originally posted on 4/1/2022
Photo: Courtesy of COTA. View full-sized image.
The Circuit of the Americas is a renowned racetrack known for car races and special events. The massive facility has some of the country’s fastest go-karts (yep, helmets, waivers, the only Formula 1 track in the United States, etc.) that hit 55 mph.
Having brought in rides for its Christmas event, Peppermint Parkway, plans for developing that portion of the property into an amusement park have been well underway. COTALand had one of the largest press announcements at last year’s IAAPA Expo with the announcement of Palindrome for late 2022.
In the works for several months now, the park has teased its follow-up coaster, Circuit Breaker. This vertical tilt coaster from Vekoma will be the first of its kind in North America. Senior Manager (and ACE member) Matt Hughey dangled a carrot at ACE South Central’s Winterfest event in January with a slide in his presentation. One word was left out, leaving audience members to ponder what it could be.
Matt Hughey made an initial tease at ACE South Central’s Winterfest in January.
Photo: Jay Jacobs. View full-sized image.
Photo: Jay Jacobs. View full-sized image.
Revealed on Austin news stations on March 28, it is now out of the bag. While full details aren’t released, the name of Circuit Breaker (genius, by the way) and Vekoma as the manufacturer were made known. As ACE News was ready to post, the layout was made available which shows multiple inversions and two tunnels.
The only other such coaster was built 20 years ago in Taiwan. Called Gravity Max, it is at Discovery World (Houli Hsiang).
Photos: Lisa Scheinin. View full-sized image.
View full-sized image.
For those unfamiliar with this concept, a trainload of riders boards a typical looping coaster train and climbs a traditional lift to a flat portion of track. From there, the level piece — with the train locked in place — pivots on a fulcrum to where riders are placed in a vertical position straight down. Once the track is aligned with a new section of vertical track, the brakes are released and the coaster screams through its other elements. Because of the difference in real estate, this second incarnation is not expected to be a clone of the first. In addition, in the two decades since, Vekoma has made wonderful strides in building newer, more comfortable trains that coaster fans are sure to embrace.
Photo: Courtesy of COTA. View full-sized image.
The closest most members have to experiencing such a ride is Harry Potter and the Escape from Gringotts at Universal Studios Orlando (Florida). While that coaster/dark ride hybrid has a tilted piece of track, it is not extremely banked, so Circuit Breaker will be the first vertical tilt coaster in the country.
See more here:
ACE eagerly awaits more details.
— Tim Baldwin, ACE News Editor
#ACENews