Sorry it's been a minute since I've updated about Steel Curtain; life just got in the way. So there has been quite a lot of progress on the build for Steel Curtain and the trains have arrived as well. The seats are shaped like footballs; because the whole football theme going on with Steelers Country. So I'll start with pictures of the seats for everyone since that's where I have some issues:
As you can see the seats are shaped like footballs and...well...they look SUPER uncomfortable. Seriously who thought it was a good idea to put thigh holders on roller coaster seats! Besides having the crotch holder on the seat (because I can't think of another thing to call it) there are also the thigh holders on the lap bars too. Like, I get the safety but if you've never sat in one of those let me tell why it sucks ass: if you have thighs that are bigger than, well, a stick which most people do unless you're a teenager then those lap belts are squeeze you in there. The last time I rode a coaster with thigh huggers, I definitely bruised on my sides so I am not looking forward to that again.
Other than my unhappiness with the seats the rest of the ride is coming together nicely. I am excited to see the finish project and ride the coaster. Here are the most recent pictures posted by Kennywood:
These pictures look amazing and make me excited for the ride. The only downside is that Kennywood has not updated their website with an official opening date; it still says Summer 2019.
These pictures were from just last week on Flag Day.
As you can see from the above picture the coaster is nearing completion with only a little bit left to complete before the ride opens. I do wish that Kennywood would announce an opening date already; like how are we supposed to plan to visit, haha?
While it may seem like that on occasion I am not excited for Steel Curtain; I really am. I am just not looking forward to the headache all those twists and flips and turns are going to give me. Kennywood has needed some new blood in the park for awhile because Sky Coaster is really nothing to write home about and so far this year it seem to be down for repairs.
I am hoping that by the next I write everyone Steel Curtain will have an opening date.
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.”
Six Flags Great America Alters New"Goliath" Coaster.
Well folks, this new came as a surprise to most big coaster fans who've been watching the construction of Goliath closely.
Six Flags Great America and Rocky Mountain Construction may have had this plan all along but the facts and reasons behind this change are still unknown at this time. The main changes to the ride involve moving the Zero-G roll which has moved from the original renderings, it's not located under the lift hill and seems to be added support.
When comparing the new rendered images to the original fact sheet on the coaster you can spot the differences.
SFGAM NATION has some really great construction photos of the ride and it's current progress. Their stating that this new rendering has been the plan and are the finalized plans for the ride. The lift hill is expected to go vertical in the new month or two.
Rain and Winter Weather still haven't stopped Kings Island and their construction of the new, world record breaking roller coaster, Banshee.
Today they posted up this great image on their Facebook Page. Construction of the tear-drop shaped outer loop has begun, you can see them lowering the pieces into place.
We keep hoping they'll post up an aerial picture of the current construction, this coaster looks simply massive!
Well as we all know, Kings Island has been working hard at providing us with some new coaster excellence for the 2014 season. Today on their Facebook Page they posted up this splendid photo of Banshee in the show!
It seems most of the work over the last month has been on finishing up the already installed elements as well as station work for the ride. Kings Island has been posting random updates about the ride on Facebook and Instagram to keep fans in the loop of their construction progress.
Station construction has been keeping the park busy since November. It may not look like much now but it promises to be an excellent and much needed addition to the park after the loss of the 'Son of Beast' Coaster.
Media Day and Opening Day just can't come fast enough for this record breaking coaster!
It's Offical- Schlitterbahn in Kansas City has completely gone off the deep end of the wave pool.
This new teaser video for Verruckt (meaning 'Insane' in German) will be the worlds Tallest, Fastest and Steepest Water Slide. Towering a massive 17 stories above the ground, Verruckt will be a four person in-line raft ride that will be a claimed 10% taller then the current record holding slide- Kilimanjaro in Brazil.
Along with the lunatics, they've built their new slide to have an extra dose of crazy- a give story tall 'bunny hill' will be included in the ride. All designed by Jeff Henry, the crazy person who gave us the up-hill water coaster and the inland surfacing attraction.
When the park opens an official 'measuring' event will take place in Spring 2014 to get the slides finished dimensions. Until then, Schlitterbahn seems to be keeping this one pretty quiet!
Tonight at 10pm Kings Island in Kings Mills, Ohio announced the World Record Breaking Coaster Banshee which is taking over the spot once occupied by the ill fated 'Son of Beast'. This space in the park as be empty and desolate for five years now since the once great coaster went quiet after a spat of injuries, accidents and lawsuits.
Image from Kings Island
Banshee is a much needed and much anticipated project for Kings Island who hasn't built a new coaster since 2009 when Diamondback opened to the public. Finally we're seeing progress in getting much needed fresh blood into the park as well as a coaster that will "chew through a line" as the term is known. A high capacity, high excitement ride. Banshee is the will be the world record holder for "Worlds Longest Inverted
Coaster".
Image from Kings Island
The stats for Banshee are also pretty damned impressive, they need to be in order to be a record breaking! Banshee is a Inverted roller coaster with the following stats...
Height: 167 feet
Drop: 150 feet
The theme for Banshee is also pretty interesting, coming from legend. They mourn the passing of others and wail when someone is about to die. Some also say it's a woman who died or a woman who lost her child. So this theme is really very fitting for a ride which is taking over the grave of a titan.
Kings Island will be announcing what their new attraction is on August 8th, 2013 at 10pm directly after the fireworks. This is the new "record-breaking" attraction which will set on the former site of the 'Son of Beast' roller coaster. We reported on this earlier in the season when King's Island still had the teaser announcement posted around the current construction site. This area has been in limbo since 'Son of Beast' closed for good in 2009.
Well rumors have gone wild over what may be taking over the space. However, all that is known at the moment is that whatever this will be Kings Island is touting it as "World Record Breaking". That's a pretty steep order to offer up considering some of the rides that are on the record list!
UPDATE 8/2/13:
Well, we found out through listening to the rumors whatever it may be, the new ride will likely be called "Banshee" as the rumor-mill has stated that name has been trademarked by Kings Island.
Today on Facebook this nice little picture showed up! The teaser caption is "Part of the Haunt or Part of the New Record Breaking Ride? Find out Soon". Well considering banshees are a heavily Irish myth and those are obviously Celtic crosses, I'm going to go with part of the new attraction!
Looks like we may be getting an "Irish" type theme for this ride? Who know but we're going to keep on this like an obnoxious bloodhound!
UPDATE 8/4/13:
Image from Kings Island Facebook Page
It looks like "Banshee" is going to be the official name of the new ride going into Kings Island after yesterday newest "teaser picture". It shows a silver comb with a "save the date" card for the announcement date.
"Why a comb" you ask? In mythology Banshees are said to always wear white or gray and have very pale hair which they "Comb" with either a "silver or gold" comb. To take the comb away from them would banish the banshee but if you spot one laying on the ground you should never pick it up as that is the Banshee's way of capturing humans.
So this newest hint fits it perfect with the running rumor of the attractions new name. However, there is still no word on exactly what kind of record breaking ride this is going to be. Everyone is sticking with the idea of a roller coaster but what kind has been wildly spun. Everything from another new Wing Coaster (like the disappointing Gatekeeper) to a new Inverted (like Raptor or Montu) or even possibly a new wooden coaster to replace Son of Beast. Fact is, we just don't know yet!
UPDATE 8/6/13:
Image from Coaster Buzz
Well it's been interesting, Seems like Kings Island played a little joke on the masses. Have to give them credit for style at least but upon seeing this, something clicked in my head.
Let me put the pieces together for you the way they snapped into place for me. The original "Bat" was a suspended swinging coaster much like "Iron Dragon" at Cedar Point or "Vortex" at Canada's Wonderland. Now these coasters aren' t popular anymore and are very expensive to maintain so I highly doubt they would build that style.
Next, everything for this "Bat is Back" splash page was in Latin. Celtic Crosses, Working project name/ride name of Banshee? Yup, Latin makes sense and it isn't going to be the return of "The Bat".
Now, everyone is crowing about this new ride being a "Wing Coaster" like Gatekeeper at Cedar Point. As much as I hate to hit the brakes a little early but let me poke a few dozen holes in this idea. Cedar Fair is not likely to build another wing coaster, especially in the same state and announce it during Gatekeepers opening year. That is shooting themselves in the foot with an elephant gun and admitting that Gatekeeper is crap (which is it) and if you know anything about Cedar Point and Cedar Fair, they just aren't going to ever admit a mistake nor allow another park to take the limelight off their "showcase park".
Okay let's rewind a moment after processing all the stuff I've thrown at you so far. "The Bat" was a clue, I'm sure of it. Add in the announcement of "World Record Breaker" and I think I've got this nailed. So I'm going to take a running leap in the dark here folks and try to call this one: World's Longest (and possibly most inversions) Inverted Coaster!
Now I have an addendum I'd like to add onto this because I've had a completely crazy idea. What if B&M and Cedar Fair had a crazy idea and meshed up a "Wing Coaster Train" and an "Inverted Coaster Track"? Because I'm going to tell you right now, it's completely insane and I love the idea as soon as it dawned on me. Probably not possible but I'm covering my bases as it still fits into the "Inverted" call!
Why do I think that? Keep Reading because I'm about to give you folks Christmas in August!
Blueprints have been leaked and we've found them!
What I know so far: It IS a Coaster and it is MASSIVE
Honestly, I have no idea why more people haven't picked up on this little video hidden away on YouTube. I admit, some girlish squealing happened when I got a glimpse of these plans. I'm no expert in reading blueprints but it's pretty obvious that this ride is going to be a monster.
Image from the Video: Video By Patrick Michael
We took a few stills from the video and patched them together to try and give readers a sense of scale and the elements involved but we (roughly) count at least 8 inversions and possibly more!
Now, don't quote us on any of these elements because we here at ISI Central are going off what we know from our own coaster riding experience. Some of them are pretty obvious and others are just unknown.
Now, go make squeaky joy sounds. Even if we don't know WHAT it is, we know what it's going to look like!
InSanity lurks Inside will update as more information becomes available, Keep Watching!
