originally posted on 10/12/2019
POSTED OCTOBER 12
Great Adventure’s Road Runner Railway Stopped in Its Tracks, For Now
The Zamperla (1999) Road Runner Railway family coaster at Six Flags Great Adventure (Jackson, New Jersey) has been “closed for the season” and actually removed, theoretically to make way for the construction of the new-for-2020 Rocky Mountain Construction Raptor Track Jersey Devil Coaster. It’s theoretical, in that it’s unknown at this time whether the Road Runner Railway will be reinstalled at some time in the future.
Photo: Allan Reid. View full-sized image.
Two Killed and Two Others Injured When Coaster Derails
Tragically, two deaths resulted when the last train car came loose and flailed midride on the Quimera coaster at La Feria Chapultepec Mágico (Mexico City, Mexico) on Saturday, September 28. The Mexico City attorney general's office confirmed two men, ages 18 and 21, died of head and other injuries. Two women were hurt as well.
The park said it "deeply regrets the terrible accident" and that it was investigating alongside the relevant authorities. It also promised to share findings as they emerged. The park has been closed pending the investigation.
ACE members had a chance to experience Quimera as part of the ACE South of the Border tour in 2017. The Schwarzkopf triple-looping steelie was noted then for its intensity (see RollerCoaster! Issue 142, Summer 2017), which proved popular with hardcore coaster fans at the time.
In the days since, enthusiasts have noted that the Quimera accident eerily echoes a 1986 tragedy on Mindbender at Galaxyland Amusement Park in the Canadian West Edmonton Mall, when the last car on that park’s Schwarzkopf triple-looping coaster train fishtailed, throwing passengers out of the car, resulting in three deaths. Subsequently, substantial modifications were made to the cars on Mindbender. The coaster reopened six months later and has run flawlessly in the 33 years since, as have all other Schwarzkopf loopers and trains.
Photo: Polly Nichols. View full-sized image.
Smooth Voyage
On September 19, Holiday World (Santa Claus, Indiana) announced that The Voyage, the massive and very-well-regarded wooden coaster, will be down for the remainder of the 2019 season in order that the “coaster maintenance shop can begin work for 2020.” The park added, “We’re sorry you won’t be able to ride [anymore] in 2019, but we can’t wait for you to experience a smoother ‘Voyage’ in 2020.” Screamscape.com enthusiast news site remarked that Holiday World had hoped to wait until the season was over to begin this large track refurbishment project but that it became necessary to bump up the start date. In the meantime, to check out Holiday World’s other coasters, such as the excellent The Raven and The Legend woodies or the Thunderbird Bolliger & Mabillard wing coaster, visit the park on weekends through October 28, 2019.
Photo: Kip Hammond. View full-sized image.
Photo: Jeffrey Seifert. View full-sized image.
England’s Paultons Park Captures a New Multimillion-Pound Storm Chaser Coaster for 2020
Paultons Park (Owen, England) has announced the 2020 opening of a new themed area, Tornado Springs. Inspired by a Midwestern desert resort town set in the America of the 1950s, the concept has been designed with attractions and activities consisting of eight themed rides, two playgrounds, food outlets and gift shops — all representing the park’s largest investment ever. Paulton’s Operations Director James Mancey said, “We’ve coupled the vibrant appeal and charm of the 1950s era with best-in-class rides and attractions to create a truly unique world which, in association with our existing fantastic themed lands, will stand head and shoulders above any other family attraction in the U.K.” Tornado Springs will become the fifth themed world at Paultons Park, joining Peppa Pig World, Critter Creek, Little Africa and the Jurassic-themed attraction of Lost Kingdom.
The Tornado Springs area’s biggest thrill attraction will invite visitors to “join the storm chasers and revel in their quest to capture the perfect storm.” That would be the Storm Chaser, a Mack Rides GmbH free-spinning 65-foot-high steel coaster (looking very similar to the Sierra Sidewinder at California’s Knott’s Berry Farm).
Tornado Springs and Storm Chaser are expected to debut May 19, 2020. Storm Chaser will be Paultons’ sixth coaster.
Photo: Courtesy Paultons Park. View full-sized image.
Seabreeze’s Bobsleds Given a New Lease on Life
After 65 years of operation, Seabreeze’s (Rochester, New York) beloved Bobsleds junior-sized coaster needed some loving attention and renovation. Bobsleds is notable in its history as being redesigned and rebuilt in 1962 by George Long, park owner at the time, after he visited Disneyland to see Matterhorn. He then decided he’d like to try something similar. Thus, his Bobsleds became the second tubular steel track coaster ever and one of the first hybrids with its wood support structure.
In 2018, “We looked at the possibility of replacing the ride, but we were able to assemble a great team to undertake this large renovation,” said Park President and Owner Rob Norris, recently quoted in Amusement Today. “Hodgson Steel from Canada supplied the tube steel rolled to the various radius we specified. Our in-house coaster carpenters strengthened the structure. Our mechanics undertook a complete overhaul and strengthening of the ride vehicles.” He added, “The key to the project was our partnering with Amuse from Idaho. They did a fantastic job in replacing the steel track in all the high load areas.” Amuse is a company that has been doing ride repair and erection for three years. Its recent projects include Thunder Run at Kentucky Kingdom, Apocalypse at Six Flags Magic Mountain, Phoenix at Knoebels Amusement Resort and numerous others, according to Amusement Today.
As he was riding, Norris said, “I’ve never felt it run this smooth.” After debating whether to retain the ride to keep the nostalgia of the park, they concluded that it was a very worthwhile venture. “I think it has another 60 years of life.” After all the work was completed, the ride was sandblasted and given a fresh coat of paint too.
Seabreeze is closed for this year, but will open in 2020 in mid-May, with the Bobsleds, Mauer steel spinning Whirlwind and steel family coaster Bear Trax among its 70 attractions. The park’s 1920 Jack Rabbit woodie will be celebrating its 100th anniversary.
Photo: Courtesy Amuse. View full-sized image.
Photo: Cheri Armstrong. View full-sized image.
Place Your Bets, Desperado Running Again
An ACE News online article (“Desperately Seeking Desperado”) posted on July 20, 2019, explained that the Desperado steel Arrow Dynamics coaster at Buffalo Bill’s Resort and Casino (Primm, Nevada) has not been running this year, although the complex’s other few amusement attractions were operating at the springtime opening of the family attraction area, with the resort confirming that the hypercoaster was down until further notice.
The recent word out there among enthusiasts is that it has finally reopened and that the blue train looks to have been rebuilt/refurbished as well. Contact with Buffalo Bill’s confirmed the coaster is running, but it is only doing so on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through December 1 (for now). If anyone plans to go and check out the 209-foot-tall (225-foot drop) Desperado, it might be wise not to gamble and instead contact the facility a few days ahead of time to ensure you’ll be able to ride ‘em high.
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
POSTED SEPTEMBER 17
El Loco Reopens at Vegas’ Adventuredome, but Miner Mike Kiddie Coaster Closes
On Tuesday, March 26, 2019, a woman was ejected from the El Loco steel coaster at the Adventuredome indoor park within the Circus Circus resort complex in Las Vegas, Nevada. She was hospitalized, but details regarding the extent of her injuries or her condition have never been released. It was subsequently learned that the woman was a double amputee (she had lost her limbs before the fall). The coaster (built by S&S Worldwide and opened in 2013) was immediately closed and remained so for just over three months. On August 2, El Loco reopened. MGM Resorts International, which owns Circus Circus, said, “We are incredibly saddened that one of our guests was injured, and we made examining that incident and working closely with county officials and other experts a priority. The ride’s re-opening follows an extensive inspection and recertification process. As always, the safety of our guests is among our top concerns.”
The ride now has new rules for ride operators, and the functioning of the coaster's sensors has been changed. The roller coaster uses a lap restraint to keep riders inside the ride. As reported by the local News3/KSNV, a revised maintenance manual shows the sensors in the coaster have been adjusted to make sure that the ride will not run if there's more than 3.5 inches between the lap pad and the "seat horn" that's located between the rider’s legs. According to MGM Resorts spokesperson Brian Ahern, all Adventuredome ride operators were put through a retraining process following the incident. In addition, revised ride safety disclaimers have been posted in several areas “for increased public view” based on the ride’s updated operation manual.
In other news from Adventuredome, the 1994 Miner Mike (Wisdom Rides) kiddie coaster has been removed. No explanation has been offered. Otherwise, among Adventuredome’s 25 rides and attractions are two coasters, which, along with El Loco, includes Canyon Blaster, a 2,423-foot-long double loop and corkscrew from Arrow Dynamics, which opened in 1993 — all among Adventuredome’s 25 rides and attractions.
Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
Photo: Bobby Nagy. View full-sized image.
Universal’s Epic Announcement on New Park
Parent company Comcast has announced that Universal Studios Orlando will build a fourth theme park in Florida. The new themer will be located on a 750-acre plot of land a few miles from the existing resort and will be titled Universal’s Epic Universe. Beyond that, Universal is not saying much. A nifty concept drawing has been provided, which doesn’t reveal a lot either — forcing folks into intrigued speculation (the park won’t be completed for a least a few years). Epic Universe represents the single largest investment Comcast/NBC/Universal has made in its theme park business.
“Our vision for Epic Universe is historic,” Universal Parks & Resorts Chairman and CEO Tom Williams said. “It will build on everything we have done and become the most immersive and innovative theme park we have ever created. It is an investment in our business, our industry, our team members, and our community.” And Fortune magazine notes, “Epic Universe is expected to include multiple roller coasters."
Some believe that Universal thought it needed to step up, big time, to compete, given what Disney has been doing nearby. Although Disney hasn’t built a full-scale theme park in Orlando since Animal Kingdom opened in 1998, it has been adding new lands to its established parks, such as New Fantasyland, Toy Story Land and now Star Wars: Galaxy’s Edge. But Universal has lagged behind Disney for years in terms of annual visitors. While Disney brought in an estimated 157 million people to its parks in 2018, Universal’s visitors totaled around 50 million, according to the Themed Entertainment Association and AECOM. From an enthusiast’s standpoint, it’s interesting to note that the 13 Disney parks worldwide contain 37 roller coasters, or an average of 2.8 per park. The five Universal Studios parks (Universal Studios Beijing will open in 2021 and doesn’t count yet) host 22 coasters, or 4.4 per park.
So how will all this huge investment eventually turn out? Stay tuned, epically.
Photo: Courtesy Universal. View full-sized image.
New Family-style Coaster Coming to Michigan’s Adventure
Michigan’s Adventure (Muskegon, Michigan) will open a new Peanuts-themed Camp Snoopy children’s area in the spring of 2020, featuring a large interactive climb-and-play structure and five new rides.
Aimed at families with toddlers to preteens, these new rides will showcase an outdoor theme, as will the new section’s featured ride, a coaster. Woodstock Express will be the park's Chance Big Dipper model rethemed and relocated into this new area.
Camille Jourden-Mark, vice president and general manager of Michigan’s Adventure, remarks, "The significant expansion and imaginative theming of our children’s attractions reinforces Michigan’s Adventure as one of the region’s top destinations for families. The new Camp Snoopy joins attractions such as the award-winning Shivering Timbers roller coaster and WildWater Adventure water park in providing our guests with unique opportunities for creating family memories for generations to come.”
Located on the area where the park’s Be-Bop Blvd. electric cars attraction used to sit (that ride was closed last August), the new Camp Snoopy area’s Woodstock Express will become the seventh coaster to use that name.
Photo: Courtesy Michigan's Adventure. View full-sized image.
Japan’s Regina Wooden Coaster Closes
Tobu Zoo Park in Saitama, Japan, closed its Regina wooden coaster on August 9. On its social media postings, the park explained that owing to the findings at the coaster’s last inspection, it was in too much of a deteriorating state and needed to be “sadly” (for the safety of the guests) closed after its 19-year run at Tobu Zoo. By all indications, the coaster (a large 4,376-foot-long and 120-foot-tall Intamin Amusement Rides [Stand Company-designed] coaster, which opened in 2000) is closing forever. There have been no suggestions that Regina will be rehabbed, "RMC'd" (Rocky Mountain Construction-converted to an IBox steel retracking) or even replaced by a new coaster.
Fortunately, the East Meets ACE trip group was able to visit Tobu Zoo and ride Regina in September 2018 — trip experiences that are covered in RollerCoaster! 149 and ACE News, December 2018.
It is regrettable to see the world losing another woodie, particularly for Japan, which has seen only six wooden coasters opened in its history (compared with the 436 steelies that have been built there, according to RCDB). Four of those wooden coasters have now been closed or changed to steel, leaving only two still standing — Elf at Hirakata Park (Osaka) and Jupiter at Kijma Kogen (Oita). Both are Intamin.
Photo: Richard Bostic. View full-sized image.
Photo: Cheri Armstrong. View full-sized image.
— Written and Compiled by Randy Geisler
@#$%&!
#ACENews