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Shockwave (Six Flags Great America)
Shockwave (occasionally stylized as ShockWave or Shock Wave) was a roller coaster manufactured by Arrow Dynamics at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. Standing tall and reaching speeds of , it opened in 1988 as the world's tallest and fastest looping roller coaster with a record-breaking seven inversions: three vertical loops, a boomerang (also known as a batwing), and two regular corkscrews. Shockwave was closed in 2002 and has been dismantled. History In late 1987, Six Flags Great America announced that they would be getting Shockwave for the 1988 season. The ride would be placed towards the front of the park in the Orleans Place section. Shockwave was set to open in April 1988, but the opening was delayed to June 3. Shockwave was designed by Ron Toomer at Arrow Dynamics, and its seven inversions set a new world record among roller coasters previously held by Vortex at Kings Island, which opened a year earlier. In 1989, Great American Scream Machine debuted at ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ultimate Flight
SkyScreamer is an amusement ride located at several Six Flags theme parks in North America. Designed by Funtime, an Austrian ride manufacturer, the attraction is one of their "Star Flyer" models. Since 2011, Six Flags has installed SkyScreamers in ten of their parks. Riders aboard SkyScreamer are carried aloft in two-person swing-like chairs attached to a rotating gondola mounted on a central tower. When the gondola reaches the top of the tower, riders are swung in a wide circle at speeds approaching , with expansive views of the adjacent countryside. The ride is marketed to both thrill-ride enthusiasts and patrons seeking a more family-friendly experience. History The first two SkyScreamers were announced in late 2010 for Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags St. Louis for the 2011 season. On May 14, 2011, SkyScreamer officially opened at Six Flags St. Louis, where it replaced the Riverview Racer. On May 27, 2011, SkyScreamer made its debut at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertical Loop
The generic roller coaster vertical loop, where a section of track causes the riders to complete a 360 degree turn, is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. At the top of the loop, riders are completely inverted. History The vertical loop is not a recent roller coaster innovation. Its origins can be traced back to the 1850s when '' centrifugal railways'' were built in France and Great Britain. The rides relied on centrifugal forces to hold the car in the loop. One early looping coaster was shut down after an accident. Later attempts to build a looping roller coaster were carried out during the late 19th century with the ''Flip Flap Railway'' at Sea Lion Park. The ride was designed with a completely circular loop (rather than the teardrop shape used by many modern looping roller coasters), and caused neck injuries due to the intense G-forces pulled with the tight radius of the loop. The next attempt at building a looping roller coaster was in 1901 when Edwin Prescott bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Dragon Khan
Dragon Khan is a steel sit-down roller coaster located in the PortAventura Park theme park in Salou and Vilaseca (Tarragona), Catalonia, Spain. Dragon Khan boasts eight inversions, which was a world record until the opening of the ten-inversion Colossus in Thorpe Park, United Kingdom in 2002. The ride, built by Bolliger & Mabillard (B&M), opened on May 2, 1995 and was one of the two roller coasters present upon PortAventura's opening. The track is red with white and pastel blue supports; the trains are green, blue and purple (a third train is run at peak times only). Ride experience Inversions The ride After boarding the ride, riders climb to the top of the lift hill , crossing under one of Shambhala's return airtime hills. At the crest of the lift hill, Dragon Khan's track crosses under Shambhala's lift hill and hits a pre-drop. The track makes a right hand turn, then immediately dives down the first drop, threading under Shambhala's first drop and over its splashdown, and e ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Bandit (Yomiuriland)
is a steel roller coaster located at Yomiuriland in the city of Inagi, near Tokyo, Japan. Built in 1988 by the TOGO company, it was the fastest roller coaster in the world when it was built (taking the record from American Eagle at Six Flags Great America). It lost the record to Magnum XL-200 at Cedar Point one year later. Ride layout and experience Bandit's course is laid out as a terrain roller coaster. This means that it was custom-built to closely follow the contours of the hilly topography of Yomiuriland. Although the coaster's height is officially listed at , the layout of the terrain means that the difference between the highest and lowest points on the ride is actually (also a record when it was built). When Bandit was built in 1988, it held the record of being the fastest roller coaster in the world. The ride passes through the treetops of hundreds of cherry trees. This is highlighted during the park's annual cherry blossom (''sakura'') festival. During the festival, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vertical Loop
The generic roller coaster vertical loop, where a section of track causes the riders to complete a 360 degree turn, is the most basic of roller coaster inversions. At the top of the loop, riders are completely inverted. History The vertical loop is not a recent roller coaster innovation. Its origins can be traced back to the 1850s when '' centrifugal railways'' were built in France and Great Britain. The rides relied on centrifugal forces to hold the car in the loop. One early looping coaster was shut down after an accident. Later attempts to build a looping roller coaster were carried out during the late 19th century with the ''Flip Flap Railway'' at Sea Lion Park. The ride was designed with a completely circular loop (rather than the teardrop shape used by many modern looping roller coasters), and caused neck injuries due to the intense G-forces pulled with the tight radius of the loop. The next attempt at building a looping roller coaster was in 1901 when Edwin Prescott bu ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Six Flags Fright Fest
Fright Fest (also known as Festival Del Terror at Six Flags México) is a Halloween-oriented haunt event held annually at Six Flags theme parks in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. It mainly features haunted attractions, themed areas named ''Scare Zones'', and live entertainment. It opened as Fright Nights at Six Flags AstroWorld in 1986. In 2020, Fright Fest was reimagined to Hallowfest, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. History Fright Nights era (1986-1993) After testing various Halloween-based seasonal events throughout the 1970s to mid-1980s, Six Flags, then owned by Bally Manufacturing, created an all-new Halloween event for AstroWorld in 1986 that they named ''Six Flags Fright Nights''. In 1987, the event began to be expanded to Six Flags' other properties. Six Flags Over Georgia was the second park to introduce the event. Six Flags Over Mid-America was the third park to introduce Fright Nights in 1988 with Freddy Krueger from ''A Nightmare on Elm Street'' as the eve ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Demon (roller Coaster)
Demon is a multi-looping roller coaster at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois and California's Great America in Santa Clara, California. Both coasters opened in 1976 as Turn of the Century, when each Great America park was owned by Marriott Corporation. Following the 1979 season, they were slightly modified and renamed Demon, which introduced a new theme. History The ''Turn of the Century'' coasters opened with both Marriott's Great America parks in 1976 and were designed by Arrow Dynamics. Both were painted light seafoam green and were among some of the first roller coasters to feature a double corkscrew. They also featured two airtime hills after the first drop. The hills were well known for ejecting loose articles from the trains, such as hats, sunglasses and stuffed animals. The ride was custom-built for both parks. After the 1979 season, ''Turn of the Century'' was heavily modified. The airtime hills after the first drop were removed and replaced with two back to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
American Coaster Enthusiasts
American Coaster Enthusiasts (ACE) is a non-profit organization focusing on the enjoyment, knowledge, and preservation of roller coasters as well as recognition of some as architectural and engineering landmarks. Dues-paying members receive the quarterly magazine ''RollerCoaster!'' and bi-monthly newsletter ''ACE News''. Amusement parks have also invited members to exclusive ride events at amusement parks as well as sneak peek events at new roller coasters under construction. The organization maintains an online database of roller coasters including ride specifications and archives of published news articles. The club also recognizes historically significant roller coasters with the Coaster Classic and ACE Coaster Landmark statuses. History Organization founders Roy Brashears, Paul Greenwald and Richard Munch met at a roller coaster riding marathon event promoting the 1977 movie ''Rollercoaster'' at the ''Rebel Yell'' roller coaster (now called Racer 75) at Kings Dominion ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Zion, IL
Zion is a city in Lake County, Illinois, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 24,655. History The city was founded in July 1901 by John Alexander Dowie (1847-1907), a Scots-Australian evangelical minister and faith healer who had migrated to the United States in 1888. By 1890, he had settled in Chicago, where he built a large faith healing business (which included a large mail order component) and had attracted thousands of followers. He bought land 40 miles north of Chicago to found Zion, where he personally owned all of the land and most businesses. The city was named after Mount Zion in Israel. Dowie also founded the Zion Tabernacle of the Christian Catholic Apostolic Church, which was the only church in town. The structure was built in the early 1900s and was burned down in 1937, following several decades of tumultuous rule by Dowie's successor, Wilbur Glenn Voliva. Geography Zion is located at According to the 2010 census, Zion has a total area of , ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Shockwave (Six Flags Great America) Components
In physics, a shock wave (also spelled shockwave), or shock, is a type of propagating disturbance that moves faster than the local speed of sound in the medium. Like an ordinary wave, a shock wave carries energy and can propagate through a medium but is characterized by an abrupt, nearly discontinuous, change in pressure, temperature, and density of the medium. For the purpose of comparison, in supersonic flows, additional increased expansion may be achieved through an expansion fan, also known as a Prandtl–Meyer expansion fan. The accompanying expansion wave may approach and eventually collide and recombine with the shock wave, creating a process of destructive interference. The sonic boom associated with the passage of a supersonic aircraft is a type of sound wave produced by constructive interference. Unlike solitons (another kind of nonlinear wave), the energy and speed of a shock wave alone dissipates relatively quickly with distance. When a shock wave passes through ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Whizzer (roller Coaster)
Whizzer, originally Willard's Whizzer, is an Anton Schwarzkopf Speedracer roller coaster located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. It was one of two identical roller coasters built for the Marriott Corporation for each of their “Great America” parks at their debut in 1976, with an identical version of the Whizzer at California's Great America. Marriott continued to operate both parks until selling them in 1984. Manufactured by Anton Schwarzkopf of Germany, the two rides were the last “Speedracer” models ever built. The California Whizzer was dismantled in 1988 while the Illinois Whizzer remains in operation, as one of only two Speedracers still in existence worldwide (the other operating as Broca (formerly known as Zambezi Zinger) at Parque Nacional Del Café in Montenegro, Colombia). Gurnee Whizzer Six Flags Great America's Whizzer marked its 40th anniversary on May 29, 2016. The ride nearly was closed in August 2002, fueled by increasing maintenance cost ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Brake Run
A brake run on a roller coaster is any section of track meant to slow or stop a roller coaster train. Brake runs may be located anywhere along the circuit of a coaster and may be designed to bring the train to a complete halt or to simply adjust the train's speed. Contrary to some belief, the vast majority of roller coasters do not have any form of braking on the train itself, but rather forms of braking that exist on track sections. One notable exception is the Scenic Railway roller coaster, which relies on an operator to manually control the speed of the train. On most roller coasters, the brakes are controlled by a computer system. Some older coasters have manually operated friction or skid brakes, some with a pneumatic assist. These are either engaged at the control panel or operated by pulling or pushing large levers in the station. Trim brakes Trim brakes are sections of brakes which are intended to adjust a train's speed during its course rather than bring the train to ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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