Coaster/Site Selection Research:

1. Coaster Name:

Amusement Park: Hersheypark Wood Or Steel: Steel Manufacturer: AG Website: http://rcdb.com/2498.htm#

Height: 150 ft Length: 2100 ft Speed: 75 mph Inversion List (if any): 3

High Level Description: 135 ft tall Cobra Loop; Heartline Roll; Flying Snake Dive Things You Liked: We really like the twisting tracks and heartline rolls. In addition, the coaster’s main element and statistics are similar to our coaster, so we made a reference to it.

Things You Disliked: There is basically nothing we dislike about Storm Runner.

2. Coaster Name: Dodonpa

Amusement Park: Fuji-Q Highland (in Japan) Wood Or Steel: Steel Manufacturer: S&S Worldwide Video Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqPykRYD5Bw

Height: 170.6 ft Length: 3900.9ft Speed: 106.9 mph Inversion List (if any): 0

High Level Description: It has a 90 degree hill.

Things You Liked: We like the fact that it has a powerful launch and a vertical drop. Upon going on the top of the hill, the is still at a high speed. The ride is fast from the beginning till the very end. It surprised us that it only takes 55 seconds to complete the 3900 ft ride.

Things You Disliked: For some reason, they waited for such a long time before the launch.

3. Coaster Name: Kingda Ka

Amusement Park: Great Adventure Wood Or Steel: Steel Manufacturer: Intamin AG Website: http://rcdb.com/2832.htm

Height: 456 ft Length: 3116 ft Speed: 128 mph Inversion List (if any): 0

High Level Description: 90° Vertical Spiral; 456 ft tall Top Hat -Outside; 270° Vertical Spiral; 129 ft tall Hill Things You Liked: The first launch is very fast and powerful. The 456 ft tall drop is also impressive. But what interests us the most is the vertical spiral that brings you up and down the top of the hill. Therefore, we incorporated some elements into our design.

Things You Disliked: There is basically nothing we dislike about Kingda Ka.

Analysis:

Currently undergoing renovation, Kingdom owns only four roller coasters among all the fifty rides that have been standing but not operating. Among the four roller coasters, there are evenly two wooden and two steel coasters. Thunder Run and Twisted Twins are considered quite intense and attractive coasters. On the other hand, the steel coasters they own contain one suspended coaster and one junior coaster. Therefore, after careful consideration, we decided to design a coaster which features something that other coasters at Kentucky Kingdom lack—a launch coaster. In addition, it is more likely to create a fun and intense ride with a steel coaster. Due to the limit of the construction site, we decided to build our coaster in close proximity to other coasters in order to use up all the space possible and create a seemingly intricately-laid out coaster. Furthermore, despite the height constraint arose from the Louisville International Airport, we decided to make an underground tunnel to extend our track so as to increase the length of the drop, creating a more exciting ride. In so doing, we can not only build a large-scale coaster without taking up too much space but also construct a taller coaster than any other rides Kentucky Kingdom possesses.

Our Design:

Roller Coaster: LOL-er Coaster

Type: Steel; Sit-down; Launch coaster

Manufacturer: Intamin AG

Height: 175 ft

Element:

175 ft Hill → 180 ft Drop → 150 ft Long Underground Tunnel → Vertical Loop → Cobra Roll →

Zero-G-Roll → Immelmann

Cars:

2 Trains: 2 Riders per Row, 2 Rows per Car, 5 Cars per Train

Visual Representation

Statistics, Calculations, and Estimations

Launch speed: 75 mph

Maximum positive G-force: 4G

Maximum negative G-force: 0G

Maximum lateral G-force: 0G

Trains: 20 riders per train (5 cars, 4 riders each car, 2 rows 2 across), 2 trains in total

Height of first hill: 175 ft

Radius of bottom of first hill: 130 ft

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Radius and banking of turn after cobra roll: 100 ft, 70 degrees

Capacity: 1,400 riders per hour (estimated)

(To account for loading/unloading times, launch preparation, and other incidents)

(Compared with Storm Runner at Hershey Park, 1200 riders per hour)

Cost: $15M (estimated)

(compared with Storm Runner at Hershey Park, Intamin 72 mph hydraulic launch, 150 ft high, 180 ft first drop, length: 2,600 ft, 3 inversions)

Length: 3,000 ft (estimated)