Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom Roller Coaster

2016’s summer blockbuster Jurassic World was filmed in the parking lot of the abandoned theme park Six Flags New Orleans. In the image below you can see the midway of the fake theme park setup in the parking lot of the former real one (which has since been removed):

A sequel to one of the highest grossing movies of all time is scheduled to be released in summer 2018, and Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom also has an odd theme park tie-in: they built a real working roller coaster to film a sequence in the movie.

A behind the scenes video posted to Universal Pictures shows the gyro-sphere, the hamster ball “ride” from Jurassic World has been placed onto a car and mounted to a roller coaster track with a green screen stuck on the back. The Jurassic World roller coaster takes one sharp drop before hitting the brakes.

Judging by the newly released trailer, it looks like they used the roller coaster to film the part where the hamster ball flies off the edge of a cliff and into the ocean, surrounded by other falling dinosaurs. It’s cool for them to build something to get real reactions from the actors. It looks like it even has some wicked airtime!

We don’t know who manufactured the track, but our best guess is it was a custom job by the production studio or some other small/unknown of shop outside the amusement industry. On first glance the Jurassic world coaster may look like a B&M job due to the rectangular spine (a shape I don’t think I have ever seen anyone else ever use before), but on closer inspection, the size ratio of the backbone and rails is all off for B&M, as well as the fact the track does not look very smooth and like it was hastily assembled. Would not be surprising. It was probably only needed for a few takes then was probably scrapped. If anyone knows more please fill us in!

And if you’re reading this Universal, please create a real gyrosphere ride for your parks!

25 Extreme Drop Tower Rides

Besides your roller coasters, carousels, and Ferris wheels, a staple attraction of any major amusement park is the drop tower ride. While common today, these freefall attractions don’t have a long, hundred-year history like the roller coaster or amusement park. The first tower rides didn’t appear until the 1980s and didn’t start catching on until the 1990s when the technology and ride experience improved enough to make them “can’t miss” attractions.

What are the tallest, fastest, and most extreme drop towers ever built? Find out all this and more by reading 25 Extreme Drop Tower Rides. You'll learn about the history of the drop tower as well as all the different seating configurations and where the most terrifying freefall rides can be found.

Download it for FREE to read on Kindle between April 14 through 16, 2017. Follow this link to get it on Amazon.com

Early contender for best new ride of 2016 is...

The early contender for best new ride of 2016 is Storm Chaser at Kentucky Kingdom, Rocky Mountain Construction’s first all-steel roller coaster. The ride has not been talked about much because it is overshadowed by larger RMC projects like Dollywood's Lightning Rod (still not open). Storm Chaser may not be very tall but it sure does pack a big punch.

In fact, Storm Chaser couldn't be any taller even if they wanted to because the lift hill is nearly aligned to be pointed right in the direction of the flight path of landing airplanes at the Louisville airport. How close do the airplanes get to the roller coaster? See here:



If you know of an airport close to a theme park then this, please let me know!

The camelback hill following the first drop might be one of the best hills on any roller coaster ever. The extreme airtime took me by surprise every time. I think I literally yelled “holy crap!” (or some form of that) all six times we rode it.

Check out our multi-angle off-ride video of Storm Chaser below and be on the look out for extreme “hairtime”:

Read a detailed Storm Chaser review here.

Top 50 Most Terrifying Roller Coasters - 45. Furius Baco

45. FURIUS BACO

Known for: World's only launched wingrider

Park: Port Adventura

Location: Spain

Type: Steel

Opened: 2007

Designer/Manufacturer: Intamin AG

Height (ft.): 46

Speed (mph): 83.9

Inversions: 1

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpl1zlq9jXY

Furius Baco was the world’s first wing coaster where the seats are cantilevered off the side of the train instead of being on top of or below the rails allowing passenger’s feet to dangle freely. What makes Furius Baco even more unique is it’s the world’s only launched wing coaster, and while many other launched rides typically launch immediately into a giant hill, Furius Baco races off of the launch track and dips down into a trench. Because the wingspan of the vehicles is so wide the outside seats are far away from the center of gravity of the trains and often result in a rough and bumpy ride. This could be one of the reasons why Furius Baco has been the only wing-rider with stationary seats sold and manufactured by Intamin. The wing-rider market is dominated now by B&M who appears to have solved the roughness problem.

Top 50 Most Terrifying Roller Coasters - 46. The Bat

46. THE BAT

Known for: World's first suspended coaster

Park: Kings Island

Location: United States

Type: Steel

Opened: 1993

Designer/Manufacturer: Arrow Dynamics

Height (ft.): 78

Drop (ft.): 70

Speed (mph): 51

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sg-OWKFyp8A‎

One of the most notorious rides in roller coaster history is The Bat at Kings Island. It was the first ever suspended roller coaster where the cars hang below the rails and are free to swing freely from side to side. The Bat only operated sporadically between 1981 and 1983 before being dismantled in 1985. Over the years, the legend of the Bat has grown due to the outrageous rumors about why the ride was destroyed and because so few people were able to ride it. Contrary to many wild stories, the Bat never killed or even injured a rider. Poor engineering of the trains, track, and structure is what really lead to the ride’s demise. A year after the Bat was removed the Vortex looping coaster was erected in the Bat’s place and actually reused the station. Concrete footers from the Bat can still be seen beneath the Vortex’s structure. The suspended roller coaster returned to Kings Island in 1993 with the edition of Top Gun (renamed Flight Deck and later re-themed to the Bat). If you were fortunate enough to ride the original Bat consider yourself lucky!

Ultimate Book About the Harry Potter Ride

Today I want to share with you the latest book on my reading list: Secrets of the Forbidden Journey.  It’s an in depth look at how the Harry Potter ride at Universal's Island of Adventure works! Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey is the most technologically advanced ride on the planet. 

It uses robotic arms that travel along a transport fixed to a track (called a RoboCoaster) and synchronizes with other moving platforms and animatronics.  

This book gives a detailed walkthrough of the ride, talks about the history of how it came to be, then dives into details about the engineering and technology behind it. This also includes how it uses hologram projectors and dome screens on carousels. 

It also talks about a few of the effects that were planned but didn’t make it to the final ride, like the dragon actually breathing fire and a more fearsome Whomping Willow tree. f you’re interested in how rides work or want to pursue a career in the theme park industry I recommend checking this book out. Available on Amazon.com.

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

Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WrsvkjhSwEQ‎

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.

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

Video: http://youtu.be/BPXBkuN-O18

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.

Top 50 Most Terrifying Roller Coasters - Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit

I'm starting a new series examining what I believe to be the top 50 most terrifying roller coasters ever built. We start with number 50:

50. HOLLYWOOD RIP RIDE ROCKIT

Known for: World’s first track elements

Park: Universal Studios Florida

Location: United States

Type: Steel

Opened: 2009

Designer/Manufacturer: Maurer Söhne

Height (ft.): 167

Speed (mph): 65

Video: http://youtu.be/JjI2a8wRe34

Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is a radically innovative steel coaster that includes one-of-a-kind track elements, cutting-edge technology, and an interactive audio element. Sprawling across a large section of the park, the skyline of Universal Studios Florida was changed forever when the Rockit began thrilling in August of 2009. Riders board a train consisting of two six passenger cars before ascending the 167 foot tall vertical lift hill. After reaching a speed of 65 miles per hour the ride soars into a mammoth non-inverting loop (a loop that twists at the top so the vehicles never turn upside down). This crazy maneuver is followed by the Treble Clef, where guests burst through a building façade on track shaped like the music symbol; and later followed by the Jump Cut, a spiraling, negative-gravity move. If nothing else, Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is surely one of the coolest looking coasters around, especially at night when the lights on the vehicles are lit up.

The most unique aspect of Hollywood Rip Ride Rockit is the ability to choose your own song to rock out to. That is if you can hear it over your own screaming. The music selection is broken up into 30 songs in five categories; Classic Rock/Heavy Metal, Club/Electronica, Country, Rap/Hip-Hop, and Pop Music/Disco. In addition to these 30 songs, Universal has also included a number of “hidden” tracks that are accessible via entering secret codes into the ride’s touchpads before your journey begins. A personalized take-home music video is also available for purchase for those wanting to remember and share their terrifying ordeal with their friends.