Coderide

When it comes to model roller coasters, K’nex has long been the building toy of choice for many folks to build some very impressive creations. But, it appears that Lego has finally entered their hat into the ring, with the gigantic new Roller Coaster (10261) set for their Creator line. Although Lego’s roller coaster track system, which was first seen on last year’s Joker Manor set, isn’t quite as “flexible” (both figuratively and literally) as those seen on the K’nex coasters, where this kit absolutely shines is in an area that Lego is quite good at: detail. Oh… My… Lord the detail! This 4000+ piece set features everything model builders have been dreaming of: multiple trains, a switch track, air-gates, a stylized sign, and numerous other things that I don’t even want to point out, since half the fun is spotting them all! The thing I’m completely in love with is the structure, which sports a hyper-realistic compact design, and something that could, with enough extra pieces, be something that could easily be converted to be a bit more “portable” (Wink Wink Nudge Nudge).

Now, with all this amazingness, there must be a catch, right? Well, maybe not for you directly, but possibly for your wallet, as this kit give it a dent the size of $379.99 when it launches in June. Ouch! However, if you’re interested in building Lego roller coasters, there are some cheaper alternatives. Lego is also going to be releasing a much smaller coaster kit, the Pirate Roller Coaster, which although does not have a release date or price, will most likely be significantly cheaper. For a 3rd party option, Coaster Dynamix has their Cyclone set, which features a more “bendy-style” track for a bit more realism, and at $149.99 is a fraction of the cost of the official kit.

Besides the steep price point, I’m really excited for this kit! Even if it’s a bit out of range, as pointed out, there are already other coaster sets coming up that look just as fun. And, in the off change I can actually get it, it would really nice next to my Fairground Mixer!

Photo Credit: Six Flags

In a bit of unexpected news, Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio has jumped the gun a bit early of the August 31st announcement date for the rest of the Six Flags chain, and decided to announce their 2018 project a bit earlier. Their plans? To build “Wonder Woman Golden Lasso Coaster”, the worlds first roller coaster to use Rocky Mountain Construction’s “Raptor Track”, a track style in which the train only rides on a single rail, rather than two.

According to the Roller Coaster Database, this new coaster will be about 113 ft tall and reach a top speed of 52 mph. It also states that it will have 3 inversions and feature a 90 degree vertical drop, all of which can be seen in the picture above. Each car will hold only 1 passenger each, with the trains comprising of 8 cars, and a total of two trains for the whole attraction.

The track being used, Rocky Mountain Construction’s Raptor concept, is one of two ideas the Idaho based company has for a “Monorail” coaster. The other being the “T-Rex”, a bigger variation of the track that is to be used for larger rides, and will feature more tradition cars (4 riders per, instead of one). Both tracks are based on the company’s “I-BOX”, a style that was originally developed as a replacement for traditional wooden coaster tracks, but has now branched out to other rides. Already, two of Fiesta Texas’ newest coasters, Iron Rattler and Batman: The Ride, feature the track.

Going into the actual look of this new ride, I have to say, I’m really digging that layout! It’s extremely compact, yet features just about everything you would want in a big, thrilling coaster. Crazy first drop? Check. Inversions? Check. Sharp turns and changes in direction? Check. Airtime (when your butt wants to come flying out of your seat)? Check. This little coaster takes up less land than a lot of family mine train rides, yet is ready to pack more of a punch than a lot of rides 3x its size. This seems to be a bit of a trend at moment, as we have been seeing more and more rides, both in concept and in actuality, that have been using the “small coaster, big punch” formula. For example, Euro-Fighter type rides, such as the brand new “Hydrus” at Casino Pier in New Jersey, has become an extremely popular design at both bigger and smaller parks. This makes sense, as rides like “Hydrus” and “Wonder Woman” help reduce two of the biggest problems of building a big, extreme roller coaster: Space and cost.

Now, “Millennium Force” at Cedar Point is arguably one of the most well known and beloved roller coasters ever built, but not every park can do a ride like that. The price tag of $25 million (which is well over 30 in today’s money) already rules out most parks other than the Ohio Mega-Park (including the Six Flags chain, who’s current yearly spending budget is capped at about $15 million per park). And that doesn’t even include all of the marketing and yearly maintenance something like Millennium would require. Now, even if you do have the budget as well as the attendance for something like this, that still leaves one issue: Where the hell are you going to put the thing? Now, some people like to say that there is no such thing as park being land locked, that any park can make space for a new addition if they find it necessary. This is true, but at the same time, there is a good chance that they will have to do away with a popular attraction to make room if it comes to that, not only bumming out fans but adding to the cost of building the new coaster. And that’s not even including all of the zoning and local laws that must be followed in order to even get started on something like this.

Well, OK, maybe “Millennium Force” wasn’t the BEST example for what I’m trying to get at, since it’s sort of in a league of it’s own, but what I’m trying to say is this; rides like “Wonder Woman” are making big, extreme roller coasters more and more available to more and more parks. Although the two coaster may seem completely different, at the end of the day, they are both designed to do one thing really really well; scare the living hell out of you. And the great thing is, a ride like this works just as well in a smaller family owned park as it does at one of the corporate giants. This mean that some family park in, say, the Midwest could build something like a “Raptor-Track” ride that would fit perfectly in their foot print and and at a fraction of the cost, and still end up with there own version of “Millennium Force”. I mean, the Wooden Warrior, a 32ft tall wooden roller coaster at a small family amusement park in the middle of nowhere Connecticut, has often been proclaimed as being one of the best coasters ever made. Making the “small coaster, big punch” rides more available is great, and think we will see more and more of them in the future.

Now, that’s not to say that this particular attraction isn’t without its flaws. I think the capacity is extremely low for a ride like this, and, as this is also a prototype, we really don’t know how well this coaster is going to work until it’s open. But I have faith that this will be a very popular attraction for Fiesta Texas, and I could easily see this as become another staple addition to the Six Flags chain.

In a bit of tragic news, an accident on the Fireball (An Afterburner attraction) at the Ohio State Fair this Wednesday has left one man dead and at least 7 inured after one of the 6 gondolas was freed from main hub at full swing and launched into a support beam. You can find a video of the accident here, and bellow is a picture of an Afterburner ride, so you can better understanding of what we’re dealing with.

Photo credit: KMG

You don’t have to watch the video to understand how serious this is, I mean, someone died for God’s sake, but after watching the short clip a few times, I can tell you that this played out a bit differently than one may think. You see, on a KMG (The Dutch manufacture who designed and built the ride) Afterburner, each row of seats is attached to a small arm which, in turn, is attached to a bigger arm which connects to the central spinning “hub” of the attraction, which is attached to, you guessed it, a swinging arm. Now, you might think that the joint where the small arm holding the seats connects to the bigger arm is what had disconnected, since this is where the seats are attached/ removed during setup and breakdown, and would not only make it the most prone to wear and tear, but make scenario of “a bolt came lose” or something like that much more likely. But, as you can see in the video, the seats actually became detached from the SMALL arm, appearing to have sheared clean off.

Now, I’m sure that plenty of people are already pointing fingers at the safety inspector, the ride’s operator, KMG, the state fair, the state of Ohio, Republicans, Democrats, Trump, Hillary, and Aliens as to whose to blame to this for this incident. But the truth is, it’s way to early to start pointing fingers and, all in all, it really doesn’t matter. What’s important know is HOW this happened, what can be done to avoid it in the future. To me, this is a clear structural malfunction that can possibly affect other rides all around the world. Already, another Fireball ride at the California State Fair has been closed as a precaution and is currently undergoing inspections, and I see this as a very good decision. In fact, it might be a good idea to close ALL Fireball/Afterburner attractions, something that KMG definitely has the power to do, until the cause of accident is known. Is this a problem that might affect other rides, or simply one that only affected this machine?

All in all, this is really awful news, and my heart goes out to those affected by this tragedy. I just really hope that a cause of this incident comes out soon so this will hopefully not be a problem in the future.