Saturday, May 3, 2014

A-Z Blogging - Adventure Parks - T is for Thunderbolt

Note - Sometimes I wish that the A-Z Blogger's Challenge didn't take place in April.  This time of year is so crazy for me at school, and other things have been happening in my life, so I haven't really had too much time to devote to the challenge this year.  This isn't the first time this has happened and like the last time, I will see it along all the way to the letter "Z."  Stay tuned...




T is for Coney Island's Thunderbolt

Soon, very soon, a new roller coaster will be making its way to Coney Island's Luna Park in Brooklyn, NY. The all new Thunderbolt will be a new twist, in name only, on a classic coaster from the glory days of the park's yesteryear.   Here's a piece I penned for Examiner just a couple of months ago on the new ride:

It was just about four years ago that the world's most iconic amusement area of yesteryear made a bold step towards a bright future.  On February 16, 2010, then New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg announced that Coney Island was coming back in a big way with Luna Park, an all new amusement park designed with the intention of hearkening back to the glory days of its celebrated namesake from years past.

Though Luna Park is a much welcomed and beautiful update to the long-dilapidated area, and the new for 2011 Scream Zone park added two coasters to the area, the rides and attractions at the new Coney Island have done little to attract lovers of major thrill rides.  Other than the Coney's legendary Cyclone, the new Coney Island has been short on big thrills, until now.

This summer, Luna Park will be adding the $10 million Thunderbolt, a new twist on a classic Coney Island coaster.  The new ride will sit on the very site where its eponymous predecessor thrilled riders from 1925 to 1982, and though the contemporary coaster carries the same name, it will not be the same ride by any means.


The classic Thunderbolt roller coaster was a traditional wood design coaster, like all of the coasters were back in the early days of thrill rides.  The new ride will be of steel construction and features a 110-foot vertical lift, followed by a 100-foot drop almost straight into a huge loop.  Several inversions follow as the coaster flies at speeds of up to 65 miles per hour.   The ride is not the tallest or the fastest around, but it finally gives coaster enthusiasts something new to sink their teeth into at Coney Island.

The original Thunderbolt

"T" Coaster of the Day - Tatsu - 
Six Fags Magic Mountain, Valencia, California




Tatsu is Magic Mountain's version of a flying coaster, built nicely along a hilly landscape.  I had first seen the ride on a television show about coasters called Coaster Wars and I thought it looked really cool and really scary.  My friend Gary, who didn't think it looked so hot, reversed his decision when he visited the Mountain a couple of weeks ago.  Check it out...


Check out my A-S posts in this month of Adventure Parks blogging:


















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