Three

With Voyage and Hades, the Gravity Group has me wondering what's possible with a wooden coaster. Especially with these 90 degree banks. Would it be possible to bank a wooden coaster even further? The main issue I would think would be the weight of the train. It would be pulling the track toward the ground, essentially. But I'm sure that happens to some extent on these 90 degree turns as well, and that hurdle has already been solved. Any reason they couldn't do this? And if not, how far could they go? Heartline rolls even? Just idle musing.

I concur. You really need to put these talents to good use.

The whole park looks pretty cool. Not that I'll ever make it over there, but yeah. Okay, could anybody tell me Giovanola's story? RCDB lists a bunch of coasters with them attached to, but most of them somebody else designed. So how many did they actually do all the work on? Just Titan, Goliath, and Anaconda here? And why'd they stop? They've certainly shown some potential with their work. Why the dropout?

Awesome awesome. That helix looks pretty freaking sweet (and impressive themeing). Suddenly I'm very disappointed that Giovanola only churned out a few coasters on their own.

How the hell does a loose article land on the track? I can't invision a scenario where dropping something (necessarily off the side of the train) would result with it landing on the track.

I thought the old bubble worked better.

http://rcdb.com/id1169.htm I'm gonna hazard a guess that nobody here has ridden this thing. If I am wrong, that would be hella awesome. Anyway, this thing has me hella curious. It looks like B&M track and B&M elements with an Intamin train. The hell? Anybody know anything more about this beast?

Ouch.... Well, at least they didn't get predictable Superman colors....

I haven't seen any close-ups of the train -- what colors did it get?

Disney needed to do something to make it look like they were doing something about the problem. They have done so very successfully. And thankfully, that doesn't mean any alterations to the ride for those of us who enjoy it and are still alive. Major props to Disney on this one.

My guess would be, parks can sign a contract to keep a certain layout to themselves (perhaps the case with Superman: Ultimate Flight and Six Flags), but not a ride type.

The Miami area could certainly use a theme park. The Hurricane's a great coaster and all, but it's a rather far drive to hit any others. I imagine they could expand quite a bit and get good business for it.

Hey, Hades is a Parking Lot coaster. And nobody rips on it. Then again, Hades a) is good, and b) isn't exactly just plopped on top of defunct parking spaces.

How about asking about the flying coaster in China? We know so little about it. Is it a Superman clone or an entirely new layout? What's it called? What elements does it have?

I like how everyone is saying their home park.

sfgoliath... might I suggest that you take a chill pill and realize you are posting about roller coasters on an internet message board. Not ordering the nuclear bombardment of North Korea. Anyway, while this thread is here, I've got another question related to these Windstorm-type rides. Premier did Runaway Mtn. But what's up with the other 3 companies who did Windstorm layout coasters? Is it just a succession of buyouts? I know S&MC was formed by members of SDC, so that explains that. But where does Zamperla fit in the whole ordeal?

That video is positively badass. Realplayer is not, but the video certainly is. I just love that kind of stuff. Was that one of those circular loops there by the scenic railway?

My answer is Volcano. I mean, heartline spins are cool and all. And launches are cool and all. But when that's the whole ride....

In hindsight, my best memories of Kong involve adding grafitti to the subway-themed queue line, and not the ride itself. Hey! Don't look at me like that! It was encouraged at that attraction!

Hooray! I have ridden exactly five! 1) Montu 2) Dueling Dragons (Ice) 3) Alpengeist 4) Dueling Dragons (Fire) 5) Batman: The Ride

Some of these have been mentioned, some have not. In no order: - Grizzly at PKD, of course. This is such an underrated ride, and the tunnel really messes with you. I just wish I could've ridden it more. - SheiKra. I haven't been on Oblivion, but I think SheiKra's second drop has a pretty badass tunnel. It has the ninety degrees. It has mist. You can't see a damned thing until the carosel. It's fun as hell. - Goliath at SFMM. This being the tallest traditional coaster I've been on, that drop was just fantastic. Rest of the ride... it was okay. But you've got some serious speed going on in that tunnel. - Kraken. I just love the way the second half of this ride tears in and out of the ground. Great head-choppin' for a B&M. After this summer, I expect Hades to take a position here as well (in fact, I should probably just throw it up there anyway). Voyage too (except for the part about me riding it this summer ).

Actually, I would like both .

That looks positively post-apocalyptic. Did you see Mad Max?

Okay, the cable thing makes sense, I was thinking something somewhat similar. But that's only on some coasters. And in terms of disassembling the train... I can see how that would make the load more bearable... but it still doesn't explain how it gets back. I can't see that being a very simple process. edit: Hmmm... on second thought, I'm getting a somewhat clearer mental image now.

Rare event, yeah. But what do they do? How do they get the train back to the station? It doesn't have any means of getting back on its own, does it? Do they just get a bunch of sweaty guys to push the train back?