Whether you like it or not, Windseekers are taking over the Cedar Fair chain; Six of out of the twelve theme parks currently operate or are building one. Cedar Fair is hooked on these 300 (excuse me, 301) foot swing sets, and it’s understandable why; simply put, it’s a gimmick, and the general public eats them up. I can already hear “Dude, did you hear some guy fell out of that thing?” “No way! Lets go ride it!” on the midways of Carowinds.
Anyway, the two Windseekers currently under construction are making decent progress. Both just hit the milestone of their first piece of tower being installed and have “gone vertical.” With the theme park season just around the corner, it’ll be fun to watch these things fly up. Hopefully they’ve worked out the kinks from the last set and these two will have a smooth season.
So, here are some pictures of the “30 or so feet of OMGs”:
Carowinds (via Carowinds Amusement Park on Facebook)
Dollywood’s Wild Eagle is one of the most anticipated attractions for the 2012 season. The B&M Wingrider has been quietly, andcertainly quickly chugging along with construction and, what may come as a surprise to some, track work was recently completed. The final piece was lowered into place last week. These B&M’s seem to fly up in no time!
Photo: Dollywood
Along with the milestone, the park has also released some beautiful new animation of Wild Eagle:
In the latest poll, we asked for you, the readers, to decide what is the best Bolliger & Mabillard coaster at a Busch Gardens park. Busch Gardens, has developed a love for the Swiss manufacturer over the years, importing a total of six coasters between it’s 2 parks: Tampa and Williamsburg. The models ranged from the hyper style of Apollo’s Chariot, to the sitdown looper of Kumba, the two inverted coasters known as Alpengeist and Montu, and most recently the two dive machines, SheiKra and Griffon.
Proving to be one of our closest polls, it appears that fans were certainly divided over this collection of undoubtedly great coasters. However, the readers have spoken, and with 27% of the votes, Apollo’s Chariot earns the title as the best. The airtime filled coaster utilizes the park’s terrain for large drops with a relatively short lift hill. Despite the inversions filling the other coasters, it appears airtime wins once again with Apollo’s 8 camelbacks.
Finishing out the poll were Montu with 18%, Griffon with 17%, Kumba with 15%, Alpengeist with 11%, and lastly SheiKra with 12%. This proved to be a much closer poll than many of our others showing just how solid of a collection each park has. It’s also interesting to note that, in to this poll, Williamsburg claimed 1st, 3rd, and 5th place coasters, while Tampa claimed 2nd, 4th, and 6th place.
Best Busch Gardens B&M coaster?
Apollo's Chariot at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (35%, 25 Votes)
Alpengeist at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (13%, 9 Votes)
Griffon at Busch Gardens Williamsburg (21%, 15 Votes)
Kumba at Busch Gardens Tampa (17%, 12 Votes)
Montu at Busch Gardens Tampa (23%, 16 Votes)
SheiKra at Busch Gardens Tampa (13%, 9 Votes)
Total Voters: 71
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2012 is clearly going to be a huge year for the amusement industry. The biggest, most anticipated additions are the coasters that will soon dominate their park’s skylines, ones that represent a first of it’s kind, and certainly, additions that are expected to provide the best experience. Two of the top contenders for 2012 are airtime filled, inversion-less models are SkyRush at Hersheypark and Leviathan at Canada’s Wonderland.
Leviathan is B&M’s highly anticipated burst onto the Giga coaster front. Towering at 306 feet, Leviathan will reach speeds of 90 mph. In addition, the designers have taken a more distinct approach to the layout by eliminating the constant airtime hills with high-speed low to the ground turns, while still maintaing a few large camelbacks.
Hersheypark’s SkyRush will also be a first for it’s manufacturer. The hyper coaster model will feature winged outer seats where riders on the outer most rows will have no floor below them as they race at speeds of 75 mph, over 5 airtime hills. Despite it’s size (compared to the competitor), Sky Rush is created by Intamin, who is proven to generate top of the line coasters. Could this be yet another?
Which do you predict will be the better 2012 coaster?
Leviathan at Canada's Wonderland (81%, 38 Votes)
SkyRush at Hersheypark (43%, 20 Votes)
Total Voters: 47
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So which of these super coasters do you think will be superior? Vote now and on the side bar! Leave a comment with your Park Thoughts below.
In 2012, Six Flags Magic Mountain will add yet another world class thrill ride: Lex Luthor: Drop of Doom. Built on either side of the recently remodeled Superman: Escape from Krypton, these pair of drop towers will rise 400 feet, before dropping people back to earth while reaching speeds of 85 mph, making it both the tallest and fastest drop...
Invasion of the Windseekers continue with Kings Dominion announcing a Windseeker for 2012. The announcement comes just weeks after Carowinds announced they will be adding a Windseeker to their 2012 line-up. Kings Dominion appears to be an identical version of the Mondial model standing at 301 feet, 32 carriages of 2 passenger seats, and the elaborate lighting/audio package. Kings Dominion brings...
The biggest and most anticipated announcement from Six Flags this morning comes as news for Six Flags Great America. Next year the park will add a Bolliger & Mabillard coaster, called X-Flight. Press Release:
Gurnee, Ill. (September 1, 2011) – Get ready to take flight! Six Flags Great America announces plans to add a state-of-the-art roller coaster for the 2012 season. X-Flight...
After a troubled final two seasons at California’s Great America, last winter, Great America announcd that Invertigo would not be apart of the park’s 2011 line-up and dismantled the ride. Pieces were spotted at Dorney Park, indicating that Invertigo had found it’s new home. And this morning, Dorney Park made it official unveiling the former Invertigo in it’s new form:...
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