Hersheypark to add new roller coaster, Skyrush for 2012

by Joel Bullock on

After months of releasing coded clues and hints via a fictitious engineering website reminiscent of the Dharma Initiative from ABC’s Lost, Hersheypark unveiled its highly anticipated 2012 roller coaster. Dubbed Skyrush, the steel roller coaster will dominate the park’s skyline with a 200-foot tall peak. The ride will begin with an unusually speedy ascent to the top of the lift hill. Then, riders will be treated to a layout indicative of hyper coasters: high speeds, banked turns, and airtime hills. Loved by coaster fans, the airtime hills are designed to provide a weightless sensation at the crests.

Skyrush’s most intriguing feature may be its floorless seats. Each wing-shaped row of four seats will have two floored seats in the middle and two floorless seats on the edges. I’d imagine thrill junkies like myself will be scrambling for those outer seats. Roller coasters with this kind of layout and these stats aren’t rare, but the swift climb up the lift hill and the ride’s first-of-its-kind trains do make Skyrush look interesting.

Here’s an animated video that gives us a preview of what Hersheypark’s Skyrush will look like.


Takabisha captivates the World with steepest roller coaster drop

by Joel Bullock on

For weeks now Fuji Q Highlands’ new roller coaster, Takabisha, has made international headlines. The steel Gerstlauer roller coaster has pushed the steepness envelope by setting a World record setting 121-degree drop. As I documented in my article, Five ways roller coasters have changed since you were a kid, roller coasters with beyond 90-degree drops are nothing new. Hersheypark’s Fahrenheit boasts a 97-degree drop and Steel Hawg at Indiana Beach made history when it opened in 2008 with an 111-degree drop. Steel Hawg was dethroned by the UK’s Mumbo Jumbo at Flamingoland which edged it out with a 112-degree drop.

There have also been a number of other roller coasters with these super steep drops, but the trend had seemed to go pretty much unnoticed to the media. Roller coaster fans like myself find them interesting, but the steepness record holder never got the kind of attention that the World’s fastest roller coaster (Formula Rossa) or the World’s tallest roller coaster (Kingda Ka) has received.

This is why I am so surprised by the enormous media attention that Takabisha, a roller coaster in Japan, has received here in the U.S. Many of my non-roller coaster loving friends and family have mentioned the ride to me, I’ve been contacted by the media to speak about it, it’s been featured on morning radio shows, on a late night talk show, and it’s been covered by national and international media outlets.

Of course this attention is a very good thing for Fuji-Q Highland. I would imagine that this international coverage is why a theme park would spend a reported $37 million to build a record breaking roller coaster. I have to wonder if there’s an amusement park, if not several, that are ordering a Takabisha clone or a similar roller coaster from Gerstlauer. A roller coaster that could surpass Takabisha with a 122-degree drop wouldn’t have to be as large or as costly while still providing some real buzz and interest on a large scale.

Like the race to build the tallest roller coasters in the 1990’s, could the battle for the steepest roller coaster be the new roller coaster arms race? Don’t be shocked if a theme park announces plans to build a new roller coaster with a record setting drop in 2012 or 2013. Takabisha has captivated the World and any theme park would love that kind of notoriety.

Here’s an on-ride video of Takabisha. The drop is at about 1:50 as the ride starts with a launch and an indoor section.


Cheap summer travel deals, there are a few still out there

by Chris Owen on

Summer is peak season at popular vacation options from U.S. National Parks to theme parks and cruises. Its the time when many travelers are off school and have the time to go which normally drives up pricing. Experts in summertime travel say not to write off the possibility of a late summer vacation that won’t break the bank.

Save 50% Off Your Vacation by Taking a Mini-Vacation says Best Travel Deals Tips in their Last Minute Summer Travel Tips & Mini-Vacations.

“One way to save on your last minute vacation is to take a shorter vacation or a mini-vacation. It can cut the cost of your trip in half, especially if you do a road trip to a destination not more than a half-day drive from your home. Mini-vacations don’t require weeks of planning but still provide the same basic essentials of any trip: the chance to recharge your batteries, get your mind off of work and take a break from your regular routine. Also, when you’re traveling with the kids, look for a hotel that is reliable, kid-friendly and has all the amenities they need, like the Hilton Garden Inn. Between now and September 6th, with the HHonors ‘Great Getaway Promotion’ you get 20% off the Bed ‘N Breakfast rates plus get a delicious cooked-to-order breakfast for up to four adults staying in the same room. And kids 12 and under eat breakfast for free.”

Cruise vacations still available and they don’t have to make us fat

“Back in the day, cruise travelers came home with more than souvenirs – taking a cruise usually meant bringing home an extra 10 pounds,” said Dwain Wall, Senior Vice President and General Manger of CruiseOne, the nation’s leading cruise retailer. “Today’s travelers have asked for healthy and fun activities to choose from while onboard and the cruise lines have responded. The best part? Many of these offerings are included in the price of the cruise.”

Carnival Cruise Lines is having a “cash back” sale where they load up your on-board spending account with up to $150. They may not lower the price, in fact it may cost more to get this offer, but cash to spend on board a Carnival Cruise is always a welcome addition to any cruise vacation. Watch prices though, only certain price codes qualify. The promotion is available with virtually all of the line’s three- to nine-day cruises to the Caribbean, Bahamas, Mexico and Alaska departing between August and April from a variety of North American homeports. Terms & Conditions

Some other sources to check
There are a number of online sources that specialize in last-minute travel and are worthy of a click or two.

LastMinuteTravel.com has portfolio of 16,000 plus Undercover hotels in 2,500 major cities
worldwide. By keeping the name of the hotel quiet until after one books, LastMinuteTravel.com is able to dramatically drop the rates across every hotel providing even better last minute prices, in advance.

FunJet Vacations lets us save up to 60% on last-minute packaged deals like a 3-night stay in Cozumel, Mexico with airfare starting at $399 per person. Packaged tours, once looked down on by seasoned travelers, are making a comeback as travel agencies are finding a new value-oriented market for their services.

Consumer Reports, the people who have no horse in the race for your travel dollars, offer ten great tips for saving on travel. My personal favorite:

#5. Negotiate with hotels

“Average room rates have been falling in vacation spots such as Orlando, Fla., and the Caribbean. Bad news for hoteliers can be good news for you, so skip Web sites and toll-free lines and contact the property directly. Because many hotels are independently owned or managed, you might have more bargaining power. (Just don’t call in the morning, when guests are checking out.) Haggle for a lower room rate and ask for complimentary breakfast, gym access, or parking. Follow up by e-mail, so you have written confirmation.”

Who really does this? Have you? Share your experience with a comment below please. We would love to know how you did it for an upcoming post “Travel Mercenaries; get the best deal, take no hostages”

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Iraq War veteran dies from roller coaster accident at Darien Lake

by Joel Bullock on

Buffalo-area theme park Darien Lake was the site of a tragedy on Friday when a man, former Iraq war vet Sgt. James Hackemer, died after falling from a roller coaster. Hackemer was a double leg amputee after losing his legs to a roadside bomb in Iraq three years ago.

The accident happened on the twenty story tall roller coaster called Ride of Steel. It has large hills, banked curves, and speeds in excess of 70 mph. The roller coaster’s trains use a lap bar restraints (pictured here).

Hackemer’s nephew Ashton Luffred, who rode with him, shared his account of the horrible accident in a New York Post article. According to Luffred, Hackemer asked guest services which rides were safe for him to ride and he was told that he could ride all of them. Hackemer was ejected on one of the smaller camel back-shaped hills on the trip back to the station.

In statements to the press and on Darien Lake’s home page, the park says that they are investigating the accident with the local authorities and safety experts. The Ride of Steel roller coaster will remained closed until the investigation is complete while the rest of the park will be open.

[Photo Credit – Flickr User OliverN5]

Extreme thrills on America’s most intense roller coasters

by Joel Bullock on


Based on my experiences and the general opinions and buzz from other roller coaster enthusiasts, here’s a list of what I consider to be America’s most intense roller coasters.

The Voyage at Holiday World
Holiday World’s The Voyage is one of the largest and fastest wooden roller coasters in the World. The out and back terrain coaster provides an intense 2 minute and 45 second marathon of thrills. After leaving the station, The Voyage delivers an onslaught of large hills, five underground tunnels, three ridiculously banked 90-degree turns, and a record-setting 24 seconds of air time as riders are lifted out of their seats throughout the adventure. Each time I got off of The Voyage I was physically exhausted, but also excited to get back in line and take the trip again. The Voyage is a rare wooden roller coaster in that it’s intense and a tad rough, but still fun and completely re-rideable.

X2 at Six Flags Magic Mountain
Six Flags Magic Mountain’s X2 has an insane riding position. It places riders on either side of the track instead of on top or below it. In turn, exposing riders and giving them virtually no place to hide. Not only is the seating position off-putting and intimidating, but the seats rotate riders 360-degrees forward and backward. If that wasn’t enough, the ride’s opening dive sends you plummeting head first towards the ground. X2 was so intense that it made the middle-aged mom that I rode with see her life pass before her eyes.

Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure and Top Thrill Dragster at Cedar Point
Six Flags Great Adventure’s Kingda Ka and Cedar Point’s Top Thrill Dragster are two very similar roller coasters that boast staggering stats. At over 40 stories tall, they’re literally skyscrapers earning them the rare distinction of strata coasters. While the climb to that lofty altitude and subsequent plunge are both very memorable moments, the rides’ launches are a 10 out of 10 on the intensity scale. Kingda Ka and Top Thrill Dragster accelerate their passengers from 0 to speeds of 128 mph and 120 mph respectively in about four seconds. Overall, I wouldn’t call them the best all-around roller coasters, but the feeling of that sheer power and acceleration is something that has to be experienced. As my cheeks flapped in the wind I wondered, “How much faster can this thing go?”

Clearly there are other intense roller coasters, but for me these are the most extreme. Which roller coasters would you consider the most intense? [Photo Credit: Flickr user – Intamin 10]