Hypercoaster: Difference between revisions
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Hypercoasters were originally built for speed and airtime, to counter the trend of constructing bigger and bigger looping coasters. To accomplish this the elements of a hypercoaster often include a large first drop, several additional drops of declining height, a large turn or helix and then many airtime-inducing hills. Hypercoasters are commonly designed with an [[Out and Back roller coaster|out and back]] layout, although some hypercoasters, such as [[Raging Bull (roller coaster)|Raging Bull]], are built with a [[Twister roller coaster|twisted]] design. |
Hypercoasters were originally built for speed and airtime, to counter the trend of constructing bigger and bigger looping coasters. To accomplish this the elements of a hypercoaster often include a large first drop, several additional drops of declining height, a large turn or helix and then many airtime-inducing hills. Hypercoasters are commonly designed with an [[Out and Back roller coaster|out and back]] layout, although some hypercoasters, such as [[Raging Bull (roller coaster)|Raging Bull]], are built with a [[Twister roller coaster|twisted]] design. |
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Hypercoasters dominate the ''Amusement Today'' Golden Ticket Awards. For 2006, [[Superman: Ride of Steel]], now known as [[Bizarro (Six Flags New England)|Bizarro]], located at [[Six Flags New England]] was ranked highest at #1. Several hypercoasters followed such as [[Magnum XL-200]] (#3), [[Nitro (roller coaster)|Nitro]] (#4), [[Apollo's Chariot]] (#5). The hypercoasters make up the majority of the 2006 Top 10 Steel Coasters, filling |
Hypercoasters dominate the ''Amusement Today'' Golden Ticket Awards. For 2006, [[Superman: Ride of Steel]], now known as [[Bizarro (Six Flags New England)|Bizarro]], located at [[Six Flags New England]] was ranked highest at #1. Several hypercoasters followed such as [[Magnum XL-200]] (#3), [[Nitro (roller coaster)|Nitro]] (#4), [[Apollo's Chariot]] (#5). The hypercoasters make up the majority of the 2006 Top 10 Steel Coasters, filling 8/10 positions.<ref>{{cite news |title=The List: 2006 Top 50 Steel Roller Coasters |url=http://www.goldenticketawards.com/PDF/2006GTAissue.pdf |magazine=Amusement Today |page=26 |date=September 2006 |accessdate=14 May 2011}}</ref> By 2010, hypercoasters held all of the top 10 spots on Amusement Today's list of "Top 50 Steel Roller Coasters" and 16 of the top 20.<ref>{{cite news |title=The List: 2010 Top 50 Steel Roller Coasters |url=http://www.goldenticketawards.com/PDF/GTA2010issue.pdf |magazine=Amusement Today |page=34 |date=September 11, 2010 |accessdate=14 May 2011}}</ref> |
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Hypercoasters were first manufactured by [[Arrow Dynamics]] in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Since then, a number of companies, including [[Bolliger & Mabillard]], [[Intamin AG]], [[Chance-Morgan]], [[Giovanola]] and others have all designed and constructed hypercoasters. |
Hypercoasters were first manufactured by [[Arrow Dynamics]] in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Since then, a number of companies, including [[Bolliger & Mabillard]], [[Intamin AG]], [[Chance-Morgan]], [[Giovanola]] and others have all designed and constructed hypercoasters. |
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Revision as of 07:24, 14 May 2011
A hypercoaster can mean one of two things:
- Any continuous-circuit roller coaster with a height or drop measuring greater than 200 feet[1][2]
Or, more narrowly:
- A style or model of roller coaster with three features:[3][4][5][6]
- A height of 200–299 feet
- Lacks inverting elements
- A lift hill, not a launch
Out and back steel coasters smaller than 200 feet in both height and drop such as Steel Eel at SeaWorld San Antonio have sometimes been erroneously referred to as hypercoasters.[7]
History
The world's first hypercoaster was Magnum XL-200 by Cedar Point, costing $8,000,000 USD. Cedar Point chose Arrow Dynamics to design and construct Magnum XL-200. Construction on the world's tallest, fastest, longest, and steepest complete circuit roller coaster (at that time) began in 1988. By May 6, 1989, Magnum XL-200 was ready for riders. Since its debut, Magnum XL-200 has served more than 36 million guests.[8] Cedar Point's official blog states that after building the ride, "discussion was focused on just what a roller coaster such as Magnum should be called. After all, it had no loops like most of the other large steel coasters of the time and was so much bigger and faster than its non-looping brethren. After a couple of years, the name everyone agreed upon was hypercoaster."[9]
Description
Hypercoasters were originally built for speed and airtime, to counter the trend of constructing bigger and bigger looping coasters. To accomplish this the elements of a hypercoaster often include a large first drop, several additional drops of declining height, a large turn or helix and then many airtime-inducing hills. Hypercoasters are commonly designed with an out and back layout, although some hypercoasters, such as Raging Bull, are built with a twisted design.
Hypercoasters dominate the Amusement Today Golden Ticket Awards. For 2006, Superman: Ride of Steel, now known as Bizarro, located at Six Flags New England was ranked highest at #1. Several hypercoasters followed such as Magnum XL-200 (#3), Nitro (#4), Apollo's Chariot (#5). The hypercoasters make up the majority of the 2006 Top 10 Steel Coasters, filling 8/10 positions.[10] By 2010, hypercoasters held all of the top 10 spots on Amusement Today's list of "Top 50 Steel Roller Coasters" and 16 of the top 20.[11]
Hypercoasters were first manufactured by Arrow Dynamics in the late 1980s to early 1990s. Since then, a number of companies, including Bolliger & Mabillard, Intamin AG, Chance-Morgan, Giovanola and others have all designed and constructed hypercoasters.
Notably, there is only one wooden hypercoaster on Earth, Son of Beast at Kings Island. It follows, then, that Son of Beast is the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster. Upon its opening, it was also the only wooden roller coaster to feature a vertical loop, thus disqualifying it from the narrower definition of "hypercoaster". However, the loop was removed in 2006 when Cedar Fair Entertainment Company purchased the park from Paramount. It has been standing but not operating (SBNO) since the beginning of the 2009 season,[12] due to a number of problems, including guest complaints about the roughness of the ride. [13]
Hypercoasters
By style
The following are a list of all hypercoasters sorted by opening date:
| Name | Park | Manufacturer | Status | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Magnum XL-200 | Cedar Point | Arrow Dynamics | Operating | May 6, 1989 |
| Desperado | Buffalo Bill's | Arrow Dynamics | Operating | May 14, 1994 |
| Pepsi Max Big One | Pleasure Beach, Blackpool | Arrow Dynamics | Operating | May 28, 1994 |
| Wild Thing | Valleyfair! | Chance-Morgan | Operating | May 11, 1996 |
| Fujiyama | Fuji-Q Highland | TOGO | Operating | July 1996 |
| Manhattan Express | New York, New York Hotel & Casino | TOGO | Operating | January 3, 1997 |
| Steel Force | Dorney Park & Wildwater Kingdom | Chance-Morgan | Operating | May 30, 1997 |
| Mamba | Worlds of Fun | Chance-Morgan | Operating | April 18, 1998 |
| Apollo's Chariot | Busch Gardens Europe | Bolliger & Mabillard | Operating | March 27, 1999 |
| Raging Bull | Six Flags Great America | Bolliger & Mabillard | Operating | May 1, 1999 |
| Ride of Steel | Darien Lake | Intamin AG | Operating | May 15, 1999 |
| Goliath | Six Flags Magic Mountain | Giovanola | Operating | February 11, 2000 |
| Bizarro | Six Flags New England | Intamin AG | Operating | May 5, 2000 |
| Superman - Ride of Steel | Six Flags America | Intamin AG | Operating | May 13, 2000 |
| Millennium Force* | Cedar Point | Intamin AG | Operating | May 13, 2000 |
| Son of Beast (Wooden) | Kings Island | Roller Coaster Corporation of America | SBNO | May 26, 2000 |
| Steel Dragon 2000* | Nagashima Spa Land | Chance-Morgan | Operating | August 1, 2000 |
| Nitro | Six Flags Great Adventure | Bolliger & Mabillard | Operating | April 7, 2001 |
| Titan | Six Flags Over Texas | Giovanola | Operating | April 27, 2001 |
| Phantom's Revenge | Kennywood | Chance-Morgan | Operating | May 19, 2001 |
| X2 | Six Flags Magic Mountain | Arrow Dynamics | Operating | Dec 24, 2001 |
| Silver Star | Europa Park | Bolliger & Mabillard | Operating | March 23, 2002 |
| Xcelerator | Knott's Berry Farm | Intamin AG | Operating | June 22, 2002 |
| Thunder Dolphin | Tokyo Dome City Attractions | Intamin AG | Operating | May 1, 2003 |
| Top Thrill Dragster** | Cedar Point | Intamin AG | Operating | May 4, 2003 |
| Superman el Último Escape | Six Flags Mexico | Chance-Morgan | Operating | November 19, 2004 |
| Kingda Ka** | Six Flags Great Adventure | Intamin AG | Operating | May 21, 2005 |
| Goliath | Six Flags Over Georgia | Bolliger & Mabillard | Operating | April 1, 2006 |
| Behemoth | Canada's Wonderland | Bolliger & Mabillard | Operating | May 4, 2008 |
| Diamondback | Kings Island | Bolliger & Mabillard | Operating | April 18, 2009 |
| Intimidator | Carowinds | Bolliger & Mabillard | Operating | March 27, 2010 |
| SheiKra | Busch Gardens Africa | Bolliger & Mabillard | Operating | May 21, 2005 |
| Stealth | Thorpe Park | Intamin AG | Operating | March 15, 2006 |
| Zaturn | Space World | Intamin AG | Operating | April 29, 2006 |
| Eejanaika | Fuji-Q Highland | S&S Arrow | Operating | July 19, 2006 |
| Griffon | Busch Gardens Europe | Bolliger & Mabillard | Operating | May 18, 2007 |
| Diving Coaster | Happy Valley | Bolliger & Mabillard | Operating | August 16, 2009 |
| Intimidator 305* | King's Dominion | Intamin AG | Operating | April 2, 2010 |
| unknown | China Dinosaurs Park | S&S Power | Under Construction | October 2011 |
* Denotes a hypercoaster that is also a giga coaster (any full circuit coaster over 300 ft).
** Denotes a hypercoaster that is also a strata coaster (any full circuit coaster over 400 ft).
By height
The following are non-continuous circuit coasters that exceed 200 feet in height or drop, unlike coasters that conform to the hypercoaster "style." However, these shuttle roller coasters are not usually considered hypercoasters.
| Name | Park | Manufacturer | Status | Opened |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Moonsault Scramble | Fuji-Q Highland | Meisho Amusement Machines | Defunct | June 24, 1983 |
| Tower of Terror | Dreamworld | Intamin AG | Operating | 1997 |
| Superman: Escape From Krypton | Six Flags Magic Mountain | Intamin AG | Operating | March 15, 1997 |
| Batman and Robin: The Chiller | Six Flags Great Adventure | Premier Rides | Defunct | 1998 |
| Mr. Freeze | Six Flags Over Texas | Premier Rides | Operating | 1998 |
| Mr. Freeze | Six Flags St. Louis | Premier Rides | Operating | April 1998 |
| Speed-The Ride | Nascar Cafe | Premier Rides | SBNO | April 28, 2000 |
| Wicked Twister | Cedar Point | Intamin AG | Operating | May 5, 2002 |
References
- ^ "Hypercoasters". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
- ^ "Millennium Force: The Hypercoaster Rules No More". Thrillride.com. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
- ^ "Hyper Coaster". Coasterforce.com. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
- ^ "Hyper Coaster". Rcdb.com. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- ^ "Mega Coaster". Rcdb.com. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- ^ "Mega Coaster". Rcdb.com. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- ^ "Steel Eel". SeaWorld.com. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
- ^ "CP Mobile". Cedarpoint.com. Retrieved 2011-03-01.
- ^ "More Thoughts on Magnum". Cedarpoint.com. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
- ^ "The List: 2006 Top 50 Steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. September 2006. p. 26. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
- ^ "The List: 2010 Top 50 Steel Roller Coasters" (PDF). Amusement Today. September 11, 2010. p. 34. Retrieved 14 May 2011.
- ^ "Son Of Beast (Kings Island)". rcdb.com. Retrieved 2011-05-13.
- ^ "What's next for Son of Beast? Future of Kings Island roller coaster unclear". cincinatti.com. 2011-04-23. Retrieved May 14, 2011.
- ^ "Roller Coaster Database". rcdb.com. Retrieved 2011-05-12.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|1=(help) - ^ "Roller Coaster Database". rcdb.com. Retrieved 2011-05-12.