El Toro Takes Shape - APP

[WadeJ]

From the APP - http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051221/NEWS02/512210425&SearchID=73230125877012

EL TORO TAKES SHAPE

Construction crews complete lift hill; project on target for spring completion
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 12/21/05
BY MICHAEL AMSEL
TOMS RIVER BUREAU
JACKSON ? El Toro, described as one of the world's most unusual wooden roller coasters, moved a significant step closer to becoming reality Tuesday morning at Six Flags Great Adventure.

After a 260-foot crane hoisted the final piece of the wooden track into place, completing the roller coaster's lift hill at 188 feet (19 stories), construction crews were able to work on mechanical and electrical features, with early spring as the target completion date.

Roller coaster enthusiast Wade Jackson, a contributor to the Web site www.gadvupdates.com, said El Toro will rival the Balder in Sweden, which he said is the No. 1-rated wooden roller coaster in the world.

"This coaster will elevate Great Adventure into a world-class park," said Jackson, of Deptford, Gloucester County. "Other wooden coasters are not like this one. It's truly unique in that it is using prefabricated coaster track. These come straight from the factory with wood-laminated beams, and they will deliver an incredibly smooth ride that will have perfect transitions."

So what does that mean for coaster riders?

"The rides will not be as brutal or violent," Jackson said. "Brutal, where it rips your rib cage apart . . . as a lot of wooden roller coasters do."

The 4,400-foot-long coaster will rank as the second-tallest wooden coaster in the United States and will feature the second-longest drop, according to park officials. It will set a world record for wooden coasters for the steepest drop at 76 degrees, and reach a top speed of 70 mph.

Steve O'Donnell, a longtime coaster enthusiast who gathers information for the publication "Rec: Roller Coaster," said the prefabricated wooden pieces are called "Plug and Play" and will distinguish El Toro from every other wooden roller coaster.

"I'm a carpenter, and looking at what they have done made me say, "Wow,' " said O'Donnell, of Horsham, Pa. "The technology is amazing. They have used the technology to solve some of the problems of wooden coasters.

"One of the problems of building a Rolling Thunder, for instance, is the turns," he said. "They have come up for a way to create the track before it even gets here. Under shop conditions, they know that the turn is of a certain radius and they can lay it out perfectly."

Richard Beane, the park's general superintendent, said he is hoping the weather cooperates over the winter, allowing a wide range of technical specialists to complete El Toro.

"This project is going extremely well right now," Beane said. "We are having to work within the confines of the real estate and we have to work from the inside out. We have the nucleus of a fantastic, energetic crew.

"To be successful in a project of this nature, it encompasses all the trades," he said. "You need the whole gamut and we have an experienced good talented team with a lot of seasoned years behind them doing this kind of work."

On El Toro, riders will be subjected to highly banked turns, four drops and nine "air-time" hills ? giving them the sensation of weightlessness as they head toward the "twister finale."

El Toro will anchor a new section of the park, the eight-acre Plaza del Carnaval, which will feature a Mexican restaurant, an open-air, marketplace-style retail shop and a family ride. The park's current wooden coaster, Rolling Thunder, introduced in 1979, also will be part of the Plaza del Carnaval.

The expansion, planned to be completed by spring, is part of the park's ongoing transformation from a regional theme park to a family destination, officials said.

The 2,200-acre park, which is currently using only about half of its developable acres, is the biggest of Oklahoma City-based Six Flags' 30 North American parks.


Michael Amsel: (732) 557-5733 or mamsel@app.com

[DianaR]

Nice! Did you buy the paper this morning? You and Steve O's Mugs made it to the article LOL. Cograts Wade!

[WadeJ]

OH NO LOL

I had no idea...   Any chance you could pick me one up?  We can't buy that here in the South.  I'll even pay ya for it

[DianaR]

OH NO LOL

I had no idea...   Any chance you could pick me one up?  We can't buy that here in the South.  I'll even pay ya for it

Of course I'll get you one!

[PcMan]

Hopefully this will spread out the lines between Kingda.
One thing is sure is the Rolling TH. ridership will be up and lets hope they ALWAYS keep both side of RT open.
It will be a new ride on RT with all the new views and the track running above the drop.

Has anyone asked Kristen about any changes from the New Six Flags president I read the below.

Shapiro's first move is to visit each of the company's nearly 30 parks and evaluate the current management structure and "light a fire under this company."

I'm sure SFGRAD will be one of the MAJOR visits

I just heard on the radio station NJ 101.5 news about El Toro and some comments from Kristen
the PR machine keeps rolling

[WadeJ]

Her only "public" comment yesterday was that things will continue to roll along.

My take on it is that Great Adventure is/was already moving in the direction that the new boss was looking for as far as heavily themed rides and more things for kids to do.

I seriously don't think Gadv has much to be worried about.  If anything, there might be some positives that come out of the whole thing.

Now some of the other parks.... thats a different story.

[Bubba Z]

I think Great Adventure would be the last park he would visit knowing it's the number one park in the region. If he is smart,He  should start from the bottom and sell or fix those parks first.   Then just fine tune what we already have here and let the money roll in.

[ChuckR]

Nice job Wade.

Did anyone get or see the Trenton Times to see if anyone was in that as well?

[rjholla2003]

I think Great Adventure would be the last park he would visit knowing it's the number one park in the region. If he is smart,He  should start from the bottom and sell or fix those parks first.   Then just fine tune what we already have here and let the money roll in.

I'm thinking that this is just a general sweep to get a feel for things throughout the chain.  He might want to visit the parks that are doing well first so that the problems stand out better when he visits those that are struggling.

[blazzinmatt]

That's awesome. I can't wait until the season starts and we can ride this beast.