Coney Island's Cyclone Stuck on Opening Day

Image from HuffPost News

Coney Island's 'Cyclone' Evacuated on Opening Day.

It seems Luna Park at Coney Island isn't off to an excellent start for the 2015 season.

On Saturday, the parks opening day, the first public riders on Cyclone had to be evacuated and walked from the ride by employees when the coaster had a cable within the lift hill motor snap. This stalled the roller coaster's train on the lift-hill making it impossible to continue on it's journey. While riders were in no danger, thanks for the roller coasters anti-rollback system, it was a long walk down.

All riders were safely escorted from the ride and the staff of Coney Island have stated this is a simple fix for their classic roller coaster. They expect to have Cyclone up and running for next Saturday, April 4th, the parks second weekend of operation.

Wicked Cyclone Construction at Six Flags New England Plowing Through Winter

Cold weather be damned, the Rocky Mountain Construction team that's up at Six Flags New England has been trucking along. Even with the bitterly cold temps and the recent snow, though it wasn't that much, things look to be fairly on schedule so far.

No matter how some folks feel about this recent trend with Six Flags as a whole, it's definitely interesting to watch them take what was once a beloved wooden coaster and transform it into something all together insane and alien, gotta say that.

So, anyway, let's get on with the pictures of the current status of things as posted up yesterday by some of the crew on site!

Six Flags New England Announces Wicked Cyclone!

Along with the rest of the Six Flags parks, Six Flags New England has announced that the classic Cyclone wooden coaster will be getting the Rocky Mountain Coasters treatment as well.

Not that much of a surprise for the coaster community, but it's definitely an interesting move and seems to be a trend with Six Flags as of late. So today's announcement of Wicked Cyclone for 2015 at SFNE is definitely an interesting one. Sure, it's not as big or crazy as what's happening with Twisted Colossus at Magic Mountain, but Wicked Cyclone is no slouch either!

“We take great pride in creating incredible, one-of-a-kind experiences for our guests here at the Thrill Capital of New England,” said John Winkler, Six Flags New England Park President. “This project has been years in the making, and the addition of Wicked Cyclone enhances our commitment to delivering world-class thrills to Six Flags New England every year.”

Wicked Cyclone will take riders up 109ft and reach speeds of 55mph on over 3300ft of track and feature a 200 degree stall, two Zero G rolls, and the world’s only Double Reversing Bank Airtime Hill.

Interestingly enough, this will be the first hybrid coaster of it's kind on the East Coast as well, which is a bit weird if you really think about that.

Curious about what it'll actually look like? Here's a rendered video showing just what to expect from the newest Rocky Mountain Coasters creation!


Stay tuned for more updates from Six Flags New England and the rest of the Six Flags parks as more announcements have been released about projects for 2015 at every park!

Cyclone Already Under the Knife at Six Flags New England

The folks up at Six Flags New England aren't wasting any time with the deconstruction of Cyclone. It was only 10 days ago that fans and coaster enthusiasts bid the iconic coaster a final farewell, and today the dismantling project is already well underway.

While the park has not announced exactly what they have planned for their beloved wooden coaster, the consensus is that it will be getting the Rocky Mountain Coaster overhaul treatment.

This is the newest trend with Six Flags across all their parks it seems. Rattler turning into Iron Rattler, Texas Giant into New Texas Giant, and most likely Colossus into Iron Colossus. While many of the new incarnations have been critically acclaimed, it's still sad to see the classics go. Probably wouldn't be so much of a problem if Six Flags would actually maintain them properly, but that's another matter entirely.

In the pictures below, you can see that not only are workers carefully removing the track, but large portions of it are also missing just after the station and before the lift hill. If there's any clues in that, it's the same order of things that happened with Texas Giant and Rattler. Of course, it might just be the easiest way to do things as well.

For more images, check out SFNEonline!

One thing is sure though, they're being careful and that's definitely a sign that they're not completely getting rid of the ride. Also, according to SFNEonline, there's rumors of RMC crews on the site as well. Could be nothing, could be everything and until the park comes out and says what they're up to, we'll just have to wait and see.

Six Flags New England to Close Cyclone July 20th

Photo by: John A. Hunt via ACEonline.org

ACE News Now has reported that Six Flags New England will be closing the iconic wooden coaster, Cyclone, on July 20th of this year to make way for a new attraction in the future.

The coaster, only 31 years old, has been a favorite for coaster lovers since it's opening in 1983.

To mark the occasion, Six Flags New England will be hosting a special Exclusive Ride Time on July 20th from 9pm-10pm for season pass holders only.

Additionally, from 10pm-10:30pm there will be a special, private ERT event for American Coaster Enthusiasts members as well. You'll have to present your ACE membership cards to gain access to the final farewell event.

At this point it's unclear what could be taking it's place, but there seems to be an alarming trend rippling through Six Flags operated parks with their wooden coasters as of late. While I doubt that Cyclone will be getting a Rocky Mountain Coasters update like many of their others, the chain does seem to be getting ride of their classic wooden coasters. Definitely not a good trend at all, but at least they are sending this one off somewhat properly.