two new gerstlauer coasters dive into the states by mark rosenzweig

TWO NEW GERSTLAUER COASTERS DIVE INTO THE STATES
BY MARK ROSENZWEIG
PHOTO BY ADAM SANDY
PHOTO BY JOSH HERRINGTON
DARE DEVIL DIVE • SIX FLAGS OVER GEORGIA
UNTAMED • CANOBIE LAKE PARK
DARE DEVIL DIVE
SIX FLAGS OVER GEORGIA
PHOTO BY ROBERT ULRICH
Somehow, somewhere in the middle of the Deep South’s coaster capital,
something was missing. What that was, no one knew — not even Six Flags.
Since its debut in 1967, the park’s USA section acted more as a central hub of
sorts to disperse guests off to the park’s various anchor rides than as home to
an actual featured attraction. While that sort of changed in 1976 and 1983
with the additions of an Intamin Parachute Tower and Freefall respectively, it
wasn’t until the 2006 debut of Goliath (B&M’s not-quite hypercoaster) that
the USA section finally featured its own signature attraction.
The northern plaza of USA had formerly been home to the aforementioned Freefall ride and was the northern terminus for a second Von Roll aerial ropeway attraction that once bisected the east-west cables of the currently operating Sky Buckets. Despite continuing to serve as one of the busiest
midways in the park, recently this area was home to a lone attraction: Shake
Rattle and Roll, an indoor Eli Bridge Scrambler.
During the Summer of 2010, Six Flags began looking at options for the
main USA midway. After traveling to parks worldwide, they decided the
Gerstlauer EuroFighter was the coaster missing from SFOG’s lineup. With
space at a premium, a formidable challenge presented itself in needing to have
a marketable and compact ride installed on a site sandwiched by the USA midway and Six Flags Railroad. Dare Devil Dive is actually a slightly modified version
of Anubis: The Ride — a Gerstlauer LSM launch coaster at Belgium’s Plopsaland
— with a vertical lift tower replacing the launch track and beyond-vertical drop
leading into the intense knot of twisted trackage that makes up the meat of Dare
Devil Dive’s ride experience.
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DEVIL DIVE
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| SIX FLAGS OVER GEORGIA
PHOTO BY ADAM SANDY
PHOTO BY ADAM SANDY
PHOTO BY ADAM SANDY
Now let’s talk restraints, because Dare
Devil Dive introduced Gerstlauer’s new
first-ever lapbar restraint on a EuroFighter.
Gerstlauer had spent a lot of time looking
at restraints while developing the trains for
New Texas Giant, which began in the fall of
2009. The Georgia project was intended
to be the first looping coaster from the
company to utilize lap bars. However, the
difficulty was that these lap bars had to
endure extremes. They not only had to
deal with uplift forces, but also had to offer
practical containment when it came to the
unusual vertical lift and beyond-vertical
drop. The hydraulic cylinders and control
interfaces stayed where they were on the
previous incarnations of this vehicle, but
the restraint itself was re-imagined. The
end result was a unique lap bar that fit the
contours of the ride vehicles perfectly and
offered an unencumbered ride experience.
Prior to takeoff, pilots board one of
four 6-passenger (3 rows of 2-across seating) cars, cleverly themed to resemble jets.
These are then pulled vertically to the lift
tower’s 95-foot apex before plunging
beyond vertical at speeds exceeding 50
mph. Entering an airfield of twisted steel,
riders experience a dive loop, second
twisting drop, and Immelmann in quick
succession prior to entering the midcourse block brake. What follows next is
pure pacing and build-up genius. Many
first-time riders who let down their guard
thinking the airshow is coming to a conclusion are in for one final surprise. After the
track drops to the left, traverses an elongated speed hill and banks right into a
short tunnel before navigating a perfectly
paced heartline roll, offering one of the
most amazing combinations of visuals and
forces ever to be experienced on a coaster. One final speed hill sends riders into the
magnetically braked runway and back to
the hangar for disembarking.
Dare Devil Dive turned out to be the
perfect addition to what is perhaps the
best pound-for-pound coaster roster in a
Six Flags park. “Dare Devil Dive has been a
great addition to our coaster lineup here at
Six Flags Over Georgia. Just seeing the
guests’ reaction when their train is dispatched and they stop in front of the 10story vertical lift…it is quite amusing!” said
Melinda Ashcraft, park president.
“Everyone, from avid thrill seekers to firsttime coaster riders, has had very positive
reviews,”
Ashcraft adds: “We have taken thrills to
the next level. Dare Devil Dive is that mustride attraction of the year, providing an
incredible experience for everyone who
dares to ride.”
Indeed, coaster technology has come a
long way, but all one needs to do is peer
across the Six Flags Railroad from Dare
Devil Dive to find another somewhat legendary ride diving down the ravine: Mind
Bender. That ride proved 32 years ago that
lapbars are more than sufficient to restrain
guests on a looping roller coaster.
PHOTO BY ROBERT ULRICH
GERSTLAUER | DARE
PHOTO BY
UNTAMED
| CANOBIE LAKE PARK |
GERSTLAUER
PHOTO BY CHERI ARMSTRONG
Y JOSH HERRINGTON
UNTAMED
CANOBIE LAKE PARK
PHOTO BY CHERI ARMSTRONG
Since opening to the public in August 1902 as a humble trolley park for the Massachusetts
Northeast Street Railway Company, Canobie Lake Park has served as a family fun getaway for
millions of New Englanders. Perched on the eastern shore of Canobie Lake about an hour
north of downtown Boston in Salem, New Hampshire, this institution of amusements continues to offer an amazing mix of rides and attractions for all ages — along with some of the best
park food anywhere — all in one of the most beautiful amusement park settings in the world.
Attention to detail is evident all across the property, from cleverly themed food stands (a
structure resembling an overflowing box of popcorn sells….you guessed it) to incredible landscaping and light packages after dark. At one time, parks like Canobie were seemingly a dime
a dozen throughout New England. But to the park’s credit, they have both maintained and
improved their product, resulting in Canobie now operating as the oldest and largest familyowned park left in the region.
Those who know Canobie are also aware of the strict guidelines the park must adhere to
with regard to height and sound/decibel levels when adding new attractions. During a trip to
England’s Thorpe Park in the Summer of 2010, one member of Canobie’s ownership was
astounded at what they did NOT hear while standing next to Saw: The Ride (2009 custom
Gerstlauer EuroFighter). Aside from the screams of riders diving down a 97-degree drop, the
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Mark Rosenzweig is a regular contributor to R OLLER C OASTER! He
has served as the director of entertainment finance group —
the leasing and revenue sharing arm of the Ride Entertainment
Group (REG), based out of Stevensville, Maryland, since 2007.
The sales of both Dare Devil Dive and Untamed were handled
by the REG, which represents many companies (such as
Gerstlauer) under its umbrella, handling sales of coasters and
other attractions.
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PHOTO BY CHERI ARMSTRONG
PHOTO BY MARK ROSENZWEIG
PHOTO BY CHERI ARMSTRONG
PHOTO BY MARK ROSENZWEIG
PHOTO BY MARK ROSENZWEIG
| CANOBIE LAKE PARK
ride was eerily quiet. It was then discovered that
Gerstlauer had, in its bag of tricks, just the layout that
met the local height ordinance — the 320+ Compact
EuroFighter model, which had previously debuted as
Rage at England’s Adventure Island and Falcon at
Duinrell in the Netherlands. Despite being cloned
twice overseas, this layout was ideal for Canobie. It
presented a unique and marketable ride for the
region and fit like a glove in the former ballfield
between two large picnic groves just north of Yankee
Cannonball. And so, Untamed was born and Canobie
Lake Park would be installing its first major steel
coaster since the debut of Arrow’s Canobie Corkscrew
in 1987.
But like anything else at Canobie Lake Park,
Untamed was not to be just an off-the-shelf coaster
dropped on a ballfield. The park’s in-house design and
development team headed by Ray Captell took to the
task of creating a theme and concept not only for the
coaster, but for the entire area around it, later to be
dubbed Big Bear Plaza. Along with the new coaster,
Big Bear Plaza would also encompass the former
Canobie Mall building, now to be known as Bear
Lodge.
Untamed features dark green track and a custom
paint job on the columns to give the appearance of
birch trees. The three 8-passenger cars (two rows of
four-across seating) were custom-themed as Grizzly
Bears ready to take would-be riders on a wild bear
chase. The ride’s station and maintenance shed are
contained within a Disney-caliber themed structure
resembling an old Adirondack lodge complete with
antler chandeliers. The on-ride photo point-of-sale
building at the attraction’s exit continues the theme
concept with its own Adirondack touches.
A bear growl means guests have been dispatched
and are headed for the 72-foot vertical lift. What follows is a blur of intensity and rapid-fire transitions —
including three inversions — that truly
feel…Untamed. A large vertical loop leads trains into
an Immelmann, inverting riders while turning a full
180 degrees to the right. Trains then enter a sharp
180-degree left turn setting passengers up for the
ride’s third inversion — a perfectly paced heartline
roll. This delivers both zero gravity and breathtaking
visuals before diving down to the right and finally into
a counter-clockwise 360-degree ascending helix leading trains to the descending magnetic brake run,
heading back into the loading station.
Untamed proved to be a resounding success for
Canobie, both upping the park’s coaster capacity, and
offering a ride experience none of the park’s regular
visitors had ever encountered. “Untamed is a totally
new ride experience for our guests. It is the first ride
that most people head to when they enter the park,
whether they are riding or just watching others taking
the beyond-vertical drop. The EuroFighter provides a
thrill like no other coaster. It has quickly become one
of our signature attractions,” said Carl Berni, park
president. As Phase One for the Big Bear Plaza, it is
without doubt that the Canobie team will bring many
more thrills to make the masses growl with delight in
the coming years.
PHOTO BY MARK ROSENZWEIG
GERSTLAUER | UNTAMED
MARK ROSENZWEIG COLLECTION
Mark Rosenzweig along with Adam Sandy, director
of sales for REG’s ride sales division, took part in a unique
event raising money for Give Kids the World Village in
Orlando, Florida. The resort caters to the needs of children with terminal or other serious illnesses and their
families. Dressed as Grizzly Bears, Mark and Adam
worked at Canobie Lake Park on Saturday, October 22,
2011, interacting with guests and partaking in the park’s
fantastic Screamfest Halloween event. Over $2,500 was
raised, all in the name of fun. He would like to thank the
Berni, Captell, and Ulackey families and Chris Nicoli for
their hospitality in organizing a great event.