The Amusing Ads Archive - Custom Coasters 1993

The Outlaw wooden roller coaster was the second big project for Custom Coasters International, and opened at Adventureland in 1993. The coaster, as per the ad, was designed for the entire family to ride, and was a huge success for the park.

The coaster itself is just under 70 ft. tall and about 2,800 ft. long, perfect dimensions for an exciting ride but still one that younger riders wouldn't be too scared to ride. The ride's 42 inch height requirement also helps smaller guests be able to take a spin, versus 48 inches for most wooden coasters.

1993/1994 were pretty much the end of the quiet period for Custom Coasters, as each year after that was pretty packed with new projects until the company's end in 2002.

A Blast From The Past - A CCI at Bells Amusement Park?

It wasn't that long ago we broached the subject of TGG being one of the the first design teams to have a two-way tunnel in the design of a coaster. But long before that, in a previous design effort for Bell's Amusement park in Tulsa OK, Dennis McNulty pencilled in that idea for the never built "Tulsa Terror."

His 1995 proposed dogleg out and back paralleled Louisville Avenue. The fact that houses were right across the street gave ample fodder for residents opposed to the expansion to protest the noise. The zoning battles were fought for years.

It would have been nearly 2400 feet long and around 88 feet high with the below grade tunnel at the bottom of the first drop. Lots of action on the return run, with a double down, a big airtime hill before the return tunnel and a double up before the brake run. Unfortunately the design was never fully developed.

The unique tunnel would have been right next to the the park's Schwarzkopf Wildcat with a ground level pathway above the track. It would have served as another entrance into the park.

Alas it never came to pass, as Bell's was forced to close due to some shady maneuvering by the landlord. It sure looks like a fun ride, and now with the way coaster names have become very generic, it would have been a signature ride for Bell's. Hopefully Robbie Bell can resurrect this project at a new location sometime in the future.

A Blast From The Past - A Bit Of CCI

Editors note:Such a busy weekend and so little time, I should have had this up yesterday, but well... it was News Years Eve and all. Seems we're making a habit of being a day late, hope it was worth the wait.

Mike's Amusing Ad Archives on CCI last Sunday reminded me that we have a bit of rare stuff from Custom Coasters, that has most likely never been seen by the public in general. So, this week (and in various future Blasts) we'll be showcasing some of the items we have.

First a brief Custom Coasters International history lesson. The company was founded in 1991 by Denise Dinn-Larrick & her husband Randy Larrick. CCI filed for bankruptcy in 2002, while in the middle of building the New Mexico Rattler and before all the issues were worked out on The Lost Coaster of Superstition Mountain.

The Larrick's marriage ended with the demise of the company and for a short time Denise remained in the industry. The heart and soul of CCI's success, the designers, went on to form a very succesful design firm known as The Gravity Group. In it's 10 years of existence CCI built 30+ wooden roller coasters, many of those were and still are highly rated among park visitors. Such creations the Raven, Cornball Express, Shivering Timbers & Boulder Dash

Few have been lost, such as the Villain, Mega Zeph and Hurricane Category 5. And, Twisted Twins is likely to join that group in the future.

And, then we have a collection of proposed concept art, preliminary designs and artist's renderings from parks such as the defunct Opryland, as well as many designs that don't name any park.

Hope 2010 in great year for you all,

Carol & Scott

The Amusing Ads Archive - Custom Coasters 1994

How joyous was I when I saw this holiday themed ad from Customer Coasters, Inc. when sorting for this week's image?

Custom Coasters existed from 1991 to 2002 and created over 30 wooden roller coasters during that span. Their rides were a great fit for smaller parks with smaller budgets, though they did design large rides for big theme parks as well.

This ad has some neat coaster layouts on it, and though they're pretty easy I'll let you all figure them out for some holiday fun.