The world's TALLEST roller coaster is coming to Florida

[Discamper 394]

The world's TALLEST roller coaster is coming to Florida. But where it will go still remains a mystery... See the story: http://on.wesh.com/17vWCBA

 

[Beckers 1,136]

Won't catch me on that!

[Discamper 394]

I bet It's Universal they always have cutting edge roller coaster

[Beckers 1,136]

I agree. Doesn't sound like a Disney thing.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

My guess is Busch gardens in Tampa. They have some really cool coasters.

[Beckers 1,136]

I think we can easily rule out legoland lol.

[Cortezcapt (Derek) 156]

Wow, can't wait sounds like it will be cool. Hopefully it actually happens

[Travisma 1,317]

My guess is Busch gardens in Tampa. They have some really cool coasters.

I don't think it'll be Busch. They are opening a new ride this summer, Falcon's Fury, a 335 foot drop tower. Seems like most parks wait 3 to 5 years between new major rides, so I doubt it'll be Busch based on that timetable.

I'm not sure when Universal built their last major ride.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

My sources tell me that this is indeed going to be at Disney World, and will in fact be built in the MK.  As soon as Christmas is over, workers will begin tearing down Cinderella's Castle and replacing it with the Polarcoaster.  

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Maybe Sea World if not Universal or BG.

Sea World's Manta is awesome. They could use another big ride there though.

[Travisma 1,317]

Maybe Sea World if not Universal or BG.

Sea World's Manta is awesome. They could use another big ride there though.

They have Kraken and Atlantis, both pretty big and fast.

It might be there if they break tradition and shorten the time between major builds. Manta I think is two years old ?, and they just opened the big penguin exhibit/ride this year.

What and when was the last big ride at DW ?

[Discamper 394]

I will check with my fiancée she is an Anheuser-Busch or now InBev Brat.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

They have Kraken and Atlantis, both pretty big and fast.

It might be there if they break tradition and shorten the time between major builds. Manta I think is two years old ?, and they just opened the big penguin exhibit/ride this year.

What and when was the last big ride at DW ?

Both good rides. Atlantis caught me by surprise the first time i rode it.

[AC in A2......Aaron 693]

Sea World makes sense for another reason, The "PolerCoaster" would fit in well with their new Anarctic area I would think.

[Discamper 394]

Fiancée said as far as she knows there is no plans to build a new roller coaster at Sea World or Bush Gardens both part of Anheuser-Busch propertys

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

I don't think it'll be Busch. They are opening a new ride this summer, Falcon's Fury, a 335 foot drop tower. Seems like most parks wait 3 to 5 years between new major rides, so I doubt it'll be Busch based on that timetable.

I'm not sure when Universal built their last major ride.

  

They have Kraken and Atlantis, both pretty big and fast.

It might be there if they break tradition and shorten the time between major builds. Manta I think is two years old ?, and they just opened the big penguin exhibit/ride this year.

What and when was the last big ride at DW ?

How long does it take to build such a major ride?

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

What and when was the last big ride at DW ?

 

Hello?

 

They've been building it for three years!  It will be the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train in the New Fantasyland!

 

Who needs a Polercoaster?

 

You want a record setting coaster?  I give you the Mine Train- it will have to go in the Guinness Book as the coaster that took the longest to build in recorded history.

 

And wait.

 

There's more.

 

After they finally get around to opening the Mine Train, we will have three or so more years of hype while they build a new ride based on a movie about blue aliens.

 

Plus, a lot more stores will be turned in to Starbucks.

 

So there.

 

TCD

[Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58]

  

How long does it take to build such a major ride?

 

I've watched several huge coasters go in at Cedar Point in Ohio.  Most of those took about a year or so.  This one looks to have less work on the footers, but a lot more steel. A LOT more.

[h2odivers...Ray 952]

Thanks Andy. I was just curious.

[Lou... 3,118]

Avatarland, hey why not.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

This coaster looks like something that would fit in more in Las Vegas than it would in a themed Central Florida theme park.

 

It's basically a very tall tower, with a bar and restaurant up top, and a coaster built around it.

 

I actually could see a place like LEGOLAND or even one of the Hard Rock casinos installing one of these easier than I could see it fitting in to one of the major existing parks.  It could be a stand-alone attraction that someone could put on a small piece of land somewhere around Orlando.

 

BTW, it's "Poler," not "Polar."  I don't see any connection to Sea World.  Although if anyone has seen that Blackfish documentary, it could be that Sea World is going to need to reinvent itself.

 

TCD

[Discamper 394]

If I remember right it's a center Florida ride

[dblr....Rennie 224]

How about one of the Fun Spot places, they always seem to add a big attraction to draw crowds in.

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

If I remember right it's a center Florida ride

 

The video makes it clear that they aren't saying where in Florida.  Just Florida.

 

How about one of the Fun Spot places, they always seem to add a big attraction to draw crowds in.

 

That would be a genius move by one of those places.  This is the kind of thing that could be a stand-alone attraction, and because of its uniqueness, would probably be a money maker.

 

TCD

[Travisma 1,317]

  

How long does it take to build such a major ride?

 

They started this summer.  They had to remove the Sandstorm ride, then started driving pilings into the ground.

 

 

 

Heres a recent article.  It will be less than a year for construction from start to finish

 

TAMPA -- 

When Busch Garden's single-inversion Scorpion opened in 1980, never did the roller coaster expect a new neighbor to put down roots like this.

"We dug a hole 60 foot by 60 foot,” explains Jeff Hornick, the director of engineering at Busch Gardens. "Then we drove 105 piles in the ground, up to 205 feet (deep) into the ground."

In the Timbuktu section between the Desert Grill restaurant and the looping Phoenix, it's Falcon's Fury that's about to rise above Tampa.

"This ride is going to be the closest thing to skydiving without getting on an airplane,” Jeff promises while standing with his back to a construction fence that's shrouding a very deep hole from the unsuspecting park guests walking by.

GROUNDED

While Falcon's Fury was still just an idea on paper, Busch Gardens was busy opening their star attraction in 2011.

"The idea started when we were finishing [the] Cheetah Hunt attraction here," Jeff reveals.

After the launch coaster opened outside the Egypt section of the park, it was time to do homework in Timbuktu.  Soil samples were collected from around the location of the Sand Storm circular ride.

"Florida has very interesting geology when you're drilling," Jeff explains.  "We found some interesting soil conditions, but we wanted to make sure our foundation was able to withstand all of those unique conditions."

Conditions such as summer heat, winter temperature dips, hurricane force winds and rainy season downpours forced designers to create an underground network of steel and concrete.

"For the design for this ride, we drove 105 steel beams in the ground," Jeff notes.  "And then we poured a 5-feet-thick concrete cap on top of that.  And then another cylinder on top of that."

The mix of 105 steel pilings, some stretching 205-feet into the ground, along with a sandwich-like mix of dirt, sand and cement have one goal according to Jeff.

"To make sure this tower isn't going anywhere," Jeff assures.  

Getting swept up in order to make room for Falcon's Fury is the Sand Storm ride.  The spinning attraction is expected to find a new home at another SeaWorld Parks location outside the state of Florida.

Also on sabbatical during construction is a collection of small children’s rides.  Temporarily removing Busch Flyers, Desert Runners and the Kiddie Train allowed construction crews access to the build site in the middle of an active theme park.  All will be returned and operational later this spring according to Jeff.

FURY RISING

With the foundation now nearing completion, the nine columns of the ride from Swiss manufacturer Intamin Amusement Rides will start rising.

"When we approached Intamin for this ride, we wanted to be sure we were able to put a ride together that gave you that thrill," Jeff says.

The first ride for Falcon's Fury actually lasted one month.  The nine columns that will make up the 335-foot tower arrived in late October from Tarragona, Spain aboard a freighter.  After a cruise spanning 4,700 nautical miles across the Atlantic, the tower sections left the Port of Tampa on a a road trip crossing the Bay Area over two days.

Too large to hide, the column pieces measuring 20-feet in diameter arrived on the backs of flatbed trucks in a staging area near Adventure Island, Busch Gardens Tampa's waterpark.  They joined components already on site that were manufactured in Germany, Switzerland and Slovakia.

When assembled, the entire structure will weigh more than one million pounds.  Much of the structural design was done with a nod to Florida’s weather.

"That is why the steel is three and a half inches at the base, to make sure it can withstand those types of wind and circumstances," Jeff says.

Even the Florida sunshine is playing a role in the construction.  When the tower starts to come together later this month, it will be done completely at night.

"That steel actually expands when the sun hits it, so this tower is constantly bending away from the sun," Jeff says bending his hand as a visual aid.

If the holes pre-drilled in a lower section do not match up with tower section above it, the bolts will not fit.

"We want to make sure we build it once and we want to make sure the tower is completely vertical.  We have zero tolerance for movement as we are assembling these tube sections,” Jeff says looking over his shoulder, as if the tower was listening.

The tower must stand completely vertical in order to deliver a smooth-as-air ride. Crews will take their time, adding one tower section every-other-night until they reach the 335-foot level.

If all goes as planned, Jeff believes the tower should be fully erected by New Year’s Eve.  

January will bring days of stringing wires, hanging cables and adding electrical sensors.  Testing won't start until the gondola is fully assembled at the base of the tower.

"It's a number of month long process to make sure we get it completely dialed in, and completely safe, before we let any of our guests ride."

STACKING UP TO THE COMPETION

Drop Tower rides have been staples at amusement parks since the early 1980s.

The enclosed “Tower of Terror” at Disney’s Hollywood Studios stands 199-feet tall.  “Doctor Doom’s Fear Fall” at Universal Orlando’s Islands of Adventure stretches 200-feet tall.  On both rides, passengers sit upright.  That’s not the case with Falcon’s Fury.

Like a falcon diving, riders on Busch Gardens new addition will find their chairs tilting 90 degrees away from the tower once the gondola reaches its summit.  Riders will very quickly find themselves lying on their chest 300 feet above the ground.

"You're just going to be looking at the ground the whole time,” Jeff warns.

However, like an infomercial on television, Falcon's Fury can boast, "Wait!  There's more!"

For the first time, Jeff reveals to us that the ride's computer will use a randomizer sequence.

"We also wanted to add another element of surprise for our guests.  As we tilt you at the very top, we're going to hold you for an undetermined amount of time."

The gondola will eventually plunge at 60 miles per hour, creating a weightless sensation of 5 to 6 seconds.

"You won't be able to countdown how long it's going to be.  One second, maybe five seconds, before we drop you,” Jeff says smiling like a proud father.

Yet, he admits, there will be several visitors to the African-themed park that will take one look at Falcon's Fury and opt to keep both feet on mother earth.

"There are plenty of drop towers out there that are family friendly, maybe they will spin around, but we wanted to make sure we did something that nobody has done before."

BIRD'S EYE VIEW

Jeff points out Falcon's Fury is a thrill ride, not an observation tower, like SeaWorld's iconic Sky Tower.  The enclosed, air conditioned cabin on the 400-foot-tall Sky Tower provides comfortable views of downtown Orlando, International Drive and is a favorite to behold a Central Florida sunset.

The gondola on Falcon's Fury will not rotate like Sky Tower or other Intamin-made drop towers.

As a reference, the space shuttle stood 184 feet when upright.  The cupola on Falcon's Fury will stop at 335-feet-tall.

Orlando's SunTrust Center stretches skyward at 441-feet-tall. In Tampa Bay, 100 North Tampa (formerly the Regions Building) stretches skyward at 579-feet-tall.

NAMING RIGHTS

Falcon's Fury's name came easy.

"Whenever we are developing new rides here, we always look to nature as inspiration.  Jeff says of the concept and the name of the attraction.

"Falcons are able to drop and fly at hundreds of miles per hour to be able to catch their prey.  So if we can capture that excitement and that speed, and that energy, and turn this into a ride, we knew it would be a hit."

While Busch Gardens is excited to share new details about Falcon's Fury, there is one statistic that isn't public: when the ride will open.

Spring 2014 is listed on the Busch Gardens website as a debut date.  On the calendar, spring starts on March 20th.  Yet, there is one man who plans to dive in like a falcon for the first ride.

"I will be the first one in line for the drop test,” Jeff concludes.

FAST FACTS:

NAME: Falcon’s Fury

NAME INSPIRATION: Bird of prey who can dive hundreds of feet in seconds when in seach of a meal

LOCATION: Timbuktu Section

POSITION: Outside Desert Grill, between Scorpion roller coaster & Phoenix looping galleon

TOWER HEIGHT: 335 feet at top of cupola

DROP HEIGHT: 300 feet

DROP SPEED: 60 mph

FREE FALL TIME: 5-6 seconds

BREAKING FORCE: 3.5 Gs

BREAKS:   Magnetic

RIDERS PER TRIP:  32

SEATS: Riders will start the ride sitting upright. At the top, the seats tilt 90 degrees, leaving riders facing the ground, laying on the their stomachs

DROP SEQUENCE: A computer will randomize riders wait at the top from 1 second to 5 seconds before plunging

ROTATION: The gondola will not rotate around the tower, rather riders will navigate the tower straight up and straight down

MANUFACTURER: Intamin Amusement Rides

FOUNDATION: 205-feet-deep, 60 feet x 60 feet across

COLUMNS: 9 tower column sections, each column is 20 feet in diameter and weighs 190,000 pounds

COLORS: Yellow, Aqua and Burnt Red (red color to be added later)

RIDER HEIGHT REQUIREMENT: TBA

The-240-foot-tall tower at Busch Gardens Williamsburg has a 48-inch-tall height requirement

Other Intamin-built Drop Towers have a 48-inch-tall requirement

While additional Intamin Drop Towers feature a 52-inch requirement to ride

S&S Towers have a 52-inch requirement

OPENING DATE: TBA, Spring 2014 targeted