Arkansas Twister is a

wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also ...

Magic Springs and Crystal Falls Magic Springs Theme and Water Park, known as Magic Springs, is an amusement park and water park located in Hot Springs, Arkansas, about from Little Rock. A single price admission includes all day use of the rides and attractions in both parks. ...

amusement park in

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs for which the city is n ...

. Originally opening in 1978 as The Roaring Tiger at Circus World theme park, the roller coaster was purchased in 1991 by Magic Springs, where it reopened as Arkansas Twister on May 30, 1992. It features a and reaches speeds of up to as it travels through the foothills of the

Ouachita Mountains The Ouachita Mountains (), simply referred to as the Ouachitas, are a mountain range in western Arkansas and southeastern Oklahoma. They are formed by a thick succession of highly deformed Paleozoic strata constituting the Ouachita Fold and Thru ...

. The ride was also known as "Florida Hurricane" and "Michael Jackson's Thrill Coaster" over the years. Magic Springs purchased the ride from

Boardwalk and Baseball Boardwalk and Baseball was a theme park built near Haines City, Florida, at the south-east corner of the Interstate 4-US 27 interchange. It replaced Circus World at the same location, and was owned by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich Park Group (now Har ...

for $10,000, and relocation costs brought the total investment to roughly $900,000.

History

The roller coaster made its debut in 1978 as The Roaring Tiger at Circus World in

Haines City, Florida Haines City is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. Its population was 13,174 at the 2000 census and 20,535 at the 2010 census. It is the third most populous city in Polk County. It is part of the Lakeland– Winter Haven Metropolitan ...

. Designed by Don Rosser & Associates and renowned coaster engineer Bill Cobb, the ride cost $2.3 million to construct using over a half-million feet of

Douglas fir The Douglas fir (''Pseudotsuga menziesii'') is an evergreen conifer species in the pine family, Pinaceae. It is native to western North America and is also known as Douglas-fir, Douglas spruce, Oregon pine, and Columbian pine. There are three va ...

lumber. With of track and speeds originally up to , it was billed as "the South's longest and fastest roller coaster" by the park. It was famously known as a personal favorite of celebrity

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

, who visited the park frequently in the 1980s to ride. As Circus World changed ownership several times over the years, the roller coaster was renamed briefly to "Michael Jackson's Thrill Coaster" and eventually to "Florida Hurricane" when the park reopened as

in 1987. Boardwalk and Baseball closed shortly thereafter in 1990, and its rides were either demolished or sold to the highest bidder.

purchased the Florida Hurricane for $10,000 in 1991, and spent close to $900,000 relocating the ride. On May 30, 1992, the roller coaster opened to the public as "Arkansas Twister" at Magic Springs amusement park in

. For the 2002 season, the park invested $2 million restoring the roller coaster to its original condition when it was located in Florida, modifying the "dips" to Cobb's original specifications.

Ride experience

The ride begins as the train exits the station and immediately enters the

lift hill A lift hill, or chain hill, is an upward-sloping section of track on a roller coaster on which the roller coaster train is mechanically lifted to an elevated point or peak in the track. Upon reaching the peak, the train is then propelled from th ...

. After reaching its peak, the train drops at a 45-degree angle and banks slightly left as it elevates into a short hill, providing riders significant lateral

g-force The gravitational force equivalent, or, more commonly, g-force, is a measurement of the type of force per unit mass – typically acceleration – that causes a perception of weight, with a g-force of 1 g (not gram in mass measure ...

. The track straightens as the train makes a second descent into another short hill which produces an "

air-time In the context of amusement rides, air time, or airtime, refers to the time during which riders of a roller coaster or other ride experience either frictionless or negative G-forces. The negative g-forces that a rider experiences is what create ...

" experience. The third hill is followed by a steep climb into the ride's 180-degree turnaround that features brakes to slow the train. On its way back, the train descends from the turnaround into a series of two shorter hills, the second of which banks to the right at its crest. The following hill is larger and sits directly beside the roller coaster's lift hill, with wooden supports surrounding riders as they pass through. The ride's finale features two very short hills and another 180-degree turnaround before the coaster meets the final brake run and returns to the station.

References

{{Reflist

External links

Official page

Roller coasters in Arkansas Buildings and structures in Hot Springs, Arkansas Magic Springs and Crystal Falls 1978 establishments in Florida 1990 disestablishments in Florida 1992 establishments in Arkansas Roller coasters in Florida