August 28, 2013
These past few weeks we have seen some of Gerstlauer’s recent installations around the globe. It has been fun seeing some of the new projects and concepts; we hope to be opening some of these here in the states soon.
We begin at Erlebnispark Tripsdrill. “Karacho”, a launch coaster that uses the Infinity Trains, is an exciting ride. It accelerates past 60 mph in 1.6 seconds, but the launch is actually not the best part. The second act, if you will, of the Top Hat and Giant Corkscrew are amazing. They offer guests both on and off-ride great visuals and the ride really ends with a punch as the last two inversions are right before the brakes- a Diving loop that heads below grade and a corkscrew.
Then it was off to Japan to ride “Takabisha”. This Launched Euro-Fighter joined an already exciting line up of thrill rides at Fuji-Q Highlands: the classic TOGO hyper coaster “Fujiyama”, the coaster with the world’s fastest rate of acceleration, S&S’s “Dodonpa”, and “Eejenka”, an S&S 4th Dimension. Like Tripsdrill, “Takabisha” starts with a heartline roll in the dark that leads into a launch. From there the ride kicks into high gear and the LSM’s get it up to speed. The real winner in the first half is the third inversion, which is essentially a compressed Cobra Roll. Visually and dynamically it is a great element.
You complete the first half, and it feels like you have already been on a full coaster. But “Takabisha” has a trick up its sleeve. Guests are taken up the vertical lift and roll over the top. Instead of plunging right over the Euro-Fighter is held at 45-degrees and everyone screams. The ride dives to the ground at 121 degrees and flies through three more inversions. Whoo!
The last interesting coaster was the “Veil of Dark” at Tokyo’s Joyopolis. This combination attraction is part dark ride, part coaster and all fun. The 4-person Spinning vehicles all face forward, a first for Gerstlauer. From here, the ride moves through a dark ride section that features interactive shooting elements, projection screens, and gory zombie theming. The ride then moves into coaster mode and moves up a 15-foot chain lift. The car rounds the corner, unlocks, and is accelerated out a tire-drive launch into the open. It navigates a first for a Spinning Coaster, an inversion, and then tucks back out of the audience’s view. In the dark it does some back-to-back helices before coming to a rest in the station. Surprisingly, I won the battle, beating the other two people riding with me and came away with the highest score. Huzzah!
-AFS