Dollywood Announces Lightning Rod - World's Fastest and First Launching Wooden Coaster for 2016!

Well, it looks like the folks at Dollywood have announced yet another unique spin on things for the coaster world, this time with the all new Rocky Mountain Construction coaster, Lightning Rod! Not long ago, all the details were released on this all new groundbreaking wooden coaster. Not only will it be the fastest wooden coaster in the world, but also the world's first launched coaster. Yeah, that's a little crazy. Let's let that sink in for a minute.

Okay, ready? Well, before getting into the specifics, here's the announcement trailer for this insane creation that's coming to the park for the 2016 season.


Not a full POV, but there's a ton of things in there to talk about regardless. So, just what can we expect from this $23million dollar monster?

First off is the launch, with 1,500 Horsepower trains will be sent up a 20 story hill at 45mph. Then, the drop comes, plummeting 165ft at 73 degrees and hitting a top speed of 73mph. From here, it's a race to the finish that features 12 airtime moments spread across the 3/4 of a mile long twisting journey through the hills and woods of Dollywood.

That's not all though, here's a few other elements that will be in the ride:

• 90+ degree banked "Breaking Wave" turn
• 90+ degree outside banked "Top Hat"
• Non-inverting Half Loop
• Quadruple Down

That's a lot to take in on this one! A few elements I definitely haven't heard of and there's some interesting takes on a few classics as well.

Here's a what Dolly Parton had to say about things as well;

“Lightning Rod reminds me so much of those colorful cars cruisin’ up and down Main Street in downtown Sevierville back when I was in high school. I remember all those souped up cars; but what I remember most were those good lookin’ boys behind the wheel with those flat top and ducktail haircuts,” Dolly Parton said.

“Even better, it’s the fastest wooden roller coaster in the world, so I think we’re going to see a lot of people coming from all over to peel out on the Lightning Rod.”

Now, wanna see some rendering shots? Sure ya do!

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!

Twisted Colossus Coming to Six Flags Magic Mountain in 2015!

One of two major Rocky Mountain Coasters conversions, the classic Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain is set to become a whole lot more insane. From the remains, RMC will work it's magic and by doing so create the world's longest hybrid coaster, Twisted Colossus. Featuring over 5,000ft of track and two lift hills, this one looks to be a great tribute to the original while making huge upgrades.

So, what can riders expect? Here's a breakdown of all the elements!

Top Gun Stall – an inversion where the train slows down upside down, the Western Hemisphere’s first “High Five” – where both trains pass through an overbanked turn facing each other with the illusion that you can reach out and “high five” other riders, a Zero G Roll, a 128-foot drop at 80-degrees, 18 airtime hills, two lift hills and four minutes long and nearly 5,000 feet of track!

Yeah, that's a lot to take in right there. “At Six Flags, innovation is in our DNA and with Twisted Colossus, innovation will go to an extreme level with record-breaking elements, faster speeds and steeper banks.  This cutting-edge technology marries the best of both classic and modern coaster designs. It is definitely a twist on a traditional wooden coaster experience,” said park president Bonnie Rabjohn.

You can say that again, but like Six Flags Fiesta Texas' announcement, there's more to this one as it seems the whole area of the park will be getting a bit of a make over as well. Twisted Colossus will be the focal point of the newly themed area, Back Alley, where guests can expect the unexpected through whimsical experiences in entertainment, food and retail.

No clue what that means exactly, but I'm sure we won't have too long to wait. Definitely seems like an interesting move, but that area of the park wasn't themed much at all so it should be an upgrade.

In the meantime, check out the rendered video of what to expect from Twisted Colossus!


Stay tuned for more updates from Six Flags Magic Mountain 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 Magic Mountain- Colossus Goodbye Party

Six Flags Magic Mountain- Colossus Goodbye Party

 Six Flags Magic Mountain and local radio station ALT 98.7 are hosting a 'Goodbye Party' for their famous and now doomed wooden roller coaster, Colossus.

 The wooden coaster made famous by being featured in several movies, most notably as the "Screaming Mimi" in 'National Lampoons Vacation'. The ride was built in 1978 and like many great wooden coasters from Six Flags Parks, has suffered a lack of maintenance in order to be made over by Rocky Mountain Coasters into something easier to maintain (we hope).

  Tickets are $36 per person and the event happens this Saturday, July 26th. The event will feature exclusive night rides from 11pm until 3am. No other details are available if anything else will be open during this time.

 You can purchase tickets though the Six Flags Magic Mountain Website (Click for link).

Six Flag's Magic Mountain Closing the Iconic Colossus - Making Way for "Iron Colossus"

Six Flags Magic Mountain has announced that this August they will be closing their iconic racing wooden coaster, Colossus, August 16th. The move has definitely caught coaster enthusiasts and fans of the park by surprise. However, that's the not whole story here.

Like many of the chain's other wooden coasters, Colossus won't be going away completely. Rocky Mountain Coasters has been called in to remodel the coaster. RMC is no stranger to Six Flags either, having redone Texas Giant and Rattler in Texas and are known for making some extreme changes to rides in order to push the limits of riders even further. Will the future name be "Iron Colossus"? I'm not sure but it's definitely possible.

We rode Colossus back in March as part of our California theme park trip and have to say that it's definitely in need of work. Only one side was running and despite offering the chance to ride "backwards" for a few weeks, it was in serious need of some love.

Photo via @Park_Journey

Just what RMC will do with a monster racing coaster like Colossus is unknown right now. The only thing that we do know is that once it shuts down in August, it won't be back up for at least 12-16 months while the refitting is going on. I'm extremely curious to see what they make of the whole thing, and while losing an iconic '70s racing coaster such as this, it was horribly maintained and definitely needed an overhaul.

Either way, it'll be interesting to see what develops and hopefully Six Flags will actually maintain this one after it's done!

Six Flags Great America- 2014 New Coaster? UPDATE

Well we've got more news coming from Six Flag Great America today. It isn't official but it does speak volumes about what the park has in mind for the 2014 season and their newest construction project.

Rumor has it American Eagle may be up for an Rocky Mountain Coasters refurbishment. They are the well known builders of Wood/Steal hybrid coasters such as Iron Rattler and New Texas Giant. However, what is odd is that American Eagle is a Racing Wooden Coaster. It has both a Blue and a Red side. Rumor states that RMC will be re-building and re-tracking the blue side of the ride but no word on the red side yet.  I'm not entirely sure how this will work considering this is a racing coaster, could one side be going steel while the other remains wood? That would be a new trick for Rocky Mountain Coasters to accomplish.

 InSanity lurks Inside will keep updating as more information becomes available as well as when the park decides to do their reveal of what the plan is for 2014 and American Eagle!


UPDATE 8/29/13: 
Six Flags Great America Announces Goliath- Worlds Tallest, Fastest and Steepest Wooden Coaster!


UPDATE 8/22/13

Image from Screamscape

Well is Screamscape is to be believed, the new coaster coming in 2014 will be wood and built by Rocky Mountain Coasters.  One person there reported from somekind of meeting saying the ride will be 165 feet tall with a 13 foot drop underground, making the first drop a total of 178 feet. While this won't break a record for height, it's still remotely possible they could go for speed.

They are also reporting a weird 'track element' of the ride, something that could possibly be an inversion with a boost launch involved. It's the blue circled portion of the blueprints.








UPDATE 8/19/13

It looks like the rumors around American Eagle being the "New Coaster" for the 2014 season isn't true. Apparently the pictures have been faked (Gee Folks, you might have said so rather then name-calling cause that's really mature). Sources aren't exactly sure if that project is for 2014 or some others season.  Which leaves the question of "What is the 2014 New Coaster"?
We've got some more rumor news about the 2014 project for Six Flags Great America. Rumor has it that the "New Coaster" for 2014 will be wooden and that the park may be after some kind of record breaker. It may or may not be 'speed" which they are after, which brings in a host of problems. According to a meeting docket we found posted at Screamscape, the coaster may be 165 feet tall and in the location of the former "Iron Wolf".
Stay Tuned for More Updates!