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Top Roller Coaster Myths & Rumors!


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King, it's really ambiguous as to what they meant. I took it as "completely lifts off of the track and floats above it" as if the train had no upstop wheels at all. But I get where you're going with that. The distance between the wheel assemblies would allow for some lifting off the track and that would allow for some millisecond moments when neither wheel assembly is actually on the track, as well as moments when the upstop wheels are touching the rails and the upper wheels are floating.

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It would be fun to grab a radar gun and test various coasters advertised speeds versus actual top speeds (acknowledging that conditions can alter performance), but i'm sure the parks would not be cool with that. hardly a "myth", anyway.

 

I was actually at a water park one time and there were park employees with a radar gun clocking how fast people were coming down a couple of the body slides.

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I've heard several rumors that most launch coasters (hydraulic cable launches, LIM launches, LSM launches) can be launched at a speed much faster then what they normally operate at. For example I remember hearing that Dragster could really launch at like 130-140 mph if they wanted it to, and I also recall people saying after Superman re-opened at Magic Mountain that it was launching at a faster speed and climbing higher up the tower.

Ive heard this as well

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I think this one is true according to this picture, but I've heard there's half of a basketball court at the top of the Matterhorn Bobsleds at Disneyland.

Photo of the court

Also, I'm not posting this as a publicity for the site, but here's an excellent database of rumors about Disney Parks : http://www.snopes.com/disney/parks/parks.asp

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"Coasters go faster in the back."

Ummmm what? I am missing something? If the car the farthest back was going faster than the others I would be VERY scared. You tell that friend of yours that a coaster isn't like a highway; your car can't pass someone else's.

1 -it's a very common misperception and certainly fits the criteria of Robb's request.

 

I think it would be cool to look at this as follows:

 

I think you'd want to put sensors in the front, middle, and back cars to measure speed, location, and g-forces (vertical & horizontal). Then you would want to compare the data between the different seats in 2 ways: 1) at the same moment in time (this should show that the speed of the entire train is the same at any given instant) and 2) when that car goes through a certain element/crosses a certain point on the track (this should show the back of the train going faster than the front when it reaches the bottom of a hill, and vice-versa at the top, for instance).

 

I think looking at it this way would help explain why you experience different kinds of airtime in different seats, for instance.

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Not sure how it could be tested, but one that still comes up is Canada's Wonderland is moving to Niagara Falls. Maybe dig up the full page ad the park took out in local papers to say they were not going anywhere.

 

I remember hearing that rumor, but the destination was Brantford, Ontario. The idea was that the park was getting full and there wasn't much room to expand but Cedar Fair obviously proved that to be crap.

 

The other rumor I remember is about Canada's Wonderland getting a B&M Floorless themed to Footloose.

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It would be fun to grab a radar gun and test various coasters advertised speeds versus actual top speeds (acknowledging that conditions can alter performance), but i'm sure the parks would not be cool with that. hardly a "myth", anyway.

 

I was actually at a water park one time and there were park employees with a radar gun clocking how fast people were coming down a couple of the body slides.

 

 

Having worked at SFDK, I have been operating rides where this was going on. This was most commonly done on the Go Karts, but I have personally seen the results of more than one coaster. V2 and Kong both travel significantly slower than advertised, though I don't recall what their exact speeds. After its mishap atop tower 1, Superman now runs closer to 69-70mph, though it's still advertised as topping at 62 mph. That's all I know, but I'm sure the others are a bit off too.

 

Anyways, forgive me if this was already mentioned, but isn't there a myth that B:TR at GADV is haunted?

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  • 9 months later...

A common rumor in Minnesota is that High Roller at Valleyfair is actually the relocated Cyclone from the now defunct Excelsior Amusement Park, but this is not true. High Roller was a brand new ride when it was built, and Cyclone was demolished when Excelsior closed.

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It would be fun to grab a radar gun and test various coasters advertised speeds versus actual top speeds (acknowledging that conditions can alter performance), but i'm sure the parks would not be cool with that. hardly a "myth", anyway.

 

I was actually at a water park one time and there were park employees with a radar gun clocking how fast people were coming down a couple of the body slides.

 

 

Having worked at SFDK, I have been operating rides where this was going on. This was most commonly done on the Go Karts, but I have personally seen the results of more than one coaster. V2 and Kong both travel significantly slower than advertised, though I don't recall what their exact speeds. After its mishap atop tower 1, Superman now runs closer to 69-70mph, though it's still advertised as topping at 62 mph. That's all I know, but I'm sure the others are a bit off too.

 

Anyways, forgive me if this was already mentioned, but isn't there a myth that B:TR at GADV is haunted?

 

You're thinking of the defunct Chiller coaster at Great Adventure. It never was running due to it being cursed. It was cursed by the souls of those who died in the Haunted Castle fire in 1984.

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I didn't read through every page to see if this was already said...but how the SFKK drop tower incident happened on EVERY drop tower in the world.

 

"Yeah some girl got her legs cut off on the one at Universal"

 

"Didn't someone get their foot cut off on the tower at Six Flags St. Louis?"

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Disny planned a park for Virginia but was canceled because of Nimbyism.

 

The park part is true, don't know about the Nimbyism part. It was supposed to be built in Haymarket, or right outside. Around the Leesburg-Warrenton area. I remember seeing the signs and banners that were hanging around everytime on our way to Kings Dominion. I believe it was going to be a colonial theme.

 

EDIT: It does look like it was for a citizen uprising.

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Disny planned a park for Virginia but was canceled because of Nimbyism.

 

The park part is true, don't know about the Nimbyism part. It was supposed to be built in Haymarket, or right outside. Around the Leesburg-Warrenton area. I remember seeing the signs and banners that were hanging around everytime on our way to Kings Dominion. I believe it was going to be a colonial theme.

 

EDIT: It does look like it was for a citizen uprising.

 

 

^ If I remember correctly (and this part may be false), it was supposed to be built on or in the same area as the third Marriott's Great America that never materialized.

 

Wow never knew about this so I had to look it up. Link.

 

Shame both parks were canceled.

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^Yes, there were issues about the park being too close to the site of the Battle of Bull Run and that it would "ruin" the historic character of a region that is now dotted with strip malls and Cracker Barrels.

 

I had Virginia friends who were absolutely outraged at the thought of Disney building a park in the state (or at least near Manassas).

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^Yes, there were issues about the park being too close to the site of the Battle of Bull Run and that it would "ruin" the historic character of a region that is now dotted with strip malls and Cracker Barrels.

 

I had Virginia friends who were absolutely outraged at the thought of Disney building a park in the state (or at least near Manassas).

 

Amen to whole strip mall thing. Plus, it seems every Civil War battlefield is slowly shrinking (Antietam, Manassas, etc...) That is except for Gettysburg. It would have been cool to have Disney in our "backyard".

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I keep hearing that the blood waterfalls on Nemesis are infact Ribena fruit juice.

 

That a ride can't go upside down because it doesn't have shoulder restraints.

 

Hex is a true story.

 

Worst one. That its dangerous for the people at the front of the ride to put their hands up as it can slow the ride down and affect the aero dynamics.

 

Stand up coasters are basically doing the same thing as arms up in the air, actually even more, and yet they still run...

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