Vekoma to Introduce FIRST Inverted Looper at KK in 94
bu...@cavlry.enet.dec.com
USA's premier park for Vekoma Intl. rides and attractions, will
be receiving the company's first entry into the Inverted Looper
steel coaster market for the park's 1994 operating season.
Originally, KK had plans to receive a Mega Multi-element from
Vekoma -- similar to that which in being built in Korea for
their 1993 World Expo. Apprently, KK has taken notice of
SFGAm's attendace figures in 1992 due to their addition of
the B&M Inverted Looper called BATMAN -- THE RIDE, and
scraped the std multi-element coaster in favor of this ride.
Vekoma has a wide array of steel coaster offerings, incluing a
std suspended coaster they have been producing for years. The
Inverted Looper will be a 'fixed' car design, similar to the
B&M's, and will be the company's first entry into this market.
Construction on the ride will begin in the summer of 1993, and
park officials hope to have the attraction up and running by August
of 1994, when the Kentucky State Fair ensues.
The Inverted Looper will be between 2,000' and 2,300' long (shorter
than all 3 of the B&M coasters!), with a height of just over 100'
tall (sound familiar?). The exact design (layout, # of inversions)
and themeing (yes, it will be a themed ride) have yet to be determined.
KK and Vekoma signed the ride contract on Nov 21 at the IAAPA Convention
in Dallas, TX.
Vekoma notes it will be offereing two basic "custom order" sizes for
their Inverted Loopers -- a 'Large' size for the big theme parks, and
a 'Mid' sized for smaller parks.
***************
Editor's Note: Since Vekoma has cloned other mfg's rides in the
past (The Vekoma Tornado is a copy of Arrow's Loop-Screw, and
they have a copy of the old Wild Mouse rides), and since I have rode
these, and know that Vekoma rides are rather tame and somewhat slow,
I'm not expecting the 1-2 punch that the B&M ride offers. But, we'll
just have to wait and see what they come up with. Since B&M uses
the 4 abreast, single axel car design, the trains can traverse TIGHT
curves at high speeds. Unless Vekoma totally rips off this type of
car design, I'm not sure how wild their design will ultimately be?!
Informationally yours,
Buck
Robert A. Metzger
() says:
>
>That's right folks, you heard it here first!! Kentucky Kingdom,
>USA's premier park for Vekoma Intl. rides and attractions, will
>be receiving the company's first entry into the Inverted Looper
>steel coaster market for the park's 1994 operating season.
>
>Originally, KK had plans to receive a Mega Multi-element from
>Vekoma -- similar to that which in being built in Korea for
>their 1993 World Expo. Apprently, KK has taken notice of
>SFGAm's attendace figures in 1992 due to their addition of
>the B&M Inverted Looper called BATMAN -- THE RIDE, and
>scraped the std multi-element coaster in favor of this ride.
>
>Vekoma has a wide array of steel coaster offerings, incluing a
>std suspended coaster they have been producing for years. The
>Inverted Looper will be a 'fixed' car design, similar to the
>B&M's, and will be the company's first entry into this market.
>
>Construction on the ride will begin in the summer of 1993, and
>park officials hope to have the attraction up and running by August
>of 1994, when the Kentucky State Fair ensues.
>
>Informationally yours,
>Buck
Just curious Buck, how did you come of this information. I live in town and
did not even know about this.
Robert A. Metzger RAMETZ01 @ ULKYVM
University of Louisville
Programmer II, Information Systems
Profanity is the one language all programmers know best.
bu...@cavlry.enet.dec.com
RE: Inv Looper at KK
>Just curious Buck, how did you come of this information. I live in
>town and did not even know about this.
I'm an "Infomaniac", pure and simple. I'm constantly on the prowl
for the latest and greatest industry happenings. I happen to have
run across this ditty in one of my recent channels of info.
Cheers,
Buck (aka the 'Coaster Whore of Babylon')
Bird Rendell H.
Buck sez:
>Construction on the ride will begin in the summer of 1993, and
>park officials hope to have the attraction up and running by August
>of 1994, when the Kentucky State Fair ensues.
YIKES!!
Is it really gonna take 12-14 months to put this one together? Or am
I just misreading the message.
Rendell
"I am getting pretty fond of you, kid.... *Not* that I am ready to
pick-out curtains or anything, you know"
-the Blue Genie to Aladdin
bu...@cavlry.enet.dec.com
>>Construction on the ride will begin in the summer of 1993, and
>>park officials hope to have the attraction up and running by August
>>of 1994, when the Kentucky State Fair ensues.
>YIKES!!
>
>Is it really gonna take 12-14 months to put this one together? Or am
>I just misreading the message.
No, you read it correctly.
You want my opionion?? KK wants this type of ride, but can't buy
a B&M due to the *exclusive* Vekoma contract they have, so...
they tell Vekoma to get it together and design one for them. If
you look at the project starting now (they signed the contract
Nov 21), it looks like it *may* be up in 21 months -- can you say
"lets design as we construct"?? Personally, I think Vekoma is trying
to play 'catch up' here.
Buck, who personally thinks B&M will have a good stronghold on the
US by Aug 94
Christopher E. Hagen
>Buck sez:
>>Construction on the ride will begin in the summer of 1993, and
>>park officials hope to have the attraction up and running by August
>>of 1994, when the Kentucky State Fair ensues.
>YIKES!!
>Is it really gonna take 12-14 months to put this one together? Or am
>I just misreading the message.
When I talked to the GM there last summer, he told me about the
multi-element ride that was going in. (do you know what the record was that
they *were* going to try to beat? I think it was number of loops.)
Anyways, the new kiddie roller-coaster and a few other rides are going to
the north of... heck, lemme draw a ASCII map
C VVVV
C VV C= Crittenend Drive
|-----T--< T= Toll booth
| V \ R= RollerSkater family rollercoaster
| NewRC R \ (this spring)
| V ? R \ F= Flying shoews (already there)
C V ? F R \ ?= other places for attractions
| V \ V= New ride... will be built out over lake
| V ^^^^^^^ \ Between the gates too!!!
| VV Thunder R^ \ E= Earthquake (already there)
| V ^^^^^^^^^ E \ W= Giant Ferris Wheel (already there)
C WaterRides \ ==== Hurricane bay
| =========== W \
As you probably know, the areas between critten drive and Thunder Run are
owned by others-- this land has been bought (it was on the fair boards master
plan) and they now own everything from the circle drive (the \'s) to critteen
(sp) drive. The time to "build" this rollercoaster probably includes the time
needed to demolish the buildings and clear the land (they were having problems
with that old junkyard in the corner of the map). Last summer the GM noted that
they planned to build part of the coaster across the entry gate and across the
lake. Don't know about that now....
This summer they are also planning to open several waterslides between
hurricane bay and thunder-- including some sort of lazy river ride.
Things are going well there at KK finally... :)
-chris
--
* Chris Hagen "<risco" *MAIL ME ANYTIME!* ceh...@ucs.indiana.edu *
* 409 E. 16th St. The love you take is equal to the love you make *
* Bloomington, IN 47408 (812) 334-3098 *