Roar (trademarked as ROAR) is the name of a

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

at Six Flags America located near

Upper Marlboro, Maryland Upper Marlboro, officially the Town of Upper Marlboro, is the seat of Prince George's County, Maryland. Aso of the 2020 census, the population was 652. although Greater Upper Marlboro is many times larger. Etymology Upper Marlboro was establ ...

. There were originally two roller coasters; the first and current ride was built in 1998 at Six Flags America, and a second ride was built in 1999 at

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Six Flags Discovery Kingdom (formerly known as Six Flags Marine World, Marine World, The New Marine World Theme Park, and Marine World Africa USA) is a 135-acre (55 ha) animal theme park located in Vallejo, California, off of Interstate 80 ...

. Both rides were designed and built by

Great Coasters International Great Coasters International, Inc. (GCI or GCII) is a Sunbury, Pennsylvania-based roller coaster manufacturer which has created several award-winning rides since its formation in 1994. Starting in 2006 with Thunderbird at PowerPark in Finland, t ...

(GCI). In 2015, Discovery Kingdom announced the retirement of its version of Roar, which

Rocky Mountain Construction Rocky Mountain Construction, often abbreviated as RMC, is a manufacturing and construction company based in Hayden, Idaho, United States. The company is best known for its I-Box track and Topper Track for wooden roller coasters. History In 20 ...

later renovated and transformed into

The Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book '' Batman'' on April 25, 1 ...

, a hybrid roller coaster.

Design and operation

The ride is a

with a

chain 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 ...

system. It features a unique "Speed Shed" element over a large section of track, designed to enhance the sense of speed without the visual sensory loss of a traditional tunnel. Of the two trains used on the ride, each one seats a capacity of 24 people in six cars and utilize both seat belts and lap bars. The height of the roller coaster is , and its drop is ; the maximum speed reached is . Unlike classic out and back rides, Roar is a twister design.

Six Flags America

Six Flags America's Roar, called Roar (East) by GCI, was built in 1998. Unlike its sibling in the west, this ride is longer at and has a slightly longer ride time. The longer track length is due to the ride's location on a slanting hillside, and longer drops on the station side and lift hill. Its trains, designed and maintained by

Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters Philadelphia Toboggan Coasters (PTC) is one of the oldest existing roller coaster manufacturing companies in the world. Based in Hatfield, Pennsylvania, it was established in 1904 by Henry Auchey and Chester Albright under the name Philadelphia ...

, are also different. Roar is one of the three rides at Six Flags America that featured an

on-ride camera An on-ride camera is a camera mounted alongside the track of a roller coaster, log flume or other thrill ride that automatically photographs all of the riders on each passing vehicle. They are often mounted at the most intense or fastest part of th ...

(the others being Superman: Ride of Steel and

Apocalypse Apocalypse () is a literary genre in which a supernatural being reveals cosmic mysteries or the future to a human intermediary. The means of mediation include dreams, visions and heavenly journeys, and they typically feature symbolic imager ...

). It has been removed along with the camera on Apocalypse. The camera for Apocalypse returned and was re-added for the 2019 transition to Firebird. The ride is situated in the park's ''Chesapeake'' themed section.

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom

Six Flags Discovery Kingdom's Roar, called Roar (West) by GCI, was built in 1999 in light of adding the Six Flags moniker to the Marine World amusement park. At , this coaster was shorter than the installation at Six Flags America. The ride consisted of two 12 car Millennium Flyer trains. This type of train helps give the sensation of a steel roller coaster utilizing the classic wooden style design. Roar was situated in the ''Sky'' animal-themed area of the park. It closed on August 16, 2015. On July 16, 2015, Six Flags Discovery Kingdom announced that Roar would be retired on August 16, 2015. The closure marked the completion of the attraction's seventeenth season. Park president Don McCoy released a statement that the ride was being removed to make room for future expansion. An estimated 11 million visitors to the park have ridden the roller coaster since its debut in 1999. On September 3, 2015, Six Flags announced that the Roar at

would be transformed into a "wood-steel hybrid" named

featuring three inversions.

performed the conversion, opening the new version on May 28, 2016.

Awards

References

;General * * * * ;Specific

External links

Roar at Six Flags AmericaGreat Coasters International
{{SFDK Coasters Roller coasters operated by Six Flags Roller coasters in Maryland Former roller coasters in California Six Flags Discovery Kingdom Six Flags America Roller coasters manufactured by Great Coasters International de:Roar (Six Flags America)