The Joker | |
---|---|
Six Flags Discovery Kingdom | |
Location | Six Flags Discovery Kingdom |
Park section | DC Universe |
Coordinates | 38°08′17″N122°13′58″W / 38.13806°N 122.23278°W |
Status | Operating |
Soft opening date | May 25, 2016 |
Opening date | May 29, 2016 |
Cost | 7,800,000 |
Replaced | Roar |
General statistics | |
Manufacturer | Rocky Mountain Construction |
Designer | Alan Schilke |
Model | I-Box |
Track layout | I-Box |
Lift/launch system | Chain lift hill |
Height | 100 ft (30 m) |
Drop | 95 ft (29 m) |
Length | 3,200 ft (980 m) |
Speed | 53 mph (85 km/h) |
Inversions | 3 |
Duration | 2:00 |
Max vertical angle | 78° |
Capacity | 1,128 riders per hour |
G-force | 3.4 |
Trains | 2 trains with 6 cars. Riders are arranged 2 across in 2 rows for a total of 24 riders per train. |
Single rider line no | |
Must transfer from wheelchair | |
The Joker at RCDB |
The Joker is a steel roller coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom in Vallejo, California. The ride opened on May 29, 2016, as a rebuild of former wooden roller coaster Roar, adding a new steel track on top of Roar's wooden support structure. This hybrid configuration was implemented by Rocky Mountain Construction and is themed to the Joker, a comic book character villain featured in DC Comics publications. [1] [2] The original Roar roller coaster was constructed by Great Coasters International and opened in 1999. [3]
Roar was a roller coaster at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom constructed by Great Coasters International. When it debuted on May 14, 1999, Roar was the park's first wooden roller coaster and one of its first rides overall during the transition of adding amusement park rides to the marine mammal park. The coaster featured a height of 94 feet (29 m), a first drop of 85 feet (26 m) and a top speed of 50 mph (80 km/h). [4]
In July 2015, Six Flags announced plans to permanently close Roar on August 16, 2015. [5] On September 3, 2015, the park revealed plans to resurrect and convert Roar into a steel-tracked coaster called The Joker for the 2016 season. [6] Rocky Mountain Construction was contracted to perform the renovation using the company's patented I-Box steel track technology married to the existing wooden support structure. [6] The wood-steel hybrid was designed to incorporate three inversions, including a new element described as a "step-up under-flip inverted roll", and it also received new trains themed to the Joker comic book character. [1]
Based on the success of previous roller coaster conversions in its partnership with Rocky Mountain Construction, Six Flags anticipated that Roar would benefit from the overhaul and transition into The Joker. [7] Discovery Kingdom held a soft opening, a media preview event for The Joker, on May 25, 2016. [8] The roller coaster was well-received and opened for Memorial Day Weekend on May 29, 2016. [8] [9]
The table below compares the original Roar, with the updated Joker ride. The original ride by the Great Coasters International was an approximately 94 feet (29 m) tall and the length of 3,291 feet (1,003 m). The refurbished ride by Rocky Mountain Construction features a steeper and taller coaster, thus achieving a faster speed.
Statistic | Roar [10] | The Joker [11] |
---|---|---|
Years | 1999–2015 | 2016 |
Manufacturer | Great Coasters International | Rocky Mountain Construction |
Designer | Mike Boodley | Alan Schilke |
Track | Wood | Steel |
Height | 94.6 ft or 28.8 m | 100 ft or 30 m |
Drop | 85 ft or 26 m | |
Length | 3,291 ft or 1,003 m | 3,200 ft or 980 m |
Speed | 50 mph or 80 km/h | 53 mph or 85 km/h |
Inversions | 0 | 3 |
Max vertical angle | 45° | 78° |
Trains | Great Coasters International | Rocky Mountain Construction |
The Joker's trains are themed to the character widely known in the Batman comics. Each train has six cars, each seating four people with two across in two rows, for a total capacity of 24 riders per train. As the train departs the station, it enters several small 'bunny hills' and turns, reminiscent of pre-lift elements on Twisted Colossus at Six Flags Magic Mountain. The train will then ascend up its first hill of 100 feet (30 m), followed by a curved drop at 78 degrees – re-profiled as a steeper drop from the original Roar coaster. It accelerates to a maximum speed of 53 mph (85 km/h) before entering the "step-up under-flip inverted roll" element.
After turning left out of the inversion, the train goes up a hill into a 180-degree stall featuring several head chopper beams. A wave turn element and several air time hills follow, along with an over-banked turn and an Asian camelback hill. The track winds sharply through another over-banked turn before entering the final inversion, a zero-g-roll. Finally, the train undergoes another banked turn and camelback hill before reaching the final brake run and returning to the station.
A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also be made of steel lattice or truss, which has no bearing on a wooden coaster's classification. The type of wood often selected in the construction of wooden coasters worldwide is southern yellow pine, which grows abundantly in the southern United States, due to its density and adherence to different forms of pressure treatment.
A steel roller coaster is a roller coaster that is defined by having a track made of steel. Steel coasters have earned immense popularity in the past 50 years throughout the world. Incorporating tubular steel track and polyurethane-coated wheels, the steel roller coasters can provide a taller, smoother, and faster ride with more inversions than a traditional wooden roller coaster.
Green Lantern, formerly known as Chang, is a stand-up roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Green Lantern stands 155 feet (47 m) tall and features a top speed of 63 miles per hour (101 km/h). The 4,155-foot-long (1,266 m) ride features five inversions and a duration of approximately 21⁄2 minutes. This steel coaster was designed and built by Swiss manufacturer Bolliger & Mabillard.
The Riddler's Revenge is a steel stand-up roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain. Manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard, the ride opened as the park's eleventh roller coaster on April 4, 1998, setting multiple world records among stand-up coasters. Originally located in the Movie District section of the park, which later became Metropolis in 2017, The Riddler's Revenge was also the park's single biggest investment at a cost of $14 million. It features a height of 156 feet (48 m), a maximum speed of 65 mph (105 km/h), six inversions, and a track length of 4,370 feet (1,330 m).
El Toro is a wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Great Adventure in Jackson Township, New Jersey. Designed by Werner Stengel and manufactured by Intamin, the ride opened to the public on June 11, 2006. Intamin subcontracted Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) to build the ride, and the coaster's track was prefabricated, allowing for quicker installation and lower construction costs. El Toro is the main attraction of the Mexican-themed section of the park, Plaza Del Carnaval. It replaced another roller coaster, Viper, which closed following the 2004 season.
Twisted Cyclone, formerly known as Georgia Cyclone, is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Georgia in Austell, Georgia. Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC), the ride opened to the public on May 25, 2018. It features RMC's patented I-Box Track technology and utilizes a significant portion of Georgia Cyclone's former support structure. Originally constructed by the Dinn Corporation, Georgia Cyclone first opened on March 3, 1990.
Twisted Colossus is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Magic Mountain in Valencia, California. Originally designed and built by International Amusement Devices, the roller coaster opened as Colossus, a dual-tracked roller coaster, on June 29, 1978. It was the tallest and fastest wooden roller coaster in the world and the first with two drops greater than 100 feet (30 m). Colossus became well known after appearances in film and television, including the box-office hit National Lampoon's Vacation and the made-for-TV movie Kiss Meets the Phantom of the Park. For 19 years, it was the park's main attraction until the opening of Superman: The Escape.
Goliath is a steel roller coaster located at the Six Flags Over Georgia amusement park in Cobb County, Georgia. The Hyper Coaster model manufactured by Bolliger & Mabillard climbs to a height of 200 feet (61 m) and reaches a maximum speed of 70 mph (110 km/h). Prior to its construction, the Great Gasp and Looping Starship attractions were removed to make room for Goliath, which opened to the public on April 1, 2006. It ranked as the fourth-best new ride of 2006 in the annual Golden Ticket Awards publication from Amusement Today and the ninth-best steel roller coaster overall, with its peak ranking of fourth occurring in 2009 and 2011.
Iron Rattler is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Fiesta Texas in San Antonio. Originally opening as a wooden coaster called Rattler in 1992, it was converted to steel and renamed Iron Rattler in 2013. Designed by Alan Schilke and built by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC), the ride features a zero-g-roll inversion, which was a first among hybrid coasters made of wood and steel.
Wicked Cyclone is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags New England amusement park. The ride originally opened as a wooden roller coaster named Cyclone on June 24, 1983. Its name and design were inspired by the historic 1927 Cyclone roller coaster located at Coney Island. In 2014, after 32 seasons, Cyclone was closed while being re-tracked with steel. It reopened as Wicked Cyclone on May 24, 2015.
Thunder Run is a wooden roller coaster at the Kentucky Kingdom amusement park in Louisville, Kentucky. The ride originally operated from August 1990 through to October 2009, when then-operators Six Flags abandoned the park. After remaining closed since 2009, Thunder Run reopened in May 2014 when Kentucky Kingdom reopened under new operators.
Storm Chaser is a steel roller coaster located at Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville, Kentucky, United States. Designed by Alan Schilke and manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) at an estimated cost of $10 million, the ride opened to the public on April 30, 2016. It features three inversions, a 78-degree drop, and a maximum speed of 52 mph (84 km/h) utilizing RMC's patented I-Box track technology.
Roar is the name of a wooden roller coaster at Six Flags America located near Upper Marlboro, Maryland. There were originally two roller coasters; the first and current ride was built in 1998 at Six Flags America, and a second ride was built in 1999 at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom. Both rides were designed and built by Great Coasters International (GCI). In 2015, Discovery Kingdom announced the retirement of its version of Roar, which Rocky Mountain Construction later renovated and transformed into The Joker, a hybrid roller coaster.
New Texas Giant is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags Over Texas in Arlington, Texas. It originally opened as Texas Giant, which was the tallest wooden roller coaster in the world when it debuted in 1990. Manufactured by Dinn Corporation and designed by Curtis D. Summers, Texas Giant operated for nearly two decades and was ranked in Amusement Today magazine's annual Golden Ticket Awards as the best roller coaster in 1998 and 1999. The ride's popularity declined as it gained a negative reputation for its increasing roughness.
Goliath is a steel roller coaster at La Ronde located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Designed by Bolliger & Mabillard, it reaches a maximum height of 174.8 feet (53.3 m), a speed of 68.4 miles per hour (110.1 km/h) and a track length of 4,038.8 feet (1,231.0 m). Construction commenced in September 2005, and the roller coaster opened to the public on May 13, 2006. Goliath was the tallest and fastest roller coaster in Canada until it was surpassed by Behemoth, at Canada's Wonderland's in 2008. Six Flags announced that Goliath would be hooked up with Virtual Reality for a New Revolution experience for the 2016 season, which was previously made as a world premiere in 2013 by a Montreal VR company.
Medusa Steel Coaster, formerly known as simply Medusa, is a steel roller coaster located at Six Flags México in Mexico City. Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) and designed by Alan Schilke, the ride opened to the public on 14 June 2014. It was originally a wooden coaster constructed by Custom Coasters International that debuted in June 2000. The wooden track was completely removed and replaced with RMC's I-Box track technology, a steel conversion that resulted in a new track layout with increased speed and the addition of three inversions. Medusa was generally well-received, ranking several times in the top 50 among steel roller coasters in the annual Golden Ticket Awards from Amusement Today.
Rocky Mountain Construction, often abbreviated as RMC, is a manufacturing and construction company based in Hayden, Idaho, United States. The company is best known for its I-Box track and Topper Track for wooden roller coasters.
Outlaw Run is a wooden roller coaster located at Silver Dollar City in Branson, Missouri. Designed by Alan Schilke, Outlaw Run is the first wooden roller coaster manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) and became the first wooden coaster with multiple inversions. It features a 162-foot (49 m) drop, three inversions, and a maximum speed of 68 mph (109 km/h) that makes Outlaw Run the sixth-fastest wooden coaster in the world. Its 81-degree first drop is also the fourth steepest in the world among wooden roller coasters.
Goliath is a wooden roller coaster located at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, Illinois. Manufactured by Rocky Mountain Construction (RMC) and designed by Alan Schilke, the roller coaster features RMC's Topper Track design and opened to the public on June 19, 2014. Goliath initially set three world records among wooden coasters, having the longest drop at 180 feet (55 m), the steepest angle of 85 degrees, and the fastest speed of 72 mph (116 km/h). It still holds the record for the longest drop and fastest wooden roller coaster. In addition, the ride also features two inversions and a maximum descent that reaches 15 feet (4.6 m) below ground level.