HOME |
RSS | 
I love a good roller coaster. It doesn’t have to have a million inverts and upside downs or be the fastest for me to like it – I mean, I’ll take those too, but I really just enjoy any roller coaster. Here are a few that stand out from the pack for their records in height, speed, or nudity. Yes, nudity. Enjoy!
Leap-the-Dips at Lakemont Park in Altoona, Pennsylvania, was in operation for 83 years before closing in 1985. Many people thought that was the end of Leap-the-Dips, but people rallied to bring the coaster back and managed to raise enough money to have the old girl restored. It re-opened Memorial Day weekend, 1999, meaning that it has now been in operation for a total of 93 years. Leap-the-Dips isn’t going to impress anyone with its speed (the fastest it gets is about 18 mph) or its crazy tricks, but it definitely has the nostalgia factor and people form huge lines just to ride it. Want to give it a shot but doubt you’ll be making it to Pennsylvania anytime soon? Try the virtual experience:
Son of Beast takes both of these title, and it also happens to be the wooden roller coaster with the biggest drop. This makes sense, since the point of the high spots of most roller coasters is to send riders plummeting dramatically. Son of Beast is at King’s Island near Cincinnati and is billed as the sequel to the same park’s “The Beast” rollercoaster, which, incidentally, is the longest wooden roller coaster in the world. Son of Beast reaches a maximum height of 218 feet and drops 214 feet, reaching speeds of up to 78 mph. Not bad! Up until 2006, it was also the only wooden roller coaster in the world to incorporate a loop. The loop was removed in December 2006, ostensibly to ensure that they could use lighter trains. But after an incident that caused 27 injuries to riders just a few months earlier, you have to wonder if the loop was deemed unsafe. Photo via Shawn Kay of Coasterglobe.
That particular honor goes to the Colossus at Thorpe Park in Surrey, England, with a total of 10 inversions. Well, technically the Colossus is tied for the honor with the Tenth Ring Roller Coaster at Chimelong Paradise in China, but that ride is an exact replica of the Colossus so I’m not sure it counts. Here’s what it looks like if you’re in the front seats:
You gotta love this one, and yes, the Guinness Book of World Records confirmed it. In 2004, 32 people consented to ride the Nemesis roller coaster in at Alton Towers in England buck naked. “Why?” would be a suitable question, and it appears the only answer is, “To break the previous record.” Before that, the Nemesis Inferno at Thorpe Park held the record for nude riders with 28. No video of that one… Sorry! Photo via ThemeParkReview.
VERTICAL vertical. Not “pretty straight down,” but literally straight down. This first goes to the Oblivion, also at Alton Towers. The steel coaster opened in 1998, and it’s not the fastest or the highest – at 68 feet tall, it’s a a third of the height of Son of Beast. But what it lacks in height, it makes up for in adrenaline rush. The cars actually plummet into a tunnel into the ground, as you might imagine, but that doesn’t make it any less scary when you’re sitting at the top of the plunge.
What’s your favorite roller coaster? They’re definitely not death-defying, but I love Disney coasters. The zero-to-sixty in less than three seconds of the Aerosmith Rock ‘n’ Roller Coaster delights me every time, and Space Mountain is actually terrifying if you’ve ever seen it with the lights turned on – the tracks are so close together it’s a wonder no one has lost a hand from putting their arms in the air during the ride. The only roller coaster to ever make me sick was the Sidewinder at Hersheypark in Hershey, Pa. It sends you backward through some rolls and loops and I just couldn’t deal with the backward motion. Share your experiences in the comments!
Regardless of where you believe to be the true “Happiest Place On Earth” is, you have to admit, Disneyland is at least pretty magical. It’s so magical, in fact, that even after 50 years and over 500 million of visitors, there are still tons of secrets hidden in and about the Magical Kingdom.
Opening day was such a disaster that pretty much every press organization that attended the celebration had predicted the park’s failure within one year.
It opened on a day that was 101 degrees and the street asphalt still wasn’t dry, leading to it sticking to shoes. By the end of the first day, all but 2 of the 48 Autopia cars were crashed and about half the rides were broken.
Despite all that, park visitors loved it and attendance continued to grow day by day.
Source (Photo: ThomasFredrick [Flickr])
While many Disney fanatics may already know this one, others may find it surprising to know there is exactly one place in the entire park that serves alcoholic beverages.
The place is called Club 33 and it is a very exclusive club to get in. To gain entry, there is a ten year waiting list and admission is at least a thousand dollars. Supposedly, the food is good though.
Source (Photo: emmyboop [Flickr])
Or at least, the first version is by now. The only Tomorrow Land ride that still exists in its original state from the opening is Autopia, and even it was changed to fit with Cars the movie. Actually though, there is one major change in Autopia from how it was on opening day -there were originally no guide rail to keep people on track. Sometimes Disney was a little too trusting of the good of humans.
Source (Photo: Frikitiki [Flickr])
Photo: lwr [Flickr]
It’s not quite as exciting as it sounds though. Despite rumors, the area under the park isn’t a massive underground city. There are many underground basements though, where cast can relax, change in and out of costumes and eat lunch in peace. Think of it like a few really big break rooms.
Disney World on the other hand, was built late enough that they have a full city underground.
Photo: Frikitiki [Flickr]
Just walking around the park over and over again is exercise enough for most people, but employees have the option of working out in the Matterhorn. Surely you didn’t think that huge mountain was only used for one little ride did you? No, the Matterhorn is officially classified as a gym and has a full basketball court inside. In 1984, it was even certified as an official Olympic Stadium.
Photo: videocrab [Flickr]
Despite persisting urban legends that claim no one ever died in the park, people have. At least 12 people have died there, reports vary as to whether some additional death tales are true or not. All things considered though, 12 deaths in over 50 years isn’t that bad. Keep in mind, aside from dangerous rides, there is also a notable amount of gang violence at other Southern California amusement parks that doesn’t occur as frequently at Disneyland.
You might be. There are cameras everywhere. Aside from average security brigades, they even have special tasks forces with only a handful of things to focus on.
There are at least two special forces at the park, one dedicated to catching people using drugs at the park, and another dedicated to catching people who flash or flip off the cameras during the photo parts of the rides. If you’ve ever gotten a message saying your photo isn’t available when you got off the ride, there’s a good chance someone either flashed some breast or flipped the bird to the camera.
Photo: major_clanger [Flickr]
There are many reports of people trying to spill the ashes of loved ones in the Haunted Mansion. As nice of a thought as it is, there are plenty of ghosts in the Mansion already and if everyone dumped their ashes here, then the whole thing would be covered in dust. So, every time it happens, the Mansion needs to be closed and a hazmat team cleans it.
We all know that Johnny Depp is dang sexy, but just the character of Jack Sparrow? Apparently, a lot of women still think he’s just as good as Depp. In Pirate’s Booty, an ex-actor at Disneyland confessed how many women would try to hump him just for playing the character. The stories range from flirting to receiving napkins with naughty offers.
(Photo: Locket479 [Flickr])
Ever notice the telegraph clicking at the New Orleans’ train station? It’s ticking out the speech Disney gave out on the park’s opening day. Traces of Disney are all over the park, my favorite one though is his old apartment over the fire house on Main Street. They always leave the light on in his memory. Not only is it cute, but it’s also rad that he got to live in the park.
Source (Photo: Mysteryofmaps [Flickr])
