New "Mixed Reality Experience" VR Coasters Coming to Two Six Flags Parks

Six Flags Entertainment Corporation and Samsung Electronics are once again partnering to offer a brand new virtual reality roller coaster experience, opening soon at two Six Flags parks.  Named The New Revolution Galactic Attack, the upgraded rides will feature the first "mixed reality experience" on any coaster.  Riders will compete in "complex gameplay" that allows them to "make key decisions during the course of the ride that can affect their scoring at the end."

© Six Flags

Riders will wear Samsung Gear VR headsets on the coasters, experiencing the device's "passthrough camera functionality," effectively entering them into another world.  However, riders will still be able to see the world around them, including other riders, along with the virtual environment.  The park's description of the experience notes that as riders reach the top of the "lift hill, a massive, swirling wormhole comes into view. As riders drop at high speeds, the mixed reality view changes to a completely immersive, virtual reality environment and a fighter spaceship cockpit materializes and envelops the riders into a tunnel of light. At the bottom of the first hill, riders are launched into the middle of a space battle, coming under attack from flying drones firing lasers and missiles. After swinging through tight channels, narrowly dodging drones and artillery fire, riders are brought into one of three drone bays, each of which offer a completely different gaming experience and three different endings."

© Six Flags

The New Revolution Galactic Attack will premier at Six Flags Discovery Kingdom and Six Flags Magic Mountain on February 25th.  At Six Flags Discovery Kingdom the experience will be located on Kong, a suspended looping coaster, and at Six Flags Magic Mountain on The New Revolution.

Visitors who want to experience the attractions a week early can help a good cause and ride the weekend of February 18th - 20th.  To celebrate the opening of the new rides, both parks will "attack hunger" by hosting a food drive.  Guests can bring a full bag of non-perishable food items to support local food banks and be given the opportunity to ride The New Revolution Galactic Attack a week before the public.

Hydrus Revealed as Name for New Casino Pier Roller Coaster

© Casino Pier

Casino Pier's new Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter roller coaster now has a name, and it is Hydrus!  While the name Hydrus is a bit reminiscent of the mythical Hydra, it's actually also the name of a constellation according to the almighty Wikipedia.  But, the article does point out that Hydrus means "male water snake," so there is still a connection to Hydra in there somewhere.

Either way, the ride now has a fun name and on top of that it is already complete!  The final track pieces went in just a day or so ago, connecting the 1,050 foot long layout - seen above.

© Casino Pier / RC Aerial Pro

This photo, shared by the park on Facebook, is a few days old (still missing a few track segments) but really shows off the striking colors that Hydrus has.  This coaster is really going to look beautiful in the bright summer sun, with the waves crashing nearby.  It's great to see Casino Pier growing so much after all the hard times they've had in the past - hopefully this summer many of you will be able to stop by the park and take a spin on Hydrus!

Fun Spot America - Kissimmee Names New Gravity Group Wood Coaster

Fun Spot America, located in Kissimmee, Florida, announced the name of their new Gravity Group wood coaster on a commercial during last night's 'big game,' revealing that the ride will be named Mine Blower.  The coaster will be the first wooden ride in Florida to include a full inversion when it opens this summer.

© Fun Spot America

The park also revealed that Mine Blower will include "2 mine tunnels" within its compact layout, and released some additional concept art (above) of the front of the train... filled with some ACME rockets!  The coaster's foundation is already complete, and a couple days ago the first bents were put into place... it is all uphill from here!

When completed, Mine Blower will stand 82 feet tall, reach a maximum speed of 49 miles per hour, and contain 2,256 feet of twisted wooden track, including the aforementioned corkscrew/barrel roll inversion.

New Wave Breaker - The Rescue Coaster Video with Aerial Shots

SeaWorld San Antonio has introduced what appears to be the first in a series of video updates for their new double-launch roller coaster, Wave Breaker - The Rescue Coaster.  The video is available on the ride's website, and has a few aerial construction shots mixed in that I thought were neat.

© SeaWorld San Antonio

This view shows the section of the park's center lake that is drained for work to be completed on the new coaster.  Well, it's actually only part of the drained area, it's much bigger than just this.  In the middle of the photo you can see footings for what I believe will be the station area for the coaster, with the launch footings moving from that toward the bottom of the photo.  On the right are footings for an s-curve looking part of the ride that I think connects with the second launch.

© SeaWorld San Antonio

This view is of the back half of the ride.  The launch footings I just described can be seen on the bottom left of the photo.  There's plenty of other footings completed for the rest of the ride, the video states that almost 300 are complete so far.  You can also see Steel Eel's first drop over on the far right of the photo, to help with placement.

© SeaWorld San Antonio

One final image, showing where I believe the tallest portions of the ride will be located.  All these areas that we're seeing will eventually be filled back in with water, making the majority of Wave Breaker's layout not over land.  I'm excited to see the track and supports go up for the coaster, so stay tuned for more updates!

Colorado Park Opening 120 Foot Underground Freefall This Summer

This sounds really cool.  Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, located in Glenwood Caverns, Colorado, is adding the Haunted Mine Drop this summer, which will plunge riders down a 120 foot mine shaft underground.

The ride is being designed by Stan Checketts, formerly of S&S Worldwide, who is knows for his wild ride concepts.  The Haunted Mine Drop will include a complete theme, including ghostly figures and an elaborate backstory.

© Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park

This concept art shows the structure that will greet visitors when they arrive at the attraction.  The park is creating a full ghost story for the attraction, where riders come to work at the mine but get their orientation from ghosts.  That should set the tone for the whole experience, which eventually includes a dark plunge down 120 feet underground.  According to this news story, park is working with Creative Visions on the theming for the attraction including the ghostly apparitions.  The above-linked story also has photos of the hole that the park is digging for the drop, and other progress photos.

Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park already features a roller coaster, swing rides over the edge of the mountain, an alpine coaster and zip line.  The new Haunted Mine Drop ride is the park's first attempt at theming - one I sure hope will be a huge success!

Casino Pier Making Quick Work of New Gerstlauer Coaster

© Casino Pier

Rising quickly at Casino Pier, the park's new Gerstlauer Euro-Fighter coaster has already changed the landscape along the shore at Seaside Heights, New Jersey.  The park has completed much of their boardwalk expansion, which has allowed construction of the park's new coaster to start.  Since the ride is compact, it hasn't taken long for pieces of the coaster to go up, and the park has been following along with the work via their social media channels.

The above photo was from just a few days ago, and shows that the final brakes, station, lift and first drop were complete.  Plenty of other supports and some additional track were also up.

© Casino Pier

Fast-forwarding a couple days, we see that even more of the ride is standing - just a couple more pieces are needed to close the vertical loop.  When all is said and done the coaster - which still is not named - will have three inversions, the vertical loop, a cutback (which is half built) and a heartline roll.  The vertical lift stands 72 feet tall and has a 97 degree first drop.

Casino Pier's 2017 expansion will also include a new Ferris wheel, along with plenty of space to grow onto in the future.