Steel Taipan

Steel Taipan
Dreamworld
Location	Dreamworld
Park section	Gold Rush Country
Coordinates	27°51′44.44″S153°18′54.84″E / 27.8623444°S 153.3152333°E / -27.8623444; 153.3152333
Status	Operating
Soft opening date	10 December 2021
Opening date	15 December 2021
Cost	A$32,000,000
Replaced	Thunder River Rapids Ride Eureka Mountain Mine Ride (indirect)
General statistics
Type	Steel  – Launched
Manufacturer	Mack Rides
Model	Launched roller coaster
Lift/launch system	LSM launch
Height	39 m (128 ft)
Length	1,200 m (3,900 ft)
Speed	104.9 km/h (65.2 mph)
Inversions	4
Max vertical angle	94°
Capacity	820 riders per hour
G-force	3.8
Height restriction	130–200 cm (4 ft 3 in – 6 ft 7 in)
Ride Express available
Single rider line available
Steel Taipan at RCDB

Steel Taipan is a steel launched roller coaster at Dreamworld in Coomera, Queensland, Australia. Steel Taipan is a direct replacement to the former Thunder River Rapids Ride. The roller coaster, the first triple-launched coaster in the Southern Hemisphere, is named after the deadly Taipan family of snakes native to Australia.

History

Construction site in October 2020.

Steel Taipan was first announced on 23 August 2019, alongside the announcement of the $7,000,000 Fully 6 body slide complex in the adjacent WhiteWater World. Steel Taipan, then unnamed, was confirmed to be a near-clone of Mack's popular Blue Fire launched coaster model, except with a unique backwards portion and swing launch section as well as a spinning cart on the back row. ^[1] The park had been able to secure the ride's hardware on a reduced timeline, as it was originally meant as a now-cancelled attraction at an unspecified Chinese park. Although a name had been undecided, two possible options had been trademarked during late November 2019; Hiss-teria and Steel Taipan. ^[2]

On 19 March 2020, park owner Ardent Leisure officially announced that they had established new financial measures to combat the then-emerging COVID-19 pandemic, which included freezing all non-essential costs. This included halting construction and thus indefinitely delaying Steel Taipan, removing it from its initial December 2020 target opening. ^[3] Throughout the spring, supports and track would begin to arrive at the park, although very little groundwork had taken place by that point in time and construction had not yet started. ^[4] Construction finally broke ground in late September, just after the park reopened from a COVID-induced shutdown. ^[5]

In late November 2020, Steel Taipan manufacturer Mack Rides unveiled their brand new HybridTrain spinning coaster car test concept just after the IAAPA annual convention, which was held virtually for 2020. ^[6] Instead of the standard 4 seater spinning car, it would instead be a more agile 2 passenger car that could be more easily added onto existing and new launch coasters while abiding to tight clearances. The design also allowed for magnets in the seats to control the spinning speed. It was confirmed to debut on Steel Taipan, and a prototype had been tested on the similar Blue Fire launch coaster at Europa Park in Rust, Germany. ^[7]

In late November, Dreamworld formally announced the coaster's name to be Steel Taipan, as expected. Excavation and groundwork had also started to begin some time prior to that, after the park reopened, and Steel Taipan was on track for a late 2021 opening. ^[8]

Vertical construction of Steel Taipan began in April 2021 when the launch track was installed. ^[9] In May, the vertical loop was completed. During this time, Dreamworld confirmed that Steel Taipan would feature a tunnel and mist effects. ^[10] The twisted spike was then topped off in June. ^[11] The track layout was then completed in August and testing began the following month. ^[12] Steel Taipan had a soft opening on 10 December 2021 to a selected group of people. On 11 December 2021, the roller coaster opened to annual pass holders. A full opening commenced on 15 December 2021. ^[13]

Characteristics

Location

Steel Taipan is located in the Gold Rush Country section of the park. The ride was constructed on the site of the former Eureka Mountain Mine Ride and the Thunder River Rapids Ride, which closed permanently immediately following an October 2016 accident that saw four people killed and left the park's reputation and infrastructure mostly crippled. ^[14] It also interacts with parts of the Dreamworld Express train ride, which received some modifications during construction in order to accommodate the coaster.^{[ citation needed ]}

Similarities to other attractions

Blue Fire opened in 2009 at Europa Park in Rust, Germany, which was also run by Mack Rides themselves. It was their first coaster to utilize a Linear Synchronous Motor launch, and proved to be very successful for the company. During the 2010s, the ride was heavily cloned and installed at parks in China, Russia, and the UAE. ^[15]

Blue Fire, since it was custom-built for Europa Park, includes an extended turn into the launch room, which makes up the ride's dark ride section, and also has the ability to run up to 5 trains at a time. All the clones installed since then possess the same extended turnaround, although they feature a reduced number of trains. Steel Taipan's beginning and launch area differ greatly from these attractions, as the following modifications were made to the attraction;

• The extended turn into the launch section was removed and instead replaced with a hairpin turn and switch track to the launch area.
• The launch hardware and programming was reconfigured so that the train could be launched in both directions along the track.
• The twisted spike shuttle track was added to the back end of the launch.
• The maximum speed was increased from 62.1 mph (99.9 km/h) to 65.2 mph (104.9 km/h), the length increased from 3,464.5 feet (1,056.0 m) to 3,937 feet (1,200 m), and with the twisted spike, the model's total height was increased slightly from 124.7 feet (38.0 m) to 128 feet (39 m).

Ride experience

The ride begins with a left hand turnaround out of the station and onto the launch track, parallel to the former BuzzSaw roller coaster and car park. The train launches up the attraction's signature 124.7-foot (38.0 m) tall wave turn, but ultimately does not gain enough speed to crest it, thus rolling back into the launch. The train is blasted backwards into a 128-foot (39 m) curved spike overtop the Dreamworld Express train ride; its one distinguishing feature from the standard Blue Fire layout. Rolling forwards once again, the train hits the launch track for the third and final time, where it reaches speeds of approximately 65.2 mph (104.9 km/h) and tops the wave turn, leading into the first of four inversions on the ride; a 105 feet (32 m) vertical loop. Exiting such, it twists around and up into a mid-course brake run, which then leads into a pair of back-to-back twisted horseshoe rolls and an airtime hill through the centre of the loop. Riders enter another slow turnaround and ride through the final inversion on the ride, a heartline roll, before making a final right-hand turn into the brake run. ^[16]

See also

• 2021 in amusement parks

References

1. Roache, Ben (23 August 2020). "A new future for Dreamworld - A Mega Roller-Coaster, Water-Slides & Sky Voyager's Finally Open". OurWorlds. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
2. "Gold Coaster, Hiss-teria & Steel Taipan: Dreamworld reveals potential roller coaster names in trademark applications". Parkz. 11 February 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
3. Wilson, Richard (20 March 2020). "Dreamworld and Sea World's new roller coasters thrown into doubt amid coronavirus financial chaos". Parkz. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
4. "The Parkz Update: New roller coaster parts arrive as Dreamworld sits in lockdown". Parkz. 19 May 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
5. HUxley, Jennifer (15 September 2020). "Dreamworld reopens after five months of coronavirus closures as theme park breaks ground on new ride". ABC News. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
6. Coates, Charlotte (4 November 2020). "IAAPA shares more details ahead of first-ever IAAPA Virtual Education Conference". Parkz. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
7. Rdzanek, Austin (20 November 2020). "MACK Rides Introduce New Spinning Coaster Car Upgrade "HybridTrain"". Parkz. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
8. "The Parkz Update: Steel Taipan: Dreamworld's forthcoming roller coaster gets a name as construction moves forward". Parkz. 28 November 2020. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
9. "The Parkz Update: It's Mack Time - Dreamworld's Steel Taipan roller coaster goes vertical". Parkz. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 28 April 2021.
10. "Dreamworld's Steel Taipan roller coaster reaches new construction milestone - Australasian Leisure Management". www.ausleisure.com.au.
11. "Dreamworld announces 'topping off' of Steel Taipan rollercoaster - Australasian Leisure Management". www.ausleisure.com.au.
12. "Commissioning begins for Dreamworld's Steel Taipan rollercoaster - Australasian Leisure Management". www.ausleisure.com.au.
13. "Dreamworld to open new Steel Taipan rollercoaster on December 15".
14. "Dreamworld reputation in tatters as inquest wraps up". The Guardian. 7 December 2018. Retrieved 1 December 2020.
15. Røyk (8 May 2019). "MACK RIDES – L'ÉVOLUTION APRÈS BLUE FIRE". CoastersWorld (in French). Retrieved 1 December 2020.
16. dreamworldAU (11 June 2020). "Coming Soon: Dreamworld's Triple Launch Coaster". YouTube. Retrieved 30 July 2021.

External links

• Steel Taipan at Dreamworld