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On this page, you will learn all about the steel giants. The steelies history, their design, and some of the best known steel coasters ever. SCROLL DOWN to learn more about the awesome coasters all over the globe, or VISIT MY OTHER PAGE and learn more about woodies (or wooden coasters). |
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History Since wooden coasters were expensive to build and wood limited the shape and designs of the ride, coaster designers turned to steel. The long, steel tubes could twist and turn in all new directions, allowing designers to build and construct new, more thrilling rides. All this excitement started to happen in the late 1960’s |
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Building
and Design Building steel coasters takes longer than you may think. You have to first design the coaster on paper, then take it to the computer. You need to know all of the twists and turns of your coaster before this is done. Then, all of the proper supplies need to be shipped and supplied with. Finally, the building begins. This whole process can take up to five years! In the end, all of the hard work is definitely worth it when the park opens and there is a new ride waiting for everyone to enjoy.
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Mantis Cedar Point This ride, found at Cedar point, was once the worlds largest stand up coaster. A stand up coaster, simply enough, is when you stand up instead of sit on the ride. When this ride was opened in 1996, it blew away all of the other previous stand up coasters. The riders go through a series of intricate movesl; a 119 foot vertical loop, and later on a corkscrew twist.
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Riddler’s Revenge Six Flags The Riddler’s Revenge first opened in 1998, on April 4. This is the longest, fastest, and tallest standup coaster in the world. This coaster is jam packed with twists and turns, along with a towering dive loop, which is shown at the right.
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Medusa Six Flags I n 2000, this steel giant came to be right after it’s counterpart (also known as the Medusa). While the coasters are very similar, this Medusa has one element that is completely original. The Sea-Serpent is the double loop that makes this ride one electrifying, one in a million, floorless coaster.
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Poltergeist Six Flags This insane steel coaster is one of the most amazing rides ever invented. The cars go through a track that is so complex that you can't even follow it with your eyes. The cars speed through once in forward, then goes right back in reverse.
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Batman and Robin: The Chiller’s Six Flags Here you can see the two different tracks distinctly. The blue, or batman, track has a 139 foot U-Turn, while the red, or Robin, track goes through a 105 foot cobra roll. Then, both tracks meet side by side at the pirouette on the 200 foot ramp. Once the ramp is reached, both tracks are done again. Only this time, in reverse
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Volcano, The blast coaster Kings Dominion In this dynamic coaster, the cat erupts out of the top of a volcano, sending it up a completely vertical climb to 155 feet. This ride speeds up to 70 miles per hour. The volcano is among the fastest coasters in the world. Before the coaster was built, only the mountain around it existed. It stood simply enough, and all the people had no clue of what was going on in there. When the coaster finally opened in 1998, it was an automatic huge hit. |
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