NewsPlusNotes: A Blast From The Past! - Chang at SFKK

Thursday, August 20, 2009

A Blast From The Past! - Chang at SFKK

One of only twelve stand-ups ever built in North America and one of the last, Chang made it's debut at then Kentucky Kingdom in Louisville Ky in April of 1997. As advertised, Chang, meaning long in Mandarin Chinese, was a record breaker. Of course all those records were broken the next year by Riddler's Revenge at Six Flags Magic Mountain. But, over a dozen years later, Chang still stands tall as one of the most popular coasters at Six Flags Kentucky Kingdom

Stand-ups seemed to be a fad that has come and gone, there hasn't been one built since the Georgia Scorcher a decade ago. There are only ten left, but, for 15 years they were the hottest thing around and still seem to be crowd pleaser today.

Chang, built by B & M and designed Ing.-Büro Stengel GmbH, at a cost of $12,000,000.00, is 4155 feet long and boasts speeds up to 63 mph. The ride time is approx. 2:30 and maximum hourly capacity is 1556 riders per hour.

Are stand-ups a dying breed? I would think it's safe to say a certain manufacturer would be happy to build another if any park would make such a request. That said, if you love stand-ups, I think it would be a good idea to get out and enjoy those that are still operating and lament over the ones that are gone.

1 comments:

Sabrina said...: The one and only time I visited Kentucky Kingdom was in '97, and I can STILL remember the audio track they were playing over and over and over again while we waited in line for Chang. "You are about to experience...CHANG!!" *imagine overly dramatic voice*

I think I'll be hearing it in the back of my mind for the rest of my life. Good ride though, from what I remember!; 7:30 PM

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

All Original Content © 2006-2019 NewsPlusNotes

NewsPlusNotes is not affiliated with nor do we purport to represent the views, interests, intentions, or policies of any park, corporation, or entity. All original content found on NewsPlusNotes, including but not limited to all original written content, the NewsPlusNotes logo and all other static graphic and web design elements comprising the site, and all photos from NewsPlusNotes writers' personal collections, is the exclusive property of the NewsPlusNotes team and may not be used, reproduced, or distributed in any manner without the express written consent of the individual author/creator. Read our complete Terms of Use.

NewsPlusNotes Terms of Use

NewsPlusNotes is not affiliated with nor do we purport to represent the views, interests, intentions, or policies of any park, corporation, or entity. The opinions expressed herein are solely those of the individual writers. While we strive to achieve 100% accuracy in our news reporting, errors inevitably will occur from time to time and we make no guarantees that the facts presented in any given post will remain unchanged over time. For complete, up-to-the-minute information on any park, please visit that park's web site or contact the park directly.

All original content found on NewsPlusNotes, including but not limited to all original written content, the NewsPlusNotes logo and all other static graphic and web design elements comprising the site, and all photos from NewsPlusNotes writers' personal collections, is the exclusive property of the NewsPlusNotes team and may not be used, reproduced, or distributed in any manner without the express written consent of the individual author/creator.

All non-original content found on NewsPlusNotes, including but not limited to park logos, press releases, and photo contributions received from parks, corporations, and individual readers, remains the property of the original author/creator and may be subject to additional copyright, trademark, and/or intellectual property protection. The lack of an explicit copyright notice does not imply ownership by NewsPlusNotes or any of its writers unless the content in question has been produced by one of our team members as described in the paragraph above. NewsPlusNotes occasionally features guest writers, and these individuals retain ownership of all original written and/or graphic content that they publish on NewsPlusNotes. By contributing written or graphic material to NewsPlusNotes, you are implying that you are the owner of this material or are submitting it with the express consent of the owner. If you feel that we've made an error or omission in attributing proper credit to a particular piece of content found on NewsPlusNotes, please contact us and we will gladly investigate the matter and make any necessary corrections.

CLOSE