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2005's Tallest Roller Coaster
MacBrave writes "MSNBC has a short story about a new roller coaster, named 'Kingda Ka' that is set to open at Six Flags Great Adventure in New Jersey in the spring of 2005. This coaster will beat the current world record-holder, Top-thrill Dragster at Cedar Point."
Worlds highest ride is Taipei 101 (also known as Taipei Financial Center), but you only get the ride when an eartquake hits Taiwan.
A feeling of having made the same mistake before: Deja Foobar
Kingda Ka is Hyperborean for "Spine snapper."
Or, if pronounced with emphasis on the "da," its Lemurean for "Flinger of Unrestrained Toddlers."
You get it on with your partner. There is anxious anticipation as you start. You start slowly, climbing your way to the top.
There are smiles exchanged, and giggles, maybe even caressing or hand holding. The excitement builds and builds. It nears the top. The expressions on faces become wondrous and excited. Then as it hits the pinnacle, things move very fast. There's a quick motion, the heart races with complete excitement; faces are all in total pleasure. Arms are flailing, heads are bouncing, and there is some noticeable screaming going on.
The rest of the ride is up and down, twisting and turning, lots of bumping, sometimes in the light, sometimes in the dark, sometimes there's a surprise, and sometimes it becomes all too familiar but always...always...at the end, there's a big smile on the face, hair is all messed up and everyone is talking about how great it is while some of them say, "I wanna go again"...
What am I? The Kingda Ka Roller Coaster of course! Sheesh... You pervert.
It's over in about 50 seconds. Wow! It really is just like sex!
I've riden a ride like the one buing built. It's the kind that uses a horizontal track to send the train into the first incline. Believe me, there's nothing like it. One I rode (StormRunner (?), Hershey Park, PA) went from a near dead stop to 70+ MPH in under 3 seconds, into a 90 degree first climb 12 stories high. You move so fast your eyes water from all the wind whipping past you. So fast the forces throw your head back against the headrest. So fast, it's all done with in about 27 seconds.
One big word of advice if you ride something like this: Before the ride starts, keep your head against the headrest. Your neck will thank you.
The One Rule Of Chess You'll Ever Need: Don't play someone who carries a kit in their bookbag.
This ride is completely weak in that it is almost an exact copy of Cedar Point's ride. only 8 mph faster (ooohh) and 30 odd feet higher (aahh). I went to Cedar Point a few weeks back and passed on the dragster. You are literally on the ride for 30 seconds, if that. And this is what you get for standing in line for an hour? two? I think not. We opted to go on Millenium Force and that was much more of a ride, it topped out at a "lousy" 390 feet, but the ride lasted for nearly 2 minutes. No thanks 6 flags, I'm gonna pass.
It's sometimes great living in the Northern Ohio area. Cedar Point is the greatest park EVER. With great, world-record rides like the Magnum XL200 (puny by today's standards), Millenium Force, and the Top-Thrill Dragster, how can anyone really do better here in the U.S.?
I do have a concern though. With the Dragster, the ride uses a cable driven mechanism to pull the car at 120 MPH. There was an incident this past summer where the cable shredded and shards of cable covered in hot oil injured a many of the riders. The local news coverage showed people having first-degree burns and embedded wire pieces on their face and arms (yikes!). I agree that this is an isolated incident, but this ride has been closed a lot because of the high winds from Lake Erie. Being 420-something feet, I would not like to be stuck on top of the hill for any reason. So, I hope the designers are prepared for this new ride.
Coderz 4 Life
At cedar point i've seen the car not make it all the way up... it just rolls back and tries again... They have a sign in the line that says that it's normal and just happens sometimes. I believe they actually changed the cars to hold 4 less people than originally because it had problems making it up the hill at first. There are no hydroulics to aid it up the hill after the launch... it goes from 0-120 mph in like 2 seconds. You sit still, the car rolls back a little, and POW!!! You're 420 feet up in the air, and it's a smooooth ride. Doesn't last long enough, but it's wild. Going that fast is actually cooler than going up in the air. Now if they just used the same technology to build a flat ride around the perimeter of the park that let you go 200 mph around cedar point in a minute and a half... now THAT would be cool. No hills or anything, just a smooth, fast ride.
You're talking about "rollbacks." They happen a lot on hot days and cold days. If, for some reason, you're next in line and Dragster doesn't fire any trains off for at least ten or fifteen minutes, you are VERY likely to experience a rollback.
If it fails a second time, I believe they will remove a couple of people to make it lighter.
Nope, when a train launches and rolls back, TTD simply raises the juice a bit until it clears. It's not really known how fast it can really go, but the juice on it is NEVER turned up anywhere near the maximum. I've seen it go over 130.