Say you hit the lottery for like half a billion dollars...

squirrels said:

...and you decided you were going to have your own roller coaster built. You obviously have the money for upkeep, and even the most awesome modern monstrosity is "only" $25 million or so. What kind of coaster would you want?

Bear in mind this is something you would want to own for a decent period of time and get repetitive enjoyment out of. Of course you'd want to show it off to your friends, but it would have to be something that you could ride several times in any given month and not get bored.

Who would build it?

Well, I guess I'd have to have Intamin since I want an awesome launch but you said I have to ride it several times a month and if they build it I probably won't be able to do that with all the down time for repairs. :~)

I would LOVE to get Intamin and B&M to work together on a coaster (hey - this IS fantasy!)

What would be the features of it? How would it lift/launch? Would you go for a ton of airtime? Lots of inversions? Speed? Height? What kind of trains would it run?

It would start out with an awesome KK type launch and go over a top hat 1 inch taller to claim the record (LOL), then it would come down and go right up a large hill (200 ft or so) with another awesome drop, maybe 2 hills in a row. Next I want a helix, similar to Nitro's. Come out of the helix and brake: Second Launch! This one would be more like Storm Runner's, around 75 mph that would send you into a dark tunnel into a dark indoor ride with some sort of theming flashing. Can have some bunny hills with some minor inversions (nothing that would hurt since you can't see to ride defensively) then you would come out to the station.

I tried to figure out a way to incorporate a Dive coaster in here but I don't think that's remotely possible....

Jen

I'd be afraid that a B&M or perhaps any steel coaster (even MF) would become boring or at least repetitive after a few hundred rides.

My ideal backyard coaster already exists. It is very reridable and each time is like a new experience. Sorry folks... I would buy and relocate RFII!

It's a nice thought, but the first thing that comes to mind is where am I going to build it and how am I going to find a property that has the zoning in place for such a thing. My neighbors aren't going to go for a 200-foot tall ride.

My second concern is that I will probably kill myself on it. I would be the type to try riding it with the restraints open or while standing up.

I would want to start with Mr.Freeze's launch and Top Hat, add Millennium Force's first three hills, put in three of a B&M hyper's mid-size airtime hills, and finish with Sky Rocket's inversions and turns.

I'm not sure who would build it, probably Intamin. There should be simple lap bars that do not push down on you.

For me I'd want something like Montu only with 10+ inversions and a drop from 250+ft. I dunno how much of a power nightmare the launching is for the Hulk, but ideally I'd want it to be a launching coaster. But if not doable I'd be fine with maybe subcontracting Intamin for a cable lift system. Some musts: loop around the lift hill (like Kumba), a batwing, immelmann, zero g roll, interlocking corkscrews...

For a Kingda Ka type coaster, it's just like it, but after the fall from to the bottom of the tower, it enters a giant loop and makes a right hand turn into a smaller LIM launching segment into a 540 degree helix and as you exit the helix, another launch sends you into a series of hills and (I dunno how much more I can add to it, so I'll just stop right here).

Someone made a really awesome design for a dive coaster with a Jurassic Park theme on youtube. Basically it's a dive coaster going thru the 'park' much like the river raft ride and then into the building to go past the trex. It then drops and you are suddenly 'flying' into a huge cut out in a building and a series of loops and inversions. It was a great vid and that's what I wished dive coasters were like, something more than just 1 or 2 immelmanns and dives.

I'd put a bunch of money into research to get B&M to make a 400-500ft BEAST of a hyper like Nitro. I guess it would be called a "strata hyper"? since it eclipses the 400ft mark. The lift hill would be cable maybe, but I wouldn't want the lift hill to be TOO fast. I want to enjoy the view!

It would have a completely unique layout, no real form to it. Maybe double or 1.5 times longer than Nitro? So around 10,600 ft (over 2 miles). I would want it to have some awesome air time hills, and since it'd be so tall, the third hill could be just as tall as some of the current hyper coasters first drop!

The main goal would to maybe have the top speed be 130mph! That's be sick!

The coaster would have the clam shell seat, but maybe a trimmed down version, where the car has even less to it, like no floor. The worlds first floorless hyper strata coaster!

I'd love for part of the coaster to go through a mountain too, to add a dark element. I mean come on, if I have half a billion dollars I think that's doable. Natural tunnels ftw! I would also place it somewhere where the views are spectacular and just awe inspiring.

Also at one point it would have a massively wide hammerhead turn to where you feel like if your on the inside seat, that you might fall out! I would also like the coaster to be engineered like Leviathan and have no brake run, but a very long brake before the station.

The station would have bins for people's things ;) the alternating sliding door type, a single rider line, and would have the best crew and operations available. The line que would be outside but completely shaded with optional cooling fans that guests could switch on or off. The line would have some awesome snack stands with food/drinks that cost $1 for pretty much anything. The exit line would be a ramp made of concrete that isn't a zig zag, but just a straight walk. Next to it would be the same thing, but it would have a track like a treadmill and would be moving :)

With the ride being so long, you might think the wait would be super long too, but on this ride the speed would be great enough to compensate for some of that. The crew would be top notch and I'd pay to have it in top form year round.

TLDR:

So yeah, basically my favorite coaster (Nitro) times 2 in an awesome location with a bunch of perks haha.

LEVIATHAN.

Is it really that good Kevin? It must torture you to have Leviathan in your old backyard and yet be so far from it!

I leave my beloved Wonderland and they build two B&M monsters. I am sure that would have never happened if Paramount still owned.

Leviathan is superb! I loved Behemoth when I first rode back in 2008 for the first time but, Leviathan is well... near perfect. I can't explain myself nearly as well as Sparky but I will try. I like its placemnt in the park & how it just dwarfs Dragon Fire. The ride just doesn't stop delivering... Speed, Thrills, and floating airtime.

NEWS FLASH!
I am getting old and after not riding coasters regularly for the past six years my body can't the changes in "g" forces. After riding Behemoth three times in a rows in about 15 minutes I was done!

Reagrds,
Kevin "chillforce old" Reid

* This post was modified at 7/18/12 12:03:53 PM *

Should I send you the UltimateRollercoaster.com logo walker? I got one for Chillforce.

KevinReid said:
NEWS FLASH!
I am getting old and after not riding coasters regularly for the past six years my body can't the changes in "g" forces. After riding Behemoth three times in a rows in about 15 minutes I was done!

Reagrds,
Kevin "chillforce old" Reid

News flash! You're not old.

I remember meeting you twelve years ago, when I was 50.

I could ride Millenium Force all day, so that's what I think I'd go with :-) Diamondback and Nitro are pretty good too, but not as awesome as Millie! I love Phoenix at Knoebels, but I think a woodie like that would get to be to hard on the body after a while.

A clone of Raging Bull.

G-Dog

Honestly, my first thought was a B&M Invert. Not because they're the "most extreme" or anything, but because they seem to have the most replay-value. There's a lot I like about the inverted configuration...mainly that it makes inversion features much more pronounced and deliberate.

Then I started thinking, "hyper-invert", with a 200-250ft first drop and Millenium-style overbanks. Can you imagine that kind of overbank on an inverted?? That would be ridiculous.

The one thing you DON'T get as much on an invert, though, is the airtime, the big negative-G feel. With the track above you all the time and being strapped in with OTSRs, you feel a little TOO secure.

So the other alternative would be an Intamin-style giga-coaster, something with elements of I305 and MF. But I'd want a top-hat feature somewhere on the coaster...maybe like 200ft. (any taller and you wouldn't get the speed from a normal hill) I'd also want inversions worked into it.

It'd have to take advantage of terrain as well...chasing through the trees, for example. Cut back a swath of forest for the coaster to pass through and increase the illusion of speed. (of course, then you have to worry about bugs or birds)

I would hire Intamin and Gravity Group to work together and build a wooden coaster. It would have the first 3 hills of El Toro, a tunnel longer than Hades with a triple down inside like The Voyage has, and use the terrain like Boulderdash and Prowler does. In the end, it would be the longest coaster ever built.

La Raza De Los Toros.

Twin racing semi-clones of El Toro, constructed so that the hills face each other and the trains face head-on when heading down.

Location? I dunno, but with a half-billion dollars, it sure ain't gonna be a problem finding the necessary acreage.

Mike

beastmaster said:

La Raza De Los Toros.

Twin racing semi-clones of El Toro, constructed so that the hills face each other and the trains face head-on when heading down.

Location? I dunno, but with a half-billion dollars, it sure ain't gonna be a problem finding the necessary acreage.

Mike

But what would you name each side? If it's a racing coaster each side has to have it's own name.

Jen

GoYanks34 said:

beastmaster said:

La Raza De Los Toros.

Twin racing semi-clones of El Toro, constructed so that the hills face each other and the trains face head-on when heading down.

Location? I dunno, but with a half-billion dollars, it sure ain't gonna be a problem finding the necessary acreage.

Mike

But what would you name each side? If it's a racing coaster each side has to have it's own name.

Jen

we'll cross that bridge when the other parts of the equation are in place.

LOL. You're going to charge $1.00 at the concessions but you just won 500 million?? LOLOLOL

Why is it everyone is so big on Cedar Point, Six Flags Parks,etc. when I have found Canada's Wonderland to EASILY be (BY FAR) the BEST THEME/ ROLLERCOASTER PARK IN NORTH AMERICA. OMG this place is AWESOME!!!! Riding history: almost 200, so I've been around somewhat.Please, find a way to get there, you owe it to yourself to experience the best there is for the wonderful contribution this park provides to our greatest hobby. Don't forget you'll need a passport...

I've been to Wonderland once (when Psyclone was new) and if it wasn't for needing a passport to go to Canada I would love to get back there.

G-Dog

With passport in hand, I'll be there in a couple of weeks. Tell me, what is the best way to work around the place and get everything done?

If I really had half a billion dollars,I'd be interested in building 2 specific rides:
-First,an Intamin woodie that is a clone of the Crystal Beach Cyclone thats about 110 feet tall;the trains would be "old-school"-no seat belts or dividers!!!
-The second coaster's working title would be "Steel Drachen Express"because it would combine various elements of Arrow's extreme-and now gone-coasters.Basically it would be a "hyper-looper" with interlocked loops and those streamlined trains with lights that Drachen Fire had.The ride starts off with a 200-foot,90-degree first drop followed by some overbanked fan curves.The loops basically go as this:vertical loop-cobra roll-double inline twist-second vertical loop(interlocked with first one)-Arrow boomerang-double corkscrew.This layout was loosely based on Orient Express.