Coastin' with Dan

PC: Chance Rides We're back! Today's article is a great Q&A, which was answered by Ms. Lisa Hargrove of Chance Rides! Huge thanks to her! PC:Chance Rides Currently, there has only been one Hyper GTX model built. Are there any elements, such as inversions, which do not appear on Lightning Run, but could exist on future installations?  – The Hyper GT-X train is designed to allow for inversions.  We have created concept layouts under consideration that include barrel rolls and other extreme elements. Recently, Chance Rides updated the restraint system for the Zipper ride. Was their a reason for this, and will most Zippers be retrofitted with the new shoulder harness?  – The entire Zipper cage has been updated to provide a more open view during the ride experience.  This is allowing riders to experience their surroundings with the ride and it is also allowing waiting riders and friends to see the riders on board.  In a social media era this ...

Readers of New England Coaster News,  I just want to inform you guys that I will have a lot more posts/updates throughout the summer. The next two weeks, however, I will not be very active due to final exams/ time to complete assignments. Thank you for your understanding, and I'll be posting more again soon!

One of my English assignments at school was to write a persuasive review of anything of our choice. Of course I chose Six Flags, as I already write about the park a lot. I decided to post it here! Let me know what you think! Six Flags New England is home to the biggest thrills of the Northeast. Whether you like 200+ foot drops, endless spinning, or even a leisurely ride on a classic Carousel, this park has it all. Six Flags New England is a Five Star park with thrilling coasters, family sized attractions, interactive thematics, and tons of games and entertainment for everyone! Six Flags is known for some of the most cutting edge, innovative attractions. In fact, Six Flags was the first theme park chain to add a Fourth Dimension Coaster, and has a park which is home to the World’s Tallest Coaster and Drop Tower! In addition to the thrills, Six Flags’ amazing entertainment team puts on shows multiple times a day, the culinary services offer delicious food, and there are many p...

PC: SFNEOnline Catapult once stood in the North End of Six Flags New England. The gigantic S&S Sky Swat was nestled between Cyclone and Taz's Dare Devil Dive, which have both also been removed or altered. Catapult was constructed at Six Flags New England for the 2006 Season, after coming from the defunct Six Flags Astroworld in Houston Texas. Along with Catapult, Splashwater Falls was also added from Astroworld. Above is the Press Release regarding the New for 2006 Additions! PC: SFNEONLINE Catapult was a very intimidating ride, standing over 100 feet tall, inverting riders 6 times with its striking orange color scheme. PC: Theme Park Review Catapult began by raising riders up to 105 feet, elevator style. When the ride carriage reached the top, there would be a pause, then riders would be catapulted in one direction for three inversions, then switches and goes the other direction for three more inversions. The ride was very intense! The namesake " ...

PC: Theme Park Review You have probably seen it from the midway at Six Flags New England. It is the large building with Opera House signage located next to Tomahawk and Rock n' Rodeo in Crackaxle Canyon. Inside this building is the home of Harry Houdini, and you will be a part of his greatest escape yet! PC: Allison S Enter Houdini's Parlor and look around. This room features some very nice theming, such as the remains of Houdini's best escapes. The chains over the safe move around and jiggle, while the water tank bubbles up. PC: Allison S Next, a video is shown on a screen above a fireplace. This video is made to look as if it is old and worn. It describes Houdini's origins, while showing a young Houdini doing a disappearing act. After the video concludes, there is a Thunder Sequence, which eventually leads to Houdini telling you to enter the next room. PC: Allison S The next room is where the ride portion of this experience is. It is a Vekoma Ma...

The Joker 4D Free Fly Coaster at Six Flags New England opened to Season Passholders this weekend! This S&S Free Spin Coaster travels through its 109 ft Vertical layout, flipping 4-8 times per ride! Riders get lifted up elevator style, until the top of the lift. Right off the bat, riders enter the first of many inversions. Personally, I got three full flips, along with many out of control swings, where I was rocking back and forth. I found these rocking motions to be extremely fun, and the flips were very smooth. The "Beyond-Vertical Raven Drops" were also very fun. They provided a great moment of weightlessness. The station loads two cars at once, and seems to be quite efficient. The queue line also includes a single rider line, which should help fill up empty seats. The queue house has multiple monitors, which play trivia, and Joker Cam, which is an interactive program! And located at the exit is Funhouse Gifts, which is where you can purch...

Fahrenheit brings the heat! This one of a kind Intamin looping coaster located at Hersheypark brings riders up 121 feet, vertical. Then, riders crest the lift hill into a 97 degree Beyond Vertical drop. From there, riders travel through six inversions at a top speed of almost 60 mph.  In this review, I will be going through different categories and rating the ride on a 1-10 scale. Theming and Scenery Fahrenheit doesn't really have a theme, but the ride area and surroundings is pretty nice looking. The station, which can be seen above, is very nice looking and fits in well with the natural trees which surround the area. The color scheme of the ride, while faded, also looks very nice. Theming and Scenery: 6/10 Credit:LATimes Trains Fahrenheit has Three 12 passenger trains. Each passenger is secured by a vest restraint. These vest restraints were added a few seasons ago, and replaced the hard restraints seen in the above photo. The ride in the front of the trai...