Spinning Dragons | |
---|---|
Worlds of Fun | |
Location | Worlds of Fun |
Park section | East Asia |
Coordinates | 39°10′31″N94°29′17″W / 39.175405°N 94.487917°W |
Status | Operating |
Opening date | April 17, 2004 |
Cost | $4,000,000 USD |
General statistics | |
Type | Steel – Spinning |
Manufacturer | Gerstlauer |
Lift/launch system | Chain Lift |
Height | 54 ft (16 m) |
Drop | 50 ft (15 m) |
Length | 1,345 ft (410 m) |
Speed | 31 mph (50 km/h) |
Inversions | 0 |
Duration | 1 min 30sec |
Max vertical angle | 50° |
Capacity | 720 riders per hour |
Height restriction | 43 in (109 cm) |
Fast Lane Plus only available | |
Spinning Dragons at RCDB |
Spinning Dragons is a spinning roller coaster located at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, it was the second ride of its kind in the world after the Fairly Odd Coaster at Mall of America's Nickelodeon Universe. The ride was built in the East Asia area of the park in 2004 following the retirement of the Orient Express the previous year. The ride was installed by Ride Entertainment Group, who handles all of Gerstlauer's operations in the Western Hemisphere. [1] [2]
On October 29, 2003, Worlds of Fun announced that Orient Express would be removed. That same day, the park announced that a new spinning roller coaster named Spinning Dragons would be added to the park. [3]
The ride was set to open on April 3, 2004, but the opening was delayed. Spinning Dragons officially opened two weeks later on April 17, 2004.
There are 6 cars. The riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows, facing each other, for a total of 4 riders per car. Giving the ride a maximum capacity of 24 riders at a time. The ride has an estimated hourly operating capacity of 720 riders per hour. It is similar to Pandemonium at Six Flags theme parks and the Fairly Odd Coaster.
A roller coaster inversion is a roller coaster element in which the track turns riders upside-down and then returns them to an upright position. Early forms of inversions were circular in nature and date back to 1848 on the Centrifugal railway in Paris. These vertical loops produced massive g-force that was often dangerous to riders. As a result, the element eventually became non-existent with the last rides to feature the looping inversions being dismantled during the Great Depression. In 1975, designers from Arrow Development created the corkscrew, reviving interest in the inversion during the modern age of steel roller coasters. Elements have since evolved from simple corkscrews and vertical loops to more complex inversions such as Immelmann loops and cobra rolls. The Smiler at Alton Towers holds the world record for the number of inversions on a roller coaster with 14.
A spinning roller coaster is a roller coaster with cars that rotate on a vertical axis.
Worlds of Fun is an entertainment complex with more than 235 acres located in Kansas City, Missouri. It is the largest amusement park and water park in the Midwest. Founded by American businessmen Lamar Hunt and Jack Steadman, the park opened in 1973 under the ownership of Hunt's company, Mid-America Enterprises. Oceans of Fun is a water park which was added in 1982 and is next to the amusement park. Included in the price of admission to Worlds of Fun is admission to Oceans of Fun. Both parks were sold to Cedar Fair in 1995 for $40 million.
Movie Park Germany is a theme park in Bottrop-Kirchhellen in western Germany, 50 kilometres (30 mi) north of Düsseldorf, with an area of 40 hectares. It consists of 7 areas based on movies and TV series. Nearby the park are several film studios.
Camden Park is a twenty-six acre amusement park located near Huntington, West Virginia. Established in 1903 as a picnic spot by the Camden Interstate Railway Company, it is one of only thirteen trolley parks that remain open in the United States. Whereas most trolley parks were located at the end of trolley lines, Camden Park is unusual in that it was built where riders traveling between Huntington and nearby cities would stop to change lines. Not long after opening, the park soon gained a carousel and other roadside attractions. Camden Park is West Virginia's only amusement park. The park is home to more than thirty rides and attractions, including a full-size traditional wooden roller coaster, the Big Dipper, and several other vintage rides.
Orient Express was a steel roller coaster located at Worlds of Fun in Kansas City, Missouri. Introduced in 1980, the ride was manufactured by Arrow Huss and designed by Ron Toomer. It was replaced in 2004 by Spinning Dragons, a Gerstlauer spinning roller coaster. The red-orange track was located between the two entrances of the park. The station house was retained for use with a haunted attraction during the park's annual Halloween event.
Fairly Odd Coaster is a spinning roller coaster themed to The Fairly OddParents that opened on March 15, 2004, at Nickelodeon Universe in the Mall of America. Individual cars have two rows facing each other and each car spins independently throughout the course of the ride. The ride is geared toward families. The ride was installed by Ride Entertainment Group, who handles all of Gerstlauer's operations in the Western Hemisphere.
Mystery Mine is a steel roller coaster located at Dollywood amusement park in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, the Euro-Fighter model is heavily themed as a haunted mining operation from the 19th century. The roller coaster was Dollywood's largest single investment in the park's history at the time, costing $17.5 million to construct. A large portion of the track is located indoor, where the ride utilizes a series of special effects. It was the first Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter installation in the United States and had the steepest drop of any coaster in North America at the time of its opening. The ride was installed by Ride Entertainment Group, who handles all of Gerstlauer's operations in the Western Hemisphere.
Legoland California Resort is a theme park, miniature park, and aquarium located in Carlsbad, California, based on the Lego toy brand. Opening on March 20, 1999, it was the first Legoland park to open outside of Europe. The park is currently owned by Merlin Entertainments, which took a controlling interest in 2005. The second park in the United States was in Florida, which opened in 2011. A third park, Legoland New York, opened in May 2021.
Space Fantasy – The Ride is a spinning roller coaster at Universal Studios Japan in Osaka, Japan. The ride opened on March 18, 2010, as a replacement for the E.T. Adventure dark ride. The ride is themed to a journey through space and features an array of special effects and immersive theming including interactive projection screens, on-board audio, lasers and fibre optics.
Untamed is a steel Euro-Fighter roller coaster located at Canobie Lake Park in Salem, New Hampshire.
Pandemonium is a steel spinning roller coaster designed by Gerstlauer, located at several Six Flags amusement parks in the United States. Since 2005, Six Flags has installed Pandemonium in five of its parks.
The Smiler is a steel roller coaster located at Alton Towers in Staffordshire, United Kingdom. Manufactured by Gerstlauer, it opened in 2013 as the world's first Gerstlauer Infinity Coaster. It is located in the X-Sector area of the park. With 14 inversions, The Smiler holds the world record for most inversions on a roller coaster.
The Joker is a spinning roller coaster located at Six Flags México, a theme park in Mexico. The ride was designed by Gerstlauer and Werner Stengel. The Joker opened for the public on March 7, 2013.
Abyss is a steel roller coaster located at the Adventure World amusement park in Perth, Western Australia. The $12-million attraction was announced in April 2013, and construction began the following month. It opened to the general public six months later on 1 November 2013.
FireChaser Express is a steel family launched roller coaster at the Dollywood amusement park located in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The ride's revealing was part of a large announcement made on August 21, 2013. The roller coaster opened on March 22, 2014.
The TMNT Shellraiser is a steel indoor roller coaster at Nickelodeon Universe amusement park, within the American Dream Meadowlands shopping and entertainment complex, at the Meadowlands Sports Complex in East Rutherford, New Jersey, United States. The roller coaster is a Euro-Fighter model manufactured by Gerstlauer, and themed to the 2012 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles series. It is the steepest roller coaster in the world with a vertical drop of 121.5 degrees. The TMNT Shellraiser has the exact same layout as Takabisha at Fuji-Q Highland in Japan, a previous record holder for world's steepest roller coaster.
Tiki-Waka is a steel family roller coaster located at Walibi Belgium in Wavre, Belgium. The Polynesian-themed coaster opened for the 2018 season as the headlining attraction in the newly re-themed Exotic World area, and kickstarted a multi-year, €100,000 expansion plan.
Adrenaline Peak is a steel roller coaster at Oaks Amusement Park, just south of Portland, Oregon. The ride replaced the Pinfari Looping Thunder coaster in the park's South End, which closed after the 2017 season. The coaster was manufactured by Gerstlauer and is one of their Euro-Fighter coasters, containing three inversions and a vertical lift hill.