The New World's Tallest Roller Coaster, Skyscraper, Unveiled

Yesterday, new video footage of what will soon be the world's tallest roller coaster was released and it's just enough to whet a coaster enthusiast's appetite so soon into the dormant winter months.  It was just about a year ago that Skyscraper was first introduced to the world as the newest record-breaker in the ever evolving coaster wars.  The new coaster is set to open in 2017 and will break the record long held by Six Flags Great Adventure's Kingda Ka as the world's tallest roller coaster.

When the original plans were unveiled, this coaster enthusiast was a skeptic.  It didn't hurt my pessimism either that Kingda Ka resides at my home amusement park, but from the original sketches and description of the coaster, it didn't look like it wouldn't be as thrilling as the King of Coasters. Now that I've seen the video, I'm still skeptical that it is a true thrill-seeking competitor for its predecessor, but it does look pretty cool nonetheless and will certainly induce butterflies within the stomachs of impending riders.

orlandoweekly

Skyscraper, known as an all new prototype, Polarcoaster, will stand at a whopping 570 feet above the ground along Orlando's strip at the future site of the all new Skyplex Entertainment Center.  That's more than 100 feet taller than Ka.  Though it's not the thrill em fast and high that the current record holder is, it does have a few elements that make it its own unique experience, including almost four minutes of high-flying twists, turns and inversions.  I tell ya, I hadn;t planned on going back to Orlando anytime in the near future, but after checking out this video, Skyscraper has got me rethinking that notion...