originally posted on 2/14/2019
Revered Racer Retracked
Kings Island’s iconic Racer wooden coaster is undergoing some refurbishment over the winter. Great Coasters International, Inc. has been brought in for retracking work at the Mason, Ohio, park, including new supports on the blue side back turns.
Racer Photo: Courtesy Kings Island. View full-sized image.
Avalanche Gone
The Avalanche wooden coaster at Timber Falls Adventure Park (Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin), which has been standing but not operating for all of this last season, was torn down on November 20, 2018.
The park, which was also home to a Hopkins log flume, bumper boats, a Gravity Works Skyscraper ride, and 54 holes of miniature golf, had seemed to be struggling, never appearing to attract many customers. With 2018, park management indicated they wouldn’t operate the coaster, the flume, or the bumper boats, stating that the future of these attractions was questionable. However, they sent out a communication indicating that would talk with anyone willing to develop any of these attractions, or the whole rides area.
Timber Falls management indicated that there were some contacts made, but no one expressed any serious interest. The decision was made that it was time to remove Avalanche. The log flume was razed as well. The future of the Timber Falls property is uncertain.
Photo: Douglas Lee. View full-sized image.
Iowa’s Adventureland Rises From the Ashes
Well, no, the park didn’t burn down, but it is acquiring a new coaster in 2019 to be named Phoenix. The Mauer Rides family spinning coaster will rise to 50 feet high, offer speeds of 40 mph, and cost $6 million including theming and new development around it. Phoenix is expected to fly in June 2019 at the Altoona, Iowa, theme park and will land at the end of the main Boulevard in the space where the Super Screamer used to stand until 1999. A Chance Inverter was located there until 2017. Adventureland already boasts five coasters, with three (!) woodies among them, including the William Cobb Tornado, the Mike Boodley-designed (Custom Coasters International [CCI]) Outlaw and the Dennis McNulty (CCI) indoor Underground.
A New Gwazi Coming to Busch Tampa in 2020
About four months ago when Busch Gardens Tampa announced its new-for-2019 Tigris steel coaster, it also teased about 2020 plans for the standing-but-not-operating Gwazi twin-track woodie, without specifically saying what those plans were. But we now know that Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) will be brought in to revamp the coaster, since, as reported by the Tampa Bay Business Journal, it is the firm listed on an updated construction application filed with the city. RMC will be involved with the “demolition of selected portions of an existing site structure, selected buildings, and portions of buildings.” But as for further details regarding what RMC will specifically do with Gwazi, Busch has asked fans to look forward to further updates. Busch Gardens' CEO Stewart Clark previously said, "We haven't fully baked our concept. We just know that it's going to be one of the most thrilling, amazing attractions in the world."
Gwazi Photo: Tim Baldwin. View full-sized image.
Wonderland’s Spin on New Coaster
Wonderland Amusement Park in Amarillo, Texas, has announced a family coaster addition for 2019. An SBF-Visa compact steel spinner will open later this year. It, along with an antique car ride, will be introduced as part of a new park section, which will also include a picnic area. To be named Spin-o-Saurus, the coaster was relocated from Wild Willy’s Adventure Zone (Fort Walton Beach, Florida), where it "Spun-o-Saurused" from 2015 to 2017. Wonderland, owned by the legendary (and friend to ACE) Paul Borchardt, is already home to four coasters, including a rare-to-find Miler Wild Mouse (Cyclone) and an also rare O.D. Hopkins looper (the very interesting Texas Tornado).
Morey’s 50th Anniversary Celebration Will Be a Runaway (Coaster) Success
Morey’s Piers (Wildwood, New Jersey), which just reluctantly closed its Flitzer coaster last year, is wasting no time snaring a new ride. A Zierer Flying Eagle model family coaster will take its place on the Surfside Pier this summer. Dubbed The Runaway Tram, the $4 million steelie will rise to 40 feet, be 922 feet long, and is designed to pay homage to the historic Wildwood Sightseer Tramcar (famous for its instruction, “Watch the Tramcar, please!”), which has carried 20 million passengers on the Wildwood boardwalk since it debuted in 1949.
Photo: Courtesy Morey's Piers. View full-sized image.
Ireland’s Tayto Park Announces New "Two Coasters in One" for 2021
Ray Coyle, the owner of Tayto Park (Ashbourne, Meath), Ireland’s largest theme park, has announced intentions to build an "iconic" €14 million (about $16 million) steel roller coaster. He said that the aim is to secure planning in 2019, build the coaster in 2020 and open it in 2021. Mr. Coyle stated the ride will be 105 feet high, 4,862 feet long and, interestingly, be “two roller coasters in one.” While providing no other details, he said the intriguing coaster will be a first for Europe. He indicated that the coaster will “ensure the future of the park. If you don’t create something landmark every three or four years, your numbers will start going down and that is the road to closure.” Tayto Park can already boast a pretty "landmarky" coaster with its 2015 installation, Cú Chulainn, designed by The Gravity Group.
— Compiled by Randy Geisler
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