Mega Zeph | |
---|---|
Six Flags New Orleans | |
Location | Six Flags New Orleans |
Park section | Mardi Gras |
Coordinates | 30°03′11″N89°56′15″W / 30.053147°N 89.937486°W |
Status | Removed |
Opening date | May 20, 2000 |
Closing date | August 21, 2005 |
General statistics | |
Type | Wood |
Manufacturer | Custom Coasters International |
Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
Height | 110 ft (34 m) |
Length | 4,000 ft (1,200 m) |
Speed | 57 mph (92 km/h) |
Inversions | 0 |
Height restriction | 48 in (122 cm) |
Trains | 2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train. |
Mega Zeph at RCDB |
Mega Zeph is a wooden roller coaster located at the abandoned Six Flags New Orleans theme park, in the Eastern New Orleans area of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Originally opening on May 20, 2000, as Jazzland's signature ride, the coaster has been abandoned and left in a state of decay as a result of the park's closure following Hurricane Katrina in 2005. It is currently standing but not operating.
Mega Zeph takes its name from the original Zephyr or Big Zephyr coaster that operated in the now-defunct Pontchartrain Beach amusement park. [1] The coaster celebrated its topping out ceremony on September 10, 1999, with the installation of the underpinnings of the coaster's highest hump. [1] At the time of its completion, Mega Zeph served as both Jazzland's signature attraction as well as its most visible due to its location adjacent to the Interstate 10/Interstate 510 interchange. [2] The coaster's opening would coincide with the grand opening of Jazzland on May 20, 2000. [3]
Shuttered since August 2005 due to severe flooding in the park as a result of Hurricane Katrina, the park has remained closed. Decisions haven't been made as to what to do with the rides. Each ride is decaying, damaged, and unusable. More information will be released at a later date. [4] In 2007, Six Flags was in the process of removing some of its rides. The first ride to leave was Batman: The Ride, which was removed and taken to Six Flags Fiesta Texas, where it was refurbished and reopened as Goliath on April 18, 2008. Bayou Blaster and Sonic Slam were removed and taken to Great Escape in Queensbury, New York, where it was refurbished and reopened as Sasquatch on May 10, 2009. The final ride to leave Six Flags New Orleans was the Road Runner Express, which was removed in 2009 and taken to Six Flags Magic Mountain, where it was refurbished and reopened on May 28, 2011 under the same name. As of June 2023, the Mega Zeph has remained unused since August 2005, but may potentially be removed soon and replaced by a water park according to many media outlet’s. Rumors still float around regarding the history of the park. A large section on the Mega Zeph track has completely fallen to the ground due to the decaying of the wood. The majority of the wood from Mega Zeph has decayed and the steel track has severely rusted. Also, the only train has been sent to Six Flags St. Louis. They are now being stored under Batman: The Ride. [5]
Mega Zeph will cost around $3 million (USD) to fix and have the ride back to operating after Hurricane Katrina in August 2005. [6]
Mega Zeph was featured in the 20th Century Fox film Percy Jackson: Sea of Monsters along with several other rides including Ozarka Splash, released August 16, 2013. Mega Zeph was lined with lights along the coaster and resurrected just enough to have a car zoom in and out of frame during the shooting of the film. In the film, Six Flags New Orleans portrayed the park Circeland on the island of Polyphemus, that was built by the goddess Circe, only to be destroyed by the cyclops Polyphemus. [7]
The National Roller Coaster Museum and Archives was able to preserve the neon sign from the ride's entrance at its facility in Plainview, TX.
After passengers left the station, passengers climbed a 110-foot (34 m) lift hill culminating in its first drop. [2] The train then made a quick descent towards a high speed turnaround near the lake's edge. [2] The physical construction of the ride is unique in that it consisted of steel construction with a wooden track. [2]
Six Flags Great Adventure is an amusement park located approximately 20 miles southeast of Trenton in Jackson, New Jersey. Owned and operated by Six Flags, the park complex is situated between New York City and Philadelphia and includes a water park named Hurricane Harbor. It first opened to the public as simply Great Adventure in 1974 under the direction of restaurateur Warner LeRoy. Six Flags acquired the park in 1977. The park is located right off of Interstate 195 and is along Monmouth Road.
Six Flags New England, formerly known as Gallup's Grove (1870–1886), Riverside Grove (1887–1911), Riverside Park (1912–1995) and Riverside: The Great Escape (1996–2000), is an amusement park located in Agawam, Massachusetts, a western suburb of Springfield, Massachusetts. Opening in the late 19th century, it is the oldest amusement park in the Six Flags chain, acquired by Premier Parks in 1996 and rebranded Six Flags New England in 2000. Superman The Ride is among the park's most notable rides, having appeared as a highly ranked roller coaster in the annual Golden Ticket Awards from Amusement Today since the ride opened in 2000.
Six Flags Over Georgia is a 290-acre (1.2 km2) theme park located in Mableton. Opened in 1967, it is the second park in the Six Flags chain following the original Six Flags Over Texas, which opened in 1961.
Six Flags Fiesta Texas, formerly known simply as Fiesta Texas, is a theme park located in Northwest San Antonio. It opened on March 14, 1992, in the La Cantera master-planned development and district as the first business in that development. Spanning 200 acres (81 ha), the park was originally built to become a destination musical show park with its focus on the musical culture of the state of Texas. The park was purchased by Time Warner in 1995, and branded as a Six Flags park for the 1996 season.
Six Flags Magic Mountain, formerly known and colloquially referred to as simply Magic Mountain, is a 209-acre (85 ha) amusement park located in Valencia, California, 35 miles (56 km) northwest of downtown Los Angeles. It opened on May 29, 1971, as a development of the Newhall Land and Farming Company and Sea World Inc. In 1979, Six Flags purchased the park and added "Six Flags" to the park's name.
Six Flags Great America is a 304-acre (123 ha) amusement park located in Gurnee, Illinois, within the northern Chicago metropolitan area. The amusement park originally opened as Marriott's Great America on May 29, 1976, as one of two theme parks built by the Marriott Corporation. Six Flags acquired the amusement park in 1984 after the theme park division was an earnings disappointment for Marriott. The sale gave Six Flags rights to the Looney Tunes intellectual properties.
Kentucky Kingdom, formerly known as Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom, is an amusement park in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. The 67-acre (27 ha) park includes a collection of amusement rides and the Hurricane Bay water park. Kentucky Kingdom is located at the intersection of Interstate 65 and Interstate 264, sharing a parking lot with the Kentucky Exposition Center.
Batman: The Ride is an inverted roller coaster based on the DC Comics character Batman and found at seven Six Flags theme parks in the United States. Built by consulting engineers Bolliger & Mabillard, it rises to a height of between 100 and 105 feet and reaches top speeds of 50 mph (80 km/h). The original roller coaster at Six Flags Great America was partially devised by the park's general manager Jim Wintrode. Batman: The Ride was the world's first inverted roller coaster when it opened in 1992, and has since been awarded Coaster Landmark status by the American Coaster Enthusiasts. Clones of the ride exist at amusement parks around the world.
Pontchartrain Beach was an amusement park located in New Orleans, Louisiana, on the south shore of Lake Pontchartrain. It was founded by Harry J. Batt Sr. and later managed and owned by his sons, Harry J. Batt Jr. and John A. Batt. It opened on Saturday, June 30, 1928, across Bayou St. John from an existing amusement resort at Old Spanish Fort. Pontchartrain Beach's original location is the present-day lakefront neighborhood of Lake Terrace.
Six Flags New Orleans is an abandoned theme park located near the intersection of Interstate 10 and Interstate 510 in New Orleans. It first opened as Jazzland in 2000, and a leasing agreement was established with Six Flags in 2002 following the previous operator's bankruptcy proceedings. Six Flags invested $20 million in upgrades, and the park reopened as Six Flags New Orleans in 2003. Following the substantial damage caused by Hurricane Katrina in 2005, the park remained closed to the public in order to make efforts to repair and reopen it. However, in 2009, the city of New Orleans ended its 75-year lease with Six Flags, and the park consequently became permanently closed due to the extreme damage that was too severe to be repaired.
Batman & Robin: The Chiller was a dual-tracked, launched roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Designed by Premier Rides, the ride was themed to the Batman & Robin movie. It opened to the public on June 7, 1997, but after a series of setbacks shortly after its debut, the roller coaster closed for much of its inaugural season and didn't reopen until 1998. When it did, ride operation was changed to launch only one side at a time as a result of the amount of power required by the ride's linear induction motor (LIM) launch system. Although modifications were made over the years to improve the ride experience and limit the amount of downtime, the park decided to remove the attraction following the 2007 season.
T3 (stylized as T3; pronounced "T-three", "T-cubed", or "Terror to the third power") was an inverted roller coaster located at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky. The Suspended Looping Coaster model manufactured by Vekoma originally opened as T2 on April 8, 1995. Following the amusement park's closure in 2009 due to financial difficulties, the ride sat idle for several years. Under new park ownership, the roller coaster was refurbished and renamed T3, which reopened to the public as T3 on July 3, 2015. It closed permanently following the 2022 season.
The Flash: Vertical Velocity is a steel Inverted Impulse roller coaster located at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California. It is California's first and only inverting Inverted Impulse Coaster, built by Intamin and opened on June 8, 2001. It stands 150 ft tall (46 m) and reaches speeds of up to 65 mph (105 km/h).
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