Six Flags’ Texas Giant to reopen after a $10 million upgrade

by Joel Bullock on

One of largest wooden roller coasters in the U.S. is getting a massive $10 million dollar makeover. Aging wooden roller coasters often undergo rehab projects where the ride’s rickety, old track is replaced with new lumber to create a more comfortable and enjoyable experience. Texas Giant’s transformation goes way beyond a standard rehab project. It will be reborn as the first wooden roller coaster to have its wooden rails completely replaced with steel rails.

When Texas Giant reopens during Six Flags Over Texas‘ 50th season next year, it will be as a steel coaster with a wooden support structure. It should offer a pretty unique experience thanks to a transformation almost akin to switching genders. While there have been steel roller coasters built with wooden supports, to my knowledge there haven’t been any that were first built as wooden coasters.


Texas Giant will return in 2011 with some exciting new elements. The first drop has been extended 10 feet higher and its angle of descent will set a record. The 79-degree drop will be the steepest of any wooden coaster in the World. The ride’s layout will also include a record-breaking bank of 95-degrees. The other most notable upgrade will be the new trains themed after 1961 Cadillac Devilles. To top off the ride with some Texas flavor, the trains will be adorned with custom made cattle horns.

Hopefully, Texas Giant’s “Six Million Dollar Man”-like renovation pays off for Six Flags. The company has transitioned from building lots of big new rides to renovating and updating older rides with new themes and special effects. If Texas Giant’s upgrade proves successful, I’d hope to see other aging, rough wooden roller coasters get a steel track overhaul as well. I’m looking forward to getting down to Arlington, Texas next year and taking the all new Texas Giant for a spin. It looks to be one of the most exciting stories in the theme park industry in 2011.%Poll-56849%

Dare Devil Dive will drop into Six Flags Over Georgia in 2011

by Joel Bullock on

It seems like every new roller coaster these days needs a superlative. So with steep, beyond-vertical drops emerging as the hot trend, Six Flags Over Georgia is hyping up their new roller coaster as the “South East’s tallest beyond-vertical dive coaster.” It’s a bit of a wordy claim to fame, but at least it’s accurate. The park’s new Gerstlauer steel roller coaster, Dare Devil Dive, will boast a stomach-lifting 95-degree drop.

Dare Devil Dive will begin with a ten story vertical climb in rocket-themed cars. Then, in an attempt to raise the suspense level, the cars will be held right at the crest of the first drop for a moment. This dramatic pause is reminiscent of Busch Gardens’ popular SheiKra and Griffon dive coasters.




I haven’t ridden a Gerstlauer-designed roller coaster, but Dare Devil Dive’s layout looks pretty thrilling. The ride’s exhilarating succession of loops include: a dive loop, an immelmann, and a zero-g roll. Like, Canobie Lake’s Untamed, Dare Devil Dive will be another Euro-Fighter model. Its compact layout will occupy a relatively small footprint near Six Flags Over Georgia’s popular hyper coaster, Goliath. Dare Devil Dive will be Six Flags Over Georgia’s 11th roller coaster when it opens in the Spring of 2011.

Read more about Six Flags Over Georgia’s Dare Devil Dive.

Proposed Orlando Thrill Park Reveals 14 Extreme Rides

by Joel Bullock on


While Orlando’s already known for its world-class theme parks, a developer thinks that there’s room for one more. The Baker Leisure Group has proposed a thrill-focused park that would be located in the Tangelo Park area near the Festival Bay Mall. It would be just a short drive from Universal Orlando Resort and its two theme parks. Central Florida is also home to Walt Disney World, SeaWorld Orlando, and my favorite park in the state, Busch Gardens Tampa. If that wasn’t enough, Legoland Florida will be opening in 2011 as well.

Like many, I’ve considered Central Florida’s theme park market saturated at this point. However, Orlando Thrill Park will offer something different. The park’s success will hinge on whether they can communicate its distinction as the home of the most intense and extreme thrill rides in Florida. If built, the park would easily attract roller coaster enthusiasts like myself. Of the fourteen rides that the park has proposed, eight of them are roller coasters. And of the eight, five or so are either prototypes or rare in the United States.Roller coaster enthusiasts are a tiny niche group in the overall theme park visiting public. So, the developers are hoping Orlando tourists will spend one day out of their week long vacations at the park. They’re also aiming for those local adrenaline junkies that are interested in extreme thrills. Currently, Busch Gardens Tampa and Universal’s Islands of Adventure are the only places that you’ll find somewhat intense thrill rides in Florida. It’s an area that’s heavy on theme and light on thrills. Orlando Thrill Park aims to fill that void.

The LA Times has created a photo gallery of Orlando Thrill Park’s 14 rides. The gallery includes similar rides that are currently in existence and prototype renderings.

[Via LA Times Funland Blog]%Poll-56381%

North Korean theme parks: communism meets amusement park fun

by Joel Bullock on


I would imagine that there are few Gadling readers that have ever wanted to visit North Korea. The communist country that recently took hostile actions towards its neighbor isn’t on any top vacation lists that I know of. And, I would imagine even fewer would want to visit North Korea for its amusement parks. But, if you’re a huge theme park fan like the globe trotting Stefan Zwanger, then a trip to the strange, isolationist country is right down your alley.

Wearing his signature red hat adorned with a tangle of roller coaster track, Zwanger, also known as the Theme Park Guy, ventured into North Korea. He described his trip as a “time machine journey many decades back.” His trip report includes dozens of great images from Pyongyang’s three parks including an image of a roller coaster with the red star of the Communist Party on it. Zwanger also encountered a Zamperla flying roller coaster at the newest park, Kaeson. Kaeson has the distinction of staying lit at night when much of the rest of the country goes dark.

Asia has some excellent theme parks, but I was surprised to see that North Korea actually has three currently in operation. I guess even an oppressive government like North Korea’s must be open to amusements of some kind. The other two parks were Mangyongdae and Taesongsan. Most of the rides at these older parks look pretty neglected and the parks themselves look deserted, bleak, and devoid of a lot of color.

As I analyze the country’s theme parks I don’t mean to belittle or overlook the plight of its people. Theme parks are obviously way down on the list of quality of life improvements needed by the North Korean people. As a long-time theme park blogger, this is just what I do. I make observations about theme parks. See Zwanger’s North Korean theme park trip report.

[Photo credits: Flickr user giladr and Theme Park Guy]

New Wooden Warrior roller coaster will provide family fun at Quassy Amusement Park

by Joel Bullock on

Along with Six Flags New England and Canobie Lake Park, another New England amusement park will be debuting a new roller coaster in 2011. Middleburry, Connecticut’s Quassy Amusement Park will be replacing their aging steel roller coaster, Mad Mouse, with a family wooden coaster dubbed Wooden Warrior. The new ride’s name was chosen via a name contest that the park held with local schools.

Wooden Warrior was designed by world-class designers The Gravity Group. They’re responsible for The Voyage at Holiday World; a coaster thought to be the best wooden coaster in the World. Unlike Gravity Group’s previous designs, Wooden Warrior will be one of the company’s first smaller, family-sized designs. The ride will feature a rather short 35′ tall lift hill that will produce a top speed of 35 mph. In comparison, The Voyage doubles those stats topping out at 67.5 mph with a 163′ tall lift hill.


As you can see from the video above, Wooden Warrior doesn’t aim to be a white knuckle thrill ride. Quassy’s owners needed a coaster that was fun for all ages and from the video, it looks to be just that. Roller coasters don’t require a lot of speed to produce those joyous little pops of airtime that make them so much fun. I’m a huge fan of The Gravity Group’s other work and it looks like they may have another winner here, albeit in a pint-sized form.

Like many of my favorite roller coasters, Wooden Warrior will traverse Quassy’s natural terrain. For example, the initial hill is 35′ tall, but will drop riders a total of 45′ as the track hugs the park’s topography. The new wooden coaster is a huge update for the small park as they’ll go from having a 44-year old run-of-the-mill ride to a sure crowd-pleaser that will provide a unique experience.