pictured here). Unfortunately, it looks like Pony Express will be a different kind of coaster with similar bike/horse-style seating. The 12-passenger trains referenced in the press release sound more like a Zamperla Motocoaster, seen in this video here. Knott's Berry Farm just got Sierra Sidewinder last year, so this must come as a surprise as parks usually don't get two new roller coasters in consecutive years. Hopefully, more details will surface in the coming days. Until then, check out these construction photos at Screamscape.

Anyone from SoCal excited about the Pony Express? Leave a comment below.

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.

Top 3 Disney Roller Coasters
Disney's not known for its roller coasters. Disney theme parks are more centered around the atmosphere, theming, and the whole "Disney experience." They're packed with flat rides, kiddie rides, family attractions, shows, but they're not so well-known for their roller coasters. At least not among hardcore enthusiasts. This is why I write very little about Disney news and won't be visiting a park until my daughter is old enough to enjoy one.

No disrespect to Big Thunder Mountain, Space Mountain, and their many clones but, this week I'll be counting down the best roller coasters (for enthusiasts) that Mickey has to offer.

3 - Rock 'n' Roller Coaster at Disney MGM Studios
Maybe the developers of the new Hard Rock Park rode Rock 'n' Roller Coaster and saw something they could capitalize on. R'n'R is an indoor launch coaster that boasts five audio scores synchronized to the ride and played through a 32,000 watt audio system with over 900 speakers . To see the layout of the track check out this image of Xpress at Walibi World, according to RCDB its identical.

2 - California Screamin' at Disney's California Adventures
California Screamin' is a steel launch coaster that looks like a pretty unique ride. It's got a circuit that's the second longest in the U.S. (after Millennium Force), a launch, a loop, covered hills, and its designed to look like a wooden coaster. Its 46th on Mitch's Coaster poll and it looks like a lot of fun. Check out this onride video of California Screamin'.

1 - Expedition Everest at Animal Kingdom
With a $100 million dollar price tag Expedition Everest was one of the most anticipated roller coasters to debut last year. I have to give Disney props for E.E., not only is it heavy on theming with a 200-plus foot massive mountain, but it's got an innovative design that features a mid-course switch track and reverse section. There's also several encounters with a yeti.


Check out this onride coaster video of Expedition Everest:


Any feedback on this week's Top 3 Thursday? Leave a comment below.

Top 3 Beach Amusement Parks
Can't decide whether to take your next trip to the beach or to an amusement park? Why not do both. This Thursday I'm counting down my Top 3 Beach Amusement Parks.

Pacific Park - Santa Monica Pier, California
This world famous beach amusement park has been featured in a number of movies including Cellular and the most recent season of 24. Its lone roller coaster is a Morgan steel coaster dubbed the Santa Monica West Coaster. It seems pretty tame, but gives great views of the Santa Monica Bay and the Pacific Ocean. The 85-foot ferris wheel is world's only solar powered ferris wheel. More info at PacPark.com.

Astroland Amusement Park - Coney Island, Brooklyn, New York
Astroland is home to the legendary Coney Island Cyclone. It has been cloned many times, but there's nothing like riding the original. Or at least that's what I hear. Unfortunately, I still haven't been myself. Plus, you've got the Big Apple to enjoy while you're in the neighborhood. More info at Astroland.com.

Morey's Piers - Wildwood, New Jersey
Morey's Piers is located about an hour south of Atlantic City on the South Jersey shore. The park features six roller coasters including the Vekoma suspended looping coaster known as the Great Nor'Easter and (in my opinion) a Top 20 wooden coaster called Great White. The view of the Atlantic Ocean from the lift hill is breath-taking. There's also 100 rides and attractions. Not to mention the boardwalk with plenty of food and shopping options. More info at MoreysPiers.com.

Do you have a favorite Beach Amusement Parks that I didn't mention? Got tips for first-time visitors to any of these parks? Leave comments below. Images courtesy of CoasterImage.