Tony Hawk Spins Into Six Flags Fiesta Texas

'Tony Hawk's Big Spin' was recently announced as the newest addition to Six Flags Fiesta Texas for the 2007 season. Big Spin will be a spinning coaster that holds passengers in 4 seat cars. The coaster will be themed as a skateboarding ride. It will have skateboarding elements throughout the ride. The coaster, designed by Gerstlauer, will be just over 1,300 feet long as it travels up to 52 feet from the ground. Fiesta Texas also plans to renovate it's boardwalk this winter with new plank for the boardwalk as well as a new fast food area.

Highly Themed Mystery Mine Drops into Dollywood

Next spring, Dollywood ( a park named after Dolly Parton, herself) will unleash a state of the art, highly themed coaster, Mystery Mine. Mystery Mine is a one-of-kind attraction that incorporates visual and audio effects with thrilling coaster elements such as a 95 degree drop, a first in the U.S. The coaster will reach speeds close to 50 mph and contain two inversions. The coaster will cost Dollywood $17.5 million, making it the largest off season expansion in Dollywood's history.

New Coaster Coming to Valley Fair

Next season, vistors of Valley Fair (located in Shakopee, Minnesota) will be in for a treat. The park recently announced that a new western themed wooden coaster, Renegade, will be opening in the spring. Renegade is being designed and built by Great Coaster International. The coaster will feature an original first drop that will twist the rides from right to left. The coaster will also feature several terrain-hugging turns and a fly-by over the ride's queue line. The coaster should max out at 52 mph and feature over 3,100 feet of track.

New Dive Coaster Opening At Busch Gardens Europe

Busch Gardens Europe has started construction on their fifth coaster, Griffon. Griffon, opening in Spring of 2007, will be the world's largest Dive Coaster. Dive coasters are coasters that start with a standard lift hill followed by a brief pause at the top of the hill, only to be followed by a 90 degree drop and an arsenal of other elements. Griffon will feature over 3,100 feet of track and will boast speeds reaching 71 mph. The unique trains on the coasters will be made up of three rows with ten seats per row. Busch Gardens Europe is known for their beautiful landscaping, detailed European theming, and world renowned coasters.

Cedar Point announces 17th Coaster for 2007

Cedar Point (located in Sandusky, OH) has announced their newest coaster opening next spring, "Maverick." Maverick will feature a 95 degree first drop! The ride will be over 4,400 feet long, including 2 launches, three inversions, and reaching speeds of up to 70 mph. Maverick will be Cedar Point's 17th coaster, which ties with Six Flags Magic Mountain for most coasters in a single park.

Six Flags Darien Lake Shortens Season

Six Flags announced that Darien Lake (located near Buffalo, NY) will not be opened this October. This announcement comes just a week after Darien Lake announced that the Batman Thrill Spectacular stunt show was shut down for the rest of the season. Darien Lake is one of several parks that Six Flags stated "could be up for sale." Some of the parks highlights include Superman: Ride of Steel (an Intamin hyper coaster) along with a water park and a large amphitheater that hosts concerts and events throughout the summer.

Sweet anniversary for Hershey Park

Next year Hershey Park, located in Hershey, PA, will be celebrating it's 100th anniversary with a completly new area of the park. The new area of the park is titled "The Boardwalk." The Boardwalk will be made up of waterslides, a wavepool, a childrens area, new games, new food stands, new shows, and much more. The area will be filled with truckloads of sand shipped to the park to create a more authentic beachfront location. Stay tuned, because Hershey Park should be releasing more details over the next few months.

Changes on Pirates

As many of you may know, Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest came out in theatres this weekend. In conjunction with the film, Disney also overhauled their classic Pirates of the Carribean ride at Disneyland and Disneyworld. The new ride includes animatronic characters from the film as well as a new story and many new visual and audio effects. Although the reviews of the new ride have been positive, some diehard Disney fans are in uproar over the changes to the classic boat ride.

Link of the Month: Coasterradio.com

This months link is Coasterradio.com. Coaster Radio is a weekly podcast that discuss' almost all topics that are present in the amusement park industry. The show has an extremely high production value that rivals that of a professional radio show. This month, the coaster radio crew will be podcasting from four parks in Pennsylvania. You can be sure that the podcasts will include some great tips, reviews, and interviews along the way. The podcast's hosts aren't the most knowledgeable when it comes to coasters, however, their fun and entertaining personalities make up for it. The website also has a small forums section, and several reviews and articles.

Amusement Park Spotlight: Holiday World

Now that amusement park season is in full swing, it is only right to write about a park that has gotten a lot of attention from the enthusiasts over the last year or so. Holiday World, located in Santa Claus, IN, is home to three of the top wooden coaster in the world. The Raven, The Legend, and their newest coaster, The Voyage. The Voyage is one of the longest coasters in the world, marking in at 6442 feet! The Coaster reaches speeds of over 67 mph and contains several underground tunnels. The coaster, built by Gravity Group, is arguably the best wooden coaster in the world. What makes this independent park special, apart from the amazing coasters, is the friendly and helpful staff, the clean midways, and of course, the free soft drinks.

Link of the Month: Themeparkcritic.com

Themeparkcritic.com is June's link of the month! This is the go to site for user reviews of almost any amusement park ride. With thousands of reviews, you'll be sure to find this site informative and extremely useful when deciding on what rides to hit up next time you head out to a new park. The site also has a medium sized forum section, as well as a news section.

Cedar Fair Purchases Paramount Parks

Cedar Fair, owner of several large amusement parks across the country such as Cedar Point and Dorney Park, has purchased all Paramount Parks for $1.24 billion. There are four Paramount Parks in the United States and one in Canada. The purchase of these parks should come close to doubling Cedar Fair's annual revenue. Over the last year Cedar Fair has been cutting admission prices and lowering the cost of food at their parks. These price cuts have been welcomed by park goers, who are were hit with a barrage of admission and parking increases by Cedar Fairs competitor, Six Flags.

Tatsu Opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain

The worlds largest flying coaster is now up and running at Six Flags Magic Mountain! Tatsu (Japanese for "Flying Beast") was built by Bolliger & Mabillard, known for their smooth and reliable coasters. The coaster is over 3600 feet long, travels at speeds up to 62 mph, and contains 4 inversions. This will be one of SFMM's only rides that interacts with the terrain. The ride will fly past trees and other environmental structures as well as other rides at the park. This is Magic Mountain's 17th coaster, regaining the parks crown as coaster capital of the world (The park was formerly tied with Cedar Point, which has 16 coasters).

Link of the Month: ThrillNetwork.com

This month Link of the Month is ThrillNetwork.com. ThrillNetwork is one of the most popular and largest coaster-related sites on the web. It contains a news section that is updated very frequently along with a huge forum section with thousands of members. They even produce a podcast titled "In The Loop." ThrillNetwork is a great place to go if you are just getting into coasters or if you have been an enthusiasts for many years.

Busch Gardens Parks Change Names

Both Busch Gardens parks recently changed their names in time for the summer season. Busch Gardens Williamsburg has become Busch Gardens Europe, while Busch Gardens Tampa has become Busch Gardens Africa. The new names should help the general public easily identify the preexisting themes that the parks have. Busch Gardens new advertising campaign is also changing, trying to identify the parks as "more than just coasters." Busch Gardens parks are known for their above average food, great shows, detailed theming, and world class thrill rides. The parks have also been awarded on numerous occasions for cleanest park and best park environment.

Batman: The Chiller Reopens at Six Flags Great Adventure

After more than 2 seasons of being down, SFGadv has finally reopened Batman:The Chiller. This the second track of a duel track ride. The other tracks name is "Robin:The Chiller" that is rarely closed. The ride was opened in 1998 and is manufactured by premier rides. If you have never seen The Chiller, think of it like a standard Boomerang coaster on steroids. It is longer, faster and much more intense. The ride has a LIM launch system (similar to rides like "Rock 'n' Roller Coaster" at Disney MGM) that reaches speeds up to 70 mph.

Update: Although employees at Gadv said that the ride would be open today, it did not run. The train for the ride is in the loading station, indicating that the ride is very close to opening. Many enthusiasts are now anticipating the ride to open on Sunday, just in time for Six Flags' Spring Break week.

Update 2: I visited the park on Sunday (pictures and Trip report to come). One of the employees told me that Batman would be open by mid morning, however the ride did not open all day. The reason for the delay may have to do with the New Jersey state inspectors having to approve the ride. New Jersey has been notorious for having extremely strict regulations for roller coasters and amusement parks in general.

Update 3: On Friday May 5, The Batman side of Chiller was running properly.

Sylvester McMonkey McBean's Very Unusual Driving Machines Is Finally Confirmed!

A few years back, when Islands of Adventure was getting ready to open, Sylvester McMonkey McBean's Very Unusual Driving Machines was going to be one of their signature attraction, set in the Dr. Seuss area of the park. Guests enter the driving machines and can ride above all of Seussland on the track that runs along the tops of many of the buildings in the Seussland area of the park. The ride will appeal to families more than thrill seekers, it should travel at a moderate pace with no huge twists or turns. The ride never opened due to safety concerns, however, the park appears to have worked out all the problems, and the ride is set to open early this summer. Islands of Adventure is located right next to Universal Orlando. The park has theming on par with Disney, along with world class coasters, water rides, and dark rides. Many theme park enthusiasts consider IOA America's best theme park.

Link of the Month

This is a new section of the blog that I am starting today, at the beginning of every month I will pick one of my favorite coaster websites and deem it link of the month. Aprils site of the month is: RCDB.com
This site is the ultimate database for coasters. The site contains an unbelievable amount of coaster stats along with pictures and links to fansites. This is probably the most comprehensive coaster site on the web.

New Happenings at Paramount's Carowinds

Paramount's Carowinds has been in the theme park news quiet a bit lately. Here is a brief update on what 's happening for the 2006 season. The biggest news at Paramount's Carowinds over the winter was most likely the updating of the parks water park. Formerly known as WaterWorks, the new name of the park will be Boomerang Bay. The water park will have an Australian theme and contain several new rides including an interactive beach lagoon, and a two-person tube slide. Carowinds will also be home to a new film in their Action F/X Theater. This film will be based upon several Hanna-Barbera characters such as Scooby-Doo, The Jetsons, and The Flinstones. The final bit of Carowinds news is the reopening of their campground, named Camp Wilderness Resort. These campgrounds will included air-conditioning, wireless internet, discounted park tickets available, and a swimming pool among other new features. Paramount's Carowinds is located on the North Carolina- South Carolina border, near Charlotte, NC.

Is El Toro on Time?

El Toro, a record-breaking wooden coaster is opening this summer at Six Flags Great Adventure. The huge coaster will be one of the biggest, and fastest wooden coasters in the world. The expectations for this coaster are huge, however many coaster enthusiasts are starting to wonder if the coaster will be completed in time for the parks opening, later this month. Although Six Flags claims the coaster is just a few days behind schedule, from the look of things, there is still a lot of work to be done. Not only does SFGADV have to finish building the coaster, but they also have to build the new kiddy section on to the park. SFGADV had a similar problem last year with their record breaking steel launch coaster, Kingda Ka. The ride had a malfunction very early on in the season, and it ended up being out of operation for most of the summer. Hopefully, Six Flags can get back on schedule and bring coaster lovers the new ride they have been craving in time for the beginning of summer. For construction updates on El Toro visit, http://www.sixflags.com/parks/greatadventure/parkpress/fallconstructionjournal.html.

Update 6/14: The ride officially opened to the public this week! So far, the reviews have been nothing but positive.

2 New Rides for Six Flags New England

Six Flags New England is receiving 2 new rides for the 2006 season. These rides, formally located at Six Flags Astroworld (RIP), should be ready to go for opening day this year. The first ride is an S&S Sky Swatter ride, this ride will hurtle passengers


forwards and backwards at heights of over 100 feet. The second ride is Splash Water Falls. This ride will throw riders for twists and turns as they travel in a river raft boat. This ride should be a great replacement for SFNE's former lackluster log flume. Six Flags New England is also home to 10 coasters including Superman: Ride of Steel, known as one of the best steel coasters in the world.

Martin's Fantasy Island to Receive New Water Ride

Martin's Fantasy Island, a small park located near Buffalo, NY will receive a new water ride this summer in which you ride a tube into a bowl where you will spin around and around until you reach the corkscrew runout. Martin's Fantasy Island is a very cute park that is home to two coasters, Silver Comet (one of New York's hidden gem wooden coasters), and a spinning Wild Mouse, which was just put in last year. Their small water park contains a wave pool, lazy river ride, and water slide.

Six Flags CEO Mark Shapiro Creating Changes

Six Flags has been the topic of many coaster enthusiast's discussions of late. Their new CEO, Mark Shapiro has been released several interesting statements about the changes that will be made throughout the next few years at Six Flags parks across the country. In a recent statement, Shapiro stated that one of his long term goals for Six Flags is to be come more family oriented. In order to accomplish this goal, one step Six Flags is taking is adding characters throughout the parks. Some characters that will be seen more throughout the park include both Loony Toon and DC Super Hero characters. These characters will participate in daily parades throughout the park, and will also be available for autographs and pictures during the day. Shapiro also mentioned that Six Flags has become too dependent on coasters over the last decade or so.

Hopefully, rather than starting to stray away from the "thrill" aspect of the parks, Shapiro will be able to continue to satisfy thrill seekers while also catering to families visiting Six Flags Parks.

Welcome to Coaster Source!

Hello World, welcome to coaster source. This blog's object is to present you with new, useful coaster and amusement park information. This site will contain news, rumors, reviews, trip reports, and links related to the coaster community. I hope you enjoy the site, if you have any comments, questions, or suggestions, I'd love to here from you. You can email me at thinkdifferent4890@yahoo.com.