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Worlds First Polercoaster


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OK...not only is I-Drive in Orlando building a 570-foot roller coaster, but also a Star Flyer even bigger than New England Skyscreamer and a 400-foot Ferris Wheel? Wow. That is kind of crazy to build so many giant rides...

Also I read a comment on some other site (I think it was TPR- I was checking out all their IAAPA pics and videos) that made me think: the guy said Polercoaster "looks like a 570-foot El Loco." For those who has been to Indiana Beach, Steel Hawg is an El Loco. So imagine a 570-foot version of that. Same manufacturer and they do similar things layout-wise so it is somewhat believe-able.

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OK- I've looked into this a bit more and have come up with some thoughts.

Looking at pics of Steel Hawg and comparing with Polercoaster, I can see where the "like an El Loco" part comes from via the layout and elements, though Polercoaster will have bigger cars and the track looks sturdier since it has a spine (it looks similar to Flight of Fear's track a bit actually) where Steel Hawg and the El Loco's do not. The animated trains from Polercoaster also seem to have different restraints where Steel Hawg's do look a little painful. So it will probably range from "a bit rough-ish" but could be as bad as "OWOWOWOWOWOWOWOW'. Doubt it will be B&M smooth. Hopefully it's fairly smooth though, because it looks like a fairly long ride. Speed will also be a factor: Steel Hawg, an El Loco, goes 41mph. This ride is claimed to do somewhere between 65-70 if I recall. That extra 20mph+ would add a LOT of roughness as the faster a coaster goes the more noticeable "defects" in the track become evident. (For proof of this: compare Adventure Express, at 35mph max, to the 55mph max Vortex...both have slight kinks in the trackwork...)

While the idea of a 500-foot+ coaster and layout for the ride do look awesome, making me hope it works, I do still have to raise some specific concerns (that have mostly already been mentioned):

-Could be rough (see above)

-Will need to send cars out quickly to have anywhere near good capacity, due to the small 1-car trains even if there are 8 riders per car

-Could have maintenance problems

And I can think of a ride already from the recent past that had record-shattering stats that awe'd people at first, but because it had all 3 of those problems...

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...yeah, let's not go through that whole debacle again...even if it's not at Kings Island this time. Though what I hope is this- Polercoaster is actually fairly smooth, has good capacity so the line isn't too crazy, and is fairly reliable. If that happens then I'd even expect Cedar Fair will start looking at them (and part of me thinks Six Flags would go crazy and build lots of them for some reason if the ride turns out to be good). Though even in the worst case scenario, I-Drive will at least get an observation tower since that part of the "attraction" shouldn't have any major issues.

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My big question about this coaster, is how in the world are they going to check the track every day? The structure doesn't look accommodating for safety rigging.

I'm dying to see one of these built in New Jersey or California.

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  • 2 months later...

And so it shall.......

The world's tallest roller coaster, coming to Orlando's Skyplex in 2017, will be manufactured by the one and only, INTAMIN.

Just announced today, the world's tallest drop ride, SkyFall, at a height of 450 feet, will be located on the inside of the tower and face the outside toward SkyScraper, this ride will also be manufactured by INTAMIN.

Also, as a side note, apparently S&S has NO involvement what-so-ever with this project, for those of you worried about a painful ride experience..... :P

All of this and more can be found Here

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INTAMIN? Well, while based on the designer and manufacturer I assume the ride will be thrilling and intense, and probably much smoother than what it would have been as an S&S, reliability of both the coaster and Drop Tower likely won't be very good, especially since this is a first of its kind prototype based on INTAMIN's recent track record. I Expect lots of breakdowns in the early years.

I also now really don't expect one of these at a Cedar Fair park, at least so long as Matt Ouimet is in charge.

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INTAMIN? Well, while based on the designer and manufacturer I assume the ride will be thrilling and intense, and probably much smoother than what it would have been as an S&S, reliability of both the coaster and Drop Tower likely won't be very good, especially since this is a first of its kind prototype based on INTAMIN's recent track record. I Expect lots of breakdowns in the early years.

I also now really don't expect one of these at a Cedar Fair park, at least so long as Matt Ouimet is in charge.

To be honest, its kind of picking your poison between the 2. S&S have had pretty bad failures as well (Hypersonic, their launch coaster at Nuremberg's racetrack that was supposed to set the speed record but only manages 99 mph because its air tank exploded). I would still be slightly more trusting of S&S, but not by much over Intamin.

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INTAMIN? Well, while based on the designer and manufacturer I assume the ride will be thrilling and intense, and probably much smoother than what it would have been as an S&S, reliability of both the coaster and Drop Tower likely won't be very good, especially since this is a first of its kind prototype based on INTAMIN's recent track record. I Expect lots of breakdowns in the early years.

I also now really don't expect one of these at a Cedar Fair park, at least so long as Matt Ouimet is in charge.

To be honest, its kind of picking your poison between the 2. S&S have had pretty bad failures as well (Hypersonic, their launch coaster at Nuremberg's racetrack that was supposed to set the speed record but only manages 99 mph because its air tank exploded). I would still be slightly more trusting of S&S, but not by much over Intamin.

Huh...yeah, looking at it again, that's true. I also assume this was a "we want a crazy roller coaster for our tower" so they put it out to see which companies would build it. And I kinda see how only INTAMIN and S&S would line up for a project like this- B&M wouldn't touch something like this with a 35-foot pole, and this doesn't seem like something Mack Rides or Gerstlauer would do either. Vekoma typically does cloned looping coasters or family rides. Premier also has never done anything anywhere near this scale. So that leaves S&S and Intamin...and of the two, since both would give reliability issues more than likely, I think I'd do the same as SkyPlex and go INTAMIN- at least then when the ride's working it shouldn't be uber-rough and could be very fun (INTAMIN's rides typically rank far higher than S&S's on most polls that have been taken). Plus since INTAMIN has worked on Zumanjaro and Lex Luthor, SkyPlex also gets a Drop Ride... which hopefully should work fairly well since this style of Drop Tower is no longer anything new (since both Lex Luthor & Zumanjaro predate it).

SkyPlex will be a very interesting "park" to watch in the next few seasons- mainly to see if these crazy rides even work. If they do, then coasters will be able to reach a new level. If not...well, they can go sit next to Son of Beast and Hypersonic XLC and all the other crazy-but-failed rides of the past...

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  • 2 weeks later...

This looks really repetitive, like the same coaster done several times as it makes its way to ground level. I also thought the station would be at the top, not the bottom. That's a really, really long lift. I do like the setting though. Looks kind of freaky as it flies around the side of the building.

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  • 4 years later...
On 9/6/2019 at 12:29 AM, Oldiesmann said:

According to the article they were granted approval back in 2015 and that approval was extended in 2017 but expired last year due to failure to start construction. I'll still be surprised if this thing actually gets built.

I wouldn't bet the farm on it ever being built.  :rolleyes:

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