Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Top 50 Most Terrifying Roller Coasters - 47. Riddler's Revenge

47. RIDDLER'S REVENGE
Known for: World's largest standup coaster
Park: Six Flags Magic Mountain
Location: United States
Type: Steel
Opened: 1998
Designer/Manufacturer: Bolliger & Mabillard
Height (ft.): 156
Drop (ft.): 146
Speed (mph): 65
Inversions: 6


When Riddler’s Revenge opened in 1998 it became the world recorder holder in height, drop, speed, length and number of inversions on a standup roller coaster. Instead of sitting in a seated position riders standup while hurling through massive inversions including two back to back dive loops. Riders straddle a small bicycle style seat meaning this coaster may be slightly more terrifying for males rather than females, especially if they have dreams of having children in the future. Even though B&M only built seven standup coasters Riddler’s Revenge remains the cream of the crop.

Wednesday, May 21, 2014

Top 50 Most Terrifying Roller Coasters - 48. The RATTLER

48. The RATTLER
Known for: World's largest wood coaster when it debuted
Park: Six Flags Fiesta Texas
Location: United States
Type: Wood
Opened: 1992
Closed: 2012
Designer/Manufacturer: John Pierce
Height (ft.): 179.7
Drop (ft.): 124
Speed (mph): 65

When the Rattler opened at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in 1992 it was the tallest and fastest wooden coaster in the world. The lift hill climbed to an impressive height of 179 feet followed by a gut wrenching drop of 166 feet and a blistering speed of 73 mph. Adding to the ride’s excitement was its incredible location situated on top of, next to, and even carved through a rock quarry wall.Unfortunately, the coaster's original plans never called for such a large first drop. The construction of the 161 foot tall Mean Streak at Cedar Point prompted the park to alter the design at the last minute in order to make it the record holder. The hasty changes negatively affected the layout due to very rough transitions between elements resulting in many riders complaining of rib or back pain. The park was forced to make modifications to the ride and shortenedthe first drop from 166 to 124 feet resulting in a reduction of its top speed from 73 to 65 miles per hour.

There’s a saying about wooden roller coasters: “If it doesn’t shake it’s going to break.” Wooden roller coaster structures are designed to sway a couple of inches as the train goes racing by, especially in tight corners and high g-force locations. Think of it like this — when you jump off of a tall object you land safely by allowing your legs to flex and bend at the knee. Otherwise, if you kept your legs straight, you might shatter your leg bone or bust your knee joint. This same basic principle applies to a wooden roller coaster. The structure must be allowed to give and flex like a shock absorber in order to keep it from internally shaking itself to pieces. The Rattler was notorious for how much the structure would sway as the train raced by. See for yourself in this video: (http://youtu.be/sLfQBW9wnDI)


The Rattler was closed in 2012 to be transformed into the Iron Rattler steel coaster.

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Top 50 Most Terrifying Roller Coasters #49 Abyss

The next coaster in our countdown of the 50 most terrifying roller coasters ever built is...

49. Abyss

Known for: Underwear dispensers
Park: Adventure World
Location: Australia
Type: Steel
Opened: 2013
Designer/Manufacturer: Gerstlauer Amusement Rides GmbH
Height (ft.): 98.4
Drop (ft.): 100
Speed (mph): 52.8
Inversions: 3

Australia’s Adventure World opened Abyss in 2013, a custom designed Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter coaster, the first of its kind in the country.Riders of the $12 million coaster board one of four trains seating eight passengers each. The journey begins inside a dark show building where the vehicles navigate a few twists and turns before rolling rider’s upside down through an inline twist in the dark. Then it’s outside and up the 100 foot tall vertical lift hill. The beyond vertical first drop sends the cars zipping along in excess of 52 mph during the ride’s 2,066-foot-long course. A dive loop and Immelman loop complete the inversion count before the vehicles return to the station inside the show building.



In an effort to help promote Abyss as Australia’s most terrifying coaster, the park placed underwear dispensers outside the exit of the ride stocked with packets of fresh clean white underpants. Along with the 'tighty whities', the undies packets contained a fact sheet outlining all of the key statistics and features relating to the ride. The park hasn’t unveiled how many guests have actually needed the packets.

Stay tuned for number 48. See number fifty here.